Kodi Media Center RTI Driver

Full control of Kodi with a built-in browser remote — movies, TV, music, and now-playing artwork in any RTI panel

Full control of Kodi with a built-in browser remote — movies, TV, music, and now-playing artwork in any RTI panel

Features

• Web Object UI included - movie posters, TV browser, music library in any RTI page
• Browse movies, TV shows, music & addons
• Now playing with artwork & metadata
• Transport controls & volume
• Search with on-screen keyboard
• Auto-reconnect when Kodi launches
• 120-minute trial included

Introduction

This driver provides full control of Kodi media center from RTI control systems. It communicates with Kodi via the JSON-RPC API over HTTP, providing library browsing, search, playback control, queue management, and system functions.

Kodi is the free, open-source media centre from the XBMC Foundation. This driver is written and supported by Smart Home Programming and Automation.

Driver Features

Connection Control

By default the driver connects to Kodi automatically when it loads and keeps the connection alive, reconnecting if Kodi restarts. If your Kodi device is usually powered off, turn Auto-Connect on Startup OFF in the driver configuration so the processor does not repeatedly try to reach it. The connection is then controlled by macros / buttons:

• Connect - Enable and connect now (wire to a "system on" macro, or the ON side of a toggle)
• Disconnect - Disconnect and stop retrying (wire to a "system off" macro, or the OFF side of a toggle)
• Poll Now - Force an immediate state refresh (connects first if needed)

With Auto-Connect off, the driver stays disconnected at startup until a Connect or Poll Now is called. The Connected and ConnectionEnabled system variables reflect the current state.

Library Sync

When the driver first connects to Kodi, it performs a full library sync to the cloud server. This syncs your movies, TV shows, music artists, albums, and recently added content so it can be browsed instantly from the Web Object UI.

Important:

• The larger your library, the longer the sync takes. A library with 1000 movies, 400 TV shows, and hundreds of albums may take 30-60 seconds to fully sync.
• During the sync, the Web Object UI will display a "Library Sync" loading screen. Controls will not be available until the sync is complete.
• The sync is triggered manually from the Web Object UI Settings panel (Sync Library button). It does NOT run automatically on boot.
• Library data is cached on the cloud server, so subsequent page loads are instant even before the next sync completes.
• Movie posters and album artwork are cached on the server for fast loading. The first time each image is accessed it may be slow, but subsequent loads are served from the server cache.

Web Object UI

The driver includes a web-based remote control UI that can be displayed inside an RTI Web Object on your touchpanel. This provides movie browsing with poster art, TV show navigation, music browsing, search, and now playing information.

Web Object URL:

https://shpdrivers.services/kodi/?mac=YOUR_PROCESSOR_MAC&transport=ws

The processor MAC address is logged in TraceView when the driver starts. Replace YOUR_PROCESSOR_MAC with your RTI processor's MAC address (no colons, uppercase).

Web Object Settings:

• Set the Web Object to Dark Mode in Integration Designer for best appearance
• Use HTTP (not HTTPS) for the Web Object URL if you want album art from Kodi's local library to display
• The UI includes a Settings panel (gear icon) where you can customise accent colours, background colour, and shadow depth to match your RTI template

Web Object Features:

Now Playing Tab:

• Cover art, title, synopsis, starring cast, director
• Progress bar with elapsed/total time
• Year, genre, rating, resolution, volume, audio codec info
• TV episodes show in S01E05 format with show name

Movies Tab:

Supported Devices

Any device running Kodi with the JSON-RPC web interface enabled, including Windows, macOS and Linux PCs, NVIDIA Shield and other Android TV boxes, and Raspberry Pi (LibreELEC / OSMC).

• Kodi 20 (Nexus)
• Kodi 21 (Omega)
• Any Kodi version supporting JSON-RPC API v13

System Requirements

• Integration Designer - 10.0 or above
• RTI processor - XP-8 class (XP-3 / XP-6 / XP-6s / XP-8 / XP-8s / XP-8v)
• Processor script runtime - 24 or above

• Kodi - web interface enabled (Settings > Services > Control)

• Internet access from the processor - only for the cloud Web Object UI and library sync; all control is local

Limitations

• Kodi does not expose brightness, contrast or gamma to external control, so there is no direct picture slider or read-back; the Picture Settings button opens Kodi's own panel instead.
• Feedback needs the Kodi web interface to be reachable. While the Kodi device is powered off the driver shows Disconnected and keeps retrying (or stays disconnected if Auto-Connect is off).
• The cloud Web Object UI and its library sync need internet access from the processor and the panel. The local SHP Kodi Web Remote add-on does not.
• Library sync to the cloud Web Object is manual (Settings > Sync Library); it is not run on boot.
• Music sources added to Kodi by SMB hostname may not play on some Android devices (see Troubleshooting).
• Wake on LAN depends on the device supporting it and on the correct MAC for the network connection in use.
• One driver instance controls one Kodi device. Add another instance (with its own Debug Port) for each additional Kodi.

Troubleshooting

Cannot Connect:

1. Verify Kodi's web interface is enabled
2. Check IP address and port number
3. Ensure Kodi is on the same network as the RTI processor
4. Try accessing http://KODI_IP:8080 in a web browser
5. Check username and password

No Artwork:

Kodi artwork is served through Kodi's HTTP interface. Ensure the web interface port is accessible from the RTI processor.

Slow Response:

• Increase the poll interval if the RTI processor is under heavy load
• Reduce the page size for large libraries

Movies Play but Music Does Not (SMB name resolution):

If movies and TV play but music does not - Kodi appears to accept the command but no audio starts - your music source is most likely added to Kodi by hostname (for example smb://MYNAS/Music/) while your video sources use an IP address. Kodi on some devices (notably Android / NVIDIA Shield) cannot resolve SMB hostnames reliably. This is a Kodi/network configuration issue, not a driver fault. Fix it in Kodi by either:

• Re-adding the music source using the NAS IP address instead of its name, then updating the library, or
• Adding a path substitution to Kodi's advancedsettings.xml that maps the hostname to the IP (no library re-scan needed).

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