Cable or satellite customers who have an Xbox One with Kinect rave about OneGuide, Xbox One’s integration with live TV services. You can use Xbox’s interface or voice commands and the Xbox will send IR commands from the Kinect to the cable or satellite set-top box to change the channels accordingly.
But what if you’re a “cord-cutter” like me and don’t have cable or satellite? You’ve been out of luck, having to reach for a separate remote control to control Kodi instead of being able to use Xbox OneGuide and voice controls… until now, that is!
This guide will share how you can configure your Xbox One and Kodi on your HTPC to make it so saying “Xbox Watch NBC” will make Kodi change channels to NBC.
KinkeadTech: Pioneering Home Theater Automation for You
At the time of writing this, I can say with confidence that I am the first person to figure this out and write about it on the Internet. I’ve searched and searched for this for quite some time and have never found anybody else that has done this.
There Isn’t Any Kodi App for Xbox One (yet)
I get a lot of questions about this, so before I get into it, I want to make one thing very clear… there is no Kodi app for Xbox One. However, I’m still hopeful that it might happen sometime in the future. There is a process to compile the Kodi app using the UWP (Universal Windows Platform), but not sure how difficult it would be to do or if it’s even possible.
Instead, this tutorial will assume you have a Home Theater PC (HTPC) that has Kodi installed on it, and you have plugged the “HDMI out” from your HTPC into the “HDMI in” on the Xbox One (as if your HTPC is your cable box).
My Home Theater Setup
But before I get into it, let me give you a run-through of my setup.
I use an ASUS VivoPC as my home theater PC that runs Kodi and plugs into the Xbox One. You can read my review of the ASUS VivoPC here.
[amazonjs asin=”B01AUG1V9C” locale=”US” title=”ASUS VIVOPC-VM40B-04 Desktop”]
I use Kodi (formerly XBMC) for all my TV watching. On top of having a Sickbeard/SAB/Usenet setup to download show episodes and the availability of many video Add-ons (like my favorite, Genesis Exodus) for streaming of TV shows and movies, I also have an Argus Live TV PVR back-end installed on another computer upstairs (for best over-the-air TV antenna reception). That computer has a USB TV tuner that I use to plug my antenna into it. I use the Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-955Q USB TV Tuner For Notebook.
[amazonjs asin=”B001DEYVXO” locale=”US” title=”Hauppauge 1191 WinTV-HVR-955Q USB TV Tuner For Notebook”]
For my antenna, I use the ClearStream 1 and it works pretty well, except for a few channels due to the fact that I’m a fair distance away from the TV station broadcasters. It’s only a 40 mile range, but there are more expensive versions of the ClearStream that give you more range.
[amazonjs asin=”B002FU60GG” locale=”US” title=”ClearStream 1 Convertible Indoor/Outdoor HDTV Antenna with Mount – 40 Mile Range”]
I’ve also heard that the Mohu Leaf is a great one. Here’s a cheaper generic version.
Now, with the Argus PVR add-on installed on Kodi on my main HTPC downstairs, I can watch live TV from my living room.
In addition, I have the Xbox One with Kinect. If you don’t have one, you should get one. In order to quickly switch between Xbox One and Kodi, I plugged my HTPC into the HDMI In on the Xbox One so I can access it via the TV app on the Xbox One.
Like I mentioned, I’ve been trying to figure out how to get the 2 systems a bit more integrated. Finally, I got it. Check out the video…
Video Demo of Xbox One XBMC / Kodi Live TV Integration
Ok, now let’s get started…
Xbox One OneGuide Settings
On the Xbox One, go to Settings > OneGuide.
Setup your TV line-up as “Antenna” for your zip code (I believe this is not available in all areas yet, but give it a try).
Then setup your TV, AV Receiver, and Cable Box. The TV and AV Receiver should be self-explanatory, but the Cable Box is the tricky part. When it asks for brand, enter “hp” and then choose to enter your own code “N1679“.
A Note About the Brand
The brand “Media Center PC” used to work, but now doesn’t work any more for some reason. It just says that it couldn’t detect it. I’m not sure exactly what it is trying to detect. Maybe Xbox is finally working on implementing WMC integration so maybe it’s trying to find WMC over ethernet? Anyway, I used “hp” because I use an HP USB MCE IR receiver. But “hp” should work with any MCE IR receiver.
