2014-04-23, 06:32
The Complete Guide: Kodi (XBMC)/Windows Media Center/ServerWMC and More
Last Updated: February 12, 2016
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Support the Project
Software (Required and Optional)
Required Hardware
Hardware to Record TV (Server)
Hardware to Watch TV (Client)
BIOS settings for the Intel NUC
Installing OpenELEC (which includes XBMC)
Using Kodi (formerly known as XBMC)
Configuring Kodi (formerly known as XBMC)
The first time you watch a video
Windows Media Center Support
Kodi Add-ons
Adding Videos (Movie/TV) that you already have on a network server or a USB Drive
Using the File Manager/Browser
Backup your OpenELEC Install
Advanced Topics
Using SSH
Copying Files to Kodi
Changing Skip Backward Times
Enabling Skip Forward/Backward and Exit Buttons on MCE Remotes
Making Left/Right/Up/Down/Buttons Consistent in Live TV
Allowing Kodi to recognize TV shows that are ripped from a DVD
Changing Font Sizes (for smaller TVs)
Streaming Media (Cameras/Radio Stations/etc)
Raspberry Pi Issues
Copying XML Files if using a theme other than Confluence
Reducing Fan Noise on Intel NUC
Running Windows Media Center in a Virtual Machine
Troubleshooting
Corrupted Video Database (“Movies” and “TV Shows” either missing or duplicated)
Corrupted Thumbnails
Corrupted Program Guide or PVR Database (Guide Missing Data/Recordings Missing)
Corrupted Windows Media Center Database
Kodi and ServerWMC Logfiles
New recordings will not play
Video pauses during Live TV/Active Recordings
Commmand line options
If you have a question about this guide or a suggestion to improve the guide, please reply here. However, if you have a general question or comment about Kodi or ServerWMC, please don't reply here. Just post a new message in the forum.
If you find this guide helpful, please click the "Thank User" button at the bottom of any of my messages to let me know. Thanks.
Introduction
This guide will explain how to set up a personal video recording (“PVR”) system using a computer running Windows 7 and Windows Media Center to record live TV from an over the air antenna and then watch those programs on ordinary televisions using a smaller computer running Kodi (formerly known as XBMC) connected to your TV. The guide is written from a North American perspective. If you live elsewhere in the world, you will probably need to make some deviations from this guide, especially with respect to the recommended TV Tuner.
Important: Please note the “Last Updated” date that appears at the top of this document. Open Source Software is often updated and sometimes evolves quickly. You may find that options referred to in this guide have changed locations, been renamed, or eliminated altogether, especially if you use a newer version.
Support the Project:
If you find ServerWMC/pvr.WMC useful, please considering donating whatever you think is reasonable.
You can donate to ServerWMC/pvr.WMC by clicking the donate button at the top of this page:
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
You can donate to Kodi (formerly known as XBMC) here:
https://kodi.tv/contribute/donate/
You can donate to OpenELEC here:
http://openelec.tv/donate
Software (Required and Optional)
You'll need several different computer programs in order to set up Kodi to watch Live and Recorded TV. Fortunately, most of them are free. You'll want to get the following programs:
1. Kodi: Kodi is a free, open source computer program that you can use to watch videos, music files, and photos on your television. Kodi is optimized for use on television sets using a remote control, but it can also be used with a keyboard on a computer. Using this guide, you’ll set-up Kodi to watch Live and Recorded TV on smaller computers that are connected to each TV in your home, while another computer running Windows 7 and Windows Media Center acts as a server that records TV shows and streams live TV.
When this guide was written, the current version of Kodi is version 15.2 (Isengard). The version before that was Kodi 14.2 (Helix). Prior to version 14, Kodi was known as XBMC. The last major version of XBMC was 13.2 (Gotham), and before that 12.3 (Frodo). Kodi includes the ability to install different themes (called skins) which will change the look and feel of the program. The default theme (skin) on Kodi is called “Confluence”.
There are many ways to install Kodi. You can manually install Kodi onto an existing Windows or Linux machine. If you wish to do the install that way, you can download the latest version of Kodi from here:
http://kodi.tv/download/
However, for the purpose of this guide, we will set-up a dedicated machine that will be connected to a TV and which will run only Kodi.
There are also several ways to install Kodi onto a computer for this purpose, including distributions such as OpenELEC, KodiBuntu, and OSMC (formerly known as RaspBMC).
OpenELEC is a free, open source distribution that includes a very basic Linux kernel and Kodi. Once you have installed OpenELEC on a computer, that computer becomes a Kodi appliance that will run Kodi immediately after it is turned on. OpenELEC includes versions that will run on most personal computers and on the Raspberry Pi, which is a very small, low powered computer that sells for about $75.
You can download OpenELEC here:
http://openelec.tv/get-openelec
The current version of OpenELEC is 6.0.1. It includes Kodi 15.2 (Isengard). Prior major versions of OpenELEC were 5.0.8 (Kodi 14.2 (Helix)), 4.2.1 (XBMC 13.2 (Gotham)), and 3.2.4 (XBMC 12.2 (Frodo)).
KodiBuntu is a free distribution that includes a full install of Ubuntu (a version of Linux) and Kodi. It runs on most PCs. You can download Kodibuntu here:
http://kodi.tv/download/
OSMC is a free distribution that includes the Raspberry Pi operating system and boots directly into Kodi. It runs only on Raspberry Pi. You can download OSMC here:
https://osmc.tv/download/
These instructions assume that you choose OpenELEC. If you choose another distribution or choose to install Kodi on a Windows machine, these instructions will still serve as a good getting-started guide, but you should expect to find some areas where these instructions don’t work.
2. Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate: Windows 7 is a computer operating system written and distributed by Microsoft Corporation. The Home Premium and Ultimate versions both include a free program called Windows Media Center which can be used to watch and record TV using a supported TV Tuner. You can buy Windows 7 Home Premium from Amazon.com. You can also use Windows 8, but you must purchase Windows Media Center from the Microsoft App Store for $10.00. Windows Media Center is NOT available with Windows 10.
When this guide was written, the current version of Windows 7 was Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Media Refresh (SP1-U). If you wish to do a fresh install, you can download an ISO file, which can be used to create an installer DVD, from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-recovery
If you already own a computer running Windows 7 and wish to do a fresh install, you can use the product key on the sticker on that computer to activate a fresh install. However, you may also have to obtain drivers from your computer manufacturer’s web-site to ensure that all of the components in the computer work correctly.
3. The Windows Media Center Add-on for Kodi: The Windows Media Center Add-on for Kodi is a free computer program that is created and maintained by krustyreturns and Scarecrow420, who can both be reached using the Kodi forums.
The Plug-In includes two parts: (1) A server program which you will install on your Windows computer called ServerWMC and (2) a client program which will be installed on each Kodi machine as an “add-on” called pvr.wmc. You can download the Server program and the client/PVR add-on using this link:
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
Both ServerWMC and pvr.wmc are updated routinely, so be sure to register to be updated when a new version is released. Create an account at forum.kodi.tv. Then visit the following two pages and click “subscribe to this thread” in the bottom left hand corner:
ServerWMC updates:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=179958
pvr.wmc updates:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=179960
The current version of ServerWMC is 1225. The current version of pvr.wmc is 0.x.99. Replace the “x” with 3 if you are running Kodi 14.x (Helix), 2 if you are running XBMC 13.x (Gotham), and 1 if you are running XBMC 12.x (Frodo). Note that the Helix plugins are listed first on the download page.
4. Nettime: Nettime is a free program that will keep the time set correctly on your Windows 7 Machine. While Windows 7 has a built-in tool for that purpose, it does not seem to work properly if you leave Windows 7 running without regular user intervention. Having the time set right is important to ensure that recordings start and stop when they should. You can download it from here:
http://www.timesynctool.com/
5. Putty: Putty is a free SSH client that runs on Windows. It will allow you to connect to a linux-based Kodi computer remotely and perform various tasks that are contained in these instructions. One of the best features about Putty is that you can highlight text that you see on Putty’s screen using the mouse and it will be immediately copied onto the Windows clipboard. And if you right click while Putty is in focus, anything on the Windows clipboard will be pasted into Putty wherever the cursor is located. You’ll find that feature very useful when you need to SSH into your machine and execute commands or create files as suggested in this guide.
You can download Putty from here:
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtat...nload.html
6. MCEBuddy (Optional): MCEBuddy is software that will monitor any folder that you choose for new recorded TV programs and then automatically process the files that appear there according to your instructions. It can be configured to simply move and rename files from the standard naming conventions used by Windows Media Center to the naming convention used by Kodi without any conversions. In a more complex configuration, MCEBuddy can be configured to convert the files from .wtv to .mp4 (which are about ¼ the size of a wtv file), either remove the commercials or create a .edl file that Kodi can use to skip over the commercials during playback, and then move and rename the files. I haven’t completed my testing of MCEBuddy, and so this Guide does not yet include detailed instructions for configuring it.
7. Remote Access Software: If you plan to run your Windows Media Center as a "headless server" (with no monitor, no keyboard, and no mouse), you should consider installing some kind of remote access software. Teamviewer (www.teamviewer.com) currently offers a free option that you may find useful. You may also want to consider a VNC option such as RealVNC or TightVNC.
8. Disk Monitoring Software: Acronis Drive Monitor is free software for Windows that will monitor your hard drive and can email you if your drive is showing signs of failure. This can be useful since Windows Media Center keeps all of your Recorded TV on a single hard drive.
Required Hardware
This guide assumes that you will have at least two computers: One will run Windows 7 and Windows Media Center (The "Server"). The Server will be used to record TV shows. The other computer will run OpenELEC and Kodi (The "Client"). It will be connected to your TV and used to watch Live TV, Recorded TV Shows, and more (the "Client").
However, if you want to, you can easily install Kodi for Windows on the Server machine and do everything from there. If you choose that option, you'll still find some of this guide useful, but much of what is written here is irrelevant to that configuration.
