A lot of users of mobile devices based on operating systems of the Android family want to watch television, clip collections, listen to music or audio books directly on their device. And, according to reviews, the universal Kodi program is best suited for this. Setting up Kodi on Android with an unprepared user may initially cause some difficulties. Meanwhile, if you look at the main sections of the menu, there is nothing particularly complicated here. But first things first.
What is Kodi?
The Kodi application is a unique media center that can replace an “iron” (or software) player, a TV, and a set-top box.
The program has so many possibilities that the user can not only watch television programs, but also view photos, video clips, listen to music online, broadcast a signal to a TV panel and control television directly on a computer with a fixed analogue installed from his mobile device, as if if the user had a remote control in their hands. At first, all the settings may seem somewhat unusual, but there’s nothing much complicated about them.
Kodi: installation and setup in the first stage
First, as expected, the application must be installed by downloading it from the Google Play store. There should not be any difficulties at this stage.
However, if the installation is performed using an APK file that was not downloaded from the repository, the device’s permission item should be used in the device’s settings from other sources.
After installation and the first launch of the application, it will meet you with a somewhat unusual interface in English. In order to avoid difficulties with the translation, first, the Kodi settings in terms of the language used should be changed.
You can perform such actions in the system section by going to System> Appearance> International> Language, where the desired language is selected from the list.
Configure Kodi XBMC: set the text encoding and keyboard settings
The next step is to configure the text encoding. At this point, special attention should be paid, since even if the text does not have to be entered too often, these parameters can only be changed in this section.
The default is the English QWERTY keyboard layout. You can not change it, although if you wish, you can select any other of the proposed options in the list.
Expert mode and advanced options
Further, the Kodi settings need to be slightly expanded by going into expert mode by tapping on the corresponding field.
After that, many users will be pleasantly surprised that the weather can be configured in the parameters (even the application can predict it). There is also nothing particularly complicated. Along the way, in the file type section, it is necessary to note what is necessary.
Screensaver Setting
But the settings of Kodi for the screen saver is a very interesting thing. By default, the user has two predefined options: dimming and full blackening.
However, if you tap on the “More” item, you can refuse to use standard screensavers and set, say, a random change of images from some website on the Internet.
Also quite interesting options are the installation as a splash screen RSS feed. In addition, you can use the Video Screensaver function, which allows you to install any video on the screen saver, offering to download beautiful screensavers with aquariums, falling snow, fireplaces, etc.
Fonts and Sounds
Now you should pay attention to the cover section. Setting up Kodi in Russian makes it possible to use standard and non-standard fonts.
In this section, you can select a larger font (it is recommended to use it because all controls will be enlarged). Sounds accompanying this or that action can be turned off (by the type of how it is done in the settings of sound schemes of Windows-systems).
Again, the “More” button is used to select a cover, after which you can select something as you wish. Yes, at least set the weather, only from the list of service providers it is better to choose Open Weather or Met Weather and along the way indicate your own location, plus - data display options (degrees, wind speed, etc.).
Themes
For those settings, Kodi offers to choose two options from the predefined ones. But the main problem is that additional topics do not support the Russian language, so you have to put up with it.
On the other hand, it all depends on the version of the program or even the operating system itself.
Video options
Now briefly about the video settings. If you use not the basic, but the advanced mode, you can find a lot of parameters.
In principle, it makes no sense to dwell on them. Here, and so everything is clear. Choose what you need. But one parameter deserves special attention. This is the ability to use a forced 3D effect, or, as it is called in the settings, a stereoscopic image.
Music
With music settings, things are not so simple. It seems that the main parameters are exactly the same as in a regular software player, however, to get information about tracks and albums from the Internet (as ID3 tags), it is better to choose Universal Scrapper as the source.
But the installation for preference in obtaining information online is better to turn off. The fact is that when loading it completely replaces all existing tags.
In the playback settings, there are parameters for setting the steps of the rewind and setting the automatic volume level not only for a single track, but for the entire album (the function is very necessary).
In the file lists, you can specify how information about them will be displayed. For karaoke and reading CDs, all parameters can be left unchanged (it is unlikely that most users will want to connect the drive to a mobile device, since this is completely impractical and difficult). Well, if you want to sing, it is already at will.
TV
Finally, a few words about how to configure the Kodi TV-module. Most users install the application mainly just to watch television (this is its main purpose).
In the Kodi application, TV is configured in the corresponding section of the PVR modules. You do not need to use all of them. In Kodi, setting up Torrent-TV or normal online broadcasting involves the use of only one module - PVR Simple Client, on which you need to tap and enable it. The rest can be safely turned off.
Next, in the "Menu / OSD" section, you need to set the channel switching regarding the display of channel information on the device’s screen in time.
In the program section, everything is simple, but it is advisable to increase the update to approximately 700 minutes, which will allow you to save battery power somewhat more economically.
But the playback option of the last channel is better to activate. Then at the entrance to the application you can watch television, even if you are just going to listen to music.
Then you can set the delay time for switching channels. This is advisable when quickly scrolling from one channel to another, and not when selecting the desired channel by pressing the numeric buttons. You can immediately set up a recording of the selected channel, although if you have playlists and Torrent TV, this clearly looks out of date.
Additions
So, we sorted out the media. Now consider what is offered as an add-on. The very first and most important thing is to enable automatic updating, since the functionality of the application is constantly expanding and replenishing with new modules.
You can install module updates immediately from the repository. True, it is completely English-language, so you can download Russian versions, and then use the installation tool from the ZIP archive. But you can use Sippius as a repository.
By the way, all add-ons are sorted by category. For example, if you need to use audio books, you just need to select the appropriate item and click on the install button.
The video is also simple. Many users prefer the Ukrainian resource FS.UA or the Russian portal MY-HIT.RU. You can find almost anything on them. Torrent TV is set up right there.
As a source of information, it is better to choose “Kinopoisk”. Additionally, you can use photo additions that allow you to download and view images from the social network "VKontakte".
For a video, you need to specify your preferred category (clips, films, series, etc.) of your own free will.
For television, you must also specify the path to the source of playlists and channel tables. A good choice would be to activate a link to the resource EDEM.TV. Unfortunately, it is not possible to paste the copied addresses into the settings fields, so all the data will have to be entered manually.
After completing all the settings and installing add-ons, the application must be restarted, although it can be done much easier by removing and again checking the box on the TV item.
For more comfortable channel switching, you can optionally install Kore (virtual remote control via Wi-Fi). However, when installing the add-on, you will have to create an account with a username and password, as well as choose a computer system for management (for example, if a Kodi stationary program is installed on the laptop). In addition, when connecting to the Internet, you must first test by clicking on the appropriate button. The interface of the program itself is quite simple, the main Kodi application is in full harmony with it, and all the main buttons, playlists, etc. are displayed on the screen. Thus, even obsolete TV models can be turned into real SmartTV panels, and computer equipment into multifunctional media players.
And of course, it is simply impossible to describe all the parameters and settings of Kodi, so only the most important points were mentioned here. If desired, and with everything else, sorting out work will not be difficult.