Unlike the Apple TV, Google ChromeCast or others, the Kodi media player is not restricted by licensing agreements, or a curated app store. In a nutshell, it turns any desktop computer, server, smartphone, tablet or set-top box into a media player able to stream files from the internet, your home network or local HDD storage. In fact, some estimates place 20 million devices in use in the UK at the moment. Since it first launched back in 2003, Kodi has been shaped by some 500 developers and 200 translators.Īnd now the open-source media player runs on a whole host of different devices. But that has changed over the years, as the media player evolved, thanks to hundreds of coders across the globe tinkering with the software. The software was previously known as XBMC, or Xbox Media Centre, since that was the only hardware is was designed to run on. Kodi is an open-source media player software that is available to install on a range of devices.

A Proceeds of Crime Act order was also made against him for a further £80,000.įollowing a growing number of complaints from right-holders and broadcasters about these Kodi-powered boxes, the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is holding a number of meetings to decide whether the law needs to be changed to tackle these devices. He pleased guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in prison – suspended for one year – and ordered to pay costs of £170,000. He also falsely claimed in national magazine adverts that the devices were '100% legal' Mr Mayes targeted pubs and clubs, where he sold the so-called Kodi boxes for £1,000 each. Malcolm Mayes of Hartlepool, sold IPTV boxes – often colloquially referred to as Kodi boxes or Android boxes – that were modified to easily allow viewers to freely watch content that should otherwise be paid for.

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