Kodi, as we know, a well-known media player. However, it has always been in controversy. Piracy has pointed out many times and has even suffered legal problems. Actually, the software itself is not illegal. Yes, it is, however, the supplements that exist. Many of them configured correctly to allow you to view pirated content. In this article, we are going to list down some alternatives to Kodi that we can find.
1. Plex
It is not exactly the same, but it is one of the best alternatives to Kodi you can get. Kodi is a player but Plex, let’s say, it’s more than a streaming platform that plays files stored locally on other devices however it works on client-server architecture. For example, you can send or receive content on your smartphone. However, Plex also has a home cinema application that allows you to view and manage your multimedia file library through a fairly good user interface. Like the add-ons that make Kodi so famous, Plex has a wide collection of channels that allows us to see different streaming content on topics such as news, sports, technology.
In addition, since Plex’s file server module deals with the decoding of media for streaming to different devices, it can work on low-end PCs and optimize the use of your broadband. Other important features are the compatibility with a wide range of platforms such as Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android, IOS, Android TV, Windows Phone, Roku, Chromecast, Xbox, PlayStation and more.
2. VLC
VLC is world famous, yes, it’s not an XBMC like Kodi, but if you just want a file player. The VLC engine is powerful and reproduces smoothly AVI, FLV, MP4 and MPEG files. However, you can also with MKV, MOV, MPJPEG, and FLAC to listen to music of the best quality.
Of course, VLC has a few tricks up their sleeve that allows us to record the screen of the PC to watch TV and listen to the podcast. These are extra features that make VLC a great alternative to Kodi if we only look for a powerful file player.
In addition to PC, we can find it on Xbox One, and is one of the best video players in the console thanks to that, literally, it reads everything.
3. OSMC
Despite being quite new, OSMC (Open Source Media Center ) has a great set of features, offering a convenient way to play multimedia content collected both on a storage device in your local network and on the Internet. This application is based on Kodi and can be considered as a specific Kodi distribution for Linux. This means that OSMC can also use all Kodi add-ons.
OSMC supports a wide variety of Wi-Fi adapters and TV tuners. It also has a desktop environment and a version with a web interface whose development is already underway. However, for now, it can only be installed on a limited number of media players like Apple TV, Raspberry Pi, and Vero.
4. JRiver
JRiver is multiplatform and we can find it in Windows, Mac, and Linux and it is an application similar to Kodi in terms of some menus whose main feature is being a complete multimedia player. If you use your desktop PC as the main system for multimedia playback, then you could try this application. The interface of the latest versions has two modes, one for PC and second for televisions.
Many of Kodi’s alternatives are designed to be used exclusively on your TV, so they do not have a good integration with mouse control. JRiver is an exception since the main interface of JRiver is a graphical similar to those typical Windows applications that facilitate the modification of multimedia files, as well as the configuration of the application itself.
You can see images playing Hulu or YouTube videos (before you could do it with Netflix), watch certain TV shows, use a skin for the TV adapted to this format and play all kinds of music, image and video content with very good quality. It is an HTPC of proven quality, but it has a price and unlike other similar applications, there is no version for Android.
And is that, The Master license costs $ 79.98 and an individual license for Windows, Mac, and Linux (one for each) is $ 49.98.
5. Stremio
Stremio is a local multimedia center for Windows, Linux, Android, iOS and Mac that supports the playback of local and TV files. Features include support for add-ons, automatic caption detection and playback of HD files.
In terms of content streaming, Stremio also supports the transmission of multimedia files via DLNA to devices such as Chromecast, Apple TV and other devices. Surely you prefer multimedia centers like Kodi, but you need a solid alternative, you can try this application.
6. Usher
If you are looking for a good multimedia file management system for macOS, you can try Usher. This software like Kodi facilitates file management on Mac OS and you can manage the iTunes library, as well as your images and other libraries on your system. It will also allow you to view the videos stored in iTunes and iPhotos, as well as those of Aperture. This application was abandoned, but developers have recently released a new version.
Usher is based on the famous Quick Time player, native application of Apple systems. You can use categories and tags to find files more easily, as well as organize them into folders. Many of the solutions in this list are full of features. Things like supplements, streaming through DLNA or mobile support are very interesting features of applications like Kodi but unfortunately are not available in this application. Usher is for those users who are looking exclusively for an easy way to manage and play files on Mac.
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7. Emby
Finally, we leave you with the best alternative to Kodi and Plex. Emby is very similar to Plex, but the main difference is that it is Open Source and completely free. The main thing of Emby is that it maintains that philosophy of Plex of being a player in streaming of contents that we have in a local network stored in a computer that acts as a server.
But it also has features such as the ability to find subtitles that make it a great player and, in addition, its library is one of the best we can find in an application of this style. Oh! Why choose? you can install Emby in Kodi and enjoy, on the one hand.
Without a doubt, it is one of the best alternatives to Kodi, and also one of its best complements. Emby is compatible with a lot of devices such as Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, Xbox, Samsung Smart TV and the Chromecast itself.
Conclusion
As you seen Kodi has many alternatives but still, it is one of the best multimedia players available, with many features, great support from the community, multiple add-ons and great compatibility with a wide range of devices and platforms. However, as we have explained, there are quite a few alternatives that you can use. While some alternatives offer local and network streaming playback options with multiple streaming features, others focus on specific areas such as Live TV, or DLNA streaming). Nothing will happen because you keep an eye on them.
