Openelec is a Pi distribution that runs Kodi. (First I am very new to Raspberry Pi and Raspbian) I have Raspberry Pi 3 running Raspbian, I have also partitioned the SD card to run open Openelec/Kodi. If so I will need links and instruction to download and install. I appreciate all your help. If your looking for something that gives you.
This tutorial has everything you will ever need to know about using Kodi on the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ mini computer.
If you want to learn how to set up Raspberry Pi Kodi (was XBMC) entertainment center solution with the right accessories and software, you’re in the right place.
This is by far the most comprehensive Raspberry Pi @KodiTV (XBMC) #tutorial we've ever seen. Highly recommended. http://t.co/WnQcMLdem3
— Raspberry Pi (@Raspberry_Pi) July 17, 2015
Keep reading…
ContentsCHAPTER 2CHAPTER 4CHAPTER 6
Bonus: Download the free PDF version of the Kodi on Raspberry Pi 3 tutorial that will show you step-by-step how to set up Raspberry Pi and Kodi. Extra chapters included!
Chapter 1: Parts You Will Need
In this chapter, you will learn which components you should choose for optimal performance based on my experience.
You’ll learn how to choose the right:
![]() What you will need:
The total price for the computer depends on the accessories, but you may have most of the required accessories at home already.
Get the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ board
The Raspberry Pi 3 B+ board comes with a faster 1.4GHz CPU, three times faster Wi-Fi and Ethernet network throughput and better thermal control compared to the previous 3 B model.
Over the past couple of years, I have had mixed feelings about using the Raspberry Pi board as a Kodi based front-end device, because even after using all possible optimization tricks it simply was not responsive enough for my requirements.
Fortunately, with the Raspberry Pi 3 and the latest B+ model this is no longer the case, so I have included RPi in my recommended HTPC builds.
Get a case with a built-in heat sink
Get the Flirc Raspberry Pi case, which is hands down the best case.
The Flirc case is compatible with both the latest third generation and older second generation and B+ models. It is made out of aluminum and it looks absolutely stunning compared to other RPi cases in the market. The case has a built-in heat sink, which is useful especially if you intend to overclock the system. Get a supported microSD card
Get the SanDisk Extreme 16GB or more, which includes wear levelling to increase the longevity of the memory card.
Please note that many users report issues with various memory cards, so be sure to get a supported SD card. When I got my first Raspberry Pi Model B, I tested 3 cards before I found one that worked properly with the operating system.
You can get a standard microSD card with many Raspberry Pi 3 bundles, but they may be low quality and do not necessarily last very long.
If you want to increase the longevity of the memory card, I recommend getting a separate microSD card that comes with wear levelling. Only the more expensive microSD cards come with wear levelling, which means that the card will try to spread wear out over the whole disk instead of writing and reading the same spot on the disk all the time.
I would also recommend getting a card with at least 16GB storage as more space increases the longevity of the card by having more space for wear levelling.
Openelec Download For Raspberry Pi
One good card that supports wear levelling and performed really well in my tests is the SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB MicroSDHC.
Samsung’s class 6 microSD card that is often sold together with the NOOBS operating system install manager performed as well as the class 10 SanDisk Extreme Pro in my tests.
I also noticed with a Kingston class 10 memory card that the class of the microSD card does not necessarily mean the memory card will be faster than class 6, as the random read/write speeds are even more important.
You can also use a USB memory stick with OSMC operating system, but I did not see any speed improvements between the Kingston DT USB 3.0 stick and the SanDisk Extreme Pro.
As a conclusion, you should make sure that your microSD card will last longer without any issues, so I would recommend using the SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB.
Get a supported power adapter
Get a good-quality power adapter.
The RPi does not come with a power adapter, so you will also need to get a supported power adapter. Be sure to get a good quality power adapter as those cheap ones that come together with many Raspberry Pi bundles may not work properly.
For example, I had problems with a Flirc remote companion adapter when using a cheap power adapter. I got erratic key presses with the Flirc when using a power adapter that came together with the Raspberry Pi model B+ bundle. When I plugged the RPi into my TV’s USB slot or used my iPad’s power supply, the problems were resolved.
The Raspberry Pi does not include an on/off switch, so if you prefer to turn off your RPi for the night, I would suggest using this On Off power switch for Raspberry Pi.
Use supported input devices
Try using HDMI CEC first. If you need more flexibility on remote control configuration, then you should get the Flirc adapter.
HDMI CEC
If your television supports HDMI CEC, I recommend using it as that is the easiest way to control your Raspberry Pi.
You can use your TV’s remote to control Kodi (XBMC) by sending signals over the HDMI cable. Usually, HDMI CEC works without any further configuration.
