[Testing] Kodi 17.0 stable/final available for RetroPie!

Rascas

There is now a Kodi 17 Release Candidate 4 version available for testing in PiPplware's unstable repository.
A lot have changed in this version, the most visible is the new skin/interface Estuary. It also has official joystick support, via a new addon, peripheral-joystick.

More info here:
https://kodi.tv/kodi-v17-0-krypton-release-candidate-4/
To configure controllers:
http://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Configure_controllers

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WARNING: This is are betas/release candidates of the upcoming Kodi 17, so it might get bugs. It is recommend to make a backup of your current configuration ( the hidden directory /home/pi/.kodi).

There are two versions available, one ARMv6 for first generation Pis (Pi 1, 0, etc) and an ARMv7 optimized for the Pi 2 and 3. The ARMv7 version won't work on first gen Pis!

To add the unstable repo, and update to latest Kodi 17 testing version, and all necessary dependencies, in a terminal run:

For ARMv7:

sudo su
echo "deb http://pipplware.pplware.pt/pipplware/dists/unstable/main/binary /" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pipplware_unstable_armv7.list
echo "deb http://pipplware.pplware.pt/pipplware/dists/unstable/armv7/binary /" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pipplware_unstable_armv7.list
apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade -y
apt-get install kodi-peripheral-joystick kodi-inputstream-adaptive kodi-inputstream-rtmp -y
exit

For ARMv6:

sudo su
echo "deb http://pipplware.pplware.pt/pipplware/dists/unstable/main/binary /" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pipplware_unstable_armv6.list
apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade -y
apt-get install kodi-peripheral-joystick kodi-inputstream-adaptive kodi-inputstream-rtmp -y
exit

And its done!

You can check for available binary addons with:

apt-cache search kodi*

And install what you want.

Or run this to install everything:

sudo apt-get install kodi*

PS: All binary addons (PVRs, audiodecoders/encoders, visualizations, etc) available now for installation.

To remove the repo do:

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pipplware_unstable*.list
sudo apt-get update -y

Any problem with this new Kodi version, please post in this topic.
Enjoy!

nwgalloway

@Rascas downloading now...do I need to reinstall in emulation station or will I be able to launch from ports section?

Rascas

@nwgalloway No. If you have Kodi already installed in RetroPie, and then follow the procedure above, it will be updated and still be in the Ports section.

PetroRie

Ill try it in a moment, I really hope I can finally use my PS4 controller in Kodi

nwgalloway

@PetroRie no luck for me...won't register button presses on ds4 still...soooo frustrating!

herb_fargus

@nwgalloway did you use the built in joypad configuration tool?

Rascas

@nwgalloway Is it connected via USB or bluetooth ? What is the output of this command:

cat /proc/bus/input/devices

Confirm that the addon peripheral-joystick is enabled in the addons section. When you connect the joystick you should see a popup with its name.

herb_fargus

@Rascas AMAZING! just reinstalled the joystick peripheral thing just to be sure, took a little bit for it to register my xbox controller as connected and followed the above linked guide on configuring my contoller. works great ! now kodi is everything I ever wanted :)

PetroRie

@nwgalloway Same here, I did enable it when I connect the PS4 controller via USB it does get recognized but the buttons don't work.

EDIT: I reconfigured the xbox controller while using the PS4 controller and it works now!

PetroRie

This post is deleted!

Rascas

@herb_fargus @PetroRie Nice that you have your gamepads working :D
For now, I have tested one Logitech Rumblepad USB, one PS3 via USB and one very old GreenAsia USB, all working fine. I think most gamepads should work OOTB now, at least the most common ones.
Since the gamepad support is now official in Kodi 17 for all platforms, for any problems it is better to report them in the oficial Kodi forum, or upstream at:
https://github.com/xbmc/peripheral.joystick

nwgalloway

@Rascas I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to all this. Learning on the fly. How do I install the periphery add on onto Kodi on my Retropie?

Rascas

@nwgalloway If you did run the terminal commands of the first post, you already have it installed. You can check if it installed and active in Kodi -> Add-ons -> My add-ons -> Peripheral libraries -> Joystick Support.
If it is was not enabled your joysticks wouldn't work ;)

Running the commands in the first post should be enough to have everything functional. After that you might have to follow this link to configure your joysticks buttons as you like:
http://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Configure_controllers
PS: The images in the wiki are from an old version of the new Estuary skin, but it should be easy to understand what to do.
It is as simple as that ;)

nwgalloway

@Rascas I used the prompt from the initial post but when I go to add ons, then my add ons, there is no file for peripheral libraries. Do I need to reinstall or is there a way to add it with putty or SSH? Sorry like I said I'm learning a lot of DIY stuff on the fly lol

Rascas

@nwgalloway I don't know exactly what is your problem, probably you did not inserted the commands right. If you are using putty, you can copy/paste everything at once from the black box into putty. It should do everything, and when everything is done, you should have Joystick support in the addons. If you have Kodi open, restart it for changes to take effect. Try the first post procedure again, and if it shows any error post it here for us to see.

nwgalloway

@Rascas Finally got it! Thanks for all the help!

beankid

Anyone noticed a slight lag with video playback? I'm on a RPi2 and the video seems a bit slow. I've checked the CPU usage and it's all really low so it's not a being slowed down by other processes. Could be that it's still in Beta..... Still nice to test this out as I can finally use my gamepad for Kodi.

PetroRie

@beankid said in [Testing] Kodi 17 beta 7 available for RetroPie:

Anyone noticed a slight lag with video playback? I'm on a RPi2 and the video seems a bit slow. I've checked the CPU usage and it's all really low so it's not a being slowed down by other processes. Could be that it's still in Beta..... Still nice to test this out as I can finally use my gamepad for Kodi.

I noticed that the menus are quite laggy sometimes.

Rascas

@beankid Video playback is just fine, no slowdowns whatsoever, but remember the Pi only has HW aceleration of mpeg-2 and VC-1 if you buy the licences. And only low bitrate h265 works fine.

@PetroRie Navigating trough menus can be a bit slower than a normal computer, that's normal. Didn't notice any diference here to previous versions.

beankid

@Rascas Turns out a simple settling of the install made things work themselves out, along with a reboot and it's back to normal. Not sure what was happening at the time but it's now smooth again. Gonna update to V. 17 on all my RPi machines now. thumbs up