Attempting to install a PVR on Kodi within Retropie

djspade

Hi all,

I am using a Raspberry Pi 4B, 1GB version.
I installed the following image of Retropie: retropie-buster-4.6-rpi4.img

In a normal installation of LibreELEC or OpenELEC, in the Kodi section "TV" it will show all the IPTV PVR options.

In this version of Kodi it does not, as stated on the help pages. The help page (https://retropie.org.uk/docs/KODI/) gives this information:

**PVRs Installation

By default, RetroPie doesn't install any PVRs (personal video recorders). If you want to install them, run the following commands in a terminal:

Search available PVRs:

apt-cache search kodi-pvr

Install one PVR, in this case the IPTV Simple Client:

sudo apt-get install kodi-pvr-iptvsimple

Install all PVRs:

sudo apt-get install kodi-pvr***

My issue is - how do i get to the Terminal/Command line WITHIN Kodi?

I've exited Kodi, gone to the command line in Retropie and done those commands and it went through the process and appeared to have installed everything, but this was not "within" Kodi. When I went back into Kodi there is nothing there still.

Is there a way to open a command line "inside" Kodi? Or SSH "inside" Kodi and not Retropie? How do I input these commands so they work in Kodi?

Thank you!

djspade

Also, in case it is needed, Kodi version is:
Kodi 18.6 Git:20200506-40c074c06b

I have also tried installing the IPTV Simple Client via ZIP file by SSH transferring it to my Pi and by putting the ZIP file on a USB and it won't let me do either! Error when trying to install.

Is there any particular reason why the IPTV clients are not there out of the box like they are on LibreELEC?

Thanks!

Rascas

@djspade To go to a terminal, in Emulation Station just press F4, or with a gamepad, press START an select "Exit Emulation Station". Then run the commands as explained on the wiki. Then reboot or launch ES, launch Kodi, go to the addons section and enable the one you want. After that you need to restart Kodi again and you will have a the PVR menu.

PVRs are not installed because that is something that most or many people don't use it, and it is only possible to use one at a time. The system is pretty much the same as Ubuntu for x86 machines and most Linux distributions, you install Kodi program and then install the binary addons you want.

djspade

Thanks!

I will give that a shot and see if it works, I appreciate you taking the time help!

Have a good one!

djspade

Aha!

So it works, thank you very much for your guidance, Rascas!

So, for future Googlers who may be having this same issue (Missing the PVR's in Kodi on Retropie), here's the full solution:

Install Retropie, then install Kodi via the "Optional Packages" in the configuration menu.

When you're in Retropie, press F4 on your keyboard to open a Terminal window.

Enter the following commands one at a time (to install the "IPTV Simple PVR"):

apt-cache search kodi-pvr

sudo apt-get install kodi-pvr-iptvsimple

Once complete, type "exit" (without the quotation marks) to get back into Retropie.

Scroll to Ports then choose Kodi.

In Kodi, DO NOT go to PVR's. If you do you will see it is blank and will get angry and think what you did in fact did not work.

Instead, go to "Add-Ons" then "My Add-Ons" and view "All" and you will see the IPTV simple client. Go to it and then Enable it as most likely it will be Disabled to begin with.

Voila!

If you know how to use IPTV then go ahead and set it up.

Take Care!