Kodi and Streaming Guides

If you got snarled in the URL Resolver bad update and wrecked your install you will certainly have the pain of a fresh install etched in your mind. You may have missed this on the last Ares Wizard update, but the back up system has now been activated. You can access this from the main menu where the button has been for a while now but not functional. Ares Wizard Backup You can see the many options you have with this tool for complete or partial backups as required. This has some hidden gems lurking, as well as the obvious visible options listed such as keymaps, library, sources and even your advanced settings file (if you plan on fettling with it!) Full System Backup If you select the full backup option, the Ares Wizard can do a few clever things for you; ( be sure your set the destination folder for you backup before proceeding here) Once you select “Full backup” and hit “Make Backup” the Ares Wizard backup system prompts you to skip unneeded files, like package...

I thought I’d cover the one of the most talked about issues in the world of streaming and thats WiFi and how to get the best out of it, practical measures and not some of the voodoo you read on some forums! What is WIFi? The term Wi-Fi refers specifically to the IEEE 802.11 set of standards for wireless networks. Several different standards are designated by a letter suffix on the 802.11, such as in 802.11g or 802.11n. In general all of the 802.11 standards operate on either a 2.4GHz or 5GHz radio frequency. 5GHz has much greater speed capability but a reduced range; generally speaking the lower a frequency the further it will travel, so don’t expect miracles if you switch to 5GHz. A key thing to note here is that if ANY device uses the older “b” standard then ALL devices *could* have their speed reduced to 11mbps on “g” networks, depending on your router. This really applies to older equipment or cheap equipment with old parts used in it *cough* t...

The thing about free stuff, is that’s its never really free, someone, somewhere is paying somehow. Now there are various things that can happen, like invasive ads or pay per click stuff being quite common place (this blog uses it to pay for the server), however its when devious means are used to pay for things that it get worrying, especially when you can’t figure out what’s going on “under the hood”. Hola Free VPN This is a classic example of how end users are fooled into thinking a free lunch is a good thing. I want to see US Netflix, for example, install Hola and voila all sorted! I’m afraid that’s where the real problems start. Hola have been negligent in many ways, an article on digital trends (March 2015) highlights several vulnerabilities that amount to more than development mistakes; such as leaving a console active which would allow a malicious attacker to bypass Anti Virus to install more software without the users knowledge. Serious e...

…or any device on your home network a pc (windows or ubuntu as I have), I have checked this method will also work on a Mac etc, but as I dont have a Mac to do all the write up, you should understand the folder sharing part and then follow the rest of the guide. I originally did this to help with a specific issue with FireTV Stick – but did this write up using a FireTV Box. It can be used on any devices you use for Kodi, providing you have a pc of some sort from which to share a folder.  It goes without saying that the devices need to be Android to utilise the ES File Explorer for the initial install. However, once installed, the folder share method will work for any device using Kodi as a means to get zips, images etc across. Create Folder Share The first thing is to use your pc and create a folder with no password or restrictions. The images here show Windows method, but I use Ubuntu so I know this works too (right click and share properties, guest access for people wi...

The key thing to adding content to Kodi is via repositories – a “repo” is the “central storage point” for an authors add ons. Add-ons provide you with content, so you will see someone reference say Genesis and Lambda – Lambda is the author and has his repository, and Genesis is the add on held in that repo for you to install. A repo can have multiple add ons. These add ons are grouped as Program, Video, etc. I hope that’s simple enough – that’s my fifth version, if you have a simpler way to explain, please comment below and I’ll add it in! Repository Addresses Every repo has a url, an address (or source) you need to add into Kodi’s File Manager in order to install the repo into your Kodi locally. I have created a list of the most popular (I hope!) although this isn’t meant to be every repo every created. I am providing a list here of the repo’s rather than write 150 articles for each individual. This will also...

It has become clear that the 3m+ downloads a month has become an issue on the current Ares Wizard zip host box, very often triggering the IP banning protection, although temporary, it would seem that some are being hit with 12 hr bans as the server thinks its being attacked. A royal pain if you are simply trying to grab the zip file. New Server, Bigger Pipe The Ares team has therefore invested in a new host, with a bigger 1 gbps pipe (previous was 50mbps), this “should” eliminate this problem for the downloads. Famous last words? The new url is  http://www.areswizard.co.uk (note – there is no need to add zip to the end of this – its a direct link) Full information on the Ares Forum The Ares Wizard Overview Just to try and clarify how this utility works, as so many ask if its down when in fact its not – or confusing builds failing to download or install correctly as a problem with the wizard. The Ares Wizard is hosted across three servers , one main a...

This is an add on thats been around for a while, with a mix of content, mostly that I haven’t used to be honest, but its recently started to produce some good live streams with I think makes it worthy of recommending. I worked through some of the content this morning and there is a mix of stuff, but of real interest to me personally is the quality of the live links. The other content such as Lingerie Football and Lingerie Fighting is unique to the add on (AFAIK), plus there plenty of horror under the “dark side” link and Serial Killer content too, should that be your thing. Installing Project Cypher Click File Manager Double Click Add source Type this EXACTLY http://repo.run/cypherrepo/ Name the source, Project Cypher Return to the Kodi Home Screen Click System Click Add ons Click install from zip file Click Project Cypher Source Click Project Cypher zip file Wait for “add on enabled” notification Project Cypher Content The long list of live sports lin...