Kodi Add-on

I’m using an Odroid N2 with CoreELEC.

1 Like

There are two options here:

  1. Make a PVR add-on that uses the Kodi UI
  2. 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.

1 Like

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.

1 Like

It would be helpful to hear what OS people are using Kodi on. Kodi PVR add-ons have to be compiled separately for each platform with a native OS compiler, so it's not something we can release a single version of and expect that it will work everywhere. Platforms like the Xbox have even more restrictions and require a special development environment.

Is everyone using Kodi Leia 18.4?

The only thing I still have not on 18.4 is the Xbox and last I looked it was 18.3. My Odroid and RPi4 are on 18.4.

Again, I am not a developer, but I thought Kodi had to be compiled for each OS...I wasn't aware the add-ons need to be also.

I would not bother working toward anything older than 18.4. I have Kodi 18.4 running on Windows 10, Windows 7, Fire Stick 4K, a Galaxy S9 and an RPi 3.5...all using NextPVR PVR add-on. All run pretty good, with the RPi being the only occasional problem child.

In general, add-ons are written in Python, which is interpreted and platform-agnostic. However, PVR add-ons are compiled binary add-ons written using the Kodi libraries (in C++, generally), and must be compiled separately for each OS/architecture platform. (Also of note: PVR add-ons on Linux are not distributed with the main Kodi package like they are for every other OS; instead they must be installed from the Linux distribution's package repositories, or compiled from source and manually installed.)

I see that PVR addons are a world of their own in Kodi. I asked about developing an addon for Channels in the Kodi forum, and received some useful feedback. Check out https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=346352

I am using Kodi Leia on Xbox, Windows, and FireTV stick. I would love it if you went UWP, Linux, Android, and Mac :wink:

A channels PVR backend to any media manager (ie. Tvheadend or mythtv) would be awesome. Whether it's Kodi, Plex or Emby. Something where we can switch to live TV, find recordings and view previously saved media all in one app is the definition of cord cutting paradise!

1 Like

We're working on a simple PVR add-on for Channels DVR to see how well it works and if it is worth pursuing in the long term. A pre-alpha version is available below which has been tested on Windows and macOS. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

https://channels-kodi.s3.amazonaws.com/pvr.channelsdvr-2019.09.22.1815.zip

1 Like

"add-on couldn't be loaded, unknown error occurred"

Windows 10 with Kodi 18.4

Sometimes it doesn't find the DVR on the first try. See if restarting Kodi helps.

If not, grab the "Channels DVR" messages from %APPDATA%\Kodi\kodi.log

Loaded, but live channels aren't playing. Recordings play fine.

Obviously very early so the channel numbers aren't coming from the dvr and channel logos seem to be missing, this could be really great once it is feature complete.

Channel numbers: go to settings > pvr, switch to advanced and there is an option for "use channel numbers from backend".

1 Like

Forgot about that not being the default

I’m guessing my architecture (aarch64) isn’t supported in the alpha yet :stuck_out_tongue:
2019-09-22 16:22:29.344 T:3363353456 ERROR: ADDON: Could not locate libchannelspvr.so
2019-09-22 16:22:29.344 T:3363353456 ERROR: UpdateAddons: Failed to create add-on Channels DVR Client, status = 5

1 Like