Notes About the Remote Code
If you try guided setup where the Xbox tries to toggle the power to your “cable” box, it will run through several different codes. Here they are in order along with their results.
- N1272: Makes the HDMI input turn off and back on every time you change channels causing the TV display to go black for several seconds… no good.
- N2782: No issues with screen blanking, but the IR codes being sent to the computer were inconsistent and unreliable.
- N1679: This is the one that worked the best. The only downside is that you have to manually map the remote command codes to the keyboard emulation actions in EventGhost, but you should be using EventGhost anyway.
- N1267: Same issue as N1272 with the screen blanking when you change channels.
EventGhost Remote to Key Mappings
Now that the Xbox One is sending IR commands to the HTPC, you need to configure EventGhost so that your HTPC knows what to do with those commands.
Note: Be sure to check out my guide on How My Xbox One Turns My Lights On and Off since that goes over how to set up EventGhost to translate IR commands from the Xbox One.
Install MCE Remote Plugin and Test It
The first thing to do is the enable the MCE Remote plugin which allows EventGhost to receive IR commands from the IR receiver. Then, you will need to do some testing of some channel changes from the Xbox One to see what shows up in EventGhost’s log panel.
Upon a channel change, the Xbox One will send the channel number (for example 12.1) in this format…
- MceRemote.FBFE (1)
- MceRemote.FBFD (2)
- MceRemote.Star (don’t have this mapped to any key)
- MceRemote.FBFE (1)
- MceRemote.FBF4 (Enter)
Create Macros with Triggers
Basically, you need to create a separate macro for each of the 10 numbers (0-9) as well as “Enter”. Then, drag each IR command from the log panel (on the left) and drop it into the appropriate macro. For instance, drag “MceRemote.FBFE” from the log panel and drop it in the “1” macro.
If your IR commands are matching mine, here’s a cheat sheet so you can enter them all without having to test using Xbox channel changes…
- MceRemote.FBFF = 0
- MceRemote.FBFE = 1
- MceRemote.FBFD = 2
- MceRemote.FBFC = 3
- MceRemote.FBFB = 4
- MceRemote.FBFA = 5
- MceRemote.FBF9 = 6
- MceRemote.FBF8 = 7
- MceRemote.FBF7 = 8
- MceRemote.FBF6 = 9
- MceRemote.FBF4 = Enter
Add Keystroke Actions
Next, you need to create an Emulate Keystrokes action inside of each of the 11 macros. Just right-click on the macro, Add Action…, open the Window category, and select Emulate Keystrokes. Then, for the Text to type, enter {Numpad9} for the 9 macro.
Live TV PVR Back-end Channel Numbers
Since sub-channels are currently not working in the Argus PVR Backend or in Kodi, you will need to configure channels in the PVR back-end to match Xbox One OneGuide channel numbers, ignoring the periods. For example…
- 5.1 = 51
- 12.1 = 121
- 12.2 = 122
- 51.1 = 511
- etc…
This is the reason why you should not have the MceRemote.Star command mapped to any key. This way, the HTPC just ignores that.
If sub-channels are working for your PVR back-end and in Kodi, the ignore this section. Support for sub-channels was supposedly built into Kodi 14 Helix, but I’m not seeing it. It’s probably because Argus needs to update their back-end software as well as their front-end Kodi add-on in order to enable this feature.
Kodi (XBMC) Live TV Settings
Settings > Live TV > General > Use back-end channels numbers: On
You will need to make sure this setting is turned on in order for Kodi to use the numbers that you’ve configured in your back-end.
Settings > Live TV > Playback > Start playback minimized: Off
When I was playing around with it, I noticed that if the live TV playback was minimized (meaning that it shows in a small window next to the list of channels), then the channel change commands would not actually change the channel, but instead it would just select that channel in the list making it so you have to hit ok one more time.
