And what does it do? I did quick research, but was not able to find real answers.

My wife said a coworker "hacked" her Fire Stick and now gets free channels and movies.

I am skeptical about this especially since I have not see it mentioned very much here in the Nerdery.

It is a Home Theater PC (HTPC) application. It is a media player (video and audio), dvr, and a whole lot more. There are tons of plugins that can aggregate media from practically any streamed source as well as your own personal audio or video collection

HTH

As far as hacking/pirating, yeah that stuff is out there but it's only a matter of time before big brother shuts that down IMO.

Its a modular media front end. It started out as XBMC (Xbox Media Center) which was a media front end that you could load onto an original Xbox that had a mod chip or had been soft modded to make it a fairly inexpensive and unobtrusive HTPC.

A few years back they rebranded as Kodi and it can now be loaded onto a pretty large number of devices. Due to the modular nature of the software, people have built plug ins that allow them to illegally stream movies and shows straight off of a torrent.

So, Kodi itself is just great media software, but yes, people can do illegal things with it.

Understood, maybe.

Good that it can bring lots of media together.

Bad that streamed live content or on demand content is doable, but not legal - like HBO or live tv.

So Kodi is not the name of a stripper.

And I only use that hookah in my living room as a decoration.

dlance said:

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hypeiv said:

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They have legal stream apps for kodi, like mlb.tv which lets me connect to my account and watch the games on my tv. However most people say Kodi mean they use one of the add ons that finds illegal movie streams for them.

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Yep. I get sideways looks when I mention having Kodi on my Fire TV. I only use it to access my ripped movies stored on my NAS.

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Which is also illegal. It is illegal to rip movies from your DVD/blue ray.

Hagen95 said:

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And I only use that hookah in my living room as a decoration.

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If you're smoking weed out of a hookah, you're doing it wrong.

There's nothing illegal about smoking shisa.

Now...mixing a little weed in with your shisa...we could have a conversation about that!

And it is technically illegal for me to make mp3 files out of my LPs, but i do it anyway. As long as teh LP is still on my possession, the artist has lost nothing.

dlance said:

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boboguitar said:

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dlance said:

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hypeiv said:

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They have legal stream apps for kodi, like mlb.tv which lets me connect to my account and watch the games on my tv. However most people say Kodi mean they use one of the add ons that finds illegal movie streams for them.

---

Yep. I get sideways looks when I mention having Kodi on my Fire TV. I only use it to access my ripped movies stored on my NAS.

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Which is also illegal. It is illegal to rip movies from your DVD/blue ray.

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This should be good. Can you cite a statute that says that?

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assuming your disc contains some sort of DRM:
17 U.S. Code 1201 (a) (1) (A):
"No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall take effect at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this chapter."

haha, correct. only illegal to circumvent the DRM tech, or to "manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic" software that is designed to circumvent DRM.

but other than that, it's totally legal

Title I of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. 17 U.S.C. 1201 prohibits circumvention of DRM, which all modern blue ray movies have.

BlackGoldAg2011 said:

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dlance said:

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boboguitar said:

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dlance said:

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hypeiv said:

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They have legal stream apps for kodi, like mlb.tv which lets me connect to my account and watch the games on my tv. However most people say Kodi mean they use one of the add ons that finds illegal movie streams for them.

---

Yep. I get sideways looks when I mention having Kodi on my Fire TV. I only use it to access my ripped movies stored on my NAS.

---

Which is also illegal. It is illegal to rip movies from your DVD/blue ray.

---

This should be good. Can you cite a statute that says that?

---

assuming your disc contains some sort of DRM:
17 U.S. Code 1201 (a) (1) (A):
"No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall take effect at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this chapter."

---

There have been court cases (here's one from the 5th circuit) that ruled that breaking through a digital security system to access software doesn't trigger the "anti-circumvention" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as long as it's tapping into a work simply to "view it or to use it within the purview of 'fair use' permitted under the Copyright Act."

Another, more recent Federal case, held that stripping DRM from ebooks for personal backup and device transfers was not a violation of the Copyright Act. I don't think a court has applied this specifically to BluRay copies for personal use yet, but I don't think a case has been brought yet either. It's just a matter of time.

So, your argument to stand back and point at the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a bit incomplete. This is an interesting area where our thoughts about technology rapidly outpaced the 1998 law, and court cases are redefining we thought about it even a few years ago.

JHC, can I just tell my wife that we should not get a Fire Stick and use Kodi for the purpose she wants, which is to see Live TV and on demand movies for free?

I think you need to reflect on the question you just asked. "Can I tell my wife?" There's enough information and common sense for you to make that determination on your own. Are you going to have the feds knocking down your door to haul you away/levy fines against you? Almost certainly not, but are you comfortable stealing what other's people pay for? That's up to you and your wife.

It is only frustrating because she believes the know-it-alls of TexAgs more than me. "What does the board say?" "You should ask TexAgs"
"TexAgs knows stuff, why don't you?"

Ark03 said:

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BlackGoldAg2011 said:

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dlance said:

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boboguitar said:

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dlance said:

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hypeiv said:

---

They have legal stream apps for kodi, like mlb.tv which lets me connect to my account and watch the games on my tv. However most people say Kodi mean they use one of the add ons that finds illegal movie streams for them.

---

Yep. I get sideways looks when I mention having Kodi on my Fire TV. I only use it to access my ripped movies stored on my NAS.

---

Which is also illegal. It is illegal to rip movies from your DVD/blue ray.

---

This should be good. Can you cite a statute that says that?

---

assuming your disc contains some sort of DRM:
17 U.S. Code 1201 (a) (1) (A):
"No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall take effect at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this chapter."

