Kodi 15.2 unveils bug fixes and improvements across desktop and mobile
The XBMC Foundation has unveiled Kodi 15.2, a maintenance update of its open-source, cross-platform media center. This is the second release since version 15 debuted back in July.
The major focus of the new release is to improve stability on the Android platform, but there are numerous other bug fixes implemented in what Team Kodi has dubbed "The Final Chapter" in its release notes.
Version 15 saw the debut of the first official Android build through the Google Play store, but developers quickly discovered an issue with certain devices using an Amlogic chipset that received a firmware update. Version 15.2 solves this problem, which manifested itself in a zoomed or partial screen during playback.
Another Android-only fix resolves an issue whereby many Android users would lose video after performing a fast-forward playback. Also fixed was an issue with refresh-rate switching that should improve performance on devices that use the Android API.
Changes across all platforms include unspecified fixes for both non-DVB and MicroDVD subtitles and incompatible MySQL queries. There are improvements to PulseAudio support on Linux and a fix for multiple images in group list layouts.
One popular use for Kodi is as a front-end for TV backends, and two updated add-ons for Tvheadend HTSP and MythTV should improve the experience for users of these two popular platforms.
Elsewhere scanning times on 32-bit platforms should improve after a fix was implemented for the file time used when scanning the user’s media library.
Windows users should also see improvements to video rewind, although some artifacts will remain for a few seconds after it’s been performed.
These fixes help strengthen the Isengard platform further -- reflecting its maturity and powerful feature set, version 15 contained few notable new additions to the program’s armory, the main highlights being a new chapter selector window for supported movie formats, adaptive seeking, expanded language and international settings, plus an improved add-on manager.
Team Kodi development has already turned its focus firmly to version 16, codenamed Jarvis. A third alpha was recently unveiled that among other things reveals a migration for Windows users from DirectX 9 to DirectX 11, support for 4:3 non-linear stretching and event logging.
In the meantime, Kodi 15.2 is a free, open-source download for PCs running Windows Vista or later or most modern flavors of Linux, plus Macs running OS X 10.7 (Lion) or later. The Android build requires a compatible device running Jelly Bean 4.2 or later.