Kodi add-ons to play Streaming Media Services

This post lists some Kodi add-ons to play streaming media services from this app.

I tried to install them on Ubuntu 22.10 (Kinetic Kudu) and Kodi stable version 20.0-ALPHA2 (Nexus).

This post was written on December 2022. Information may have become outdated during the time.

List of Kodi plug-ins to play Streaming Media Services

Streaming media services with Kodi add-ons:

Netflix
Disney+
HBO Max
Prime Video

Some streaming media services do not have Kodi add-ons (yet):

Filmin

Netflix add-on for Kodi

There is no official Netflix add-on for Kodi, but you can install an unofficial one.

You can find instructions about how to install unofficial Netflix add-on from repository CastagnaIT on Kodi from the GitHub site.

You may need to do manually:

Install Python pip and Python library Pycryptodome (if not done before)
Install Kodi
Add CastagnaIT repository to Kodi
Add Netflix add-on to Kodi
Add InputStream Adaptive add-on to Kodi

You can find the instructions about how to install CastagnaIT repository on this external link or this external link.

CastagnaIT repository URL:

https://castagnait.github.io/repository.castagnait/

To install Python pip, open a terminal and type:

sudo apt install python3-pip

To install Pycryptodome Python module:, open a terminal and type

pip3 install pycryptodome

InputStream Adaptive should be found to be installed on Kodi > Settings > Add-ons > InputStream Video > InputStream Adaptive.

In case you are using Linux, the InputStreamAdaptive add-on will not be listed in Kodi and it needs to be installed from the OS (this is discussed on this thread on Kodi’s forum).

To install InputStream Adaptive from Linux terminal, open terminal and type:

sudo apt install kodi-inputstream-adaptive

You may need to reboot your computer to apply changes on Kodi.

Then you will be able to watch Netflix from Kodi.

Disney+ add-on for Kodi

It seems there is a repository called SlyGuy that includes an unofficial add-on for Disney+, developed by Matt Huisman.

SlyGuy repository URL:

http://k.slyguy.xyz/

to add the SlyGuy repository, go to Kodi > Settings > File Manager > Add source…. and enter the SlyGuy repository URL. You can provide the name “SlyGuy” to the repository.

To install the Disney+ add-on, go to Kodi > Settings > Add-ons > Install from repository. Then select SlyGuy > Video add-ons > Disney+.

If you want detailed information about how to install the unofficial add-on for Disney+, please check this external link.

HBO Max add-on for Kodi

There is an unofficial HBO Max add-on also available from SlyGuy repository. The same installation instructions for the SlyGuy repo apply.

To install the HBO Max add-on, go to Kodi > Settings > Add-ons > Install from repository. Then select SlyGuy > Video add-ons > HBO Max.

You can find more installation instructions on this external link (in Spanish).

Prime Video add-on for Kodi

There is an unofficial Prime Video called Prime Video VOD add-on on Sandmann79 repository.

There is no Sandmann79 repository URL.

You can download Sandmann79 zip file from GitHub webpage on this external link. Then you install the add-on via option “Install from zip file”. You may need to update this repository manually.

You need to install InputStream Adaptive. It can be found to be installed on Kodi > Settings > Add-ons > VideoPlayer InputStream > InputStream Adaptive.

In case you are using Linux, the previous add-on will not appear and it needs to be installed from the OS (this is discussed on this thread on Kodi’s forum).

To install InputStream Adaptive from Linux terminal, open terminal and type:

sudo apt install kodi-inputstream-adaptive

You may need to reboot your computer to apply changes on Kodi.

The first type you run it, there will be a dialog asking to install Winedive CDM. Select “yes”.

Filmin

It seems there is no Kodi add-on for Filmin.

There is a discussion about suggestions made for this project on this external link.

Troubleshooting

Using nightly version of Kodi

Some known issues on Kodi may have been already solved on next releases. You can try to change to a later release version, like unstable or nightly, to see if it solves the issue.

In case you want to try Kodi unstable or nightly versions (i.e., more recent, but more unstable) you can find more information about Kodi versions and their corresponding repositories on this external link.

To add nightly repository:

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:team-xbmc/xbmc-nightly

This repository may force to update kodi and kodi-bin packages.

To remove nightly repository (and update):

sudo apt-add-repository --remove ppa:team-xbmc/xbmc-nightly

Getting the latest InputStream Adaptive version

It may happen that InputStream Adaptive provided by Ubuntu repositories is not the latest as the one on GitHub project.

You can check the version of a package by typing:

apt-show-versions kodi-inputstream-adaptive

To do this you need to have apt-show-versions command installed. You can do this by typing:

sudo apt install apt-show-versions

In my case, Inputstream.adaptive project at GitHub was at version 20.3.1-Nexus while the version installed from OS terminal was 20.2.0.

$ apt-show-versions kodi-inputstream-adaptive
kodi-inputstream-adaptive:amd64/kinetic 20.2.0+ds1-1ubuntu1 uptodate

Getting help for Sandmann79’s Prime Video add-on

There are two discussion threads about Sandmann79’s Prime Video add-on:

“Release – Amazon VOD [plugin.video.amazon[vod|-test]]” at forum.kodi.tv
“[Release] Amazon Prime Instant Video” at kodinerds.net (German)

If you think you found a bug in the project, you can open an issue to the GitHub project on this external link.

Kodi Components to play Streaming Media

The program add-on InputStream Helper is installed automatically with any of the existing streaming media service add-on. It is an open source project that is available at GitHub on this external link.

This add-on is mandatory because it implements Widewine CDM. Widevine is a proprietary digital rights management technology from Google used by the Chromium and Firefox web browsers, Android MediaDRM, Android TV, and other consumer electronics devices.

Both Netflix and Prime Video make use of Widewine CDM.

To know how to locate the Widewine CDM in Linux, you can read this external link.

InputStream Adaptive is installed from the OS in the case of Linux, and inside Kodi in the case of other OS.

I read that sometimes these packages are also installed: kodi-peripheral-joystick kodi-inputstream-adaptive kodi-inputstream-rtmp. More information on this external link.