Hardware to Record TV (Server)
1. Computer: Most personal computers sold in the last ten years for the purpose of running Windows will work. Just about any HP, Acer, or Gateway machine should work just fine. Recording Live TV from a tuner using Windows Media Center requires very little processing power so a fast machine is not necessary. You can probably even use one of the Intel NUCs that I recommend in the next section for use at a TV for the purpose of running Windows Media Center.
2. A big hard drive: Recorded TV takes up a lot of hard-drive space. A single hour of recorded TV can easily use 8GB of storage. Get the largest hard-drive that you can afford.
3. TV Tuner and Antenna: If you plan to record TV from a TV antenna, you’ll need to purchase a TV Tuner and an off-air antenna. Windows Media Center supports up to four TV Tuners. If you purchase a two tuner device, you can purchase a second device and use both at the same time. You can user more tuners if you use a program like TunerSalad (which overcomes Windows Media Center’s four tuner limit). There are a variety of options available for TV Tuners:
A. SiliconDust HDHomeRun Connect High Definition Digital TV Tuner HDHR4-2US is a two tuner off-air HDTV Tuner for North America. Unlike most other options, it connects to your computer network instead of installing inside your computer. That means that you can have the server in one location, and the Tuner in another location (closer to your TV antenna). You can purchase two of these units to provide a total of four tuners for Windows Media Center.
If you use the HDHomeRun Dual, you’ll need the Windows drivers for the Tuner. The Tuner will come with a driver disk, but it may be better to download the latest version from the manufacturer. You can download them from here:
http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhomerun/downloads/
You can find installation instructions here:
http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhom...tructions/
and here:
http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhom...ions/wmc7/
B. Other Tuners: There are several other well known manufacturers of TV Tuners, including Ceton and Hauppauge. Ceton’s infinitTV6 records from cable TV using a CableCard and has 6 tuners (and software to overcome Media Center’s four tuner limit). SiliconDust has a similar version that has 3 tuners. Hauppauge mainly makes TV Tuner cards you can install inside your computer, such as the WinTV-HVR-2250, which is a two tuner card.
C. TV Antenna: There are a variety of options available to purchase a TV Antenna. My favorite source for TV Antennas in the U.S. is
http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/. The site includes links to tools that will help you pick the right antenna and a variety of choices for antennas.
D. Attenuator/Filter: If you experience significant interference or pixelization, you may wish to install an LTE Filter, which will filter out frequencies above the UHF TV band that can sometimes cause interference. In addition, if you have a very strong signal (100%), you may wish to install an attenuator to prevent overdeviation.
You can buy an LTE Filter here:
http://smile.amazon.com/Shielded-Line-Fi...LTE+Filter
You can buy an attenuator here:
http://smile.amazon.com/Parts-Express--L...attenuator
Note, that you can connect together multiple filters and attenuators as necessary to eliminate interference.
4. Video Capture Card and Infrared Blaster (optional): If you plan to record TV from a cable-box or satellite dish, you'll need a Media Center Compatible Infrared Blaster, which Media Center will use to change channels on your cable/satellite box, and video capture card to record the TV signal. I haven't tested these options, but the following may work:
A. IR Blaster with Remote:
1. Azend Group MediaGate HA-IR01SV Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate Media Center Remote Control, 1 Channel IR (Silver)
2. Rosewill RHRC-11001
B. Video Capture Card: Hauppauge Colossus PCI Express Internal HD-PVR
Hardware to Watch TV (Client)
Any computer with an HDMI port can be connected to your TV or to your surround sound receiver. These are the two options that I’ve tested:
1. Intel Next Unit of Computing (about $250 total)
Computer: Intel Next Unit of Computing – Model DCCP847DYE
Memory: Crucial 4GB Single DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Notebook Memory Module CT51264BF160B
Power Cord: C2G / Cables to Go - 27400 - 6ft 3-Slot Notebook Power Cord
Hard Drive (Either of these will work):
a. SanDisk Cruzer Ultra Fit CZ43 32GB USB Flash Drive
b. MyDigitalSSD SC2 Super Cache 2 50mm SATA III 6G mSATA SSD Solid State Drive (32GB with FNet HybriDisk)
Note: The Intel NUC is a computer that is about the size of a hockey puck. It has 3 USB Ports and 2 HDMI Ports (you’ll use this to connect your TV).
Installing the memory, power cord and hard drive in these machines is very easy. The Intel NUC computer comes with a very nice instruction manual, and you can easily find Youtube videos that will show you exactly how to do it.
The model # listed was the cheapest one available at the time that I first wrote this (About $150). As time has passed, newer versions have become available. In addition, given increasing demands of OpenELEC and Kodi, this version is no longer able to faithfully reproduce MPEG-2 Video (which is what over the air broadcasts use) at 1080i. It can still produce video at 720p without issues.
I'm currently testing a newer Intel NUC with a better processor and will update this guide once my testing is completed.
2. Raspberry Pi Option (about $75.00 total)
Computer: Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
Case: As desired
Power Supply: Any Micro-USB Power supply that delivers 1A at 5 Volts
Hard Drive: 8GB SD Card
Note: The Raspberry Pi 2 Model B is a very small, inexpensive, low power computer. Everything you need can be purchased as a kit on Amazon. If you plan to use the Raspberry Pi to watch MPEG2 video (TV or DVD), you'll also need to purchase an MPEG2 License. See the advanced topics section towards the end of this guide for more information. I much prefer The Intel Next Unit of Computing over the Raspberry Pi.
3. Optional Items for client setup
A. Remote Control and IR Receiver: One of the following:
If you want to control what you watch using a remote control, you'll want one of the following:
1. Ortek Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control and Infrared Receiver for Home, Premium and Ultimate Edition. This consists of a USB Infrared Receiver that plugs into your Kodi machine and a remote control. I use the remote to program my Universal Remote Control (see next item) and then put the remote in a drawer. Although this device was designed and is intended for use on computers running Windows Media Center, it also works on a Kodi machine. You’ll need to do a bit of experimenting to learn what each button does. Note that the Guide button acts as a context/right click button.
Note: You can find a list of Kodi Keyboard controls and their functions here:
http://kodi.wiki/view/Keyboard_controls
You can find a great guide to using remote controls with Kodi here:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220677
2. FLIRC: Flirc is a USB Device that can translate any IR remote control button to any key on a standard keyboard. For example, you can use the included software to program FLIRC so that when you press the up button on an old DVD player remote, it will press the up arrow on a keyboard. It is more expensive than the other options I noted above.
B. Universal Remote Control: The Logitech Harmony Elite is a great universal remote control. If you use the Harmony Elite, note the following:
1. The Harmony Elite can be set-up using a Windows PC or an Android or iOS phone. The Windows software includes many more options than the Android or iOS software, and so I recommend only using the Windows PC for setup.
2. The Harmony Elite will control a FLIRC without having to learn any IR commands, but only if you set it up using the Manufacturer: FLIRC and Model #: Kodi.
3. The Harmony Elite will control the Ortek remote that I recommend above if you use Manufacturer: Ortek and Model: VRC-1100.
The Logitech Harmony Ultimate is terrible, and so I do not recommend that model.
Universal Remote Control makes a bunch of excellent remote controls, but they all require a professional to install and configure them. My favorites are the MX-850 and MX-890.
C. Wireless 2.4Ghz Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 with Built-In Multi-Touch Touchpad: This is a full-size keyboard that does not use IR. It is great for initial configuration of your Windows 7 Server and each Kodi box, but I believe that it is too large for ordinary use. You can also use any USB keyboard when setting up Kodi.
D. HDMI Cable: You will connect your computer running Kodi to your TV using an HDMI Cable. This cable will send both the audio and the video to your TV. Monoprice.com has cheap HDMI cables.
E. Wifi: Wifi is often not fast enough for reliable streaming, but if you want to try it, you might try one of the following:
1. Ubiquiti Networks AirGateway and POE-24-12W: The AirGateway ($19) can provide Wifi access to any device with an Ethernet jack. I use this routinely for my network and it works great. It can also be configured as an access point and even as a router. You also have to buy a POE-24-12W to power it ($9).
2. Edimax EW-7811Un 150 Mbps Wireless 11n Nano Size USB Adapter with EZmax Setup Wizard: This USB device is apparently highly recommended for use with the Raspberry Pi and may also work with the Intel NUC. I have not tested it.
3. Intel Network 7260.HMWG WiFi Wireless-AC 7260 H/T Dual Band 2x2 AC+Bluetooth HMC: This apparently can provide Wifi to the Intel NUC and is installed inside the NUC. I have not tested it.
F. Light DIMS: If you plan to use any of these devices in a bedroom, you might want to buy a pack of these handy stickers that will reduce the intensity of the lights on your devices.
http://www.lightdims.com/
G. Latest BIOS (Intel NUC Option Only): If you use the Intel NUC, you should update to the latest BIOS, which you can find here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx?lang=eng
Make the following selections on the web-site:
Product Family: Desktop Boards
Product Line: Intel NUC Boards and Kits
Product Name: Your model #
Click Find.
Operating System: OS Independent
Download Type: BIOS
Select the latest BIOS Update (at the top of the listing).
Download the .BIO file. Place it on a USB Stick. Plug the USB Stick into the Intel NUC. While booting press F7 to update the BIOS using the .BIO file.
Reboot into BIOS by holding F2 while booting. Load defaults by pressing F9, and then save and exit by pressing F10.
