kodi or other media server options.

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DrStein99

If it does not exist ? I am probably building it.
Feb 3, 2018
115
4
18
50
New Jersey, USA
I have the Rasberri Pi loaded with this KODI service I heard a few people talk about. But I can not seem to tune into anything that isn't someone's personal pod-cast recordings, or college project amature recording projects. I was looking for some real content, so my senior father can watch - without being interrupted every 10 minutes, with 15 minutes of repeating commercials (just like cable television).

Is there a list somewhere of channels, or add-ons I can add or do to get this thing to work right without asking me for $5.00 or $19.00 every time I click on a movie? I want to tune into some streaming commercial free classic television, something familiar. I get lost trying to google search returns a bunch of dumb editorial reviews and discussions. Does anyone have KODI and know what I am doing wrong, have a channel list or advice for where / what I do to make this useful?
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
What you are asking is right on the edge of "not OK". While there are plenty of legit streaming sources out there for Kodi, there are also a lot that are dodgy to outright content thieves. Its hard to tell the difference between someone legitimately looking to help out gramps and someone with a great story who is really looking to find the less legal streaming sources.

So - rather than go down the rabbit hole with you here and risk starting a discussion that Patrick may not want on his site - I'll just leave you with this: Google "Kodi movie streaming addons". You'll find what you are looking for.
 

DrStein99

If it does not exist ? I am probably building it.
Feb 3, 2018
115
4
18
50
New Jersey, USA
Ok, I will ask somewhere else. The thieves are the ones charging $250/month to watch tv commercials, with a black border around the screen reducing the view-able area down to 75% on his already small 19" tv. About 3,000 channels laced with so many "you are not subscribed to this channel" and other excuses, it now takes him about 30 seconds - 1 minute to click between channels that has got to pass over around 20 of them in a row, sorting through an endless painful mass of useless channels.
 

BlueLineSwinger

Active Member
Mar 11, 2013
176
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Borderline illegal plugins aside, Kodi really isn't the proper solution for this I believe. It sounds like something that inherently supports the various streaming services (e.g., Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, various cable channels, etc.) would be a much better fit. Look at the Rokus, Amazon Firestick, AppleTV, etc.

In the meantime, pick up a new LCD TV for cheap so letterboxing isn't an issue, and go through the cable tuner's settings to define some favorites.
 
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Evan

Well-Known Member
Jan 6, 2016
3,346
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I have been cable free for years now and just use and Apple TV, Hulu and Netflix, amazon prime and buying the odd thing from Apple themselves seems to work well for us.
I prefer to keep it super simple for the family.

Miss CNN and some sports but there is other news options and sports well bar down the road :)
 

DrStein99

If it does not exist ? I am probably building it.
Feb 3, 2018
115
4
18
50
New Jersey, USA
I prefer to program my own media server from scratch before I waste any more of my time with this terrible cable system. Between the hi-def / sd def channels not available between the two and blocks of channels unavailable, I spent more time playing with the configuration, dialogs to equal the commercials they play. Whatever is left over I settle for watching lame, censored movies with the good parts cut out.

I have a Roku. 90 year old senior can not operate that either by himself. With the kodi too - there isn't a limit to the number of things it presents to me, then asks for MORE money. I feel like I am at a strip-bar and this computer is asking me for ala-carte tips every time I ask for something else.
 

PigLover

Moderator
Jan 26, 2011
3,184
1,545
113
If you want simple I'd go with Amazon FireTV. Easy to operate even for non-technical folks (may family loves it). And if you still want Koki for some things you can load it as an app. I did run Kodi on all my TVs with other stuff sitting beside it - now its just FireTV with all the other stuff on it.

One thing though - go on eBay and buy a used "2nd generation" Fire TV. The Fire stick is too underpowered and the current generation is just hamstrung a bit (have to pay extra for wired network, etc).
 

DrStein99

If it does not exist ? I am probably building it.
Feb 3, 2018
115
4
18
50
New Jersey, USA
For me, I just tune into YouTube with a playlist and done. The senior can not even operate tv channel changer anymore. It takes up about 15% of my time just to sort through nonsese to find him something decent to watch between the commercials for funeral home, senior living and life insurance.

Even with Netflix, I find myself flipping through tons of stuff I do not recognize, then it want to charge me extra or the 3 only things I want to watch. Same with Amazon service. After browsing flipping and agreeing to terms and conditions, logging in and out - I actually consider my duty to provide Tv service to 1 senior as time consuming as a part time job.
 

Nnyan

Active Member
Mar 5, 2012
142
42
28
My wife's parents are in their mid-80's and after a few short sessions they are just fine with Roku + Netflix. Having used Kodi IMHO that's no easier/simpler then this. Besides EVERYTHING you try will have content that you don't want. That's just how it is. Have you tried just a simple OTA antenna and getting whatever free programming there is?
 

Joel

Active Member
Jan 30, 2015
850
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Where Kodi really shines is when you have content locally stored on a NAS. For example I have about 2,000 movies that I legally backed up for personal use, and once I have everything configured the way Kodi likes (file structure, metadata, etc), I can browse my collection and play something without having to faff with DVDs that might skip or figuring out where I put it.

For streaming stuff off the interwebs, as others mentioned, there are better options (FireTV, Roku).