Archive:Linux FAQ
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
|
 Linux FAQ |
Linux FAQ
|
|
NOTICE: The Linux FAQ is going though a major overhaul and some things might be missing. For a copy of the old version see here. |
Frequently Asked Questions for XBMC running under Linux-based operating systems.
General FAQ
- See also: XBMC all platforms FAQ for FAQs that apply to all versions of XBMC.
Supported Linux distributions
- Team XBMC provides precompiled binaries for Ubuntu from the Team XBMC PPA. In the future there will also be precompiled binaries for Debian and Steam OS.
- Team XBMC recognizes OpenELEC versions of XBMC as "pretty damn awesome".
- Generally speaking, as long as XBMC is compiled per recommended guidelines (see HOW-TO:Compile XBMC for Linux), those builds are considered "kosher".
- XBMC builds that use external ffmpeg/libav are not supported and are strongly discouraged.
Supported hardware
For x86 hardware:
| CPU | x86 or x86-64 processor such as: Intel Pentium 4/ Pentium M, AMD Athlon 64 / Opteron, or newer CPU (that support SSE2, which all CPUs made within the last 10-years does).
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAM |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Graphics |
Kodi will run on most graphics cards made within the last 10-years or so, though for good hardware video decoding support a little newer graphics cards can be required. This includes most cards from AMD/ATI, Intel, or NVIDIA which support OpenGL 2.0 or later. AMD/Intel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Video decoding | For hardware video decoding, which may be necessary on low-performance CPUs to playback 1080p content, make sure your GPU or VPU supports either VAAPI or VDPAU. For everything but older AMD cards and Nvidia, VAAPI is recommended. On AMD, you might have to start with the environment variable KODI_GL_INTERFACE set to GLX in order to get VDPAU support.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drive space | The Kodi application generally only takes up between 100 to 200 MB of space, depending on how the binary is compiled. Technically speaking, if your hardware supports netbooting, you do not even require a internal storage for either the operating-system or for Kodi.
|
Note: There´s no 304.xxx driver for Ubuntu 18.04 available anymore from the "Graphic Drivers"-ppa. Users who are using GeForce 6-series cards should either stay on an older Ubuntu version or use newer cards
How to install or update XBMC for Linux
Main pages: HOW-TO:Install XBMC for Linux and XBMCbuntu
For an easy to use fresh installation of both XBMC and OS you can use XBMCbuntu. XBMCbuntu can be installed from a DVD or USB thumb drive.
- Ubuntu
- For other supported distros, see HOW-TO:Install XBMC for Linux
How to update XBMCbuntu
- See: XBMCbuntu FAQ
XBMC for Linux version
- The current stable version of XBMC for Linux is Kodi v21 Omega. This is the same code that all of the other platforms (Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, etc) are using.
What version/nightly build/beta of XBMC am I running?
- XBMC main menu > System > Lower submenu > System info. Note the build date.
Programs and tools to help with XBMC
- For a list of programs and tools to help with XBMC, such as renaming files, managing media, file sharing, and more, see Supplemental tools/Linux
How to autostart XBMC in desktop mode
What are the differences between Ubuntu + XBMC, XBMCbuntu, and OpenELEC?
Troubleshooting
See also: Troubleshooting
Getting more help with XBMC for Linux
- XBMC for Linux specific help forum
- #xbmc and #xbmc-linux IRC chat channels on irc.freenode.org.
Userdata folder and logs
- Main pages: Userdata folder and Debug log
Audio issues
- For most audio issues, including configuration examples, see Audio and Audio troubleshooting.
Video tearing on Nvidia GPUs
- When XBMC is used with Nvidia hardware, tearing will occur when the X composite extension is used.
- Solution 1: Enable "Unredirect Fullscreen Window" in Compiz Config Settings Manager. [1]
- Install CCSM (Compiz Config Settings Manager):
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager - Open Compiz Config Settings Manager
- Check the option "Unredirect Fullscreen Window", which should be under the "Composite" section.
- Install CCSM (Compiz Config Settings Manager):
- Solution 1: Enable "Unredirect Fullscreen Window" in Compiz Config Settings Manager. [1]
- Solution 2: Disable the composite extension.
- 1. Add this to the end of /etc/X11/xorg.conf: (make a new file if xorg.conf doesn't exist)
Section "Extensions" Option "Composite" "Disable" EndSection
- 2. Then log in with a gnome classic session (without the composite extension compiz doesn't work).
- 3. Also make sure to set Vertical blank sync to Always enabled in XBMC.
- Solution 3: Disable the use of the SDL backing store - this is a bug in Ubuntu which will probably be fixed in due time but could cause tearing right now: http://askubuntu.com/questions/450593/how-do-i-eliminate-screen-tearing-on-14-04-and-xbmc-with-nvidia-331/450673#450673
Why can't I update XBMC on Ubuntu 13.04, 13.10, or other release?
- The precompiled binaries from the Team XBMC PPA only work with Ubuntu releases that are still getting support. When Ubuntu drops support for a version then our PPA stops making a binary for it. Simply update Ubuntu itself and then XBMC updates should work again. If you don't want to update Ubuntu that often then we recommend using a long term support (LTS) version of Ubuntu, such as 14.04, which will be supported until 2019.