BIOS settings for the Intel NUC
When using the Intel NUC for OpenELEC, Intel recommends the following BIOS settings:
1. Press F2 when prompted during boot to enter BIOS Setup.
2. Press F9 to set all BIOS options to default values.
3. Select Advanced.
3. On the Devices and Peripherals > SATA menu, Chipset SATA Mode is set to AHCI.
4. On the Devices and Peripherals > USB menu, USB Legacy is enabled (checked).
5. On the Devices and Peripherals > Video menu, IGD Minimum Memory is set to 512 MB.
6. On the Boot > Boot Priority menu:
7. UEFI Boot is disabled (unchecked).
8. Legacy Boot is enabled (checked).
9. On the Boot > Boot Configuration menu, USB under Boot Devices is enabled (checked).
10. Press F10 to save your changes and exit BIOS Setup.
For more details, see this link: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/s...05471.html
Installing OpenELEC (which includes Kodi)
Begin by installing OpenElec on the small computer that you will connect to your television set. Download OpenELEC for your machine from here:
http://openelec.tv/get-openelec/download
For Kodi Isengard (15.2) on the Intel NUC, choose the Generic Build and download "[Stable] OpenELEC 6.0.1 (x86_64) Disk image"
For Kodi Helix (14.2) on the Intel NUC, choose the Generic Build and download "[Stable] OpenELEC 5.0.8 (x86_64) Diskimage"
For the Raspberry Pi hardware option, download the Raspberry Pi build.
Depending upon which version you download, the file will either come in a .gz or a .tar format. These are archive formats similar to .zip, but you'll need a separate program to open them. You can use 7-Zip to un-tar them.
http://www.7-zip.org/
OpenELEC 6.0.1 is available either in a standard version that includes the files to install it on a USB Drive/SD Card or a disk image version, which is labelled with the word [Diskimage] at the beginning. If you choose the disk image version, you need a disk image software to install it, such as Win32DiskImager, which you can download here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
If you download the disk image version, then use 7-zip to convert the .img.gz file to a .img file. Then run Win32DiskImager to transfer the .img file to a USB Drive (for the Intel NUC) or to an 8GB SD Card (for the Raspberry Pi).
For the Raspberry Pi, the SD Card is your drive and operating system. Insert the SD Card into the Raspbery Pi,hook it up to your TV, power, and remote control, and turn it on.
For the Intel NUC, the USB Drive is an installer. Insert the USB Drive into the Intel NUC, hook it up to your TV, power, and a keyboard, and turn it on. Install Kodi from the initial USB Drive to a second USB Drive (or an internal hard drive if you have installed one inside the Intel NUC). Once the install is done, remove the USB Drive you used for the installer and reboot and you're done.If you download the standard version that has the installer, follow the instructions from here:
http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php?title=Installation
While installing OpenElec, you’ll be asked if you want to enable SSH and Samba during install. Be sure to select these options, or they won’t be available later.
You'll secure SSH later by disabling password based access from within Kodi.
Using Kodi
When you turn on a computer running OpenELEC, it boots up into Kodi. When you start, you’ll be using the default skin/theme which is called Confluence. You will see options to access System (settings), Programs, Videos, Photos, Music, Weather, and a few other items, which you can choose using the left/right and OK buttons on your remote. In the bottom left hand corner, you’ll see options to view your favorites and to power-off or reboot the machine.
When using a Windows Media Center remote control like the one that I recommended, the up/down/left/right/ok and exit buttons work just as you would expect them to in most Kodi screens. However, in XBMC Frodo, when you’re in the File Manager or Browser, the left/right buttons are used to move from the folder list to the OK/Cancel buttons, even though they are below the folder list. In Kodi Helix and XBMC Gotham, the OK/Cancel buttons have sensibly been moved to the left of the folder list.
When watching videos, the up/down buttons skip forward and backward 10 minutes or move through chapters if you’re watching something that has marked chapters. The left and right buttons skip forward and backward 30 seconds. If you type a number and then hit the left or right buttons, the show will advance that number of minutes and seconds. In XBMC Frodo, the exit button skips backward 7 seconds. In Kodi Helix and XBMC Gotham, no button will do the 7 second backward skip, but I'll show you how to fix that later.
The Guide button on most remotes serves as a right click/context menu button. Typically, the context menu will allow you to select an item as a favorite, rescan your sources for new files, and make other changes to the selected files.
Pressing “Menu” on your remote control will usually take you back to the main Kodi screen. However, if you are watching a video, the Menu button will show you icons at the bottom that can be used to pause, rewind, and fast forward. In the bottom right hand corner, you’ll see some icons that can be used to change video and audio settings. If you push the up arrow, the focus will shift to an “X” in the upper right hand corner. If you select that X, your video will continue playing, but you’ll be able to now press “Menu” and get back to the main menu while your video continues to play in the background. To return to the video, press “Exit” or click on “Fullscreen” (which appears above the main menu).
Configuring Kodi
These are the settings that I routinely change from the default:
System/System Info/Network- Show the IP address of the unit
Make a note of this IP address, as you’ll need it if you want to SSH into your machine.
Helix/Gotham only: System/Settings/System/Settings Level (bottom)- Click repeatedly until you're in Expert mode
Helix/Gotham Only: System/Settings/Weather/Service for Weather Information/Get More/Yahoo! Weather/Install
System/Settings/System/Video Output/Resolution: Set to match your TV, in most cases 1920x1080p.
However, if you are using a slower computer, you may wish to set this to 1280x720p.
When you change the two items above, you'll be given a chance to accept or reject the changes.
System/Settings/System/Video Output/Video Calibration: This setting is how you tell Kodi where your screen starts and ends. You’ll start by adjusting the upper left hand corner, which will be designated with a blue marker. Use the up, down, left, and right arrows to move the blue marker until it outlines the upper left hand corner of your TV screen. When it is positioned properly, hit enter. I usually set them so that they are barely visible at the edge of the screen. Repeat the process for the bottom, right hand corner. When it is positioned properly, hit enter. Repeat the process for the location of close captions and the aspect ratio. ESC to exit.
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Audio Output: **Experiment until you hear audio
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Number of channels: **As desired
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Enable passthrough: **Check this if you feed your signal through a surround receiver and then select which types of surround your system supports in the fields underneath. If you feed your signal directly to a TV, you should probably uncheck this option.
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Passthrough output device: Should probably match Audio Output (above)
Note: If you have no audio when watching videos, try changing Audio output device and Passthrough output device in this section.
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Settings/Home window/Show Weather: Check
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Settings/Home window/Hide - Programs: Check
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Navigation Sounds: Off
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Show RSS news feeds: Uncheck
System/Settings/Appearance/International/Timezone Country: United States
System/Settings/Appearance/International/Timezone: America/**As desired for your location
System/Settings/Appearance/File lists/Allow file renaming and deletion: Not checked
System/Settings/Appearance/File lists/Show hidden files and directories: Checked
System/Settings/Video/Library/Group movies in sets: Checked
System/Settings/Video/Library/Update Library on startup: Unchecked
System/Settings/Video/File Lists/Default Select Action: Choose
System/Settings/Video/DVD/Attempt to Skip Introduction before DVD Menu: Checked
If you have trouble playing DVDs, try unchecking the above option.
Settings/Weather/General/-Settings/Enabled: Checked
Be sure to click OK when done.
Exit out back to main menu and then return before continuing
System/Settings/Weather/General/-Settings/Location 1: **As desired
Be sure to click OK when done.
System/Settings/Services/General/Device Name: **As desired (generally choose a location name, like FamilyRoom). Make this unique for each machine on your network**
System/Settings/Services/General/UPNP/Share Video … through UPNP: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/Webserver/Allow control of Kodi via http: Checked
System/Settings/Services/Webserver/Username: **As desired (default is kodi)
System/Settings/Services/Webserver/Password: **As desired (default is kodi)
Note: by enabling this, you can use a web browser to access the Kodi machine using it's IP address and start and control playback.
System/Settings/Services/General/Remote Control/Allow Programs...: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/General/Zeroconf/Announce..: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/General/AirPlay:Allow Kodi...: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/SMB Client/Workgroup: **As desired (usually you want to match the workgroup used by Windows machines on your network.
System/Settings/System/Input Devices/Peripherals/CEC Adapter/Enabled: UN-CHECKED
Note: Uncheck this unless you intend to use the TV Remote to control Kodi. Checking this enables HDMI Control, which can be notoriously buggy. If you enable this and you experience problems, you may wish to disable it.
Be sure to click OK After you disable.
System/Settings/System/Power Saving/Put display to sleep when idle: **As desired
System/Settings/System/Power Saving/Shutdown function timer: **As desired
System/Settings/System/Power Saving/Shutdown function: Shutdown:
Note: If you enable suspend instead of shutdown, when you come back from suspend, you may find that the Recordings list is inaccurate for until Kodi pulls an update from ServerWMC, which happens every 5 minutes.
The "Shutdown function" selection also affects what happens when you push the power button on the computer and and what happens when the shutdown function timer is activated.
System/OpenELEC/System/System Name: **as desired (no spaces allowed). Make this unique for each machine on your network.
System/OpenELEC/Services/Samba/Enable Samba: unchecked
System/OpenELEC/Services/Samba/Use Samba Password Authentication: Checked (if you checked the above)
System/OpenELEC/Services/SSH/Disable SSH Password: Checked (until you want SSH access).
System/OpenELEC/Services/Enable Avahi: unchecked
System/OpenELEC/Services/Enable Bluetooth: unchecked
Note: SSH login is root. ssh password is openelec
Username and password cannot be changed, so only enable SSH Password as needed!
The first time you watch a video
The first time you watch a video, do the following:
1. Change the deinterlace mode: Click Menu on your remote and then select the Video Settings icon (bottom right of the screen), change deinterlace video to "Auto." Change deinterlace method to “Auto". Change Zoom amount to ensure that video fills the entire screen. Then set as default for all videos.
Note: If watching TV appears jerky, you may wish to change deinterlace method to “Bob". If you make that change, be sure to click set as default for all videos again.
2. Disable Subtitles: Click Menu on your remote and then select the Audio Settings icon (bottom right of screen), Uncheck "enable subtitles" and then “set as default” for all videos to remove the time stamp that is shown when playing home movies.
Windows Media Center Support
To watch TV shows from Windows Media Center on your Kodi box, you must install the server program (“ServerWMC”) on a computer that is running Windows Media Center (i.e., Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows XP/8 with the Media Center option). You must also install the “PVR Add-on” client on the Kodi Machine.
