Last month, we released Debian Buster with Kodi v18.8. While this version had the majority of fixes backported from Kodi v18.9 which was still in progress, we've decided to issue a final release of the Kodi Leia series in the form of an 18.9 point release.

Our focus will now be on enabling OSMC support for Kodi v19 (codename Matrix) which is now in beta release. This new version of Kodi will bring a significant number of improvements. However -- it should be noted that this new Kodi release will also introduce some caveats, and this is why we've chosen to polish the Kodi v18.x series of OSMC as much as possible, particularly as some users may need to stay on this version if their device is no longer supported or their add-ons do not work with the new version.

Kodi Matrix upgrades its Python implementation from Python 2.x to Python 3.x. While the majority of add-ons have already been updated to support this new version, you may find that some add-ons do not work. Furthermore, Raspberry Pi 0, 1 and Vero 2 will no longer be supported, meaning that this release will be the final supported version for these devices.

We'd like to thank everyone involved with testing and developing this update.

We continue to work on our improved video stack for Vero 4K and Vero 4K + which brings HDR10+ and 3D MVC support. We also continue to work on Raspberry Pi 4 support which will be officially added for the release of Kodi v19. We will shortly make some kernel 5.x test builds available in our forums for supported Pi models so we can use a unified kernel code base for all models.

Here's what's new:

Bug fixes

  • Fix an issue which prevented the performance tuner from configuring some system parameters in specific conditions
  • Fix an issue where system messages may appear when the device is booting
  • Fix an issue which prevented the red LED from appearing when OSMC is booting on Vero 4K +
  • Fix an issue preventing LIRC from using the correct shell interpreter when using irexec
  • Fix some visibility issues in the OSMC skin

Improving the user experience

  • Improve ordering of games section in the OSMC skin
  • Add videos and music root directory to home menu entry and submenu customisation dialog in the OSMC skin

Miscellaneous

  • Added Raspberry Pi 4 support
  • Build system: fix an issue which could prevent TLS certificate validation from succeeding

Black Friday

For the last few years, we've usually run a small sale where we offer a discount on the products found in our store, particularly our flagship device, Vero.

Unfortunately due to increased shipping costs which we have continued to absorb, this is sadly not possible this year. Due to reduced flight capacity, the cost of international shipping has increased significantly and in the case of some destinations, doubling. As a result, we have chosen to hold our prices as they are for as long as possible in the hope that these additional operational costs and surcharges will subside in the future.

Wrap up

To get the latest and greatest version of OSMC, simply head to My OSMC -> Updater and check for updates manually on your exising OSMC set up. Of course — if you have updates scheduled automatically you should receive an update notification shortly.

If you enjoy OSMC, please follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and consider making a donation if you would like to support further development.

You may also wish to check out our Store, which offers a wide variety of high quality products which will help you get the best of OSMC.