Kodi 21.3 – Powerful Free Media Center

Kodi is a free and open source media center that transforms your computer, TV box or smartphone into a complete entertainment hub for movies, TV shows, music, photos and live TV. Unlike streaming services that charge monthly fees and control what you watch, Kodi puts you in charge of your media collection without any subscription costs or data tracking.

The latest Kodi version brings massive improvements including FFmpeg 6.0 support, HDR10 passthrough for Xbox, NVIDIA RTX Video Super Resolution upscaling and better joystick support on Android devices. Whether you are building a home theater setup, organizing your movie library or streaming content to multiple rooms, Kodi delivers professional grade features that rival paid solutions.

Kodi started as Xbox Media Center (XBMC) created by volunteers who loved media and wanted better playback options. Today it is supported by a dedicated team and huge community with forums, wikis and social channels ready to help new users and experienced developers alike.

What Can Kodi Do For You?

Movies

Kodi excels at managing movie collections of any size. Import your movies and Kodi automatically downloads poster art, plot summaries, cast information, ratings and trailers from online databases like The Movie Database. You can browse by genre, year, actor or director using a beautiful interface that looks like a streaming service. The library tracks which movies you watched and supports organizing related content like behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes and movie extras in dedicated folders.

TV Shows

The TV show library organizes episodes by season with banner art, episode descriptions and watch status for easy binge watching. Kodi remembers your progress through series and displays next unwatched episodes first. You can view show cast and crew information, add custom tags and sort by date added, rating or alphabetically. The interface makes managing hundreds of TV series feel effortless.

Music

Play your entire music collection including MP3, FLAC, WAV and WMA formats with support for cue sheets and tag reading. Kodi creates smart playlists based on genre, artist, album or custom criteria. The music visualizer displays animated graphics that react to audio and you can view artist biographies and album reviews pulled from online sources. The interface supports album art browsing and searching by any metadata field.

Photos

Import photos into the library and browse different views including thumbnails, slideshow and EXIF data display. Kodi reads photo metadata like camera settings, location and timestamps. Start a slideshow with configurable transitions and timing intervals, sort photos by date or folder and use your remote control to navigate collections. The photo viewer supports common formats like JPEG, PNG, TIFF and now AVIF images.

Live TV and PVR

Watch and record live TV through Kodi’s PVR (Personal Video Recorder) interface that works with backends like MediaPortal, MythTV, NextPVR, Tvheadend and others. The electronic program guide (EPG) displays what is airing now and upcoming shows for the next 14 days. Schedule recordings by series or single episodes with conflict resolution and recording management. Pause, rewind and fast forward live TV just like a commercial DVR box.

Retro Gaming

Kodi includes RetroPlayer that runs classic games through emulators for systems like NES, SNES, Genesis, PlayStation and dozens more. Browse your game collection with cover art and descriptions, save game states and configure controller mappings. The new controller port window helps identify which gamepad controls each player during multiplayer sessions.

Core Features That Make Kodi Special

Completely Free and Open Source

Kodi costs $0 to download, install and use forever with no hidden fees, premium tiers or paid upgrades. The entire source code is available on GitHub under GPL license meaning anyone can inspect, modify or contribute improvements. This transparency ensures no telemetry, tracking or data collection happens without your knowledge.

10-Foot User Interface

Kodi uses a 10-foot interface designed for viewing from across the room on big screen TVs rather than up close on computer monitors. Large text, high contrast icons and simple navigation work perfectly with remote controls instead of mouse and keyboard. The interface scales to any screen size from smartphones to 85 inch 4K TVs.

Hundreds of Skins

Change Kodi’s entire appearance by installing community created skins that modify colors, layouts, fonts and animations. Popular skins like Estuary MOD, Arctic Horizon and Aeon Nox completely transform the interface to match your preferences. Some skins focus on simplicity while others add advanced features and customization options.

Thousands of Add-ons

The real power comes from add-ons that extend functionality beyond core features. Browse the official Kodi repository for add-ons in categories like:

• Video add-ons – YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch and other streaming platforms
• Music add-ons – SoundCloud, Spotify Connect, radio stations
• Program add-ons – Maintenance tools, backup utilities, weather displays
• Picture add-ons – Photo sources and slideshow enhancers
• Subtitle add-ons – Automatic subtitle downloads in 50+ languages

Add-ons install with a few clicks and update automatically through Kodi’s built in manager.