Download the latest version of ServerWMC and the PVR Add-on client from:
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
With respect to the PVR Add-on Client, you’ll want the following versions:
For Kodi installed using OpenELEC on a computer:
linux (x64): pvr.wmc-linux-x86-64-0.3.xx.zip
For Kodi on a Raspberry Pi:
XBian/OpenElec(arm): pvr.wmc-linux-arm-0.3.xx.zip
Note: If you’re using XBMC 12.2 Frodo, download the 0.1.xx version. For XBMC 13.x Gotham, download the 0.2.xx version.
Configuring the Computer that will record TV (the Server)
Start by setting up the computer that you will use as a server to record live TV:
1. Install Windows 7 Home Premium on a computer.
2. Configure Windows to use a static IP address and make a note of that IP address for later. You can either do this in your router’s DHCP table, or in Windows. To do it in Windows:
Start > Control Panel > Network and Internet > View Network Status and Tasks > Change Adaptor Settings
Right Click on your LAN Connection
Click Networking Tab > Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Click on Properties
Click “Use the following IP address”
IP Address: Select an IP address on your network that will not be duplicated by your router’s DHCP Server
Subnet Mask: use 255.255.255.0 unless you have a reason not to.
Default Gateway: Enter your router’s IP address
Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8
Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4
Click OK. Click Close.
3. Install the TV Tuner drivers (depends upon which TV Tuner you use).
4. Install Nettime to keep the time right. This will help ensure that timers start and stop at the right time.
5. Configure Windows Media Center (Run Windows Media Center configuration, change storage location, increase space available for storage to maximum, set-up timers).
Note: Windows Media Center allows you to add other network locations to monitor for saved recordings. If you add another location, such as a file server on your network, remember that capitalization matters and that it is better to use IP addresses instead of names. So, if your other location is
\\Server\Video\Mediacenter
and your Server's IP address is 192.168.1.75, you should instead use:
\\192.168.1.75\Video\Mediacenter
and should not use:
\\192.168.1.75\video\mediacenter
6. Create a new standard user account on the Windows PC with a password. This account will be used by Kodi to access Recorded TV files over your network.
Start > Control Panel > Add of Remove User Accounts
Create a New Account. Type a User Name. Click Standard User. Click Create Account.
Click on the Account. Click on Create a Password. Enter the password twice and click Create Password.
7. When you configured Windows Media Center, you selected a drive to store Recorded TV on. Usually, you’ll want to select a secondary drive with lots of storage space to hold Recorded TV. On most drives other than C:, the Recorded TV Folder will be in the root directory, i.e. F:/Recorded TV.
Using Windows Explorer, find the Recorded TV Folder and right click on it. Select Properties. Click on the “Sharing Tab.” Click the “Share” button. Click the down arrow and select the user you created in step #6 above. Click Add. Under “Permission Level” to the right of the user, click “Read” and change it to “Read/Write.”
Now click the “Share” button at the bottom right hand corner of the window.
Now change the share name from "Recorded TV" to "rtv". ** (Need to update instructions on how to do this).
8. To ensure that Windows will automatically login to the admin account upon bootup and start ServerWMC:
Start > Run > netplwiz
First, Click on the admin account (not the standard account you created in step #6). Second, uncheck “Users must enter a user name and password.” Third, click OK, enter the administrator password (leave blank if there isn’t one). Click OK. This will allow the machine to login automatically when it boots up.
9. Install ServerWMC.
10. Configure ServerWMC as follows:
General/Start when Windows Starts: Checked
General/Minimize to System Tray: As you desire
General/Close box minimizes to system tray: Unchecked
Folders: Enter the network path to this folder: Change computer name to the IP address of your Windows computer and verify that share name is correct. Click
Save
Folders: Click “Use Credentials for non-windows Kodi clients” and then enter the username/password you created in step 6. Click Save
Alternatively, you can leave this box unchecked and set-up the credentials in Kodi’s file manager by adding the Windows Media Center shared folder as a source and then clicking on the box to save the credentials. If you choose this route, do the following in Kodi:
System/File Manager/Add source/
Change “none” to:
(replace 192.168.1.50 with the IP address of your Windows machine)
When the “lock screen” opens, type in the username and password, click “Remember for this path,” and then click “OK.”
You may receive a warning indicating that your Recorded TV folder is not shared publicly, but you can ignore that warning if you’ve followed these instructions correctly.
Live TV/Set the maximum … Live TV Stream: 4 (or as you desire)
Live TV/Enable prime viewing time: Check
Start/End: As desired
Recordings/Remux active recordings: Checked
Recordings/Append episode title to series tile for recordings using: Checked
Recordings/Append episode title to series tile for recordings using: Title - Episode.
Channels/Channel display format ...:{0} ({1})
Kodi PVR Client
On each Kodi machine, install the PVR Client add-on (zip file) you downloaded when you downloaded ServerWMC by doing the following:
System/Settings/Add-ons/Install from zip file
Kodi will then open the Kodi Browser. Use the up and down arrows to select the folder and then the .zip file you want, and then click on it. Kodi will install the add-on.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Enabled Add-ons/PVR Clients/Windows Media Center Client.../Configure
Enter the IP Address of your Windows Media Center computer in the "Server Hostname or IP" field and select "OK".
Next, enable Live TV in Kodi:
Settings/Live TV/Enabled: Checked
Settings/Live TV/Use backend channels numbers: Checked
Settings/Live TV/EPG/Days to Display EPG: 14 days
Settings/Live TV/Recording/Display a notification … timer updates: Uncheck
Settings/Live TV/EPG/Reset EPG Database: Select and click "Yes".
Note: If you make any settings changes that affect the Program Guide, it is always a good idea to execute the above to reset the database, especially if your changes appear to have no effect at first.
One you’ve done this, a new option should appear on the main Kodi screen called “TV" ("Live TV" on older versions of Kodi). Once you’re in that section, clicking the left arrow will open a sidebar that allows you to choose from all of the available options. I recommend you start by doing this:
Live TV/Recordings: Highlight a recording/Right Click/Sort by Date (twice)
11. Configure ServerWMC to provide the SMB address for recordings and to use IP addresses when identifying clients.
If you use OpenELEC or Kodi with a Linux installation, you will likely find that newly added recordings will not play until you reboot Kodi or Update the Library.
ServerWMC has a debug configuration setting that will overcome this problem. To use this setting, you must be using ServerWMC build 1135, or later.
Open ServerWMC on your Windows computer. Click on the “debug” tab. Click the “Edit Settings File” button.
Windows notepad will open and you will be editing a file called “config.xml”.
Locate and edit the following entry:
<Debug_RequestAllRecordings>false</Debug_RequestAllRecordings>
Change the word “false” to “true”. When you’re done, click “File” at the top of the window and then select “save”. Close Notepad by clicking the “X” in the upper right hand corner.
In addition, you may also wish to change this entry in order to avoid issues that may occur if you have more than one device that uses the same hostname:
<UseIPAddressAsRemoteClientName>false</UseIPAddressAsRemoteClientName>
Change the word “false” to “true”. When you’re done, click “File” at the top of the window and then select “save”. Close Notepad by clicking the “X” in the upper right hand corner.
Then click the “Reload Settings” button on the Debug screen.
Warning: Be careful when editing the config.xml file. If you make a mistake, ServerWMC will crash a few seconds after you click "Reload Settings." If that happens, ServerWMC will rebuild the config.xml file the next time you start it using the default values.
You may wish to backup your config.xml file before you start. You can either copy the file from its default location, or while you're in notepad, hit CTRL-A to select all and then CTRL-C to copy the contents of the .xml file to the Clipboard, and then paste it into a backup file.
You can copy and edit the config.xml file from here:
%programdata%\vdsoftware\serverwmc\config.xml
IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to avoid the bug, you MUST update the video library at least once after you reboot your system. If you do not update the library at least once, the bug may still occur. You can overcome this problem automatically by installing the Auto Update add-on.
Kodi Add-ons
This part of the guide is intended to show you how to enable add-ons and place them in a location where you can find them. My examples are based upon the add-ons I use, but you’re welcome to choose whatever add-ons suit your needs.
Kodi Library Auto Update
This add-on will cause Kodi to regularly update the library in order to determine if new videos have been added.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Program Add-Ons/Kodi Library Auto Update/Install
Note: if nothing appears after All Add-ons, then highlight "Kodi Add-on repository," right click (or press c or Guide), and select "Force Refresh" and "Check for Updates"
After installation, find the add-on and configure it:
System/Settings/Add-ons/Enabled Add-ons/Program Add-ons/Kodi Library Auto Update/Configure
General/Startup Delay: 5 minutes
Video/Update Video Library: Enable
Video/Amount of Time Between Updates (Hours): 1
Cleaning/Clean Libraries: Enable
Cleaning/Verify Sources Before Clean: Enable
PBS
This add-on lets you watch a variety of PBS shows from their web site.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Video Add-Ons/PBS/Install
YouTube
This add-on lets you access YouTube.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Video Add-Ons/YouTube
Add Add-ons to Video Menu
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Videos Submenu/Add-on 3: PBS
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Videos Submenu/Add-on 4: YouTube
Music Add-Ons
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Music Add-Ons:
ListenLiveEU
NPR
Sky.fm
Add Music Add-Ons to Music Menu
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Music Submenu/Add-on 1: NPR
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Music Submenu/Add-on 2: Sky.fm
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Music Submenu/Add-on 3: ListenLiveEU
(Guide continues in the next post)
If you have a question about this guide or a suggestion to improve the guide, please reply here. However, if you have a general question or comment about Kodi or ServerWMC, please don't reply here. Just post a new message in the forum.
If you find this guide helpful, please click the "Thank User" button at the bottom of any of my messages to let me know. Thanks.
