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Revision as of 00:40, 12 April 2014

Template:XBMC FAQ

Home icon grey.png   ▶ FAQs
▶ Devices
▶ All platforms FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions for XBMC that apply to all versions/platforms/OSes.


General

See also: XBMC FAQ and XBMC for brand new users and curious onlookers

About XBMC

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Installing XBMC

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  • See Installation and select the OS for your device for installation instructions.
  • The current stable build of XBMC is v12.1 "Frodo".

Uninstalling/fresh installing XBMC

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  • To completely uninstall XBMC, or to preform a fresh reinstall, you will need to delete the userdata folder and the containing XBMC home folder that holds the userdata folder, in addition to deleting/uninstalling the XBMC application.

What version am I running?

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  • In the default skin go to: XBMC main menu > System > Lower submenu > System info. (For a nightly build, note the build date.)

Quick Start Guide for XBMC

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See: XBMC Quick Start Guide

What's new in XBMC v12 (Frodo)?

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See: Frodo FAQ

Sync the XBMC library between multiple installs

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Remote controls

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  • Editor note: Lead-in to a dedicated remote control FAQ?

What are the keyboard controls?

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Multiple users via profiles

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Profiles allow users to save all of settings as a profile and change them at the touch of a button. It also allows you to grant access to specific folders and network shares based on the profile being used. This is ideal for systems that have multiple users. It works much the same as setting up individual users on your home computer.

Weather

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  • Weather in older version of XBMC (including v10) is broken due to changes outside of our control. To have working weather you must update to XBMC v11.

Switching between windowed and full screen

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  • To toggle between windowed mode and full screen mode, press the \ button on a keyboard. (This, or any keyboard button, can be assigned to a remote control button if you wish. See Remote controls for more info.)
  • If you have backed out of a playing video and see it behind the GUI, you can toggle back by pressing Tab .

What happened to Library/File mode for videos?

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As of XBMC v11. There is no longer a library or file mode. Instead of being "modes" they are now "views". You simply navigate to the library and "Files" rather than use a toggle. While in File view you can now use library features, such as summaries, cover art, etc, just navigable as folders and manual organization.

How do I make file names show up in File view?

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By default XBMC v11 and up will replace file names with library titles when it has scanned that file into the library. You can turn this off by changing the settings:
Settings -> Videos -> File Lists -> Replace file names with library titles

What happened to "manually add to library"?

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As of XBMC v11, it's gone. It was believed that it wasn't useful due to the amount of information it would add to the file (none - apart from name). If you want the file in the library then use nfo files, they allow more information to be added and there are many programs available to make them on a variety of platforms.

Can I run XBMC from my PC to my TV using DLNA/UPnP?

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  • XBMC has some support for this, and more is planned for the future. Normally XBMC is meant to be ran on a computer/supported-device that is directly connected to the TV by a video cable.
  • Some files can be shared from XBMC using the built-in UPnP server and files scanned into the Video library. XBMC will not currently transcode any files, so only file formats that your TV/device can natively playback will work. This will only work with video (so you won't see XBMC's GUI) and currently does not work with add-on content.

Can I install XBMC on a PS3, Xbox360, or Wii?

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  • Not to be confused with XBMC4Xbox, which is the continued effort to run XBMC on original Xbox hardware.
  • No. The required reverse engineering (to get access to the video acceleration hardware, among other things) has not happened on any of these game consoles. Further more, no one on Team XBMC feels that it is worth the effort to port XBMC to any of them, as it would be a huge undertaking.

Does XBMC still run on the original Xbox?

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  • Team XBMC no longer officially supports the original Xbox, but the group over at XBMC4Xbox does.

Videos

How do I add videos with summaries and that show up under "TV Shows" and "Movies" on the main menu?

Link

How do I update the library?

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Adding videos to the library/Setting content and scanning

Why don't all movies/shows show up in my library?

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See: Adding videos to the library/Incorrect and missing content

How to separate the library (cartoons, documentaries, anime, etc) from normal listings

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It is possible to create additional Main Menu items that appear on the default Main Menu. For example, adding Home Movies, Kids Movies, Sports, Documentaries and other menu items. Kodi can already filter and separate library items using a number of methods. Combined with a skin that supports Custom Home Items, the library and main menu can be laid out to meet your requirements.

Bluray

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  • XBMC can playback unencrypted bluray discs and bluray images. There is limited support for some bluray menus.

