Archive:Linux FAQ

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▶ FAQ		 ▶ Linux FAQ
Emblem-important-yellow.png NOTICE:
The Linux FAQ is going though a major overhaul and some things might be missing. For a copy of the old version see here.

Template:XBMC FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions for XBMC running under Linux-based operating systems.


General FAQ

See also: XBMC all platforms FAQ for FAQs that apply to all versions of XBMC.

Supported Linux distributions

  • Team XBMC provides precompiled binaries for Ubuntu from the Team XBMC PPA. In the future there will also be precompiled binaries for Debian and Steam OS.
  • Team XBMC recognizes OpenELEC versions of XBMC as "pretty damn awesome".
  • Generally speaking, as long as XBMC is compiled per recommended guidelines (see HOW-TO:Compile XBMC for Linux), those builds are considered "kosher".
  • XBMC builds that use external ffmpeg/libav are not supported and are strongly discouraged.

Supported hardware

For x86 hardware:

Extended content
CPU x86 or x86-64 processor such as: Intel Pentium 4/ Pentium M, AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron, or newer CPU (that support SSE2, which all CPUs made within the last 10-years does).
  • If your GPU/VPU does not support hardware video decoding then you will require a fast modern processor is required to decode some 1080p videos encoded in H.264, VC-1/WMV9, HEVC/H.265 VP9, etc
RAM
  • Recommended: 1GB or more in a HTPC media player appliance-like computer dedicated for Kodi, and 2GB or more in a computer for multipurpose use.
Graphics

Kodi will run on most graphics cards made within the last 10-years or so, though for good hardware video decoding support a little newer graphics cards can be required. This includes most cards from AMD/ATI, Intel, or NVIDIA which support OpenGL 2.0 or later.

AMD/Intel

Video decoding For hardware video decoding, which may be necessary on low-performance CPUs to playback 1080p content, make sure your GPU or VPU supports either VAAPI or VDPAU. For everything but older AMD cards and Nvidia, VAAPI is recommended. On AMD, you might have to start with the environment variable KODI_GL_INTERFACE set to GLX in order to get VDPAU support.
ATI/AMD ( VA-API 2.0.0 or VDPAU ) Intel ( VA-API 1.7.1 ) Nvidia ( VDPAU )
Minimum without HW decoding: ATI Radeon RV710/M92 (HD 4300/4500) Note: These are uvd2.2 cards Arrandale / Clarkdale or newer Nvidia GeForce 6-Series
Minimum for HW decoding of 8-bit H.264 and VC-1: Radeon HD 5000 series or newer Sandy Bridge / Silvermont or newer GeForce 8 series or newer (released 2006)
Minimum for HW decoding of 8-bit HEVC (H.265): AMD Radeon Rx 300 series or newer Braswell / Skylake or newer Nvidia GeForce 900 series (GM20x) or newer
Minimum for HW decoding of 10-bit HEVC (H.265): AMD Radeon 400 series or newer Apollo Lake / Kaby Lake or newer Not available
Minimum for HW decoding of VP9: Stoney Ridge APU or newer; not available for desktop GPUs at the moment Apollo Lake / Kaby Lake or newer Not available
Drive space The Kodi application generally only takes up between 100 to 200 MB of space, depending on how the binary is compiled. Technically speaking, if your hardware supports netbooting, you do not even require a internal storage for either the operating-system or for Kodi.
  • Minimum: 4 to 8GB
  • Recommended: 16GB or more
Depending on how big your video library is. Most of the space required for Kodi comes from the images/artwork cache.

Note: There´s no 304.xxx driver for Ubuntu 18.04 available anymore from the "Graphic Drivers"-ppa. Users who are using GeForce 6-series cards should either stay on an older Ubuntu version or use newer cards

How to install or update XBMC for Linux

Main pages: HOW-TO:Install XBMC for Linux and XBMCbuntu

For an easy to use fresh installation of both XBMC and OS you can use XBMCbuntu. XBMCbuntu can be installed from a DVD or USB thumb drive.


Ubuntu

Team XBMC PPA


For other supported distros, see HOW-TO:Install XBMC for Linux

How to update XBMCbuntu

See: XBMCbuntu FAQ

XBMC for Linux version

The current stable version of XBMC for Linux is Kodi v21 Omega. This is the same code that all of the other platforms (Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, etc) are using.

What version/nightly build/beta of XBMC am I running?

XBMC main menu > System > Lower submenu > System info. Note the build date.

Programs and tools to help with XBMC

For a list of programs and tools to help with XBMC, such as renaming files, managing media, file sharing, and more, see Supplemental tools/Linux

How to autostart XBMC in desktop mode

Editor note: this needs filling out

What are the differences between Ubuntu + XBMC, XBMCbuntu, and OpenELEC?

Editor note: this needs filling out

Troubleshooting

See also: Troubleshooting

Getting more help with XBMC for Linux

Userdata folder and logs

Main pages: Userdata folder and Debug log
Editor note: this needs filling out

Audio issues

For most audio issues, including configuration examples, see Audio and Audio troubleshooting.

Video tearing on Nvidia GPUs

When XBMC is used with Nvidia hardware, tearing will occur when the X composite extension is used.
  • Solution 1: Enable "Unredirect Fullscreen Window" in Compiz Config Settings Manager. [1]
    1. Install CCSM (Compiz Config Settings Manager): sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
    2. Open Compiz Config Settings Manager
    3. Check the option "Unredirect Fullscreen Window", which should be under the "Composite" section.


  • Solution 2: Disable the composite extension.
1. Add this to the end of /etc/X11/xorg.conf: (make a new file if xorg.conf doesn't exist)
Section "Extensions"
  Option "Composite" "Disable"
EndSection
2. Then log in with a gnome classic session (without the composite extension compiz doesn't work).
3. Also make sure to set Vertical blank sync to Always enabled in XBMC.


Why can't I update XBMC on Ubuntu 13.04, 13.10, or other release?

The precompiled binaries from the Team XBMC PPA only work with Ubuntu releases that are still getting support. When Ubuntu drops support for a version then our PPA stops making a binary for it. Simply update Ubuntu itself and then XBMC updates should work again. If you don't want to update Ubuntu that often then we recommend using a long term support (LTS) version of Ubuntu, such as 14.04, which will be supported until 2019.
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