Last Updated: February 12, 2016
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Support the Project
Software (Required and Optional)
Required Hardware
Hardware to Record TV (Server)
Hardware to Watch TV (Client)
BIOS settings for the Intel NUC
Installing OpenELEC (which includes XBMC)
Using Kodi (formerly known as XBMC)
Configuring Kodi (formerly known as XBMC)
The first time you watch a video
Windows Media Center Support
Kodi Add-ons
Adding Videos (Movie/TV) that you already have on a network server or a USB Drive
Using the File Manager/Browser
Backup your OpenELEC Install
Advanced Topics
Using SSH
Copying Files to Kodi
Changing Skip Backward Times
Enabling Skip Forward/Backward and Exit Buttons on MCE Remotes
Making Left/Right/Up/Down/Buttons Consistent in Live TV
Allowing Kodi to recognize TV shows that are ripped from a DVD
Changing Font Sizes (for smaller TVs)
Streaming Media (Cameras/Radio Stations/etc)
Raspberry Pi Issues
Copying XML Files if using a theme other than Confluence
Reducing Fan Noise on Intel NUC
Running Windows Media Center in a Virtual Machine
Troubleshooting
Corrupted Video Database (“Movies” and “TV Shows” either missing or duplicated)
Corrupted Thumbnails
Corrupted Program Guide or PVR Database (Guide Missing Data/Recordings Missing)
Corrupted Windows Media Center Database
Kodi and ServerWMC Logfiles
New recordings will not play
Video pauses during Live TV/Active Recordings
Commmand line options
If you have a question about this guide or a suggestion to improve the guide, please reply here. However, if you have a general question or comment about Kodi or ServerWMC, please don't reply here. Just post a new message in the forum.
If you find this guide helpful, please click the "Thank User" button at the bottom of any of my messages to let me know. Thanks.
Introduction
This guide will explain how to set up a personal video recording (“PVR”) system using a computer running Windows 7 and Windows Media Center to record live TV from an over the air antenna and then watch those programs on ordinary televisions using a smaller computer running Kodi (formerly known as XBMC) connected to your TV. The guide is written from a North American perspective. If you live elsewhere in the world, you will probably need to make some deviations from this guide, especially with respect to the recommended TV Tuner.
Important: Please note the “Last Updated” date that appears at the top of this document. Open Source Software is often updated and sometimes evolves quickly. You may find that options referred to in this guide have changed locations, been renamed, or eliminated altogether, especially if you use a newer version.
Support the Project:
If you find ServerWMC/pvr.WMC useful, please considering donating whatever you think is reasonable.
You can donate to ServerWMC/pvr.WMC by clicking the donate button at the top of this page:
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
You can donate to Kodi (formerly known as XBMC) here:
https://kodi.tv/contribute/donate/
You can donate to OpenELEC here:
http://openelec.tv/donate
Software (Required and Optional)
You'll need several different computer programs in order to set up Kodi to watch Live and Recorded TV. Fortunately, most of them are free. You'll want to get the following programs:
1. Kodi: Kodi is a free, open source computer program that you can use to watch videos, music files, and photos on your television. Kodi is optimized for use on television sets using a remote control, but it can also be used with a keyboard on a computer. Using this guide, you’ll set-up Kodi to watch Live and Recorded TV on smaller computers that are connected to each TV in your home, while another computer running Windows 7 and Windows Media Center acts as a server that records TV shows and streams live TV.
When this guide was written, the current version of Kodi is version 15.2 (Isengard). The version before that was Kodi 14.2 (Helix). Prior to version 14, Kodi was known as XBMC. The last major version of XBMC was 13.2 (Gotham), and before that 12.3 (Frodo). Kodi includes the ability to install different themes (called skins) which will change the look and feel of the program. The default theme (skin) on Kodi is called “Confluence”.
There are many ways to install Kodi. You can manually install Kodi onto an existing Windows or Linux machine. If you wish to do the install that way, you can download the latest version of Kodi from here:
http://kodi.tv/download/
However, for the purpose of this guide, we will set-up a dedicated machine that will be connected to a TV and which will run only Kodi.
There are also several ways to install Kodi onto a computer for this purpose, including distributions such as OpenELEC, KodiBuntu, and OSMC (formerly known as RaspBMC).
OpenELEC is a free, open source distribution that includes a very basic Linux kernel and Kodi. Once you have installed OpenELEC on a computer, that computer becomes a Kodi appliance that will run Kodi immediately after it is turned on. OpenELEC includes versions that will run on most personal computers and on the Raspberry Pi, which is a very small, low powered computer that sells for about $75.
You can download OpenELEC here:
http://openelec.tv/get-openelec
The current version of OpenELEC is 6.0.1. It includes Kodi 15.2 (Isengard). Prior major versions of OpenELEC were 5.0.8 (Kodi 14.2 (Helix)), 4.2.1 (XBMC 13.2 (Gotham)), and 3.2.4 (XBMC 12.2 (Frodo)).
KodiBuntu is a free distribution that includes a full install of Ubuntu (a version of Linux) and Kodi. It runs on most PCs. You can download Kodibuntu here:
http://kodi.tv/download/
OSMC is a free distribution that includes the Raspberry Pi operating system and boots directly into Kodi. It runs only on Raspberry Pi. You can download OSMC here:
https://osmc.tv/download/
These instructions assume that you choose OpenELEC. If you choose another distribution or choose to install Kodi on a Windows machine, these instructions will still serve as a good getting-started guide, but you should expect to find some areas where these instructions don’t work.
2. Windows 7 Home Premium or Ultimate: Windows 7 is a computer operating system written and distributed by Microsoft Corporation. The Home Premium and Ultimate versions both include a free program called Windows Media Center which can be used to watch and record TV using a supported TV Tuner. You can buy Windows 7 Home Premium from Amazon.com. You can also use Windows 8, but you must purchase Windows Media Center from the Microsoft App Store for $10.00. Windows Media Center is NOT available with Windows 10.
When this guide was written, the current version of Windows 7 was Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Media Refresh (SP1-U). If you wish to do a fresh install, you can download an ISO file, which can be used to create an installer DVD, from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-recovery
If you already own a computer running Windows 7 and wish to do a fresh install, you can use the product key on the sticker on that computer to activate a fresh install. However, you may also have to obtain drivers from your computer manufacturer’s web-site to ensure that all of the components in the computer work correctly.
3. The Windows Media Center Add-on for Kodi: The Windows Media Center Add-on for Kodi is a free computer program that is created and maintained by krustyreturns and Scarecrow420, who can both be reached using the Kodi forums.
The Plug-In includes two parts: (1) A server program which you will install on your Windows computer called ServerWMC and (2) a client program which will be installed on each Kodi machine as an “add-on” called pvr.wmc. You can download the Server program and the client/PVR add-on using this link:
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
Both ServerWMC and pvr.wmc are updated routinely, so be sure to register to be updated when a new version is released. Create an account at forum.kodi.tv. Then visit the following two pages and click “subscribe to this thread” in the bottom left hand corner:
ServerWMC updates:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=179958
pvr.wmc updates:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=179960
The current version of ServerWMC is 1225. The current version of pvr.wmc is 0.x.99. Replace the “x” with 3 if you are running Kodi 14.x (Helix), 2 if you are running XBMC 13.x (Gotham), and 1 if you are running XBMC 12.x (Frodo). Note that the Helix plugins are listed first on the download page.
4. Nettime: Nettime is a free program that will keep the time set correctly on your Windows 7 Machine. While Windows 7 has a built-in tool for that purpose, it does not seem to work properly if you leave Windows 7 running without regular user intervention. Having the time set right is important to ensure that recordings start and stop when they should. You can download it from here:
http://www.timesynctool.com/
5. Putty: Putty is a free SSH client that runs on Windows. It will allow you to connect to a linux-based Kodi computer remotely and perform various tasks that are contained in these instructions. One of the best features about Putty is that you can highlight text that you see on Putty’s screen using the mouse and it will be immediately copied onto the Windows clipboard. And if you right click while Putty is in focus, anything on the Windows clipboard will be pasted into Putty wherever the cursor is located. You’ll find that feature very useful when you need to SSH into your machine and execute commands or create files as suggested in this guide.
You can download Putty from here:
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtat...nload.html
6. MCEBuddy (Optional): MCEBuddy is software that will monitor any folder that you choose for new recorded TV programs and then automatically process the files that appear there according to your instructions. It can be configured to simply move and rename files from the standard naming conventions used by Windows Media Center to the naming convention used by Kodi without any conversions. In a more complex configuration, MCEBuddy can be configured to convert the files from .wtv to .mp4 (which are about ¼ the size of a wtv file), either remove the commercials or create a .edl file that Kodi can use to skip over the commercials during playback, and then move and rename the files. I haven’t completed my testing of MCEBuddy, and so this Guide does not yet include detailed instructions for configuring it.
7. Remote Access Software: If you plan to run your Windows Media Center as a "headless server" (with no monitor, no keyboard, and no mouse), you should consider installing some kind of remote access software. Teamviewer (www.teamviewer.com) currently offers a free option that you may find useful. You may also want to consider a VNC option such as RealVNC or TightVNC.
8. Disk Monitoring Software: Acronis Drive Monitor is free software for Windows that will monitor your hard drive and can email you if your drive is showing signs of failure. This can be useful since Windows Media Center keeps all of your Recorded TV on a single hard drive.
Required Hardware
This guide assumes that you will have at least two computers: One will run Windows 7 and Windows Media Center (The "Server"). The Server will be used to record TV shows. The other computer will run OpenELEC and Kodi (The "Client"). It will be connected to your TV and used to watch Live TV, Recorded TV Shows, and more (the "Client").
However, if you want to, you can easily install Kodi for Windows on the Server machine and do everything from there. If you choose that option, you'll still find some of this guide useful, but much of what is written here is irrelevant to that configuration.
Hardware to Record TV (Server)
1. Computer: Most personal computers sold in the last ten years for the purpose of running Windows will work. Just about any HP, Acer, or Gateway machine should work just fine. Recording Live TV from a tuner using Windows Media Center requires very little processing power so a fast machine is not necessary. You can probably even use one of the Intel NUCs that I recommend in the next section for use at a TV for the purpose of running Windows Media Center.