Settings > Live TV > Playback > Confirm channel switches by pressing OK: On
There are 2 reasons why this setting needs to be on. First, the Xbox One is already sending IR commands that end in Enter (a.k.a. MceRemote.FBF4). Second, since we are ignoring the “star” or period character, there is a longer gap where the period would normally be entered. Because of this, the channel switch window will time out very quickly if you don’t have this setting turned on.
Enjoy Seamless Kodi (XBMC) Live TV Channel Surfing with Xbox One OneGuide!
Go ahead and try it! Use voice commands like “Xbox Watch NBC”, and watch as it tunes Kodi to that channel. Finally a cord-cutter like yourself can enjoy this simple luxury that cable and satellite customers have been enjoying, except you’re saving money and getting more out of your automated home theater.
Work-In-Progress Areas
Navigating and Selecting in Kodi using Xbox One Controller
If you watch the video at the top of this page, you’ll see I demonstrate how to use the Xbox One controller’s triggers and bumpers to navigate around Kodi.
I did this by using EventGhost to translate the Replay, Rewind, Skip, and Next IR commands into Up, Left, Right, Down keystrokes (respectively).
The one big glaring issue with this is that I have yet to figure out what Xbox IR command I could use to emulate the “Enter” keystroke. There doesn’t seem to be any other IR command I can trigger from the Xbox One controller besides those 4, so I may consider using the left trigger for this, but then I can only navigate right.
Single Xbox One Command to Start Kodi Live TV Playback
Another issue that prevents this from being a completely seamless experience is that I can’t use the Xbox One to start Kodi’s Live TV playback, but I can only use it to change the channels once Live TV is already playing.
Even if I could use an Xbox One command to press “e” to bring up EPG (the TV guide), the commands to change channels still don’t launch the channel. It just selects it, and you would have to hit enter one more time.
If you primarily use Kodi just for Live TV, then you can turn on Settings > Live TV > Playback > Continue last channel on startup. Otherwise, if you also like to play TV, movies, and music from local storage or add-ons, then that setting may not be helpful.
Got Any Tips?
If you have any tips or questions, please let me know in the comments below. There is a lot of potential to completely streamline this Xbox One XBMC (Kodi) integration.
Get the Most out of Kodi / XBMC
On a side note, if you’re reading this, you’re probably going to be very interested in some of my newer posts that will help you get a lot more out of Kodi / XBMC. Check them out…
Genesis is My Favorite XMBC/Kodi Video Streaming Add-on for TV & Movies
How to Merge Kodi Streaming Add-ons into the Video Library (This is AWESOME)
Keep Up with Tech
Also, be sure to subscribe to KinkeadTech to get one weekly email update with the latest tech news, tips, and tutorials.
Thanks, and enjoy!
Any idea how to get the MCE remote to work with Kodi instead of the XBMC file paths? I had an AHK script that was working that now fails.
I’m not sure what you mean by “instead of the XBMC file paths.” Did your MCE remote just stop working? Instead of AutoHotKey, I would suggest you try EventGhost just as I described in this post, except instead of the Xbox One sending IR commands, your remote would be sending IR commands.
How Install Kodi in my Xbox One?
There is no Kodi app on Xbox One. I have a home theater PC with Kodi on it and I plug it into the HDMI input on the Xbox One.
I thought so, thanks for responding.
Can I also do this using an iMac instead of a desktop PC?
EventGhost is only on Windows, but you can probably find some alternative program for Mac.
This whole setting up remote part has me everything else I was able to do but when I turn on event ghost I get no codes so all of this is a little above my head
Do you have an infrared receiver? If so, make sure you install the MCE Remote plugin that comes with EventGhost.
I didn’t know anything about needing that it doesn’t say that in the list of needed items lol. I just gave up and basically ran it as a mirror from my laptop to the Xbox one.
Martin, I mentioned both of those things in the article.
Question for the author, I’m looking to setup something like this, does surround sound work from Kodi/XBMC work via Xbox One hdmi-in?
I currently have an android box that I just picked up for testing, but I cannot get surround sound, only 2.0. Which is a bit of a deal breaker in some respects. Mostly I’m just trying to eliminate paying for cablebox fees. Since Plex can serve all my media, but I do plan to take advantage of the other features also. I appreciate your response if possible and thanks for the write up.