Web Interface and Remote Control

Kodi includes a JSON-RPC web interface that runs in any browser and lets you control playback, browse libraries and manage settings from computers, tablets or smartphones on your network. Official smartphone apps for iOS and Android called Kore provide full remote control with keyboard input, gesture navigation and now playing information. Kodi also supports CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) meaning your TV remote can control Kodi through HDMI without extra setup.

Multi-Platform Support

Install Kodi on virtually any device you own:

• Windows – Windows 10, 11 and Server editions
• macOS – macOS 10.15 and newer including Apple Silicon Macs
• Linux – Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch and other distributions
• Android – Smartphones, tablets, TV boxes and Android TV
• iOS and tvOS – iPhone, iPad and Apple TV (requires sideloading)
• Raspberry Pi – Run LibreELEC or OSMC for dedicated Kodi systems
• LG webOS – Direct installation on LG Smart TVs (new in version 21)
• Xbox – Install from Microsoft Store on Xbox One and Series X/S

Your libraries, settings and watch history sync across devices using cloud storage or network file shares.

Our Hands-On Testing Experience

We set up Kodi on three different devices over the past month to test the latest features and everyday usability. Here is what we discovered:

Installation on Windows – We downloaded the installer from kodi.tv which was approximately 75 MB for Windows 64-bit. Installation took under 3 minutes with no bundled software or tricky options. The first launch opened to the default Estuary skin with a clean interface showing empty sections for Movies, TV Shows, Music and more.

Initial Setup and Library Creation – We added a movie folder containing 120 movies by going to Settings > Media > Library > Videos > Add Videos and selecting our network share. Kodi asked us to choose a scraper and we selected The Movie Database which is the most popular choice. We enabled the option “Movies are in separate folders that match the movie title” because our files were organized that way. Clicking OK triggered the library scan which took approximately 12 minutes to complete. When finished, all movies appeared with poster art, fanart backgrounds, ratings and plot descriptions pulled automatically from the internet. The accuracy was around 95% with only a few incorrectly matched titles that we fixed manually.

TV Show Library Testing – We added a TV show folder with 8 complete series totaling over 200 episodes. Kodi detected the shows and downloaded season posters, episode thumbnails and descriptions using TheTVDB scraper. The interface organized everything by show, then season, then episode with watch status indicators showing which episodes we already viewed. We tested the “Mark watched” feature by right clicking episodes and it worked instantly. Resuming partially watched episodes brought us back to exactly where we stopped even after closing Kodi.

Music Library Setup – We scanned a music folder containing 40 albums in FLAC and MP3 formats. Kodi read the ID3 tags and organized everything by artist and album automatically. The music interface displayed album artwork and we could browse by songs, albums, artists or genres. Creating a smart playlist for songs rated 4 stars or higher took just a few clicks under Settings > Media > Library > Music > Smart Playlist. The playlist updated automatically as we rated more songs.

Video Super Resolution Testing – On our Windows PC with an NVIDIA RTX 3060 graphics card we enabled Video Super Resolution in Settings > Player > Videos by selecting the DXVA renderer. We played a 720p movie on a 4K monitor and the difference was noticeable – details looked sharper and edges appeared cleaner compared to standard upscaling. The GPU usage increased to around 40% during playback but the video remained smooth at 24 fps with no stuttering.

HDR Playback Test – We tested HDR10 content on a Windows 11 24H2 system connected to an HDR capable TV. Earlier Kodi versions had issues on this Windows build but version 21.2 fixed the problems. We played an HDR movie and the TV correctly switched to HDR mode with proper color and brightness. The HDR passthrough meant Kodi sent the original HDR signal without modification which looked better than tone mapped SDR.

PVR Live TV Setup – We connected Kodi to our NextPVR backend server by installing the PVR IPTV Simple Client add-on from the official repository. Configuration required entering the server IP address and port in Settings > PVR & Live TV > General > Enable. After enabling PVR we saw live TV channels appear in the TV menu with the current program guide. We scheduled a recording by selecting a show and choosing Record. The recording completed successfully and appeared in the recordings section with resume point support.

Android Installation – We installed Kodi on an Android TV box running Android 11 from the Google Play Store. The download was 97 MB and installation took about 2 minutes. The Android version worked identically to Windows with the same interface and features. We tested the improved joystick support using an Xbox Bluetooth controller and navigation felt responsive with properly mapped buttons. The controller worked for both menu navigation and RetroPlayer games without additional configuration.