2. A big hard drive: Recorded TV takes up a lot of hard-drive space. A single hour of recorded TV can easily use 8GB of storage. Get the largest hard-drive that you can afford.
3. TV Tuner and Antenna: If you plan to record TV from a TV antenna, you’ll need to purchase a TV Tuner and an off-air antenna. Windows Media Center supports up to four TV Tuners. If you purchase a two tuner device, you can purchase a second device and use both at the same time. You can user more tuners if you use a program like TunerSalad (which overcomes Windows Media Center’s four tuner limit). There are a variety of options available for TV Tuners:
A. SiliconDust HDHomeRun Connect High Definition Digital TV Tuner HDHR4-2US is a two tuner off-air HDTV Tuner for North America. Unlike most other options, it connects to your computer network instead of installing inside your computer. That means that you can have the server in one location, and the Tuner in another location (closer to your TV antenna). You can purchase two of these units to provide a total of four tuners for Windows Media Center.
If you use the HDHomeRun Dual, you’ll need the Windows drivers for the Tuner. The Tuner will come with a driver disk, but it may be better to download the latest version from the manufacturer. You can download them from here:
http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhomerun/downloads/
You can find installation instructions here:
http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhom...tructions/
and here:
http://www.silicondust.com/support/hdhom...ions/wmc7/
B. Other Tuners: There are several other well known manufacturers of TV Tuners, including Ceton and Hauppauge. Ceton’s infinitTV6 records from cable TV using a CableCard and has 6 tuners (and software to overcome Media Center’s four tuner limit). SiliconDust has a similar version that has 3 tuners. Hauppauge mainly makes TV Tuner cards you can install inside your computer, such as the WinTV-HVR-2250, which is a two tuner card.
C. TV Antenna: There are a variety of options available to purchase a TV Antenna. My favorite source for TV Antennas in the U.S. is
http://www.dennysantennaservice.com/. The site includes links to tools that will help you pick the right antenna and a variety of choices for antennas.
D. Attenuator/Filter: If you experience significant interference or pixelization, you may wish to install an LTE Filter, which will filter out frequencies above the UHF TV band that can sometimes cause interference. In addition, if you have a very strong signal (100%), you may wish to install an attenuator to prevent overdeviation.
You can buy an LTE Filter here:
http://smile.amazon.com/Shielded-Line-Fi...LTE+Filter
You can buy an attenuator here:
http://smile.amazon.com/Parts-Express--L...attenuator
Note, that you can connect together multiple filters and attenuators as necessary to eliminate interference.
4. Video Capture Card and Infrared Blaster (optional): If you plan to record TV from a cable-box or satellite dish, you'll need a Media Center Compatible Infrared Blaster, which Media Center will use to change channels on your cable/satellite box, and video capture card to record the TV signal. I haven't tested these options, but the following may work:
A. IR Blaster with Remote:
1. Azend Group MediaGate HA-IR01SV Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate Media Center Remote Control, 1 Channel IR (Silver)
2. Rosewill RHRC-11001
B. Video Capture Card: Hauppauge Colossus PCI Express Internal HD-PVR
Hardware to Watch TV (Client)
Any computer with an HDMI port can be connected to your TV or to your surround sound receiver. These are the two options that I’ve tested:
1. Intel Next Unit of Computing (about $250 total)
Computer: Intel Next Unit of Computing – Model DCCP847DYE
Memory: Crucial 4GB Single DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Notebook Memory Module CT51264BF160B
Power Cord: C2G / Cables to Go - 27400 - 6ft 3-Slot Notebook Power Cord
Hard Drive (Either of these will work):
a. SanDisk Cruzer Ultra Fit CZ43 32GB USB Flash Drive
b. MyDigitalSSD SC2 Super Cache 2 50mm SATA III 6G mSATA SSD Solid State Drive (32GB with FNet HybriDisk)
Note: The Intel NUC is a computer that is about the size of a hockey puck. It has 3 USB Ports and 2 HDMI Ports (you’ll use this to connect your TV).
Installing the memory, power cord and hard drive in these machines is very easy. The Intel NUC computer comes with a very nice instruction manual, and you can easily find Youtube videos that will show you exactly how to do it.
The model # listed was the cheapest one available at the time that I first wrote this (About $150). As time has passed, newer versions have become available. In addition, given increasing demands of OpenELEC and Kodi, this version is no longer able to faithfully reproduce MPEG-2 Video (which is what over the air broadcasts use) at 1080i. It can still produce video at 720p without issues.
I'm currently testing a newer Intel NUC with a better processor and will update this guide once my testing is completed.
2. Raspberry Pi Option (about $75.00 total)
Computer: Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
Case: As desired
Power Supply: Any Micro-USB Power supply that delivers 1A at 5 Volts
Hard Drive: 8GB SD Card
Note: The Raspberry Pi 2 Model B is a very small, inexpensive, low power computer. Everything you need can be purchased as a kit on Amazon. If you plan to use the Raspberry Pi to watch MPEG2 video (TV or DVD), you'll also need to purchase an MPEG2 License. See the advanced topics section towards the end of this guide for more information. I much prefer The Intel Next Unit of Computing over the Raspberry Pi.
3. Optional Items for client setup
A. Remote Control and IR Receiver: One of the following:
If you want to control what you watch using a remote control, you'll want one of the following:
1. Ortek Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control and Infrared Receiver for Home, Premium and Ultimate Edition. This consists of a USB Infrared Receiver that plugs into your Kodi machine and a remote control. I use the remote to program my Universal Remote Control (see next item) and then put the remote in a drawer. Although this device was designed and is intended for use on computers running Windows Media Center, it also works on a Kodi machine. You’ll need to do a bit of experimenting to learn what each button does. Note that the Guide button acts as a context/right click button.
Note: You can find a list of Kodi Keyboard controls and their functions here:
http://kodi.wiki/view/Keyboard_controls
You can find a great guide to using remote controls with Kodi here:
http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220677
2. FLIRC: Flirc is a USB Device that can translate any IR remote control button to any key on a standard keyboard. For example, you can use the included software to program FLIRC so that when you press the up button on an old DVD player remote, it will press the up arrow on a keyboard. It is more expensive than the other options I noted above.
B. Universal Remote Control: The Logitech Harmony Elite is a great universal remote control. If you use the Harmony Elite, note the following:
1. The Harmony Elite can be set-up using a Windows PC or an Android or iOS phone. The Windows software includes many more options than the Android or iOS software, and so I recommend only using the Windows PC for setup.
2. The Harmony Elite will control a FLIRC without having to learn any IR commands, but only if you set it up using the Manufacturer: FLIRC and Model #: Kodi.
3. The Harmony Elite will control the Ortek remote that I recommend above if you use Manufacturer: Ortek and Model: VRC-1100.
The Logitech Harmony Ultimate is terrible, and so I do not recommend that model.
Universal Remote Control makes a bunch of excellent remote controls, but they all require a professional to install and configure them. My favorites are the MX-850 and MX-890.
C. Wireless 2.4Ghz Keyboard: Logitech Wireless Touch Keyboard K400 with Built-In Multi-Touch Touchpad: This is a full-size keyboard that does not use IR. It is great for initial configuration of your Windows 7 Server and each Kodi box, but I believe that it is too large for ordinary use. You can also use any USB keyboard when setting up Kodi.
D. HDMI Cable: You will connect your computer running Kodi to your TV using an HDMI Cable. This cable will send both the audio and the video to your TV. Monoprice.com has cheap HDMI cables.
E. Wifi: Wifi is often not fast enough for reliable streaming, but if you want to try it, you might try one of the following:
1. Ubiquiti Networks AirGateway and POE-24-12W: The AirGateway ($19) can provide Wifi access to any device with an Ethernet jack. I use this routinely for my network and it works great. It can also be configured as an access point and even as a router. You also have to buy a POE-24-12W to power it ($9).
2. Edimax EW-7811Un 150 Mbps Wireless 11n Nano Size USB Adapter with EZmax Setup Wizard: This USB device is apparently highly recommended for use with the Raspberry Pi and may also work with the Intel NUC. I have not tested it.
3. Intel Network 7260.HMWG WiFi Wireless-AC 7260 H/T Dual Band 2x2 AC+Bluetooth HMC: This apparently can provide Wifi to the Intel NUC and is installed inside the NUC. I have not tested it.
F. Light DIMS: If you plan to use any of these devices in a bedroom, you might want to buy a pack of these handy stickers that will reduce the intensity of the lights on your devices.
http://www.lightdims.com/
G. Latest BIOS (Intel NUC Option Only): If you use the Intel NUC, you should update to the latest BIOS, which you can find here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx?lang=eng
Make the following selections on the web-site:
Product Family: Desktop Boards
Product Line: Intel NUC Boards and Kits
Product Name: Your model #
Click Find.
Operating System: OS Independent
Download Type: BIOS
Select the latest BIOS Update (at the top of the listing).
Download the .BIO file. Place it on a USB Stick. Plug the USB Stick into the Intel NUC. While booting press F7 to update the BIOS using the .BIO file.
Reboot into BIOS by holding F2 while booting. Load defaults by pressing F9, and then save and exit by pressing F10.
