With the advent of platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and Netflix, our diet of online media now primarily comprise of pre-defined playlists or recommendations. But, if you don’t wish to get caught up in the same fold of viral content, and instead have more control over what you watch or listen, Kodi is a great option. If you’re not familiar with Kodi (earlier known as Xbox Media Center or XBMC), it is one of the most preferred media control servers by users who like to experiment. More importantly, it is free and open-source software. While the number of features Kodi offers can be overwhelming for new users, once you get used to consuming content via Kodi, you won’t turn back. If you’re starting your Kodi exploration, we have listed out some Kodi tips and tricks which will be really handy and give you an edge over other freshers.
Before we get to our tips and tricks, I want talk about Kodi repositories and add-ons. They allows you to add more features and find resources of content that you can stream. If you want to make the best use of Kodi, you should check them out:
Since Kodi is open-source, many users have forked it and created their own builds of Kodi. You can click on the link to check out these builds. Builds are a great way to change both the look and content sources inside Kodi. Okay, with all that said, let’s get to our list and check out our favorite Kodi tips and tricks.
2. Use Keyboard Shortcuts
Kodi supports a number of cool keyboard shortcuts that make certain actions a lot faster. For instance, the “\” key lets you switch between full-screen and windowed mode, “P” lets you play, “F” lets you fast forward, “Ctrl + S” for screenshot capture etc. You can also press “I” to show information about the currently highlighted media file or “M” to change the view in the media browser, show or hide available media playback options, or the seek bar when watching a video or listening to music. So, if you are a regular user, you must check out these keyboard shortcuts for Kodi.
5. Change Region and Language
You can do so by going to Kodi’s System-> Interface settings-> Skin and clicking “Get More” to download skins. There are skins that change Kodi’s look to match Netflix or Apple TV and more. Depending upon the theme, you may also get the ability to customize a theme’s font, colors, sounds, as well as the startup window.
Kodi comes with an option to set a screensaver which runs on the display when the media player is in standby. You can set screensaver on Kodi by going to System-> Interface settings-> Screensaver. By default, there are only a couple of screensavers available in Kodi namely “Dim” and “Black” but you can use the “Get more” option to download more options like the Apple TV screensaver. Each option comes with its own set of preferences and settings, allowing you to personalize it according to your needs.
There are no weather services integrated by default and to choose a weather service, you will have to hit the “Get more” option and then download a weather service like Yahoo Weather, OpenWeatherMap, or a hand full others. Once a service is added, you can click on the “Settings” option below, and then add a location to enable weather information related to that location. Most of these services also allow you to add multiple locations but the option to switch between Centigrade and Fahrenheit is something difficult to spot in the limited number of options.
You can find the latest news from Kodi in the marquee at the bottom of the welcome screen. This is the official RSS feed by the community running Kodi but if that is not relevant or peeves you, there is an option to turn the feed ticker off. To turn the RSS feed off, go to System-> Interface settings-> Other and flip the toggle next to “Show RSS news feeds” off.
The above-mentioned configuration should be good enough for Kore (free), which is the official Remote app for Kodi. In Kore, you will see a list of devices or machines running Kodi that are on the same network as your Android smartphone. Select the Kodi device you wish to control with your smartphone and it will fetch the details automatically.
In the same menu, you can check for any available update for these add-ons. However, the option is enabled by default and if you want to disable it, you can do so by heading over to System-> Service Settings-> Add-ons and then choose among automatic installation, just notifications for new updates, and never checking for updates.
If you have gained sufficient knowledge about the working of Kodi, you can move out of the default ecosystem and explore third-party support from the brilliant community that has been keeping Kodi active and flourishing for so many years. To download add-ons, you can start with a simple Google search and you’ll find a variety of options based on your requirement.
If you want Kodi to shutdown automatically after a certain duration of time, you can use the “Custom Shutdown Timer” option. To set it, click the power button on the lower left in the Kodi home screen and then, select Custom Shutdown timer and activate the timer by adding the duration in minutes. In case you change your mind, you can also cancel it by going to the same option.
You can also use Kodi to watch live TV, either by using a personal video recorder (PVR) hardware or portals which stream live TV. To enjoy live TV without spending much, you can download and install from a number of live TV repositories using the guide in point 17. Then click on “Install from repository” and install the add-on for the specific TV service you’re looking for. To record TV shows. you’ll need a PVR or TV tuner and install necessary add-ons specific to the hardware. Once configured, the PVR will be visible in the TV option of Kodi’s welcome screen.
Kodi allows you to set a master lock for various Kodi menus, pages, and settings. You can set a one-time master password and can choose to lock individual windows like music, videos, pictures, add-on manager, settings, and more. This will ensure that no unauthorized person gets access to your media library. Further, no one will be able to tweak the settings or change the skin from the add-on manager. That’s a handy tip for managing Kodi, right? So go ahead and open Settings -> Interface -> Master lock. Here, simply enable the master lock and set a numeric or full-text password. After that, enable the toggle for the desired windows. You are done.
