Kodi is and remains one of the most popular open source media players. The software is formerly known as Xbox Media Center (XBMC) also enjoys great reputation due to its open source nature. The latter is also the reason why Kodi is repeatedly mentioned in connection with piracy – guiltless.
Kodi is repeatedly blamed for add-ons to illegal content. Because in the case of open-source software, it is particularly easy for third parties to create extensions. Kodi cannot or hardly influence if someone creates a legal addon or allows access to illegal content (usually streaming piracy).
Digital Rights Management
The creators now want to change the negative image by providing support for Digital Rights Management (DRM). The Kodi developers announced the work on the support of copy protection systems in the previous year, with the now released Kodi version 18 code-named Leia is the first step in this direction. However, it is still not a final edition of the software, but only the second alpha version.
Kodi in their blog post, in which all other news and plans are summarized, explains the background. Because DRM support in the case of Kodi does not mean that the user has restrictions on how and what files he may play.
Instead, Kodi wants to lure legal providers on the platform, because the best remedy for video piracy has always been legal alternatives such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
According to the TorrentFreak, Martijn Kaijser, Project Lead at the XBMC Foundation, explains, “In the past, we’ve talked to publishers over and over again, and the first question was always whether we support DRM or not, and no was the end of the conversation.” Those who have shown some interest would have said that one should come back if there is a possibility, Kaijser says. While there are already some unofficial extensions that support DRM support, there are no official addons yet. But with Kodi, one hopes that this will change soon.
Source: Winfuture and Kodi Blog
The problem with writers who act like Kodi is unfairly linked to pirated content is the fact that 99% of people who use Kodi use it specifically for that purpose. People who want to stream or play local media content are far more likely to use Plex or Emby because both are far more user friendly if that’s what you actually want. It’s not an accident that there are Plex and Emby extensions for Kodi even though neither would be necessary if Kodi was more user friendly when it came to. Kodi’s functions that are actually legal.