Flirc
If your television does not support HDMI CEC, then the most cost-efficient and working solution is the Flirc (get it here). Flirc learns any remote control, so you can use your old IR remote control and map it with the Flirc using a configuration application on Windows and Mac OS X.
You can follow this Flirc guide to map the keys with the configuration application. You can then plug the Flirc into Raspberry Pi and start controlling the Kodi.
Mobile apps
The third option is to use your mobile phone or tablet as a remote control using an app such as the Official Kodi Remote.
Chapter 2: Build Your Raspberry Pi
In this chapter, you will learn just how easy it is to put everything together.
You’ll learn how to:
Building your own system is very easy and by following these four simple steps, you will have the system ready to be booted up with an operating system in less than 30 minutes.
Chapter 3: Install Kodi on Raspberry Pi
In this chapter, you will learn which operating system you should choose and how to install it.
You’ll learn how to:
I have tested the OpenELEC, OSMC, LibreELEC and XBian operating systems from a performance and stability point of view. They all use Kodi (XBMC) as an entertainment center, but the Linux distribution in the background is different.
From a pure performance point of view, there is no significant difference between LibreELEC, OpenELEC, XBian and the OSMC.
LibreELEC
LibreELEC is a just enough operating system for Kodi, which means that every additional operation has been taken away and the whole distribution has been optimized for Kodi use only.
LibreELEC is a fork of OpenELEC, so they are essentially the same. However, LibreELEC has bigger development team and gets updated more frequently.
While LibreELEC is a good option for many, you may sometimes prefer to have the full Linux operating system running in the background, so that you can add additional features such as home automation and media server capabilities.
OSMC
The OSMC is based on the Debian operating system and it will give you more freedom to customize the system compared to LibreELEC or OpenELEC.
Secondly, OSMC has a more lightweight and optimized skin than LibreELEC/OpenELEC by default, which makes it feel a bit faster when navigating around Kodi.
All in all, both LibreELEC and OSMC are good choices for you, but I would recommend opting for OSMC as it provides better overall user experience, it is easier to configure and it will give you more customizability.
Format the microSD card
It is good idea to start by formatting the microSD card properly.
Here are the detailed instructions on how to format your microSD card:
Install operating system
I will show you two alternative ways to install an operating system: option 1 is LibreELEC with their USB-SD Creator app. For more flexibility over time, I would recommend using option 2: OSMC.
Option 1: Install LibreELEC with USB-SD Creator
Note: You can use Raspberry Pi foundation’s easy operating system installer called NOOBS to install and get started with LibreELEC.
However, this method makes the system a bit slower to start up.
LibreELEC’s development team recommends to use their own USB-SD creator app for a dedicated Kodi setup.
Here are the detailed instructions how to install LibreELEC using their USB-SD Creator:
Let’s proceed with installing the LibreELEC operating system.
Option 2: Install OSMC operating system
The OSMC is the successor to Raspbmc and it is created and maintained by Sam Nazarko.
You can download the latest OSMC version here.
Before proceeding with these instructions, plug in the microSD card reader and unplug any other USB storage devices to make sure you will not format an incorrect drive by accident.
Chapter 4: Add Media Content Sources
In this chapter, you will learn ways to add more content sources such as live TV streaming, Netflix streaming, high-fidelity music streaming and local media files.
I will use OSMC as a demonstration operating system.
You’ll learn how to:
I would also suggest checking out my complete Kodi guide, if you wish to learn more ways to set up and customize Kodi.
Install MPEG-2 and VC1 video codecs
In order to decode and play MPEG-2 and VC1 video files using hardware acceleration, you will need to purchase codec licenses from the Raspberry Pi foundation.
Install the codecs by following these steps:
Set up a media library
I would recommend using a Network Attached Storage (NAS) to centrally stored all the media files.
Here are the detailed instructions to add sources to video, music, and photo menus:
If you wish to check for new media files on Kodi startup, go to Settings > Library settings > Databases and enable “Update library on startup”. You can also select “Hide progress of library updates” if you do not wish to see the progress indicator every time the library gets updated.
Add HDHomeRun LiveTV
The easiest way to watch live TV with Raspberry Pi is to use it with a HDHomeRun network attached TV tuner.
If you do not already have HDHomeRun, you can use this guide to get and install HDHomeRun.
You can also record TV shows with Raspberry Pi using a TVHeadend server, but it is still much more complicated to set up and will not provide an optimal user experience like a DVR.
Live TV recording in the background consumes Raspberry Pi’s resources, so using OSMC/LibreELEC at the same time will not be a very smooth experience.
Therefore, I would recommend building a Windows-based DVR back-end system using this guide.
However, Raspberry Pi works well for watching live TV and timeshifting, so let’s see how you can easily watch live TV with HDHomeRun and RPi.