3D movies

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  • Officially, no.
  • Currently, the only 3D content that XBMC will correctly play is SBS (side-by-side). Showing two images side-by-side (split screen). XBMC's interface and things like the on-screen-display and subtitles will not render in 3D.

Can XBMC handle multi-part movie files?

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  • File stacking is currently only available for movies and not for TV shows or music videos.

Movie series and sets

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  • A Movie Set is a collection of related films that are part of the same fictional universe. The scraper sites include artwork and metadata for Movie Sets which is scraped by Kodi and creates the Movie Set in your library. Movie sets are versatile and can be easily edited to suit your own needs.

How do I add or remove a movie from a movie set?

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  • There are a few ways to add/remove a movie from a movie set. One easy way is to use the XWMM add-on. To remove a movie from a set using XWMM, simply delete the text in the "movie set" field for that movie and save.

How do I automatically play the next video?

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  • As of XBMC v12 you can turn on automatic playing of the next video by going to Settings -> Videos -> Playback -> Play next video automatically
  • While selecting the video you wish to start at, bring up the contextual menu (press C) and select "Play from here".
  • You can also play all items in a folder by selecting the folder and selecting "Play" from the contextual menu (press C).

Music

How do I add music to the library?

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Why doesn't all of my music/info show up in my library?

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  • Most of the information for music is pulled from the embedded music tags inside the file. Make sure your music files are tagged correctly.
  • Some tags might show up in other programs, but might still be damaged or invalid for the tag standard, causing issues in XBMC.
  • You can use a program such as MusicBrainz Picard to easily tag files or fix broken tags. See also Category:Music tools for other programs.

Add-ons

What are add-ons?

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  • Add-ons are a way of extending XBMC's functionality easily. Common add-ons include: Skins, Scrapers, Video Add-ons, Subtitle downloaders but many more are available.

How do I install add-ons?

Link

Where can I find unofficial add-ons/skins?

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  • Add-ons not included in the official XBMC repository can be obtained by using unofficial repositories or installing the add-on using Install from Zip file option. The two main sources for finding unofficial repos and add-ons are 3rd party add-on repositories and the XBMC Add-on support forums.

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

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See Empty repositories listing

Where do I get help with add-ons or skins?

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  • You can get help with add-ons at the XBMC Add-on support forums, with some add-ons even having dedicated threads with FAQs, and more. For skins see the XBMC Skin support forums, which has sub-forums for several skins as well as general help threads. Be sure to use the search function to see if your question has been answered before.

Special features

Netflix, LoveFilm, and other Silverlight-based video services

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  • Both Netflix and LoveFilm use silverlight, making it all but impossible to play inside of XBMC directly, even with an add-on. Sometimes there are add-ons for XBMC that will launch a web browser to load the service, but you will require an OS that has silverlight support (Mac OS X or Windows).
  • Editor note: Know of a guide for Advanced Launcher, or a working add-on for launching Netflix or LoveFilm? Feel free to add that info/links here

Hulu, Amazon, and other Flash-based video services

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  • While XBMC does not have Flash video support directly, very often videos can be extracted from the Flash video stream/file container. Some sites also have non-flash video streams that can be accessed from within XBMC. Sometimes these streams/files can be accessed by using a STRM file, while others are more complicated and need an add-on to access the content. For example, there is an add-on for Hulu and Amazon Prime video services (see Bluecop's add-on repo for both). Be sure to check out Category:Video add-ons and the XBMC forums to see what is currently available.

Live TV, DVR, PVR

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See: PVR

AirPlay

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Troubleshooting

Reporting bugs

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Platform/OS specific troubleshooting

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Getting more help

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Cache full messages and constant buffering

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  • This message refers to the playback cache that XBMC uses when a video is loading/streaming from the network (local or internet). It indicates that the video is loading too slowly for XBMC to play it back smoothly, and XBMC can't fully buffer it without having to buffer again as the video plays. The common cause for this is simply a slow connection to the file, often on the server's connection.
  • The cache is loaded in RAM and is cleared out every time a video is stopped. While it is possible to increase the amount of RAM that XBMC uses for the cache, it is generally not recommended as it will eat a lot more RAM and won't make the video load faster over-all.

Not all videos are scanned into the library

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See: Adding videos to the library/Incorrect and missing content

Previously watched videos are no longer listed

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  • Bring up the side menu (arrow over left or right on a keyboard or remote) and toggle the "Hide Watched" option.

Is there a list of some known issues?

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See: XBMC v12 (Frodo) issues It also links to possible workarounds where any exist or known.