---

There have been court cases (here's one from the 5th circuit) that ruled that breaking through a digital security system to access software doesn't trigger the "anti-circumvention" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as long as it's tapping into a work simply to "view it or to use it within the purview of 'fair use' permitted under the Copyright Act."

Another, more recent Federal case, held that stripping DRM from ebooks for personal backup and device transfers was not a violation of the Copyright Act. I don't think a court has applied this specifically to BluRay copies for personal use yet, but I don't think a case has been brought yet either. It's just a matter of time.

So, your argument to stand back and point at the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a bit incomplete. This is an interesting area where our thoughts about technology rapidly outpaced the 1998 law, and court cases are redefining we thought about it even a few years ago.

---

Has anything changed since this?
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/its-still-illegal-to-rip-dvd-and-blu-ray-discs-for-personal-use/

I don't think anyone here actually has an issue with someone copying their own dvd/blu-ray, just making the point that it's technically illegal. The studios have long held to the assertion that you own a license to view the content in that format and not the content itself.

fig96 said:

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Ark03 said:

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BlackGoldAg2011 said:

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dlance said:

---

boboguitar said:

---

dlance said:

---

hypeiv said:

---

They have legal stream apps for kodi, like mlb.tv which lets me connect to my account and watch the games on my tv. However most people say Kodi mean they use one of the add ons that finds illegal movie streams for them.

---

Yep. I get sideways looks when I mention having Kodi on my Fire TV. I only use it to access my ripped movies stored on my NAS.

---

Which is also illegal. It is illegal to rip movies from your DVD/blue ray.

---

This should be good. Can you cite a statute that says that?

---

assuming your disc contains some sort of DRM:
17 U.S. Code 1201 (a) (1) (A):
"No person shall circumvent a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. The prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall take effect at the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this chapter."

---

There have been court cases (here's one from the 5th circuit) that ruled that breaking through a digital security system to access software doesn't trigger the "anti-circumvention" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, as long as it's tapping into a work simply to "view it or to use it within the purview of 'fair use' permitted under the Copyright Act."

Another, more recent Federal case, held that stripping DRM from ebooks for personal backup and device transfers was not a violation of the Copyright Act. I don't think a court has applied this specifically to BluRay copies for personal use yet, but I don't think a case has been brought yet either. It's just a matter of time.

So, your argument to stand back and point at the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a bit incomplete. This is an interesting area where our thoughts about technology rapidly outpaced the 1998 law, and court cases are redefining we thought about it even a few years ago.

---

Has anything changed since this?
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/10/its-still-illegal-to-rip-dvd-and-blu-ray-discs-for-personal-use/

I don't think anyone here actually has an issue with someone copying their own dvd/blu-ray, just making the point that it's technically illegal. The studios have long held to the assertion that you own a license to view the content in that format and not the content itself.

---

I should probably say I'm not a lawyer and I'm just reading about this stuff too, but I have tried to follow it over the last several years.

The link you sent above is an article commenting on the Library of Congress' policy on what they consider is fair use - it does not reflect the opinion of any court.

And of course the studios hold that opinion; they have every reason to want you to buy 10 identical copies of every widget they sell ... but neither they nor the Library of Congress make or interpret law.

Other than non lawyers on here quoting laws, where are we getting this definitive info from?

It's been a debatable topic for a while now unless something specific has changed.

There are add ons certified by Kodi. Watch a few YouTube videos on it. I remember there were several news ones such aw BBC and then ones you log into as someone mentioned with MLB TV. I also think Netflix, Hulu, etc are all official add ons. I believe there's even one for movies and TV shows in the public domain. That's pretty cool.

All other add ons are 3rd party and have no official Kodi support. Many (not all) are illegal. Essentially 2017 version of stealing cable tv.

You can also use it similar to VLC, to watch media files locally off a device or streaming over your network. Old school XBMC cut its teeth on this. A media box 10 years before moat people had one.

I still have an old oXbox with XBMC! This blew my mind in 2006! I still use it watch my 720x480p DVD rips, over component upscaled to 1080i. The old CPU can't handle newer h.264 movie files though.

Essentially, Kodi came out of the modding community so it's roots lie with hackers/modders, but they've tried to make it more legit over the years.

Try downloading it on your PC first before you start trying to side load apps onto a Fire Stick. There's a Windows version.

If rippings DVDs & BDs for personal use was illegal, I image the app MakeMKV or HandBreak would've been shutdown years ago. He constantly updates it to get around the latest BD efforts to stop ripping. They even sell DVD ripping software at MicroCenter, Fryes, etc.

Totally agree that they aren't going to go after anyone for doing this, just curious about what the laws actually stated as it still seems to be a gray area. Sounds like DRM is the deciding factor.

There was a massive debate at one point in time, however, on whether you owned the rights to that song off your CD in all formats (i.e. your ripped MP3) or just the format you had purchased. Whether that was legitimate or just an RIAA money grab may be a different argument.

I'm also curious how you had DVDs with no DRM. They've had some form of DRM since like the late 90s if I recall.

Random aside, apparently the UK has their own thing happening:
http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/592380/Britain-HIgh-Court-CD-DVD-Copy-Rip-Backup-Illegal

It wasn't good copy protection, but pretty sure there were measures in place. Just because it was easy to beat doesn't mean it wasn't a security measure.

DRM 100% has existed on DVDs since 1996, the removal of it is even advertised on the website of the software you claim to use.

So basically the status of the DRM law as it pertains to DVD/Blue rays is that it is technically illegal to circumvent any technological measure used to protect copyrighted work, courts have ruled in cases essentially making allowances for this to be ok on music, software, and ebooks in order to make personal backups, but there is currently no decision in this area specifically pertaining to movies. So seemingly still illegal although odds of prosecution are slim to none if you aren't distributing. Also this will likely be completely legal in the future.