[AndrewSc]

I have just moved from ember to KODI as a test for my media center moving forward.

However I have hit a snag and would like to see if there is a known work around, fix etc.

I use KODI (previously plex / embr) connected to my TV via HDMI and it’s directly attached to my DAS.

Everything with remote seems to work fine, however when I leave the room and head to bed, I am unable to send movies to my LGC3 network attached TV as the option to do this appears on the screen KODI is connected to, but not the remote?

This seems like a huge oversight?

Is there anyway to have the KODI remote (in its menu/context menu etc) have the option to “Play To” or “Play Using”

KODI can see them, it can send to them, they work, but I physically have to be in front of that KODI instance to be able to select a screen to send it to?

This seems like an over sight as why would I want to send anything to a screen I’m not in front of, and why when I am not in front of that screen, can I not send the video to the one I am in front of (bed) etc.

Basically,
When we select a movie from the library using the official KODI remote, we can play trailer, add to queue etc. but we don’t have an option to “Play To” or “Play Using” which would be invaluable as it means no matter where I am, what screen I am in front of, I can simply send the movie to that screen.

Additionally, could an option to play the trailer in the app be streamlined as it currently goes to YouTube in a browser, could this just be embedded in the window?

Most importantly though is the ability to send a video to a specific client or receiver from the app, as without this it seems a tad disjointed?

Any known work around, fix or updates incoming?

[Buschel]

Your use case is understood. Sadly, the current Kodi API does not support the "play to" / "play using" command. Only if such API would be added the remote could use this.

I agree that the in-app view of the trailer was a nice feature. It was removed when the App was migrated to newer iOS versions which made the in-app view break. It seemed better to use youtube via Safari than to not supporting trailer playback at all. Basically this is not done because of lack of time.

[AndrewSc]

Ahh, this is such a shame.

The trailer option I can live with, albeit a little ugly / clunky and archaic.
However the inability to start a video on any device in my home is problematic, and a real show stopper… damn.

Coming from Plex etc. I am used to being able to start a movie on my phone, walk into another room, send the movie to the display in that room, walk out that room (bring the movie back to my phone) walk into another room and send the movie to the display in that room, seamlessly.

Is there any possible work around for this?
It’s great that KODi has this feature to play to a remote client the main player, but it’s almost redundant there, and would be invaluable on the remote.

Watching a movie, get tired, stop movie, turn off tv, head to bedroom, click movie on remote, resume play, play to bedroom tv.

One possible work around is to do this on the main KODi before I leave the area, but that would only work for 1 film etc.

Do you foresee a future when this may be added, do you know of any clever work arounds?

I’d love to see KODi start to utilise a UPNP share (from my main KODI server) more effectively, as when I try to use the remote on my bedroom KODI (which just links to the UPNP library of the main KODI) the remote shows my bedroom KODI as having no library content, which I know is technically true (as it’s not scraped in) but it would be nice if either KODI could scrape it in, or the remote saw that connection to the main UPNP library as actual content, seems as it was added as a source, this could also be a ugly workaround.

UPNP Library Access Acknowledgment by the IOS Remote (or KODI) etc / Play To / Play Using / in app would give users the flexibility of the others.

I do like KODi it’s been an interesting week, but I am feeling a huge amount of caveats and restrictions compared to where I came from that have no workaround.

I am glad I tested it though, as I have been a PLEX/Embr/JellyFin user for as long as I can remember and never felt the need to use KODI, but upon building a new NAS decided to give it a go.

KODI has some great features however it feels extremely (and frustratingly) limited by some of these oddities and conditions.

For a single screen, with a physical remote it’s great, but for fluid, dynamic living and watching if media in multiple rooms, over multiple users it’s not quite as flexible as it’s peers.

Hopefully they can add fluidity as mentioned above, such as acknowledging the UPNP source as actual library content on remote clients, or allowing the IOS remote to play content from the main source to any remote client.

This provides the users flexibility and fluidity in their modern day consumption of media, along with bringing KODI up to date with its peers.

Thanks for the reply, fingers crossed I’ll be back resting soon.

[Buschel]

Thanks for sharing your user scenarios.

We had a feature request for "Play using" for the Remote App a while back, but due to the missing API we closed it back then. If you want to give it a try, you can again describe your scenario in the "Feature Request" section of this forum (link) which is related to Kodi itself and not the Remote App.

Also the playback of items on the iOS device was requested and is still discussed in GitHub (link). The problem here is to integrate a playback engine which supports all the different codecs as the iOS provided player is quite limited. Enabling this feature using the iOS player would just frustrate users more than not supporting it at all. What could be possible though, and described in the GitHub link, is to share the link to enable playback in another app. But the user experience of this will not be that great ...

As you rightly stated UPNP is not scraped into the DB, so you cannot browse and select via the DB browser UI of the App. But you are still able to access and play the items via the file mode access. It is not having the covers and details. You are aware of this?

[Buschel]

The trailer option I can live with, albeit a little ugly / clunky and archaic.

I took some time today to look into this. I guess this looks a lot better to you: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qx7v0r0p2...2k6ar&dl=0

Will still need more testing, checks on iPad and such. This will not be part of the next release 1.13.1 which will carry bug fixes. But I expect this to become available as Beta test software via TestFlight right after 1.13.1.

[AndrewSc]

That’s great,
I’m looking forward to seeing the updates when they are in the wild as they will add a lot of value to the software.

I have moved back to Plex for now, however, I will return and do more testing and videos/write ups on KODI once more features are added.

The main issue is the inability to move media around the home fluidly (when compared to its peers)

Having media follow you around the home like a SONOS etc is highly beneficial and in keeping with the features of KODIs competitors and peers.

While KODI excels in many areas, it is sorely lacking in areas of fluidity, flexibility and functionality that make it feel frustratingly archaic in certain use cases.

For single screen installs, KODI is very likely what I would recommend to most users. However, I am yet to find a single individual who consumes their media in such a way in 2023 (with the exception of home cinemas).

I was requested to test an app called “infuse” however, while it does play back all media server up by KODI, and can send the media to any DLNA/AIRPLAY device etc. around the home… It can’t control KODI installs/clients or servers.

If KODIs “remote” features were merged with infuses media playback and “send to” capabilities (or visa versa) KODI would be along side its peers in these category's, however for now it’s sorely lacking behind.

The base player and infrastructure work extremely well for single screen installs, however it feels too restricted, lacks fluidity and simply can’t replace the likes of Plex etc. in a modern home environment.

With the addition of the aforementioned features, KODI could become the standard for every home entertainment installation. Until then, it’s great for home theatres, but not much beyond that very niche use case.

I am currently writing a price for a UK AV outlets website, regarding home media centre software, and will continue to update the piece as features are added.

Thanks for the update and I sincerely look forward to watching how things progress.