Kodi: How to Install & Configure on Windows

[HomerJAU]

That app looks excellent! I've looked for it before on the Android side and have seen it so far. Thinking about grabbing a used ipad just for that app. Looks like you can do most things without even turning on the TV.

15 years ago I would have paid $2000 to buy a hand held touch screen interface to play my music system. The stuff to dream of back then.

My advice to anyone using Kodi to play their music: Go buy the cheapest iPad and whack this app on there!

 

[HomerJAU]

There are tick boxes to define AVR compatibility for different formats, (ie: Dolby AC3, DTS-MA, Dolby True HD, etc) I don't remember it asking about Atmos compatibility specifically, but I could have missed it. I just tell it to pass everything.

You are correct. There is no specific ‘Atmos’ option. Use ‘Dolby TrueHD’ and ‘Dolby Digital AC3’ or whatever that’s called. If you don’t check those Kodi converts to PCM (the Atmos stream is not sent via Passthrough)

 

[jamesc]

I can add a tip for those using Intel NUCs. I set mine up using the Linux LibreElec build that @HomerJAU discussed in another thread but I think it'll apply to Windows installs on NUCs as well. Everything was working great except lossless Atmos tracks would be seen by my AVR as 7.1 tracks. I tried changing a ton of settings between Kodi, LibreElec, the NUC and my AVR but couldn't get lossless Atmos to work. Lossy Atmos worked fine though.

Finally, I came across a thread that pointed me in the right direction. I bought an older NUC that was new in box and the first thing I did was update the firmware on it. Little did I know that there are also HDMI firmware updates for many NUC models as well. On my model, there were several updates released over the years but mine was on the original version. It's not a complicated upgrade process but you do have to update each HDMI port one at a time so follow the instructions carefully. Once I did that, my AVR recognized and decoded lossless Atmos tracks just fine.

The Kodi/LibreElec setup is fantastic and well worth the effort in getting things configured the way you like. Thanks @HomerJAU for showing us the way!

 

[riskylogic]

@riskylogic

I suspect your Kodi System Audio settings are not set to HDMI Passthrough or you have not set in Kodi that your AVR is Atmos capable.

What version of Kodi. You need 19.2 minimum for Atmos in .m4a support

I have version 19.4. Where is the AVR setting? I can't find it under audio settings.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

I have version 19.4. Where is the AVR setting? I can't find it under audio settings.

They are in system/audio. Scroll to the bottom

 

[HomerJAU]

You also need to set Kodi settings to ‘Expert’ to see additional settings options.

 

[riskylogic]

They are in system/audio. Scroll to the bottom

I found the advanced settings toggle - that was the trick.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

I found the advanced settings toggle - that was the trick.

oh yea. i forgot that

 

[Albert Dagger]

@riskylogic , I hope you manage to get your laptop/PC to play atmos files. In my experience, there is no way back from Kodi. It just works for every video and audio format I have (except for 360RA files).

Once it's working, I suggest using Kodi/XBMC Music Remote - Home as the remote for your Kodi PC. I have an iPhone and an iPad. It works very well on both. You have to be very precise with music tagging in order to get the best out of Kodi. Also using high-quality album artwork is important. I compress the artwork I use to Jpeg, but don't generally go below 1400x1400 in resolution (unless the source image/scan has a lower resolution). In many cases I have to do quite a bit of photoshopping.

Regarding the skin, I like the Aeon Nox Silvo Aeon Nox: SiLVO | Matrix | Addons and I disable most plugins. I don't want artist images and other stuff popping up on my OLED screen. I like a black background that doesn't distract me from the music. Just date/time on the top left and playback info at the bottom. See two examples below.

With Kodi 18, I was able to visualise the next track and lyrics on screen, but that skin is no longer available for Kodi 19, unfortunately. Example below:

 

[riskylogic]

@riskylogic

View attachment 84364


I still can't get m4a files to play in Atmos - I just get 5.1. I can play m2ts and mp4 in atmos as video.

 

[HomerJAU]

Are they Atmos .m4a?

 

[riskylogic]

Are they Atmos .m4a?

I think so, but the number of channels isn't listed under properties so I can't be sure.

 

[Albert Dagger]

I think so, but the number of channels isn't listed under properties so I can't be sure.

If it’s an atmos mix, there’s only bed channels plus a number of objects. There’s a software to. Heck the number of objects used in an atmos mix, I think it’s called MediaInfo.