If you are not familiar with Kodi yet, this is a free and open-source software media center running on any device or platform, including Android, iOS, MacOS, Windows, and Linux. You can install Kodi on streaming devices as well, so you have access to all media content on one platform.

Whether you’d like to play videos, music, or other digital files in any format, Kodi can give you what you need. It’s why you can find Kodi for Firestick, smart TVs, smartphones, laptops, among other devices! But given its versatility and customizability, there is a learning curve.

Not to worry though, as it’s fairly easy to use Kodi. Read on as I show you effective tips and steps to follow to use this navigable media center.

Installing Kodi

Before you even begin using Kodi, you should learn to install it first. Not to worry, as this is easy to do!

If you will install it on your phone or tablet, you can find the app available on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android devices.

If you plan to use Chromecast to install Kodi, the best method to follow is to use the screen mirror feature from the Google Home app. Go on the hamburger menu then select ‘Cast Screen/Audio’. Then, select the Chromecast device and the interface will mirror on the television.

Open the Kodi app then play whatever media you want, which will play on both device and television. While this is the easy option, you will be unable to use your connected device or lock it when in use.

Another method to install Kodi on Chromecast is to install Kodi, LocalCast, and a file manager. You will also need to download an .xml file titled ‘playercorefactory’.

Using your installed file manager, head to Settings and enable ‘Show Hidden Files’. Head to the Downloads folder and copy the .xml file, then head to Android -> Data -> rg.xbmc.kodi -> files -> .kodi -> userdata folder and then paste the .xml file.

Open your Kodi app and play a video, using LocalCast as the app to use. Then, select Chromecast, and the video can play on the television your Chromecast is connected with!

Using Kodi

Once you have Kodi installed on your device, the next thing to do is learn how to use it. There is more to the setup process other than downloading Kodi!

When you launch Kodi for the first time, you’ll see that the interface looks like any other basic media player. There is a navigation bar to the left and the library to the right.

What’s great about Kodi is that it’s very customizable and has a complete Settings menu. When launching the app, you can find the Settings section by selecting the gear icon located on the left side of the navigation menu. This is where you’ll find various options, such as:

• Player – Use this to customize the way your Kodi player will work
• Media – Set up the way Kodi will handle and display media that is locally stored on the device
• PVR and Live TV – Adjust the settings when watching and recording Live TV, though this feature is unavailable on Android devices
• Service – Set services such as the webserver, application control, AirPlay, Weather, and UPnP/DLNA. Don’t worry, if you’re unfamiliar with the terms, there’s no need to tweak this part.
• Interface – Where you can change the look and feel of the Kodi interface, as well as change the language settings, master lock, screen saver, among others.
• Skin – Set the skin of your Kodi player, including how to use slide animations, auto-scrolling features, what is sown on the main menu, among other options.
  Profile – Where you can set up various profiles and set the way logging in will work.
• System – Where you have complete control over audio output, display, input methods, internet access, power-saving options, as well as add-ons.
• System Info – Where you can monitor the system CPU and memory usage, along with the network connection status, display configurations, and hardware configurations. This is where you can find Kodi’s Privacy Policy as well if needed.
• Event Log – Where you can see activities that happened when using Kodi.
• File Manager – Used when you need to move or delete files. However, there isn’t a lot of features here, which is why it’s best to have another file manager app.

In the setting section, there are different modes, which are:

• Standard
• Basic
• Expert
• Advanced

Expert and Advanced modes will give you more options and control over various sections of the media player. There’s no need to play around with your settings though, as the standard settings can have you use Kodi efficiently. But if you want to take advantage of the customizability and make it suitable for you and the family, then it’s worth checking the settings!

Accessing Content

Once you have set everything according to your wants and needs, you are now ready to use Kodi to listen to music and podcasts, watch videos, check out pictures, and even more! When you open Kodi, you will see that your library is empty.

If you want to access locally-stored files, head to ‘Enter Files Section’ and ‘Add Videos’. Browse through the files and find the folder you’d like, then select it. You will see the ‘Add Video Source’ prompt, then you can name the media source.

Then, the folder is in your Kodi library! You can remove this folder from the main menu to avoid too much clutter on the homepage.

Besides accessing locally stored content, you can also install add-ons and repositories for your streaming needs. You can install YouTube, BBC iPlayer, and more!

Wrapping It Up

I hope you learned a lot about how you can use Kodi on any device. Now that you know how, keep these steps in mind as you install and use this free media player for all your streaming wants and needs today.

Do you have any questions or want to share your tips and experiences with Kodi? Share them in the comments section below!