Archive:XBMC v12 (Frodo) FAQ

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Frequently Asked Questions upgrading to XBMC v12 (Frodo), including how to enable some of the new features, where some controls got moved to, etc. Template:XBMC FAQ


General FAQ

See also: XBMC all platforms FAQ for an FAQ that applies to all versions of XBMC.

What is "Frodo"?

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Frodo is the codename for XBMC Media Center version 12. It was released on 29 January 2013. You will often see "v12" and "Frodo" used interchangeably in the XBMC community.

Frodo v12.1, a bugfix release, was released on 18 March 2013. Frodo v12.2 bugfix came out 2 May 2013.

The name "Frodo" comes from one of XBMC's three founders, Erwin Beckers. While many people mistakenly assume that the name "Frodo" comes from the Lord of the Rings, Erwin actually got the nick name from a neighbors cat.[1]

Where can I see a full changelog?

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See: XBMC v12 (Frodo) changelog

How do I upgrade to v12?

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Just install/copy the new version of XBMC over the old one.

What are some of the major new features?

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See XBMC v12 (Frodo) changelog for a full list of changes

Will I lose my settings/library in the upgrade?

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For most users, no. All settings and your library will be preserved in an upgrade. Settings that aren't preserved are those that have been reorganised, renamed, set to a new default - usually it's only a handful, and only things that don't really matter. However, it never hurts to do a backup of your userdata folder (where all the settings/library DB files are stored).

If you are using MySQL then see #MySQL

Do I need to do anything for MySQL library syncing?

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Yes, See: HOW-TO:Sync multiple libraries/Upgrading XBMC to v12

How do I use Live TV/PVR?

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v12 is the first official release with Live TV and PVR/DVR features! See our guide at PVR for help in setting this up and more information about the feature.

How should local images be named for Frodo?

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Since Frodo now supports both posters and banners simultaneously, and for other supported images, the following naming conventions are available for local images (Only required if the user wants to specify what image to use. Otherwise XBMC will automatically download images from the video scraper). Whenever possible, old Eden style naming is supported for backwards compatibility.

For folders (e.g. tvshows, movies in folders, or just folders on the filesystem)
  • poster.(png/jpg)
  • banner.(png/jpg)
  • fanart.(png/jpg)

Note: Movies in folders can also use the options under files below.

Season images reside inside the tvshow folder
  • season[XX]-(poster/banner/fanart).(png/jpg)
  • season-all-(poster/banner/fanart).(png/jpg}
  • season-specials-(poster/banner/fanart).(png/jpg)
For files (episodes, movies not in folders, video files)
  • [moviename]-(poster/banner/fanart).(png/jpg)
  • [episodename]-thumb.(png/jpg)
  • [filename]-(poster/banner/fanart).(png/jpg)

Do I still need advancedsettings for Dirty Regions?

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Dirty Regions has a new default, but you might still want to keep your existing advancedsettings.xml entry. The default is mode 3, which will reduce CPU load, but won't make the GUI any faster (it's considered the safest mode for all the various GPUs out there). If you're using anything other than mode 3 in order to make the GUI more efficient, then you will want to keep your advancedsettings.xml file the same.

Where did it this or that go?

Where did the Skin settings page go?

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The Skin settings page has been moved to Settings -> Appearance -> Skin -> Settings.

Where are the multiple backgrounds for Confluence (default skin)?

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The default skin in XBMC, Confluence, now only supports one background for the home screen instead of different background for reach selected home option (movies, TV, pictures, etc).

Where did the Network settings page go?

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The Network settings page (Settings -> Network) has been replaced by the Services settings page (Settings -> Services).

Where did the Internet access settings page go?

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The Internet settings page has been moved to Settings -> System -> Internet access.

Where did the Slideshow screensaver go?

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The Slideshow screensaver is now a addon and needs to be installed as such. You can do this from the add-on manager or by going to Settings -> Appearance -> Screensaver -> Screensaver mode -> Get more -> Slideshow -> Install.

Audio (all operating systems)

Does Frodo have HD audio passthrough support?

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Yes, Frodo now has HD audio passthrough support, thanks to the new AudioEngine.

"HD audio" is a term for two audio formats (DTS-MA and TrueHD) that are most commonly found in some bluray discs. XBMC has supported these formats in the past, but has not been able to pass them on (passthrough) to audio receivers for maximum bit-perfect audio quality, until now. If you have an HD audio compatible sound system then check out the AudioEngine page for more information.

See also: ATI HD Audio Limitation in Linux

Does XBMC for Mac OS X, iOS, or Apple TV 2 have HD audio passthrough?

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While XBMC for Mac OS X does have the new AudioEngine, which features many new improvements in audio quality for XBMC, HD audio passthrough is not currently possible on Mac OS X and iOS due to limitations on the OS level. Those who want HD audio passthrough will need to use a Linux-based OS or Windows on their Mac hardware. Note that XBMC for Mac OS X/iOS is still able to playback HD audio, just not via passthrough (it will be converted to another format before playback).

