Kodi
Kodi is an award winning free and open source media player that got its start on the Xbox console. It is now available across many devices and is used primarily to stream movies and television shows online, but it's a little more complicated than that. The Kodi application itself does not contain or give you access to any media. It is up to you to select an add-on to install that will allow you to pull from repositories online or use your local storage. There are also several other add-ons for your music, photos, weather and more. You can even install retro video game emulators and controller add-ons you can use to play your favorite old school games. Kodi does not endorse the use of its software to watch or listen to pirated or illegal content; however, this is one of the primary uses for the application. Many media players are sold as "jailbroken" or "fully loaded" with Kodi and other add-ons already installed on the device, but Kodi has attempted to stop this by threatening legal action to those who use their copyright in this manner.
- Contains language support and translations for over 12 languages with more currently under development
- Access all of your media files in one program
- Huge variety of add-ons created by Kodi and third-party developers
- Consider using a VPN (virtual private network) while streaming movies and TV shows to protect your IP address and personal information
- You can find most movies and TV series at the click of a button
- The versatility of add-ons and plug-ins allows you to tailor your own personalized experience
- It is available on several platforms including your Mac, PC, iOS, Android, Linux and Amazon Fire devices
- Many online tutorials exist to assist you in installing add-ons and getting the most out of Kodi
- It can be difficult to install, and some versions of Kodi are more stable than others
- Add-ons are created by third-parties and sometimes it take several tries to find one that currently works as intended
- Developers are often getting mired in legal troubles and add-ons will cease working because they are forced to stop maintenance
Kodi can be frustrating and overwhelming to those who are not very tech savvy. There have been times when I've watched a show and come back the next day only to find that the software is no longer working correctly. There's nothing worse than having your heart set on a certain movie, but you've got to uninstall and reinstall a bunch of programs before you can even begin to watch it! If you are using legitimate streaming service add-ons like YouTube, Pandora or Netflix, then you won't have as many issues. Despite the technical difficulties I've had with Kodi, it is still one of the best media players available today.