Just thought of testing this with my Surface Pro 3 because it’s running windows. But I would still appreciate a response. Thanks in advance
Yes, Xbox One should be able to pass-through surround sound audio via HDMI. I don’t know if Android devices are capable to surround sound output, so that may be the issue. Make sure to check your audio settings in Kodi to see if you’re outputting 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. Also check you Xbox One settings to make sure it’s configured to output surround sound.
The android box does support surround sound, but when it switches via Kodi to passthrough (when starting playback), all I hear is static when its connected. It could simply be a problem with the android box and not using a real computer. So I will test again later tonight. I appreciate your response.
Just an update, so after testing with my Surface Pro 3, it does work fine. Only issue is the Xbox One does not support DTS via the HDMI-IN port (at least from my testing). But Kodi does support transcoding DTS and other pass-through formats on the fly to Dolby Digital. Obviously you miss out on the high res audio, but my main concern was no surround sound output at all, which makes Live TV a lot worse. Because that is the main function I want to use it for. All the other features are just bonuses, that I may use anyway.
Awesome, thanks for the update.
Hi – I’m having the same issue with regards to the sound down-mixing to 2 channel when going through the Xbox One HDMI In. I’ve tried different settings – but not helping :/
What settings did you use on both Xbox and Kodi ? I’ve noticed that when I exit Kodi into Windows and check the sound configuration, it also only gives me 2 channel there.
I see the link you put for the IR receiver is for windows 7/Vista, do you know if this will work for windows 8.1 on my surface pro 3? I’m going to try to link it up through my Microsoft wireless display adapter instead of a my PC…
I’m pretty sure the infrared receiver will work in Windows 8.
Hi I’m new to all this but I’m wondering how you had the live tv working? Is that through an app or a digital receiver plugged into your server?
Live TV PVR is a feature of Kodi. It connects to a TV backend which is connected to a TV tuner. I use mine with an antenna.
Are thank you for that. What TV Tuner are you using and is the plugin you use Live TV PVR or is it under a different name. I’m looking at having a setup like yours rather than a TV box as it will save space in my TV Stand.
James, at the beginning of my post, I mentioned that I use Argus PVR as my live TV back-end software, and I use the Argus front-end Kodi add-on which connects Kodi to the back-end.
I’ve also updated the post to include a link to the USB TV tuner that I use. Thanks for the question! Have fun!
Hi Nate! Thanks for sharing your post. It is really interesting and helpful. I am new this. Is it possible to set this up using an Amazon Firestick or do I have to run it through a pc?
Part of this guide involves using EventGhost which is only on Windows. There may be something else you can use. I’m not sure.
How do I set up Kodi on the Falcon?
What operating system are you running on it?
I honestly don’t know, some Wookie Installed it.
LOL… Nice!
Great article Nate! I know this thread is old but just wondering, now that windows 10 is coming out, how likely will it be that we can stream kodi from a win10 pc to the xbox one?
I just found out about kodi…sad, i know.. but i have been using the xbox one tuner right on my xbox one, works great but I have limited reception with 6 channels.
Considering Microsoft has already released a feature to stream your Xbox One to your Windows 10 PC, it seems fairly likely that they may go the other way as well. Speaking of which, check out this tutorial… https://kinkeadtech.com/2015/07/how-to-stream-xbox-one-to-windows-10-from-anywhere-with-internet/
Mike, I just read an article that said that Microsoft has said that they are working PC to Xbox One streaming. They need to implement mouse and keyboard support on Xbox One first.
Hey man, I’m new to this technology game but i swear it was one of the most inspiring things to watch your videos and read the setup commands, i really need your help by the way on getting my computer to atleast stream from my macbook to my xbox one wirelessly using xbox kodi! I don’t have a kinect but in the near future i will invest. If you know the game, could you please elaborate.. this thing is driving me crazy and i now know if there’s a wall, there is a way around it. ;) get back to me. Thanks buddy a lot!!! email me nathan
Hey Nathan, any recommendations on TV antennas? Can you just use the cheap flat ones that claim to get HD and cost around $30?
