Tried to turn your Raspberry Pi into a media center but got frustrated?
Are you missing important channels like Netflix and Amazon Video on your Raspberry Pi? Fancy installing Plex to access content on your home network.
Luckily, Kodi isn’t just about illegal add-ons. Here’s how to install Netflix, Amazon Video, and Plex on your Raspberry Pi.
You need Raspberry Pi 3
Before going any further, make sure you are using a Raspberry Pi 3 or later. We used Raspberry Pi 3 B+. While the Raspberry Pi 2 is fine, later models are excellent for streaming and decoding from Netflix and Amazon Video.
Reality Check: If you’ve ever tried to get Netflix or Amazon Video add-ons to work on a Raspberry Pi-based Kodi box, you’ll understand how difficult (and frustrating) it can be.
Typically, these issues are caused by a combination of bad add-ons (or ones that will only work with desktop Kodi installations) and low spec old Raspberry Pis. If you are using a Raspberry Pi 3 B+, the following steps will allow you to access your existing Netflix and Amazon Video subscriptions via Kodi.
Install Kodi on Raspberry Pi with OSMC
To get Netflix, Amazon Video, and Plex to work with minimal effort, you need to use OSMC (Open Source Media Center). OSMC is one of several versions of Kodi available for the Raspberry Pi
Download the installer from osmc.tv, which automates the process of writing OSMC to a microSD card. (You can also download the disk image and install it on your Raspberry Pi in the usual way.)
Play with the installer by choosing the most recent build of OSMC. You can also set up a wireless network when prompted.
Once installed, insert the SD card into your Raspberry Pi, connect it to your router via Ethernet (you can set up Wi-Fi after everything is set up) and to your TV’s HDMI port, and then connect the power cable.
Downgrade OSMC for better stability
Although you have installed OSMC, a special version is required and cannot be burned as an image to a microSD card. This «nightly build» is stable enough to run the Netflix add-on you’ll install later.
First, open a terminal or connect to OSMC via SSH and type:
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
In the file, add this line at the bottom; this adds a new source.
deb http://download.osmc.tv/dev/gmc-18 gmc-18 main
Click ctrl+X, to save and exit. Then add the GPG certificate to verify the origin:
wget -qO - http://download.osmc.tv/dev/gmc-19/public/pubkey.asc | sudo apt-key add -
The next step is to update the list of sources:
sudo apt update
You can then run a kernel update:
sudo apt dist-upgrade -y
Follow this by downgrading to a new build.
sudo apt install rbp2-mediacenter-osmc=17.8-433 -y
This may take some time, so be patient. After that install pip:
sudo apt install python-pip python-crypto build-essential -y
Follow this by installing these dependencies:
sudo apt install python-all-dev python-setuptools python-wheel -y sudo apt install python-crypto-dbg python-crypto-doc python-pip-whl -y
These dependencies will ensure that whatever you’re about to install works properly.
Install and set up Plex for local media streaming
Want to transfer videos, music or photos from another device on the network? You will need a Plex server installed on your computer and a client add-on installed on your Raspberry Pi.
Once OSMC is running on Raspberry Pi, go to » Settings» > «Add-ons Browser» > «Install from Repository» > «Video Add-ons» . Scroll through the list until you find Plex, select and install . Click OK, to confirm and wait until it finishes.
After that use the option Restart to reboot your Raspberry Pi.