Beginner request

1st Official Post

    A lot has been written about how to install the OS, and it was indeed a very straightforward, well-designed process. had everything up and running in 30 minutes after dinner. It is now 3 AM and I haven't watched a single thing. why? I got stuck in the part that comes afterwards: configuring the streaming services. It turns out it is far from user friendly to set up any form of streaming services. I basically want to do 3 things:

    - Watch Netflix

    - Watch Youtube

    - Browse the internet

    These are reasonable expectations for an OS that is specifically designed for home media. After many hours I've only managed to get youtube working, for which I had to follow some indian guy ramble on youtube about OAuth and API's or whatever and I had to generate and type 3 very long case-sensitive keys. Why not offer a LibreELEC with this pre-installed

    After more hours of research I find that the only available browser is chrome (im on a x86). It shows in the list and won't run when installed. The only way to get actual programs is through a rather shady-looking "superrepo" thing, which also doesn't work because I installed Kodi 18 and it only goes up to 17.


    So my requests are:

    - include a working browser

    - pre-install youtube, or make it at least less cumbersome

    - add netflix to the add-ons

    or better:

    - a tutorial on how to get started and set up your streaming services. what repo's to use? Just the basics for new users.

    • Official Post

    It's not our goal to release a mature internet browser. That request has already been answered - use the search function. You will also find answers about Netflix and YouTube, if you search the forum.

    We have a Wiki, which answers LE questions. Because there are so many add-ons, we currently can't cover those topics on Wiki.

    The repo's depend on your needs. I'm using the "Kodi Nerds" repo for instance. Make sure it's a legal repo, otherwise we stop support.

    • Official Post

    Netflix does not want an official Kodi add-on due to perceived security issuess (and Kodi's reputation which is tarnished by piracy add-on shitware like superrepo) so if we push it into the official repo and/or create official documentaation to make it easier to find/install/setup Kodi will receive takedown requests; so we either make do with the current unofficial route or have no add-on at all. That's a simple call to make.

    Google has also made it progressively harder to get an approved 'app' through their screening processes, and if you aren't an approved app you have restricted access to their APIs. i.e. a limited number of daily requests and Kodi has millions of users; so the daily limit is consumed fast. Google is also a commercial entity which charges for access to their services; unless you're using their official apps on their OS. There is an effort to get something through screening which might improve upon the current situation.

    And feel free to write and submit an official browser add-on that runs in Kodi and works on an asssortment of Linux (including no-Window-manager environments like LE), Android, macOS and Windows platforms (Kodi will not accept platform specific features). There is an effort to do this but it's not a simple task and it's remained a one-man effort (and like all volunteer developers, he has a busy day-job). Until then the current Chrome add-on for our x86_64 releases is the only option because Generic still uses X11. Once we reach LE11 (Kodi v20) we will probably run Kodi in a windowless environoment so that route dies too.

    btw, Install superrepo and you receive no further support in these forums or Kodi forums.

    Thanks for the responses! I think some sort of guide to get you up and running with the basics would be really helpful. stuff like: how do you import media from a USB harddrive? The only thing I could figure out was how to add it as a library folder. and what addons do I need? I duckduckgo'd for advice on essential kodi addons and all I find is the shady stuff (same on google btw).

    A page on the wiki that shows you how to get started would be most helpful for noobs like me, or even just a link to an article someone wrote somewhere that isn't a dressed-up VPN add.