BIOS settings for the Intel NUC
When using the Intel NUC for OpenELEC, Intel recommends the following BIOS settings:
1. Press F2 when prompted during boot to enter BIOS Setup.
2. Press F9 to set all BIOS options to default values.
3. Select Advanced.
3. On the Devices and Peripherals > SATA menu, Chipset SATA Mode is set to AHCI.
4. On the Devices and Peripherals > USB menu, USB Legacy is enabled (checked).
5. On the Devices and Peripherals > Video menu, IGD Minimum Memory is set to 512 MB.
6. On the Boot > Boot Priority menu:
7. UEFI Boot is disabled (unchecked).
8. Legacy Boot is enabled (checked).
9. On the Boot > Boot Configuration menu, USB under Boot Devices is enabled (checked).
10. Press F10 to save your changes and exit BIOS Setup.
For more details, see this link: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/s...05471.html
Installing OpenELEC (which includes Kodi)
Begin by installing OpenElec on the small computer that you will connect to your television set. Download OpenELEC for your machine from here:
http://openelec.tv/get-openelec/download
For Kodi Isengard (15.2) on the Intel NUC, choose the Generic Build and download "[Stable] OpenELEC 6.0.1 (x86_64) Disk image"
For Kodi Helix (14.2) on the Intel NUC, choose the Generic Build and download "[Stable] OpenELEC 5.0.8 (x86_64) Diskimage"
For the Raspberry Pi hardware option, download the Raspberry Pi build.
Depending upon which version you download, the file will either come in a .gz or a .tar format. These are archive formats similar to .zip, but you'll need a separate program to open them. You can use 7-Zip to un-tar them.
http://www.7-zip.org/
OpenELEC 6.0.1 is available either in a standard version that includes the files to install it on a USB Drive/SD Card or a disk image version, which is labelled with the word [Diskimage] at the beginning. If you choose the disk image version, you need a disk image software to install it, such as Win32DiskImager, which you can download here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
If you download the disk image version, then use 7-zip to convert the .img.gz file to a .img file. Then run Win32DiskImager to transfer the .img file to a USB Drive (for the Intel NUC) or to an 8GB SD Card (for the Raspberry Pi).
For the Raspberry Pi, the SD Card is your drive and operating system. Insert the SD Card into the Raspbery Pi,hook it up to your TV, power, and remote control, and turn it on.
For the Intel NUC, the USB Drive is an installer. Insert the USB Drive into the Intel NUC, hook it up to your TV, power, and a keyboard, and turn it on. Install Kodi from the initial USB Drive to a second USB Drive (or an internal hard drive if you have installed one inside the Intel NUC). Once the install is done, remove the USB Drive you used for the installer and reboot and you're done.If you download the standard version that has the installer, follow the instructions from here:
http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php?title=Installation
While installing OpenElec, you’ll be asked if you want to enable SSH and Samba during install. Be sure to select these options, or they won’t be available later.
You'll secure SSH later by disabling password based access from within Kodi.
Using Kodi
When you turn on a computer running OpenELEC, it boots up into Kodi. When you start, you’ll be using the default skin/theme which is called Confluence. You will see options to access System (settings), Programs, Videos, Photos, Music, Weather, and a few other items, which you can choose using the left/right and OK buttons on your remote. In the bottom left hand corner, you’ll see options to view your favorites and to power-off or reboot the machine.
When using a Windows Media Center remote control like the one that I recommended, the up/down/left/right/ok and exit buttons work just as you would expect them to in most Kodi screens. However, in XBMC Frodo, when you’re in the File Manager or Browser, the left/right buttons are used to move from the folder list to the OK/Cancel buttons, even though they are below the folder list. In Kodi Helix and XBMC Gotham, the OK/Cancel buttons have sensibly been moved to the left of the folder list.
When watching videos, the up/down buttons skip forward and backward 10 minutes or move through chapters if you’re watching something that has marked chapters. The left and right buttons skip forward and backward 30 seconds. If you type a number and then hit the left or right buttons, the show will advance that number of minutes and seconds. In XBMC Frodo, the exit button skips backward 7 seconds. In Kodi Helix and XBMC Gotham, no button will do the 7 second backward skip, but I'll show you how to fix that later.
The Guide button on most remotes serves as a right click/context menu button. Typically, the context menu will allow you to select an item as a favorite, rescan your sources for new files, and make other changes to the selected files.
Pressing “Menu” on your remote control will usually take you back to the main Kodi screen. However, if you are watching a video, the Menu button will show you icons at the bottom that can be used to pause, rewind, and fast forward. In the bottom right hand corner, you’ll see some icons that can be used to change video and audio settings. If you push the up arrow, the focus will shift to an “X” in the upper right hand corner. If you select that X, your video will continue playing, but you’ll be able to now press “Menu” and get back to the main menu while your video continues to play in the background. To return to the video, press “Exit” or click on “Fullscreen” (which appears above the main menu).
Configuring Kodi
These are the settings that I routinely change from the default:
System/System Info/Network- Show the IP address of the unit
Make a note of this IP address, as you’ll need it if you want to SSH into your machine.
Helix/Gotham only: System/Settings/System/Settings Level (bottom)- Click repeatedly until you're in Expert mode
Helix/Gotham Only: System/Settings/Weather/Service for Weather Information/Get More/Yahoo! Weather/Install
System/Settings/System/Video Output/Resolution: Set to match your TV, in most cases 1920x1080p.
However, if you are using a slower computer, you may wish to set this to 1280x720p.
When you change the two items above, you'll be given a chance to accept or reject the changes.
System/Settings/System/Video Output/Video Calibration: This setting is how you tell Kodi where your screen starts and ends. You’ll start by adjusting the upper left hand corner, which will be designated with a blue marker. Use the up, down, left, and right arrows to move the blue marker until it outlines the upper left hand corner of your TV screen. When it is positioned properly, hit enter. I usually set them so that they are barely visible at the edge of the screen. Repeat the process for the bottom, right hand corner. When it is positioned properly, hit enter. Repeat the process for the location of close captions and the aspect ratio. ESC to exit.
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Audio Output: **Experiment until you hear audio
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Number of channels: **As desired
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Enable passthrough: **Check this if you feed your signal through a surround receiver and then select which types of surround your system supports in the fields underneath. If you feed your signal directly to a TV, you should probably uncheck this option.
System/Settings/System/Audio Output/Passthrough output device: Should probably match Audio Output (above)
Note: If you have no audio when watching videos, try changing Audio output device and Passthrough output device in this section.
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Settings/Home window/Show Weather: Check
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Settings/Home window/Hide - Programs: Check
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Navigation Sounds: Off
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Show RSS news feeds: Uncheck
System/Settings/Appearance/International/Timezone Country: United States
System/Settings/Appearance/International/Timezone: America/**As desired for your location
System/Settings/Appearance/File lists/Allow file renaming and deletion: Not checked
System/Settings/Appearance/File lists/Show hidden files and directories: Checked
System/Settings/Video/Library/Group movies in sets: Checked
System/Settings/Video/Library/Update Library on startup: Unchecked
System/Settings/Video/File Lists/Default Select Action: Choose
System/Settings/Video/DVD/Attempt to Skip Introduction before DVD Menu: Checked
If you have trouble playing DVDs, try unchecking the above option.
Settings/Weather/General/-Settings/Enabled: Checked
Be sure to click OK when done.
Exit out back to main menu and then return before continuing
System/Settings/Weather/General/-Settings/Location 1: **As desired
Be sure to click OK when done.
System/Settings/Services/General/Device Name: **As desired (generally choose a location name, like FamilyRoom). Make this unique for each machine on your network**
System/Settings/Services/General/UPNP/Share Video … through UPNP: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/Webserver/Allow control of Kodi via http: Checked
System/Settings/Services/Webserver/Username: **As desired (default is kodi)
System/Settings/Services/Webserver/Password: **As desired (default is kodi)
Note: by enabling this, you can use a web browser to access the Kodi machine using it's IP address and start and control playback.
System/Settings/Services/General/Remote Control/Allow Programs...: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/General/Zeroconf/Announce..: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/General/AirPlay:Allow Kodi...: Disabled
System/Settings/Services/SMB Client/Workgroup: **As desired (usually you want to match the workgroup used by Windows machines on your network.
System/Settings/System/Input Devices/Peripherals/CEC Adapter/Enabled: UN-CHECKED
Note: Uncheck this unless you intend to use the TV Remote to control Kodi. Checking this enables HDMI Control, which can be notoriously buggy. If you enable this and you experience problems, you may wish to disable it.
Be sure to click OK After you disable.
System/Settings/System/Power Saving/Put display to sleep when idle: **As desired
System/Settings/System/Power Saving/Shutdown function timer: **As desired
System/Settings/System/Power Saving/Shutdown function: Shutdown:
Note: If you enable suspend instead of shutdown, when you come back from suspend, you may find that the Recordings list is inaccurate for until Kodi pulls an update from ServerWMC, which happens every 5 minutes.
The "Shutdown function" selection also affects what happens when you push the power button on the computer and and what happens when the shutdown function timer is activated.
System/OpenELEC/System/System Name: **as desired (no spaces allowed). Make this unique for each machine on your network.
System/OpenELEC/Services/Samba/Enable Samba: unchecked
System/OpenELEC/Services/Samba/Use Samba Password Authentication: Checked (if you checked the above)
System/OpenELEC/Services/SSH/Disable SSH Password: Checked (until you want SSH access).
System/OpenELEC/Services/Enable Avahi: unchecked
System/OpenELEC/Services/Enable Bluetooth: unchecked
Note: SSH login is root. ssh password is openelec
Username and password cannot be changed, so only enable SSH Password as needed!
The first time you watch a video
The first time you watch a video, do the following:
1. Change the deinterlace mode: Click Menu on your remote and then select the Video Settings icon (bottom right of the screen), change deinterlace video to "Auto." Change deinterlace method to “Auto". Change Zoom amount to ensure that video fills the entire screen. Then set as default for all videos.
Note: If watching TV appears jerky, you may wish to change deinterlace method to “Bob". If you make that change, be sure to click set as default for all videos again.
2. Disable Subtitles: Click Menu on your remote and then select the Audio Settings icon (bottom right of screen), Uncheck "enable subtitles" and then “set as default” for all videos to remove the time stamp that is shown when playing home movies.
Windows Media Center Support
To watch TV shows from Windows Media Center on your Kodi box, you must install the server program (“ServerWMC”) on a computer that is running Windows Media Center (i.e., Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows XP/8 with the Media Center option). You must also install the “PVR Add-on” client on the Kodi Machine.