Audio issues and/or slow video playback

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Make sure that your audio settings are correct. Wrong audio settings will have severely negative effects on video playback:

  • Your speaker setup is really correct
  • If passthrough: you only enable the audio codecs your receiver supports.
  • Select only the correct audio output device for analog and passthrough
Linux specific
  • On AMD GPUs you must disable all "HD" passthrough options and "output stereo to all speakers". AMD drivers under Linux don't support HD audio passthrough. AC3 and DTS should be safe to enable. NVidia GPUs should be okay for HD audio (if supported by the hardware).
  • Having issues on XBMCbuntu? See XBMCbuntu#XBMCbuntu no audio devices
Mac OS X specific
  • If you hear sound only coming from the left side of speakers/headphones then you probably need to change your audio settings from 2.1 to 2.0.
Windows specific
OS X and iOS known issues

Frodo issues

Linux

Why is Frodo not in the default Debian/Ubuntu repositories?

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HOW-TO:Install XBMC for Linux

Until that is resolved Ubuntu users can still get XBMC from our official PPAs by adding the Team XBMC repository: https://launchpad.net/~team-xbmc/+archive/ppa , which has the additional advantage of working LibRAR support.

Where can I get Frodo builds for older Ubuntu installations?

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Does Frodo have XVBA support?

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XVBA support has not yet been merged into the main XBMC code branch, but you can find XVBA builds here:

How to switch from XBMC unstable PPA (used in XBMCbuntu Beta/RC releases) to final PPA

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sudo add-apt-repository -r ppa:team-xbmc/unstable
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:team-xbmc/ppa
sudo apt-get remove xbmc xbmc-bin
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install xbmc xbmc-bin

Mac OS X

New Mac requirements

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XBMC v12 for Mac OS X changes the hardware requirements. PowerPC (PPC) support has been dropped, so XBMC for Mac will only run on Intel processors. Mac OS X 10.6 is now the minimum requirement for the operating system.

Will Frodo run on Apple TV 1 (silver)?

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Yes, but only if it is running linux. XBMC v12 requires Mac OS X 10.6 and up, and the ATV1 OS is based on Mac OS X 10.4. See Apple TV 1 FAQ for info on updating to a linux OS.

Raspberry Pi

XBMC for Raspberry Pi

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XBMC v12 (Frodo) is the first stable build of XBMC for Raspberry Pi. For more information on XBMC on the R-Pi, including how to install it, see Raspberry Pi FAQ.

Android

XBMC for Android

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  • While there is a v12 XBMC for Android release, not all features work on all Android devices yet. This was expected, but a release is still made for those who wish to try it out. Several features, such as hardware video decoding, better touch support, and more, are still under development. Check out Android FAQ for details on continuing developments and new test builds posted regularly.
  • If you've bought a device that was advertised to run XBMC, such as the Pivos XIOS, G-box, MiniX Neo, etc, then you should check with their respective websites for a final v12 Frodo build. Many of these devices need specific builds for hardware decoding and won't work correctly with the generic build released on xbmc.org.
  • XBMC for Android won't be on the Google Play store just yet. It will be made available once there is better support for more Android devices.

Troubleshooting

What are some of the known issues in Frodo?

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See: Known Frodo issues

Audio issues and/or slow video playback

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See: #Audio above.

Can't use more than one movie set

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v12 only supports one movie set for movies at a time. The ability to use more than one set in previous versions was actually an oversight, as sets are only meant to be used for directly related sequels and movie series, and the feature doesn't work correctly for more than one. For those who need a way to group movies in various ways, XBMC v12 Frodo now has video library tags, which can be used as many times as a user wants, and for whatever reason they want.

What might break when upgrading to v12? (add-ons, skins, remotes, etc)

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Most things from v11 will work in v12. However:

  • Add-ons may not work, prompting XBMC to ask you to disable them. You can keep using them if you wish (by choosing not to disable them), but doing so is unsupported. See Category:All add-ons for a list (check the drop-down menus). Where there is a noticeable slowdown in XBMC addons are likely cause, backup your userdata and as a last resort delete the userdata Addons folder and the Addons15.db in the userdata Database folder.
  • Skins need to be updated for Frodo - check your skin has been upgraded ready for Frodo: Category:Skins (check the drop-down menus). If you have problems starting up XBMC after updating, you might need to move/delete your guisettings.xml file (see userdata for location) to reset your skin.
  • Some smartphone remotes will need to be updated to work with Frodo due to the Web Server HTTP API being removed and replaced with the JSON-RPC API.
  • If videos are playing back slowly or you have having sound related issues, see: #Audio.

Recently added videos seem out of order

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Frodo now uses file dates for "Recently added" videos instead of the date when a video was scanned into XBMC. This can be changed back to XBMC v11 (Eden) behavior by creating a text file called advancedsettings.xml and placing it in the userdata folder with the following content:

  <advancedsettings>
       <videolibrary>
         <dateadded>0</dateadded>
       </videolibrary>
  </advancedsettings>

What happens if I don't like XBMC v12, can I just install XBMC v11 again?

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Whilst Frodo does "upgrade" the library, it stores a Eden compatible copy. Just replace the Frodo application with Eden. It is still recommended to always make a backup of your userdata folder before updating, just in case. Add-ons will likely need to be reset (uninstall and then reinstall) if you go from Frodo to Eden.

What should I do when Addon repositories dont list any contents?

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See Empty repositories listing

Where can I get more help?

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The general and platform specific FAQs, the XBMC support forums: http://forum.xbmc.org, and/or the #xbmc IRC chat channel on irc.freenode.org.

See also