Any possibility of Kodi being the next platform for a full featured app? That would cover support for many OS's if it was an official add-on and would be great if it were like Plex where the UI was custom (followed the design already in place on Apple TV or Android) and had the option to boot directly into the add-on.
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I would also like to see a Kodi add-on.
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What is involved with creating a Kodi PVR add-in? Is that something that Channels devs would need to produce, or could it be done by an independent developer?
There are a few requests for functionality that this kind of integration could satisfy. The big one is integration of Channels' excellent DVR with an existing large library of recordings.
We totally agree. This is something we've wanted to do for a while but it's just hard to find time in our timeline to do it. It also means that it's one more thing to maintain.
Someone independent could certainly do it, but the Channels DVR Server API is neither documented, stable, nor officially supported for anyone else to really use.
So it could be done, but you'd have to sniff it out and know that there's no guarantee on changes.
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This is one of the things that makes me hesitate to buy in. I really don't love the Channels interface, so having something like Kodi, which is very customizable, on the front end would solve that. Plus it would give users one interface for everything.
Now, I will say, that the addition of TVE has tilted things a bit. And I may just accept the interface as is. Not sure.
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Speaking of KODI a lot of YouTube channels have been demonetized just for mentioning it.
The over reacting to Kodi out there is amazing. Just because people write plugins that CAN do illegal things doesn't mean that their software is bad or illegal. It's a very nice, open source media center. SMH...
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Agree .. a lot of my favorite KODI channels stopped talking about kodi. There have even had arrests in the UK.
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I agree. I wonder how hard it might be to get a PVR client going for Channels. (I keep meaning to look into that, but keep getting put off with other projects.)
Kodi really does have a great AiO interface. It is much better than Plex, but it's lacking remote streaming that I recently needed and had to abandon it for Plex.
A kodi add on would make Mac, windows etc be one app
It would also bring in the Xbox without needing to write a Channels app for it.
Have you thought of it in terms of potential market expansion for your DVR server? Seems to me that the effort would more than pay for itself... Just sayin' 
I don't have a lot of experience with Kodi. Are they PVR addons that are particularly well done?
What platforms/devices are folks using Kodi on?
I think the "Follow me" example is the HTSP/Tvheadend client, which is coded by a Kodi developer. The HTSP protocol is particular to Tvheadend, and not as documented as one would hope, but does work well as a pattern for a JSON/HTTP API. Also, Tvheadend's use of "profile"s mirrors Channels' use of differing transcoding resolution/bitrate options fairly well.
Iām using an Odroid N2 with CoreELEC.
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There are two options here:
- Make a PVR add-on that uses the Kodi UI
- Make a general add-on with you're own UI more in line with other Channels apps.
There are pros and cons of both, and I imagine a PVR add-on would be much easier to develop. That being said, an add-on similar to Plex's add-on that closely adheres to the UI you have across other platforms is what I would prefer.
Does Plex's add-on let you browse live TV, setup recordings, etc?
The PVR interface looks more straightforward so that would probably be our first step.
Plex's add-on was sorta a testbed for the UNO ui, it hasn't been updated recently and doesn't include DVR support. You can see here how much different it is from the Kodi Ui though.
NextPVR has a very good DVR server with an add-in for Kodi. Their native UI is simple and geeky, but NextPVR is outstanding in conjunction with Kodi. Channels would be even better!
As far as platforms go, bear in mind that Kodi is a client-centric architecture as opposed to Plex and Emby which do almost everything on the server side. The most recommended hardware is the NVidia Shield, but there are clients for almost every platform including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, most every TV stick (except Roku), and recently they included the UWP platform which enabled them to support the Xbox One, making a full circle form the original XBMC.
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I am not a developer, but I have been using NPVR with Kodi for quite a while. Personally, I really like it. I have been evaluating Channels DVR to see if it is better. Channels DVR does have the big advantage of working with TVE and I may very soon be without cable again (probably headed back to PSVUE).
Honestly, I like Kodi so much, if NPVR worked with TVE, I wouldn't be here discussing it. If Channels DVR could be the backend for a KODI addon, that's probably where I would be. If it helps any, the NPVR Kodi addon is open source and can be found on github.
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