Articles about Kodi

TVAddons is famous -- some would say infamous, even notorious -- in Kodi circles. The controversial Kodi addons site has been the subject of a lawsuit and even abuse from Kodi itself. Last week the site was mentioned in the Online Notorious Markets report produced by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) -- and TVAddons is not happy.

The report refers to the site as a "piracy add-on repository," but TVAddons is quick to point out that it has never received a single DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) complaint from MPAA members or affiliates. The site accuses the MPAA of deciding to "drag our reputation through the mud."

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If you’re a Kodi user then you’ll no doubt be familiar with TVAddons. The site hosts many of the best unofficial Kodi addons around and is a must-visit for many users.

TVAddons has had a lot of well-documented legal problems lately, but received an unexpected boost from digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which came out in support of the site a few days ago. But while TVAddons might have a lot of supporters, one organization definitely isn’t a fan -- Kodi itself.

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The war against copyright infringement has always been a difficult one for rights holders. Aside from the scale of the problem, there are multiple platforms that make illegal downloads, streams, and sharing possible. For many years, the main target for anti-piracy bodies was BitTorrent, but in recent months a new number one enemy has surfaced in the form of Kodi, and in particular various companies and addons associated with the media center software.

While in Europe and the UK, sellers of "fully loaded" media center boxes seem to be the primary focus for Kodi-related lawsuits, in Canada and the US, it’s hosting site TVAddons and the ZemTV Kodi addon that are in the firing line. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was setup to "defend civil liberties in the digital world" and it has now weighed in on the Kodi situation, pointing out the shaky legal grounds these cases rest on.

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Kodi is in the news a lot at the moment, and not for the best reasons. Although using the software itself isn’t illegal, third-party add-ons that make it possible to stream copyrighted content have caught the attention of anti-piracy groups, resulting in lawsuits.

Inevitably, the threat of legal action, and possibly jail time, has spooked a lot of third-party add-on creators, and we’ve seen many of these disappear in recent months.

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Kodi has had a rough time of things lately, and the same can be said for a number of companies and addons associated with the media center software. In particular, addons site TVAddons has been fighting legal battles, and in its case with Dish Network the operators of the site have been identified.

An amended version of Dish Network's complaint says the site is owned and operated by Adam Lackman from Canada, and they also identify the developer of the ZemTV Kodi addon as Shahjahan Durrani from London. In the complaint, both Lackman and Durrani are accused of copyright infringement, but TVAddons insists it "is not a piracy site, it's a platform for developers of open source add-ons for the Kodi media center."

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The Kodi media center is facing a lot of scrutiny in the media lately. Some people feel that the negative coverage is "fake news." It is important to remember that Kodi is not illegal. With that said, it can be made so with piracy-related addons. Since Kodi is open source, even if the developers removed the ability to install addons, other people could easily fork the code to add it back. Pandora's box cannot be closed.

Many people that use Kodi do so with a dedicated Linux-based operating system, such as the excellent LibreELEC. You see, these distros exist only to run the open source media center, meaning there are no resources wasted on unnecessary things. Today, LibreELEC (Krypton) v8.1.2 BETA sees release. You can install it immediately, and don't worry -- your addons like Exodus and Covenant will work fine.

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President Donald Trump seems to enjoy calling any news organization that isn't favorable towards him "fake news." He has overused the term to the point that it is a parody of itself -- when it leaves his lips, at least. With that said, fake news is a legitimate concern. There have been cases where organizations have shared news that was either untrue or misleading. Sometimes this is caused by bad reporting, but in other cases, it could be intentional -- such as spreading fake news and advertisements on Facebook to help someone get elected, for instance.

Today, TVAddons -- a Kodi community website/group that focuses on addons -- announces that it is fed up with fake news about Kodi. In fact, it even calls out some news organizations and specific articles that it argues spread falsehoods about the open source media center. It is a great read, and the group shares explanations as to why each news story is "fake news" or "clickbait."

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The Kodi addons site TVAddons vanished from the internet a little while ago before reappearing with a new domain. The site faced legal action over claims it provides access to pirated content, and there have been suggestions that the original TVAddons domain is being used by a law firm to spy on users.