Add Hulu, Netflix and other premium channels
In order to watch premium channels on the RPi, you will need to install commercially available software called PlayOn (get it here) on your Windows-based PC that allows you to stream premium content channels into RPi.
I think this online video streaming service is too cool to miss if you want to watch Hulu, Netflix, Amazon VOD, HBO Go and other premium content channels on your Raspberry Pi.
Just buy and download PlayOn here and install it on your Windows-based computer.
In order to register your copy, open PlayOn Settings (go to Start / All Programs / PlayOn / PlayOn Settings) and enter the license information on the Registration tab.
Now, let’s configure OSMC to be able to view Netflix and other premium services.
Continue reading more advanced instructions here if you want to seamlessly integrate Netflix and Hulu into Kodi.
Add Tidal music service
Install an official Kodi add-on for Tidal, which allows you to stream high-fidelity music (even lossless format is available) and music videos.
Installing Tidal is as easy as adding any official Kodi add-on:
Use the Plex Media Server to transcode video files
If you want to have an easy way to consume media files around your home, I would recommend using Plex Media Server as a back-end.
The RasPi does not have hardware decoding support for any other video codec other than H.264 out of the box, so you will need to have all video files converted into H.264 format in order to play them smoothly. Alternatively, you can buy a license to unlock MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding.
Fortunately, there is an easier way should you have another desktop PC or a media server. You can use Plex Media Server to transcode any media file you have in your library and stream it using a PleXBMC add-on for XBMC.
If you don’t have the Plex Media Server already running, you can follow this guide to set it up.
Here are the the steps to install and set up the official Plex for Kodi add-on:
Chapter 5: Optimize and Speed Up
In this chapter, you will learn performance improvement tricks that are particularly important if you own an older Raspberry Pi model.
You’ll learn how to:
If you are not satisfied with your Raspberry Pi’s performance, there are multiple ways to speed up your system.
By following these tips and tricks, you can significantly speed up your Raspberry Pi 1 system compared to the original baseline.
Overclock itYou can safely speed up the RPi by overclocking it. Go to “My OSMC” > “Overclock”.
Next, change the system performance profile to “Turbo” to overclock the system.
Overclocking did not have as high of an impact as I was hoping for, but booting-up time improved. However, movie library importing and navigation speed remained on the same level.
Change resolution to 720p
Reducing the Kodi user interface resolution in “Settings” > “System” > “Video” will save memory and make the system and menus a bit faster. Video will still play at full resolution (e.g. 1080p).
Go to “Settings” > “System” > “Video Output” > “Resolution” to change the resolution.
I noticed about a 20 percent improvement in the navigation menu speeds on RPi 1, so if you do not need 1080p resolution in the menus, this change will make your system feel snappier.
Change the default skinOn OSMC, the default skin is lightweight enough and already optimized for performance, so you don’t need to change the skin to improve system responsiveness.
However, there are even more beautiful skins available such as Kodi default Estuary skin, Aeon Nox and Mimic that work fine on Raspberry Pi 2 and 3 according to my tests.
Go to “Settings” > “Interface” > “Skin” > “Skin” > “Estuary” to download and change a new skin.
Disable thumbnail extraction
By default, XBMC will extract thumbnails from videos that have no thumbnail in the library. As this consumes quite a lot of CPU performance, you should disable this feature to speed up navigation in the library.
Go to the “Settings” menu and select “Video” > “File lists” > disable “Extract thumbnail and video information”.
You may also want to disable actor thumbnails from the “Settings” > “Video” > “Library” > “Download actor thumbnails when adding to library”.
Adjust display refresh rate to match video
I would recommend adjusting the display refresh rate to match video in order to get smoother video playback.
You can enable it by going to “System” > “Video” > “Playback” > “Adjust display refresh rate to match video”.
Another way to smoothen the playback is to use audio passthrough. I have not tested this tip myself, but using audio passthrough should lower the CPU usage for DTS and AC3.
You can enable it by going to “System” > “System” > “Audio output” > “Enable passthrough”.
Use NFS instead of SMB share
If you are using a Network Attached Storage (NAS) such as Synology Diskstation, it is recommended to use NFS protocol instead of SMB protocol to access media files in XBMC. SMB networking protocol uses much more of the RPi’s CPU, so NFS is a faster option.
For example, during my tests, a 1080p video was buffering frequently over a wireless network with SMB protocol, but with NFS it played smoothly without any buffering issues.
Chapter 6: Make Your Home Smarter
In this chapter, you will learn ways to add home automation features with Raspberry Pi to make your home smarter.
You’ll learn:
Turn Raspberry Pi into a multi-room music playerIf you have replaced your old Raspberry Pi with a newer third generation model, it would be a shame to throw the old model away.
One great way to still use your old Raspberry Pi is to repurpose it as a music player around your home.