Download the latest version of ServerWMC and the PVR Add-on client from:
http://bit.ly/serverwmc
With respect to the PVR Add-on Client, you’ll want the following versions:
For Kodi installed using OpenELEC on a computer:
linux (x64): pvr.wmc-linux-x86-64-0.3.xx.zip
For Kodi on a Raspberry Pi:
XBian/OpenElec(arm): pvr.wmc-linux-arm-0.3.xx.zip
Note: If you’re using XBMC 12.2 Frodo, download the 0.1.xx version. For XBMC 13.x Gotham, download the 0.2.xx version.
Configuring the Computer that will record TV (the Server)
Start by setting up the computer that you will use as a server to record live TV:
1. Install Windows 7 Home Premium on a computer.
2. Configure Windows to use a static IP address and make a note of that IP address for later. You can either do this in your router’s DHCP table, or in Windows. To do it in Windows:
Start > Control Panel > Network and Internet > View Network Status and Tasks > Change Adaptor Settings
Right Click on your LAN Connection
Click Networking Tab > Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Click on Properties
Click “Use the following IP address”
IP Address: Select an IP address on your network that will not be duplicated by your router’s DHCP Server
Subnet Mask: use 255.255.255.0 unless you have a reason not to.
Default Gateway: Enter your router’s IP address
Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8
Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4
Click OK. Click Close.
3. Install the TV Tuner drivers (depends upon which TV Tuner you use).
4. Install Nettime to keep the time right. This will help ensure that timers start and stop at the right time.
5. Configure Windows Media Center (Run Windows Media Center configuration, change storage location, increase space available for storage to maximum, set-up timers).
Note: Windows Media Center allows you to add other network locations to monitor for saved recordings. If you add another location, such as a file server on your network, remember that capitalization matters and that it is better to use IP addresses instead of names. So, if your other location is
\\Server\Video\Mediacenter
and your Server's IP address is 192.168.1.75, you should instead use:
\\192.168.1.75\Video\Mediacenter
and should not use:
\\192.168.1.75\video\mediacenter
6. Create a new standard user account on the Windows PC with a password. This account will be used by Kodi to access Recorded TV files over your network.
Start > Control Panel > Add of Remove User Accounts
Create a New Account. Type a User Name. Click Standard User. Click Create Account.
Click on the Account. Click on Create a Password. Enter the password twice and click Create Password.
7. When you configured Windows Media Center, you selected a drive to store Recorded TV on. Usually, you’ll want to select a secondary drive with lots of storage space to hold Recorded TV. On most drives other than C:, the Recorded TV Folder will be in the root directory, i.e. F:/Recorded TV.
Using Windows Explorer, find the Recorded TV Folder and right click on it. Select Properties. Click on the “Sharing Tab.” Click the “Share” button. Click the down arrow and select the user you created in step #6 above. Click Add. Under “Permission Level” to the right of the user, click “Read” and change it to “Read/Write.”
Now click the “Share” button at the bottom right hand corner of the window.
Now change the share name from "Recorded TV" to "rtv". ** (Need to update instructions on how to do this).
8. To ensure that Windows will automatically login to the admin account upon bootup and start ServerWMC:
Start > Run > netplwiz
First, Click on the admin account (not the standard account you created in step #6). Second, uncheck “Users must enter a user name and password.” Third, click OK, enter the administrator password (leave blank if there isn’t one). Click OK. This will allow the machine to login automatically when it boots up.
9. Install ServerWMC.
10. Configure ServerWMC as follows:
General/Start when Windows Starts: Checked
General/Minimize to System Tray: As you desire
General/Close box minimizes to system tray: Unchecked
Folders: Enter the network path to this folder: Change computer name to the IP address of your Windows computer and verify that share name is correct. Click
Save
Folders: Click “Use Credentials for non-windows Kodi clients” and then enter the username/password you created in step 6. Click Save
Alternatively, you can leave this box unchecked and set-up the credentials in Kodi’s file manager by adding the Windows Media Center shared folder as a source and then clicking on the box to save the credentials. If you choose this route, do the following in Kodi:
System/File Manager/Add source/
Change “none” to:
Code:
smb://192.168.1.50/(replace 192.168.1.50 with the IP address of your Windows machine)
When the “lock screen” opens, type in the username and password, click “Remember for this path,” and then click “OK.”
You may receive a warning indicating that your Recorded TV folder is not shared publicly, but you can ignore that warning if you’ve followed these instructions correctly.
Live TV/Set the maximum … Live TV Stream: 4 (or as you desire)
Live TV/Enable prime viewing time: Check
Start/End: As desired
Recordings/Remux active recordings: Checked
Recordings/Append episode title to series tile for recordings using: Checked
Recordings/Append episode title to series tile for recordings using: Title - Episode.
Channels/Channel display format ...:{0} ({1})
Kodi PVR Client
On each Kodi machine, install the PVR Client add-on (zip file) you downloaded when you downloaded ServerWMC by doing the following:
System/Settings/Add-ons/Install from zip file
Kodi will then open the Kodi Browser. Use the up and down arrows to select the folder and then the .zip file you want, and then click on it. Kodi will install the add-on.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Enabled Add-ons/PVR Clients/Windows Media Center Client.../Configure
Enter the IP Address of your Windows Media Center computer in the "Server Hostname or IP" field and select "OK".
Next, enable Live TV in Kodi:
Settings/Live TV/Enabled: Checked
Settings/Live TV/Use backend channels numbers: Checked
Settings/Live TV/EPG/Days to Display EPG: 14 days
Settings/Live TV/Recording/Display a notification … timer updates: Uncheck
Settings/Live TV/EPG/Reset EPG Database: Select and click "Yes".
Note: If you make any settings changes that affect the Program Guide, it is always a good idea to execute the above to reset the database, especially if your changes appear to have no effect at first.
One you’ve done this, a new option should appear on the main Kodi screen called “TV" ("Live TV" on older versions of Kodi). Once you’re in that section, clicking the left arrow will open a sidebar that allows you to choose from all of the available options. I recommend you start by doing this:
Live TV/Recordings: Highlight a recording/Right Click/Sort by Date (twice)
11. Configure ServerWMC to provide the SMB address for recordings and to use IP addresses when identifying clients.
If you use OpenELEC or Kodi with a Linux installation, you will likely find that newly added recordings will not play until you reboot Kodi or Update the Library.
ServerWMC has a debug configuration setting that will overcome this problem. To use this setting, you must be using ServerWMC build 1135, or later.
Open ServerWMC on your Windows computer. Click on the “debug” tab. Click the “Edit Settings File” button.
Windows notepad will open and you will be editing a file called “config.xml”.
Locate and edit the following entry:
<Debug_RequestAllRecordings>false</Debug_RequestAllRecordings>
Change the word “false” to “true”. When you’re done, click “File” at the top of the window and then select “save”. Close Notepad by clicking the “X” in the upper right hand corner.
In addition, you may also wish to change this entry in order to avoid issues that may occur if you have more than one device that uses the same hostname:
<UseIPAddressAsRemoteClientName>false</UseIPAddressAsRemoteClientName>
Change the word “false” to “true”. When you’re done, click “File” at the top of the window and then select “save”. Close Notepad by clicking the “X” in the upper right hand corner.
Then click the “Reload Settings” button on the Debug screen.
Warning: Be careful when editing the config.xml file. If you make a mistake, ServerWMC will crash a few seconds after you click "Reload Settings." If that happens, ServerWMC will rebuild the config.xml file the next time you start it using the default values.
You may wish to backup your config.xml file before you start. You can either copy the file from its default location, or while you're in notepad, hit CTRL-A to select all and then CTRL-C to copy the contents of the .xml file to the Clipboard, and then paste it into a backup file.
You can copy and edit the config.xml file from here:
%programdata%\vdsoftware\serverwmc\config.xml
IMPORTANT NOTE: In order to avoid the bug, you MUST update the video library at least once after you reboot your system. If you do not update the library at least once, the bug may still occur. You can overcome this problem automatically by installing the Auto Update add-on.
Kodi Add-ons
This part of the guide is intended to show you how to enable add-ons and place them in a location where you can find them. My examples are based upon the add-ons I use, but you’re welcome to choose whatever add-ons suit your needs.
Kodi Library Auto Update
This add-on will cause Kodi to regularly update the library in order to determine if new videos have been added.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Program Add-Ons/Kodi Library Auto Update/Install
Note: if nothing appears after All Add-ons, then highlight "Kodi Add-on repository," right click (or press c or Guide), and select "Force Refresh" and "Check for Updates"
After installation, find the add-on and configure it:
System/Settings/Add-ons/Enabled Add-ons/Program Add-ons/Kodi Library Auto Update/Configure
General/Startup Delay: 5 minutes
Video/Update Video Library: Enable
Video/Amount of Time Between Updates (Hours): 1
Cleaning/Clean Libraries: Enable
Cleaning/Verify Sources Before Clean: Enable
PBS
This add-on lets you watch a variety of PBS shows from their web site.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Video Add-Ons/PBS/Install
YouTube
This add-on lets you access YouTube.
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Video Add-Ons/YouTube
Add Add-ons to Video Menu
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Videos Submenu/Add-on 3: PBS
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Videos Submenu/Add-on 4: YouTube
Music Add-Ons
System/Settings/Add-ons/Get Add-ons/All Add-ons/Music Add-Ons:
ListenLiveEU
NPR
Sky.fm
Add Music Add-Ons to Music Menu
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Music Submenu/Add-on 1: NPR
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Music Submenu/Add-on 2: Sky.fm
System/Settings/Appearance/Skin/Skin – Settings/Home Window Options/Add-on Shortcuts/Home Page Music Submenu/Add-on 3: ListenLiveEU
(Guide continues in the next post)
If you have a question about this guide or a suggestion to improve the guide, please reply here. However, if you have a general question or comment about Kodi or ServerWMC, please don't reply here. Just post a new message in the forum.
If you find this guide helpful, please click the "Thank User" button at the bottom of any of my messages to let me know. Thanks.
