IPTV Kodi setup. Initial configuration of media center

The software package Kodi, formerly known as XBMC, is a powerful media center that allows you to organize at home a real cinema and watch not only movies, but also television programs. Setting up IPTV viewing on Kodi should not cause any particular difficulties. But the average user can face some nuances that you need to know about without fail.

IPTV Kodi: Configuring the System Shell

The Kodi program is cross-platform and can be installed in completely different operating systems. The installation process is standard, and there's no point in dwelling on it.

In the Kodi application, the IPTV setup must begin with the application's general settings. After the first launch of the media center, the first thing to do is to make some important settings.

First of all, immediately go to the Settings menu of the System section, where you will go first in the sequence of the submenu Appearance / International / Language. Here, Russian is displayed or some other language (by default, English is used).

After that, the language and region menu is used, which specifies the location and the required keyboard layout. Further in the settings section, the "System" submenu is selected, where the settings for video and sound output are configured according to the configuration of a computer terminal or laptop (screen resolution, sound scheme, for example, 5.1, etc.).

Kodi: setting up IPTV (m3u playlists and adding single files)

Let's go away from watching TV, and instead we will work on the general principles of the program. Setting up IPTV Kodi 16.0 just provides an understanding of the principles of adding files to the library.

This is done in the video section where the menu for adding files is selected. Use the Browse button to activate the location of a specific file or folder. If you want to add more than one source, simply use the "Add" button. You can specify either a local directory or a folder (or files) on a network resource. Next, the name of the new directory is specified. The selection is confirmed by pressing the "OK" button.

As you can see, it is not necessary that only multimedia files are added to the list. It's quite easy to open M3U playlist files or any other format. Objects that are on such lists will be "pulled up" automatically.

Classification of data

In the Kodi 16 program, the IPTV setting also provides verification of data entered into the library list by several criteria (movies, serials, music, etc.).

The metadata for each object is obtained using several built-in services, including the popular plugin "Film Search". The binding of metadata comes from Internet sources, so when specifying sorting at this point, you need to pay special attention.

Also it is worth considering that for the expansion of "Kinopoisk" you can specify the names of films in any language, but with an indication of the year of release. For music tracks, the metadata synchronized with resources on the Internet will look like standard ID3 tags.

Managing media content

In the Kodi application, you can not configure IPTV without understanding the data management tools that are included in the program.

Access to movies, for example, can be obtained in the "Video" section, using the submenu "Files". When you right-click on the selected object, a pop-up menu appears , in which you can select the desired action. To avoid unnecessary actions, you can use the menu on the screen to the left. Here are the settings for the view. If desired, you can set this display so that the information is shown directly, without using the context menu.

DLNA Parameters

Let's move on to IPTV Kodi. Parameters are set directly on the terminal where the program is installed. It is also possible to use the program as a UPnP client for DLNA networks. This allows you to broadcast the signal to another device, for example, a high-resolution TV panel. The network itself automatically recognizes the application.

For IPTV Kodi, setting up DLNA involves creating a shared resource. To begin with, you just need to select a section for adding files in the "Video" menu. And as a resource, specify a UPnP device. After that, in the system section selects the category "Services", in which the line with remote control permission via UPnP is activated. Thus, the library is "extended", i.e., accessible to any user connected to the network.

Settings for watching TV

Finally, we proceed to the direct configuration of IPTV Kodi. The setting is made in the corresponding menu, located in the "System" section. Here, the "TV" function is selected, and then it is activated by the power button. If a message appears that there are currently no active PVR managers in the system, it's okay. Simply agree by clicking the "OK" button.

Next is the redirection to the PVR settings, where you need to select the PVR IPTV Simple Client, and then create and configure. In the client settings, the first two fields are set up. First, specify the location of the IPTV list (for example, remote on the Internet for self-updating playlists, a location on a network resource or a mobile Android device).

In the second field, the local location of the M3U playlist is entered if it is saved on the hard disk of the computer or laptop.

After completing this form, it remains only to confirm the changes made by clicking the "OK" button, and then restart the program for them to take effect. When you restart the main menu in the main menu, a TV item will appear, at the entrance to which you can see the list of IPTV channels and start watching.

Reproduction of torrents

Only these possibilities of the program are not exhausted. An interesting "chip" is to view torrents in real time without having to download content to the hard drive.

To do this, you must first install a special Torrenter plugin using the XBMC.ru search db repository. You can also use Kodi Repo or MyShows.me. The installation is done in the settings section using the Add-ons menu.

To activate playback in video add-ons (already in the Torreneter section), you simply need to specify the required trackers and confirm their installation.

Kodi on Android

In the Kodi program, the configuration of the IPTV Android-devices practically does not differ from the stationary version. The only thing worth paying attention to is that the mobile application can only work with one playlist, nothing more.

Some users complain that the program has not been further developed. Partly so, but setting the basic parameters is easier than it is on a PC or laptop.

But the mobile version, as it turns out, can also act as a weather client. There is a special section here. In addition, changing parameters is better in expert mode. The features of the application can be significantly expanded. For example, here there is a point of using forced stereo images, and speaking in usual language, the effect of 3D. You can even listen to regular audio CDs, of course, provided that the appropriate drive is connected to the device. This does not apply to smartphones, but with some tablet models you can experiment. In the rest, the mobile release is almost exactly the same as the stationary version.

Conclusion

As you can see, for IPTV Kodi, the setup of the program is not so complicated, although initially you will have to spend a little time, especially if you need to install add-ons to view the content of torrents without downloading. In some cases, it may be necessary to make the appropriate settings on TV panels that do not automatically detect DLNA networks and UPnP devices. But everything depends on the TV model. In extreme cases, it's worth reading the instructions for setting up the TV panel or synchronizing it with the above devices, if supported.