To get the best audio playback quality and turn your Raspberry Pi into a music player suitable for all audiophiles, I recommend trying out the HiFiBerry DAC+ and Volumio music player. HiFiBerry DAC+ is a special sound card for the Raspberry Pi that is optimized for 192kHz/24bit high-quality sound.
Volumio is a great music system that replaces your Kodi (XBMC) based operating system to play all your music, whether it is a high-resolution file or Spotify, with the highest quality. You can control it with your mobile phone, tablet or PC.
To enjoy high-quality sound, you will need:
I have been very satisfied with Volumio, and I have a separate HiFiBerry-powered RPi and active speakers in my living room to easily play music whenever I want.
Other ideas on awesome home automation projects
Did you know that you can also turn your Raspberry Pi into Alexa-enabled Amazon Echo or Google Assistant-powered Google Home?
These are more advanced instructions and go beyond the scope of this tutorial, so you can find the instructions here:
Now It’s Your Turn
All in all, the Raspberry Pi 3 B+ is an excellent mini computer and coupled with the Flirc remote companion and a high-quality Raspberry Pi case, it works great as an entertainment center front-end.
To help you to get started, I created a free step-by-step eBook that you can use to quickly apply the relevant steps from this post to your Raspberry Pi and Kodi installation.
The eBook contains the 8 most important steps from this post…
… and actionable tips that you can use today to simplify your user experience.
Click below to download the free eBook:
Bonus: Download the free PDF version of the Kodi on Raspberry Pi 3 tutorial that will show you step-by-step how to set up Raspberry Pi and Kodi. Extra chapters included!
![]() After you have set up your own Raspberry Pi, be sure to continue reading my guide to customizing Kodi with all the bells and whistles.
Kodi is an open source software which is in limelight due to its vast possibilities. Thanks to its compatibility with majority of the trending platforms including windows and Android. However, Kodi goes beyond the traditional compatibility and has landed on Linux and Apple products including iOS. Things are slightly difficult with iOS but its running.
The only thing that needs to be covered is Kodi on Raspberry Pi. The name isn’t new if you are a pro online streamer or wired into digital media than this name must have crossed your browsing searches. But first, let’s see what Raspberry Pi is all about.
What Is Raspberry Pi?
Let us break the ice; Raspberry Pi is structured to be a small computer board that can be bought and assembled into a fully automated and functioning computer. It can further be attached or plugged in to a Television set and controlled using the Raspberry remote control. Now the question is; How to install Kodi on Raspberry Pi? Raspberry Pi is not made to be a streaming TV device but with our guide, it will surely turn into a set top box streamer.
Before we move ahead with the installation procedure. Keep in mind its advised and make it a law to download a VPN for Kodi to make sure all your browsing and streaming is 100% safe. Kodi has been banned in multiple regions, and you never know you are the next unfortunate person to fall into this. A Kodi VPN will make sure your identity is safe while you stream and install Kodi on Raspberry Pi by switching your IP address to a one which is being shared and used by many users making it known as a “shared IP.”
ExpressVPN
$6.67per month
NordVPN
$2.99per month
HideMyAss
$4.99per month
How To Install Kodi On Raspberry Pi 1
This is no regular installation guide because of the nature of Raspberry Pi. We will be dealing with the software of the installation because it can be available as a whole as well. Raspberry Pi is available on a few upgrades where you can choose which upgrade to use. This guide is for Raspberry Pi 1, and everyone who uses this upgrade can follow the steps further.
How To Install Kodi On Raspberry Pi 2
This is where the perception creates a clash of users. Users believe the guide for Raspberry Pi 1 differs from the Raspberry Pi 2, which is why they don’t further proceed with the installation. Instead, users start looking for multiple forums to seek guidance.
How To Install Kodi On Raspbian
Users need to understand the basic terminologies of a Raspberry device as many confuse important aspects. Raspberry just as Kodi is a free operating system based on “Debian optimized” specially built for the Raspberry Pi Hardware. Without the Raspbian, the Raspberry Pi won’t run as it’s the basic operating system of the basic utilities required to run the program.
Further, for users to download Kodi on their Raspberry Pi device, downloading OpenELEC for Raspberry Pi device is critical and needs to be installed beforehand, in addition to acquiring Rufus as well.
Wrap Up
Now you know how to install Kodi on Raspberry Pi, BAM! This guide is slightly different than ReviewsDir’s previous Kodi installation guides, but we tried our best to make it as smooth and straightforward as possible for users to carry forward and install it. We did not cover the hardware aspect of the installation as Raspberry Pi sets can be purchased with fully functioning utilities.
Openelec Kodi Raspberry Pi Download Pc
Description: Kodi is available on Operating Systems. Is it on Raspberry Pi? That’s the tricky part which can be solved if you see how to install Kodi on Raspberry Pi
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