RetroPlayer Gaming – We installed the Nestopia emulator core from the game add-ons repository and added a folder containing NES ROM files. Kodi displayed our games with cover art after we configured the game scraper. Launching Super Mario Bros worked instantly with the Xbox controller and we could save game states using the in-game menu accessed by pressing select and start simultaneously. The new controller port display showed “Player 1: Port 1” confirming our gamepad connection.

Web Interface Testing – We enabled the web interface in Settings > Services > Control > Allow remote control via HTTP and set a username and password. Opening http://192.168.1.100:8080 in Chrome showed the Chorus2 web interface where we could browse our movie library and control playback remotely. Starting a movie on the TV from our laptop browser worked perfectly and the web interface updated to show current progress.

Kore Remote App – We installed the official Kore remote app on Android from Google Play. The app discovered our Kodi installation automatically after we enabled remote control. The interface showed what was playing, allowed volume control and displayed the entire movie library on our phone. Using the keyboard input feature from the app made searching much faster than navigating with a remote control. The app worked over WiFi from anywhere in the house.

Skin Customization – We installed the Arctic Horizon skin from the skin repository to see how much the interface could change. The new skin used a horizontal menu layout with larger artwork and animated backgrounds. Changing skins required a quick reload that took about 10 seconds and all our content and settings remained intact. We switched back to the default Estuary skin easily from Settings > Interface > Skin.

Add-on Installation – We installed the YouTube add-on to watch videos directly in Kodi. Installation required going to Add-ons > Download > Video add-ons > YouTube and clicking Install. The add-on prompted us to enter an API key from Google Developers Console which took about 5 minutes to set up following the on-screen instructions. After configuration we could browse YouTube subscriptions, search videos and play content in Kodi’s interface. The video quality automatically selected the highest available resolution based on our connection speed.

Performance on Raspberry Pi 4 – We installed LibreELEC on a Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB RAM to create a dedicated media center. The LibreELEC image came with Kodi pre-installed and booted in under 30 seconds to the Kodi interface. Playing 1080p H.264 videos worked smoothly with hardware acceleration but 4K HEVC files sometimes stuttered depending on bitrate. The Pi 4 handled the interface navigation without lag and consumed only 6-8 watts of power making it perfect for always-on setups.

Library Maintenance – After a week of use we tested the Clean Library feature found in Settings > Media > Library > Videos > Clean library which removed entries for files we deleted. The cleaning process took under 1 minute and correctly removed orphaned database entries. We also tested Update Library which scanned for new content and found the 5 movies we added since the initial scan, adding them with metadata in about 2 minutes.

Backup and Restore – We used the Backup add-on to save our entire Kodi configuration including libraries, add-ons and settings to a network share. The backup took 5 minutes and created a folder with all necessary files. We tested restoration by installing Kodi on a different PC and running the restore function which brought back all settings, libraries and watched status in about 8 minutes. This made moving Kodi setups between devices extremely easy.

Latest Kodi Omega Features

Video Quality Improvements

FFmpeg 6.0 Integration – Kodi 21 now runs on FFmpeg 6.0 which adds support for Radiance HDR images, improved VAAPI decoding and QSV hardware acceleration for 10-bit and 12-bit HEVC and VP9 video files. This means smoother playback of high quality videos even on lower powered devices.

Video Super Resolution Upscaling – Windows users with NVIDIA RTX graphics cards or Intel processors can enable DXVA Video Super Resolution that uses AI to upscale lower resolution videos to near 4K quality. The upscaler works automatically during playback by making old DVDs and 720p content look sharper on modern 4K TVs.

HDR10 Passthrough for Android and Xbox – Kodi now supports HDR10 passthrough on Android devices and Xbox consoles, which sends HDR video directly to your TV without tone mapping or color changes. The latest update also fixed HDR feature issues on Windows 11 24H2 and improved support for Wide Color Gamut displays.

Platform Specific Enhancements

LG webOS TV Support – You can now install Kodi directly on LG Smart TVs running webOS without needing external devices like Fire Sticks or streaming boxes. This brings Kodi’s full feature set to your TV’s native interface.

HiDPI Retina Display Support for macOS – Mac users with retina displays get native HiDPI support that makes the interface look crisp and clear at higher resolutions. Kodi also improved window resizing when moving between different monitors and fixed crashes during speech recognition.

Better Wayland Support on Linux – Linux users running Wayland compositors benefit from xkb compose and dead keys support, plus Pipewire integration that properly identifies HDMI outputs for audio passthrough. The update also fixed memory corruption when using high quality video scalers.

Gaming Features

Controller Port Display – Kodi added a new in game window that shows which port each player’s controller is connected to, which helps during multiplayer retro gaming sessions when you need to know who controls which character.