The team behind TVAddons insists that this is not the case, and wants to set the record straight once and for all. It says that, in fact, everything possible has been done to protect user privacy. So are tvaddons.ag and xbmchub.com being used to gather evidence about Kodi users?

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Kodi is quite possibly the best media center software of all time. If you are looking to watch videos or listen to music, the open source solution provides an excellent overall experience. Thanks to its support for "addons," it has the potential to become better all the time. You see, developers can easily add new functionality by writing an addon for the platform. And yes, some addons can be used for piracy, but not all of them are. These addons, such as Exodus and Covenant, are normally added using a repository, which hosts them.

Unfortunately, there can apparently be security issues with repositories when they shut down. For example, when the metalkettle repo ended, the developer deleted its entry on GitHub. This in itself is not a cause for concern, but unfortunately, GitHub's allowance of project names to be recycled is. You see, someone re-registered the metalkettle name, making it possible for nefarious people to potentially serve up malware to Kodi users.

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Kodi is a tool used for piracy. So are television sets, the Windows 10 operating system, laptops, smartphones, and other things. In other words, almost anything can be used for bad purposes. A knife, for instance, can be used to cut food in a restaurant, but also used as a weapon in a robbery. Ultimately, the user is responsible for how they use a tool, and Kodi is no different. It shouldn't be vilified.

The makers of the software formerly known as XBMC have long fought this battle in the court of public opinion. Unfortunately, because of developers that create piracy-related addons, such as Covenant and Exodus, it is hard to sway the hearts and minds on the subject. To make matters worse, Kodi is apparently fighting on another front too -- it is battling what it calls "trademark trolls." Yes, apparently some people are looking to exploit the open source software's name for profit. This could potentially lead to people having to pay a fee when selling or buying Kodi devices.

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Game of Thrones is a hugely popular show, and every year we see statistics regarding how many times different episodes have been downloaded illegally.

Season 7, which has just finished on HBO, was easily the most pirated yet, helped in no small part by leaks from hackers which saw episodes available to stream through Kodi, and download on pirate sites and BitTorrent before they were even broadcast.

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It has been hard to escape talk of Kodi recently. The media center software has caused a great deal of controversy due to the number of addons that can be used to access illegal content. Most recently, the software hit the headlines after legal intervention lead to the withdrawal of the unofficial MK Plex addon that allowed for access to Plex through Kodi free of charge.

But now there's no need to turn to the dark side to get your Plex fix in Kodi if you haven’t paid for a Plex Pass subscription. The official Plex for Kodi addon is now available, and most features are available without the need to pay anything.

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Linux and Kodi go so well together. If you want to set up a lightweight media center distribution, you should look no further than LibreELEC. This open source Linux-based operating system exists solely to run Kodi, making it work on fairly meager hardware, such as a Raspberry Pi.

Today, a new LibreELEC Krypton version gets a release -- 8.1.1 BETA. If you are worried about compatibility with your favorite addons such as Exodus and Covenant, don't -- they should work absolutely fine. Of course, if you do encounter any issues, it can be very easy to go back. Might as well have the latest and greatest, right?

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Kodi has been in the news a great deal recently, thanks largely to a surge in interest in addons for the media center software. High profile addons like Phoenix disappeared, as did (temporarily) the addons site TVAddons.

The latest victim is a Plex addon from MetalKettle -- MK Plex. Eager to avoid legal action after receiving a letter from Plex's legal team, MetalKettle decided to shut up shop rather than continue to provide an addon that could be used to access Plex through Kodi without a paid-for Plex Pass subscription.

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Kodi is such an amazing piece of software. The multimedia center gets a bad reputation due to some piracy "addons," but not everyone uses it for illegal purposes. Actually, it is a great way to consume legally sourced media content, including family photos and videos. While some addons like Exodus and Covenant may provide pirated content, there are useful legal addons too. In other words, just like with most things, the software is totally legit, but the users are responsible for any nefarious aspects -- not the Kodi team.

Today, Kodi 17.4 is finally here -- a major update. Since it is primarily bug fixes, all of your addons should work totally fine. This includes popular piracy streaming addons, but we do not endorse those at all. It is recommended to install this update due to the significant number of fixes.

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