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<section begin="intro" />{{Kodi}} features powerful [[Live TV]] and [[wikipedia:Digital video recorder|video recording (DVR/PVR)]] abilities using a very flexible [[wikipedia:distributed application|distributed application structure]]. That is, by levering other existing third-party [[PVR backend]] applications or [[PVR backend|DVR devices]] that specialize in receiving television signals and and also support the same type of [[wikipedia:client–server model|client–server model]] which {{Kodi}} uses, (following a [[wikipedia:Front and back ends|frontend-backend]] design principle for [[wikipedia:Separation of concerns|separation of concerns]]), these PVR features in Kodi allows you to watch Live TV, listen to radio, view a EPG TV-Guide, schedule recordings and enables many other TV related features, all using {{Kodi}} as your primary interface once the initial pairing connection and configuration have been done.<section end="intro" />
<section begin="intro" />{{Kodi}} features powerful [[Live TV]] and [[wikipedia:Digital video recorder|video recording (DVR/PVR)]] abilities using a very flexible [[wikipedia:distributed application|distributed application structure]]. That is, by levering other existing third-party [[PVR backend]] applications or [[PVR backend|DVR devices]] that specialize in receiving television signals and and also support the same type of [[wikipedia:client–server model|client–server model]] which {{Kodi}} uses, (following a [[wikipedia:Front and back ends|frontend-backend]] design principle for [[wikipedia:Separation of concerns|separation of concerns]]), these PVR features in Kodi allows you to watch Live TV, listen to radio, view a EPG TV-Guide, schedule recordings and enables many other TV related features, all using {{Kodi}} as your primary interface once the initial pairing connection and configuration have been done.<section end="intro" />


As of 2013 with the introduction of version 12 (Frodo), and due to the somewhat complicated nature of initially setting up PVR for {{Kodi}} for the first time, this guide was created to help users from start to finish.  
Due to the somewhat complicated nature of initially setting up PVR for {{Kodi}} for the first time, this guide was created to help users from start to finish.
 
Kodi can today act as a PVR frontend to many PVR backend software and DVR set-top boxes that the manufacturer and/or the community are providing compatible PVR client addons for. This include but is not exclusive to PVR client addons for PVR software and hardware such as Argus TV, DVBLogic DVBLink, DVBViewer, ForTheRecord, Tvheadend, MediaPortal, MythTV, NextPVR (formerly GB-PVR), VDR, Windows Media Center, and Enigma2-based DVR set-top boxes such as Dreambox, DBox2, and Vu+. as well as PVR client addons for direct LAN connection to network-attached TV-Tuners such as HDHomeRun, PCTV Systems Broadway, VBox Home TV Gateway, and Njoy Digital AnySee N7 DVB-S2 Network-Tuners. There is also a PVR Client Addon for the internet-based television providers FilmOn (FilmOn.TV Networks), and Stalker Middleware, as well as a simple PVR client addon for IPTV in general.


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When paired with one or more matched PVR backends, a configured '''PVR client addon''' enables {{Kodi}} as a frontend to handle the GUI interface, allowing the user to watch Live TV  (with pause/time-shift, if supported by the PVR backend used), display a graphical EPG (Electronic Program Guide) of all available television programming, schedule recordings or listen to radio, giving the same sort of functionality as TiVo-style video recorder devices. Kodi as a frontend can support multiple PVR backends at the same time, and also some PVR backends may be able to serve several clients simultaneously, which means that it is Kodi that displays what is seen on your screen and allow you to navigate its menus with a remote control.
When paired with one or more matched PVR backends, a configured '''PVR client addon''' enables {{Kodi}} as a frontend to handle the GUI interface, allowing the user to watch Live TV  (with pause/time-shift, if supported by the PVR backend used), display a graphical EPG (Electronic Program Guide) of all available television programming, schedule recordings or listen to radio, giving the same sort of functionality as TiVo-style video recorder devices. Kodi as a frontend can support multiple PVR backends at the same time, and also some PVR backends may be able to serve several clients simultaneously, which means that it is Kodi that displays what is seen on your screen and allow you to navigate its menus with a remote control.
Kodi can today act as a PVR frontend to many PVR backend software and DVR set-top boxes that the manufacturer and/or the community are providing compatible PVR client addons for. This include but is not exclusive to PVR client addons for PVR software and hardware such as Argus TV, DVBLogic DVBLink, DVBViewer, ForTheRecord, Tvheadend, MediaPortal, MythTV, NextPVR (formerly GB-PVR), VDR, Windows Media Center, and Enigma2-based DVR set-top boxes such as Dreambox, DBox2, and Vu+. as well as PVR client addons for direct LAN connection to network-attached TV-Tuners such as HDHomeRun, PCTV Systems Broadway, VBox Home TV Gateway, and Njoy Digital AnySee N7 DVB-S2 Network-Tuners. There is also a PVR Client Addon for the internet-based television providers FilmOn (FilmOn.TV Networks), and Stalker Middleware, as well as a simple PVR client addon for IPTV in general.





