ive been using kodi (xbmc was better moniker) since google killed sagetv. i recall attempting plex, but it seemed to lack some open/extensibility (its been awhile).
i have a side project i want to make as a modular plugin generating a cable layout with original air orders and networks/channels… kodi seems most optimal, but ill admit its been a long while since i looked at plex.
so why plex over kodi?
I think they’re best suited for different use cases tbh.
Plex makes it great to handoff and resume media on multiple devices, has native apps for everything (from Linux, to PS3, to Firestick, to XB1, literally you name it), makes it easy to share media with friends and family, has excellent media file name recognition, and lastly has Plexamp (which for me is an extra deal maker).
Recently visited a friend’s house, and after logging into my Plex on their TV I could instantly resume whatever I was watching at home, as easily as I would have for a Netflix account.
If you do all your media consumption on a single device, or have no need to organise different libraries of media… then something like Plex/Emby/Jellyfin could be overkill - Kodi would be awesome in that case
Edit: typo
Exactly. I used XBMC and then Kodi for years until I got a smartphone and a laptop and wanted to keep my watched list synced across multiple devices. It was way too complicated with Kodi; it was never designed for that. That’s when I switched over to Plex.
Aside from that use case, though, Kodi is an incredibly powerful and impressive piece of software.
Kodi has a plugin called “plexkodiconnect” that uses plex as the media backend for kodi front ends. It basically replaces the kodi media db, giving you updates/sync/resume/intro skip/etc the same way plex does. Plex runs on a server as normal, and can be used however you normally use it as well. Youre still able to use plex apps on whatever devices you like.
You get the best of both worlds with some light setup.
I think Jellyfin is only an overkill if you don’t value privacy
Kodis had that for ages if you can run a small Maria or mysql server to host the databases. Plex makes that process easier for sure, but Kodi can do it.