Hi guys,
Which is better/ whats the difference?
Thanks
Is no better, they are completely different.
plex for kodi is basically plex interface within kodi and uses the kodi player.
kodi plex connect is basically kodi hooked up to the plex database.
I assume you meant the Kodi addon āPlexKodiConnectā by forum member @croneter.
Itās main characteristic is that it uses the library building methods of Kodi itself to scan the contents of your Plex library through its connection to your PMS server, almost as if that server access was a normal networked filesystem. The result is that Kodi will then build its own local library database to cover all the content of your Plex library, including local copies of much of its metadata (posters, episode summaries etc). For an extensive library this means that a long scanning cycle will be required before Kodi can be used to access the library properly, and new content added to your Plex library later will then have to be scanned by Kodi as well, separately for each instance you have of Kodi using this addon.
The main advantage is that your Plex library content is then accessible as a ānativeā Kodi library, at cost of local metadata storage and some maintenance work for added content.
The official āPlex for Kodiā addon by Plex Inc works very differently.
Itās main characteristic is that it uses Kodi mainly for its playback engine and network access functions, with no use whatever of Kodiās library methods. Thus it works almost as a separate Plex client app, using Kodi functions mainly as a runtime environment. Even the ālook and feelā of its GUI is entirely independent of your normal Kodi skins, which are unused for whatever time you spend āinsideā the āPlex for Kodiā GUI.
The main advantages are that your use of the Plex library will cost almost no permanent storage space on the device running Kodi, and there will be no maintenance work required for additions to your Plex library (since this Kodi addon does not store such information locally, except temporarily while browsing Plex content). But the disadvantages are that you have absolutely no skin-based influence over the ālook and feelā of the Plex client GUI, and canāt access Plex content through any of the normal Kodi menus.
With so different methods being used I wonāt say that either one is inherently ābetterā than the other.
Youāll have to decide for yourself which of the two better matches the functionality you want.
Best regards: dlanor
6 Likes
Can I run both @ once to see what I like better? Does the latter appear as a Kodi add in?
Thank you both for answers 
To elaborate on @dlanor 's answer:
- PlexKodiConnect requires some additional tweaking ONCE in the beginning e.g. If you have several different movie libraries
- there is NO maintenance work afterwards! New additions or changes to the Plex libraries are detected and automatically (pretty much instantly) synced to Kodi
@1liminal1 said:
Can I run both @ once to see what I like better? Does the latter appear as a Kodi add in?Thank you both for answers
i run both on my ubuntu 16.04 pc. Both run fine although I find myself using PKC more often then the add-on. I really, really, really prefer the Kodi estuary UI over (all) Plex UIās plus it allows me to use kodi plugins and subtitles work a bit more smoothly, even though plex for kodi already allows for more freedom then PMP itself. Itād be perfect if the official plugin allowed for Kodi library integration, that way they solve the UI complaints at once with all the options Kodi allows.
@croneter said:
To elaborate on @dlanor 's answer:
- PlexKodiConnect requires some additional tweaking ONCE in the beginning e.g. If you have several different movie libraries
- there is NO maintenance work afterwards! New additions or changes to the Plex libraries are detected and automatically (pretty much instantly) synced to Kodi
NO maintenance work is not entirely accurate, Ive discovered. If you have multiple library (movies, home movies ect) and install a new skin, you have to change the shortcuts for the main menu. Something thats not really working (still showing home movies) with Arctic Zephyr (how pretty is that skin 
But thats prob something Iām doing wrong lol
But overall I am quite liking PKC, I think its yours right @croneter? Thanks for a great job
Iāll just stick with PKC for now. Thanks for your input guys!
@dlanor did a fantastic job explaining the differences.
Do you mind if I put your response in the FAQ @dlanor?
@croneter said:
- there is NO maintenance work afterwards! New additions or changes to the Plex libraries are detected and automatically (pretty much instantly) synced to Kodi
Perhaps I expressed myself poorly in my original response to the OP. I did not mean to say that there was extensive manual maintenance work for the user to perform. What I did mean was only that the software needs to perform maintenance work in order to keep the Kodi library updated. This may happen āinstantlyā only for Kodi instances that are constantly running (which is not the case for any of my own Kodi installations). But for each Kodi instance that is launched only when it is to be used, such maintenance work will then have to deal with all PMS content additions made since the last run session of that Kodi instance.
This is not in any way intended as criticism of the PKC addon design.
Such library maintenance work is inevitable for any approach using Plex content as native Kodi libraries.
Best regards: dlanor
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@keithah said:
@dlanor did a fantastic job explaining the differences.Do you mind if I put your response in the FAQ @dlanor?
Feel free to quote my responses where it may be useful.
Best regards: dlanor
Iāve just tried both clients on brand new HTPC in the theater room ( havent tried this official add on since early release )
If you care about simplicity and quick set up - then this add on is for you. Its dead easy and just works.
If you spend time tweaking KODI though, PKC is way better experience. Smoothness of GUI transitions, responsiveness is just on another level.
To put it into context, itās the similar to when you use on your iPhone Gmail mobile web site in Safari compared to built in Mail app. Mail app is just much more fluid even tho it doesnt have all the bells of Gmail.
Does PKC support Plex live TV ?
Hey all i do like the plex for kodi addon my Android box is alot quicker then the PI3 via Rasplex so im using the plex for kodi addon more then Rasplex. The only thing im not really keen on is the UI which skin is preffered for PLEX via PKC
plexkodiconnect allows me to jump to any part of a movie in the timeline using an airmouse from across the room, thatās something I canāt do using the official Kodi app.
I like PKC but it takes a storage . Any way to limit this?
Yes. Turn off artwork caching in the PlexKodiConnect settings in the artwork section. Then reset the Kodi database to actually free disk space (Advanced section, in red, hit Yes, then No)
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Thanks for your help