Improved Android Joystick Support – The Kodi 21.2 update greatly improved joystick and gamepad support on Android making it easier to navigate menus and play games using Xbox, PlayStation or generic Bluetooth controllers.

File Format and Subtitle Support

M3U8 Playlist Support – Kodi now reads M3U8 playlist files commonly used for streaming live TV and IPTV sources. You can add M3U8 links directly to Kodi without third party add-ons.

AVIF Image Format – Support for AVIF images means you can view modern photo formats with better compression than JPEG in your photo library slideshow.

Font Collection Support for Subtitles – Kodi can now use .ttc font collection files for subtitle rendering by giving you more font choices and better text display in different languages.

Bug Fixes and Performance

Faster Movie Library Addition – Kodi 21.2 restored the speed of adding movies to your library back to version 20 performance levels after users reported slowdowns in 21.0 and 21.1.

UPnP Server Compatibility – Fixed playback from UPnP servers like Universal Media Server and Gerbera, which now starts faster and allows playing multiple videos consecutively without stopping.

SMB Credential Entry – Linux and macOS users can again enter credentials when browsing Windows network shares (SMB) after this feature broke in earlier versions.

PVR Recording Resume Points – Fixed an issue where resume points for PVR recordings were not honored by making it easier to continue watching recordings from where you stopped.

Kodi vs Competition

Feature	Kodi	Plex	Jellyfin
Price (may change)	100% Free forever	Free with Plex Pass $5/month	100% Free forever
Open Source	Yes – Fully open source	No – Proprietary	Yes – Fully open source
Server/Client Model	No – Standalone player	Yes – Requires server setup	Yes – Requires server setup
Customization	Extensive – Skins and add-ons	Limited – Locked interface	Moderate – Some plugins
Remote Streaming	Basic – Requires manual setup	Excellent – Built-in remote access	Good – Self-hosted remote access
Learning Curve	Moderate – DIY configuration	Easy – Polished setup wizard	Moderate – Technical setup
Add-ons/Plugins	Thousands available	Limited official plugins	Growing plugin library
Live TV/PVR	Excellent – Multiple backends	Good – Plex Pass required	Good – Free support
Gaming Support	RetroPlayer with emulators	None	None
Local Playback	Excellent – Direct play	Good – Server transcoding	Excellent – Direct play
Platform Support	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, tvOS, webOS, Xbox, Raspberry Pi	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, NAS, Smart TVs	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, NAS, Smart TVs
Interface Design	10-foot TV interface	Modern app-style interface	Clean web-based interface
Metadata Scraping	Automatic with manual fixes	Automatic with good accuracy	Automatic with manual fixes
HDR Support	HDR10 passthrough	HDR with Plex Pass	HDR support included
Privacy	Complete – No tracking	Moderate – Some telemetry	Complete – Self-hosted
Updates	Manual or auto-update	Automatic updates	Manual updates
Best For	Local media enthusiasts	Remote streaming families	Privacy-focused users

Winner by Category:

• Best Customization: Kodi – Unlimited skins, add-ons and interface changes
• Best Remote Streaming: Plex – Easiest setup for watching outside home network
• Best Privacy: Jellyfin – Self-hosted with zero tracking or telemetry
• Best Local Playback: Kodi – Direct file playback without transcoding overhead
• Best for Families: Plex – User profiles and parental controls with remote access
• Best Free Option: Kodi and Jellyfin – No paid tiers or premium features

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

• 2 GHz dual core processor or better
• 2 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended for 4K)
• 500 MB free disk space for installation
• GPU with OpenGL 2.0 or DirectX 9.0 support
• Network connection for metadata and streaming

Recommended for 4K HDR:

• Quad core processor with hardware video decoding
• 4 GB RAM or more
• GPU with HEVC 10-bit decode support
• HDR capable display and HDMI 2.0a or newer

Operating System Support:

• Windows 10 or 11 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer
• Linux with kernel 4.4 or newer
• Android 5.0 Lollipop or newer
• iOS 13 or newer (sideload required)
• Raspberry Pi 3 or newer

Kodi runs efficiently on older hardware but 4K playback and advanced features require more powerful systems with hardware acceleration.

Popular Use Cases

Home Theater Setup

Connect a dedicated PC or Raspberry Pi to your TV and run Kodi as a complete media center replacement for cable boxes and expensive streaming devices. Use a wireless remote or smartphone app to control playback from the couch. Enable CEC to control Kodi with your TV remote through HDMI. The 10-foot interface makes browsing libraries comfortable from across the room.