Revision as of 06:32, 30 August 2016

PVR/Contents

Home icon grey.png   ▶ Video library
▶ Live TV
▶ PVR

Introduction:

Kodi features powerful Live TV and video recording (DVR/PVR) abilities using a very flexible distributed application structure. That is, by levering other existing third-party PVR backend applications or DVR devices that specialize in receiving television signals and and also support the same type of client–server model which Kodi uses, (following a frontend-backend design principle for separation of concerns), these PVR features in Kodi allows you to watch Live TV, listen to radio, view a EPG TV-Guide, schedule recordings and enables many other TV related features, all using Kodi as your primary interface once the initial pairing connection and configuration have been done.

Due to the somewhat complicated nature of initially setting up PVR for Kodi for the first time, this guide was created to help users from start to finish.

Kodi can today act as a PVR frontend to many PVR backend software and DVR set-top boxes that the manufacturer and/or the community are providing compatible PVR client addons for. This include but is not exclusive to PVR client addons for PVR software and hardware such as Argus TV, DVBLogic DVBLink, DVBViewer, ForTheRecord, Tvheadend, MediaPortal, MythTV, NextPVR (formerly GB-PVR), VDR, Windows Media Center, and Enigma2-based DVR set-top boxes such as Dreambox, DBox2, and Vu+. as well as PVR client addons for direct LAN connection to network-attached TV-Tuners such as HDHomeRun, PCTV Systems Broadway, VBox Home TV Gateway, and Njoy Digital AnySee N7 DVB-S2 Network-Tuners. There is also a PVR Client Addon for the internet-based television providers FilmOn (FilmOn.TV Networks), and Stalker Middleware, as well as a simple PVR client addon for IPTV in general.


How does Live TV and PVR work in Kodi?

First of all, an important terminology clarification in regards to this article is needed, as when we refer to "Live TV" here we are only talking about traditional broadcast television systems using standard digital television or analog television. This means that the Live TV reception to your house comes foremost from terrestrial television signals using a cable, satellite, or over-the-air television using television physicial TV-tuner adapter or device hardware, (so with "Live TV" we do not mean streaming media content from the internet via online services or web sites such as Netflix and similar, no matter if that content is actually streamed live or not).

Logically, the Live TV and PVR functions in Kodi uses a distributed application structure that is designed after the client–server model concept which consists of two parts, these two parts are also refereed to as frontend and backend:

  1. The PVR backend (as the server side part), which directly communicates with a TV tuner adapter(s) to receive the Live TV signals and create a video or audio stream, and also record to files
  2. The PVR client (as an addon for Kodi) - an Kodi addon which acts a a middleware which translate the commands and controls the presentation of content from the backend to the frontend
  3. The PVR frontend (as the Kodi graphical user interface) - Kodi Kodi that acts as unified frontend and common interface which displays the content from all connected PVR backends

This concept follows a separation of concerns design principle, with the "PVR backend" as such being a separate application/process that directly interfaces with your physicial TV-tuner adapter(s) or controller(s) that recieves the broadcast television signal into your house in your house and performs the actual task of tuning, streaming, and preforms local recording of over-the-air and cable television signals and radio programming. PVR backends can either run on the same host/device running Kodi, or run on a stand-alone host/device on your local home network completely by itself (as a server) with Kodi only running when needed, as long as they have a network connection between them. It may be that PVR backends support only Kodi clients as a frontend for it, but most PVR backends can support both Kodi as well as other frontend applications/devices. In those cases where a single PVR backend it setup for the sole purpose of serving multiple frontend clients then that PVR backend is commonly refereed to as "PVR server".

When paired with one or more matched PVR backends, a configured PVR client addon enables Kodi as a frontend to handle the GUI interface, allowing the user to watch Live TV (with pause/time-shift, if supported by the PVR backend used), display a graphical EPG (Electronic Program Guide) of all available television programming, schedule recordings or listen to radio, giving the same sort of functionality as TiVo-style video recorder devices. Kodi as a frontend can support multiple PVR backends at the same time, and also some PVR backends may be able to serve several clients simultaneously, which means that it is Kodi that displays what is seen on your screen and allow you to navigate its menus with a remote control.


Next step: Setting up the backend software


Alternative guides