Alex, I use the ClearStream 1 ( http://amzn.to/1NNTyHn ) and it works pretty well, except for a few channels due to the fact that I’m a fair distance away from the TV station broadcasters. It’s only a 40 mile range, but there are more expensive versions of that … the 2 and the 4.
I’ve also heard that the Mohu Leaf ( http://amzn.to/1PpEU9r ) is a great one. Here’s a cheaper generic version ( http://amzn.to/1PpE64l ).
Hope this helps!
does this still work on the current verison of xbox one? i cant get past the brand of tv box part.
Have you been able to integrate Kodi and Xbox One while keeping either DD 5.1 or DTS? it seems as though that functionality doesn’t exist or is broken.
Dustin, Dolby 5.1 seems to work fine when I play it on Kodi passing through the Xbox One. You would have to make sure the source file is encoded in 5.1 and also check the Xbox One sound settings to make sure it’s set to 5.1. What kind of issue are you seeing/hearing?
i’ve tried videos encoded in both DTS and DD 5.1 (as well as other similar formats) but nothing seems to work correctly. Curious about the specific settings you or others are using. I have a usb antenna for the xbox one but most of my movies / shows are through Kodi and not having 5.1 has caused me to move to Plex since there is an app on Xbox one.
I’ve used a DD 5.1 test file on Kodi and it works and then I pump it through the Xbox and it no longer works or stutters like crazy.
Perhaps i’m just using the wrong settings in Kodi?
Also – thanks for your response!
oh and since I have so many files encoded in DTS instead of DD 5.1 do you know if Kodi can do on the fly transcoding? I’m going to go search that up now, but i’m just curious if you know the answer already.
Thanks
I don’t know the specifics about Kodi’s surround audio capabilities, but I remember hearing that Kodi’s went through some overhauls of the audio system for that purpose, so I assume it handles it pretty well. Let me know what you find.
Pretty sure I got it figured out. the channel selection not specifically referring to the number of speakers in your system helped. Left it at two and tested it out .. seems to work as expected so now it appears i’m getting surround out .. so thats good.
I had the Xbox sending IR to Kodi before but now I cant seem to get it to work at all. Tried the code you reference (several of them) and a few others and none seem to work. Still working through that. Not sure where to turn next. Just using a generic ortek USB IR Receiver
What if it don’t work when I enter antenna for my zip code?
Are you talking about when setting up OneGuide on the Xbox One?
Hi just to let you know I have managed to get kodi working with PVR Simple client and TV Stalker. There is a bit of messing about as I needed to match the TV numbers with my UK Sky guide but it works great. My only question is have you managed to get the xbox one remote to control Kodi yet? I only need it to send left right and select commands as the play and pause parts seem to work fine when video is playing and changing channel but be ace if it would control the kodi menu to. Not sure if it can be done or not though. O and one last thing how did you get your xbox to turn off your pc as I have a command set for my HP remote but this will only wake up the pc it will not put it to sleep so I’m not sure if I can get my pc to do that or not?
I haven’t gotten the select button to work since there is no other command available to use for that. If anyone has found something, please let me know.
I always just leave my HTPC on all the time, but theoretically, if the power button for your computer’s remote will wake and sleep your HTPC, then you should be able program the Xbox One to send that command when you turn the Xbox on and off.
cool I don’t thank I can get the xbox to do that than as it looks like the power button only dose a wake or sleep command but ill have another look and if I get it to work ill let you know.
will this work with the mx android boxes?
I haven’t tried it on Android, but it would need an infrared receiver and EventGhost which could read incoming infrared commands.
would these have to installed on the box itself or on the xbox?
The box itself already has IR reciever
The Xbox One would need to have the Kinect which is the IR transmitter, and you would need to plug in a USB IR receiver into your Kodi box.
any chance you could do a video tutorial of this? ive been trying this for hours and cant get my head around it. im using an android tv box. i have event ghost on that which is supposed to link with the EG on my pc but i cant seem to get the xbox 1 to communicate with EG at all. ive read the post about the lights but i just cant get it to work. any help would be appreciated
Does your Android TV box have an infrared receiver?
Hi, How are you still using your kinect by saying “xbox” and not “Cortana” I havent found a way to change it back?
This is an old post… back when you still used the “xbox” trigger word.