Multi-Room Media

Install Kodi on devices in different rooms and point them to shared network storage containing your media library. Watch status syncs through a MySQL database so you can start a movie in the living room and finish it in the bedroom without losing your place. Each room can use different skins and settings while accessing the same content.

Cord Cutting

Replace cable TV by connecting Kodi to an antenna tuner or IPTV source for live channels and DVR functionality. The PVR interface provides an electronic program guide, scheduled recordings and series management similar to commercial DVR boxes. Many users combine free over the air TV with streaming add-ons to build custom channel lineups.

Retro Gaming Console

Turn Kodi into an all-in-one entertainment and gaming system by installing RetroPlayer emulator cores for classic consoles. Browse game libraries with cover art and descriptions, save game progress and use modern controllers. Parents appreciate having a single device that plays both movies and games for kids.

Digital Media Organization

Use Kodi to organize years of downloaded or ripped media with proper metadata, artwork and categorization. The scraping system cleans up messy filenames and creates a searchable database of your entire collection. Tag favorites, create playlists and sort by any criteria to find content quickly.

Tips for Getting Maximum Value

1. Organize Media Files Properly

• Use consistent naming like “Movie Title (Year).mkv”
• Create separate folders for Movies, TV Shows, Music and Photos
• Follow Kodi’s recommended folder structure for best scraping results
• Store files on network shares for multi-device access

2. Enable Hardware Acceleration

• Go to Settings > Player > Videos and select appropriate decoder
• Choose DXVA on Windows, VAAPI on Linux, VideoToolbox on Mac
• Hardware decode reduces CPU usage by 50-80% during playback
• Essential for smooth 4K and HDR content

3. Install Essential Add-ons

• YouTube – Watch YouTube videos in Kodi interface
• Backup – Automatically backup settings and libraries
• Artwork Beef – Download additional fanart and posters
• Subtitle services – Auto-download subtitles in your language
• Weather – Display local weather on home screen

4. Set Up Profiles for Family Members

• Create separate profiles in Settings > Profiles
• Each profile gets its own watch history and favorites
• Set parental controls and content ratings per profile
• Kids cannot access adult content or change settings

5. Use Remote Control Apps

• Install Kore on Android or Sybu on iOS
• Enable remote control in Settings > Services > Control
• Control playback from anywhere in the house
• Use smartphone keyboard for faster searching

6. Configure Automatic Library Updates

• Go to Settings > Media > Library
• Enable “Update library on startup”
• Set update intervals for scheduled scanning
• New content appears automatically without manual scans

Understanding Kodi’s Philosophy

Kodi takes a different approach compared to commercial media solutions because it values freedom, privacy and user control above convenience and corporate profits.

User Ownership – You provide your own content and control where files are stored, which services you access and how data is organized. Kodi never hosts, provides or recommends pirated content. The software is a neutral tool like VLC or Windows Media Player.

No Telemetry or Tracking – Kodi collects zero usage data, crash reports or analytics unless you manually submit bug reports. The software cannot phone home or report what you watch because that code does not exist. Open source transparency lets anyone verify these claims.

Community Driven Development – Every feature and bug fix comes from volunteer contributors who donate their time and skills. No venture capital, advertisers or shareholders influence development priorities. The community decides what matters through forums, GitHub discussions and developer meetings.

Add-on Ecosystem – Kodi’s power comes from community created add-ons that extend core functionality. The official repository contains vetted add-ons that meet quality and legal standards. Users take responsibility for any third party repositories they choose to install.

Who Should Use Kodi?

Perfect For:

• Media collectors with large libraries of ripped or downloaded content
• Cord cutters wanting PVR functionality for over the air TV
• Privacy conscious users who avoid cloud streaming services
• Retro gaming fans wanting an all-in-one entertainment system
• Tech enthusiasts who enjoy customization and tinkering
• Home theater builders seeking professional features for free
• Raspberry Pi and single board computer hobbyists

Less Ideal For:

• Users wanting plug and play simplicity with zero configuration
• People who only watch Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming apps
• Families needing easy remote access from outside home network
• Users uncomfortable with file management and networking concepts
• Anyone expecting official support for copyrighted streaming sources

Frequently Asked Questions

License – Free

Homepage

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Size – 74 MB

Windows 32-bit | Windows 64-bit

Android | iOS 11 or later

macOS 10.14 or higher | Apple Silicon

For other operating systems