Kodi and its addons have been constantly changing since the early first days.
The most popular addons that work have changed but still do the same things as the original plugins such as Genesis, 1Channel, Navi-X, and Project TV.
It has always been about the links the addon can pull in and how well it can stream a video.
If the addon pulls in many good links, the video will stream with no buffering, but if the links are bad or overwhelmed with many users, they will not work.
Where Do Kodi Addon Links Come From?
Links come from online sources such as movie and TV show sites, upload sites, torrents, and more.
For example, a movie site uploads a video that can be watched from their website, and if not blocked, Kodi can stream from this source and play the video.
Currently, many of these sources are not as widely available as they once were.
Kodi itself is a media player that can play almost any media file such as MP3, MP4, FLV files, and much more.
An addon can connect Kodi to an online site via a link, which Kodi can then play.
When a site blocks Kodi from its servers or the website gets taken down, the files will no longer be available.
Also, if a link has too many users, it can become overwhelmed and start to buffer or not play.
When there are less links, it can cause the remaining sources to become overwhelmed and buffer or stop working.
Many of the sources that were available to stream free links have been taken down or have blocked addons from their servers.
Paid Links vs Free Links
- Free Links
- Paid Links
There are two types of Kodi addon links: paid links and free links.
Free links are available for anyone to use with no need to sign up for a service.
These links are the most widely used, and in the past have often worked well enough to stream videos, but currently, it can be hard to find good free links.
Some addons only have free links, such as Scrubs; others are Debrid only, and some are a combination of the two.
In the past when using free links, it often took trying multiple tries to find one that played, but after 3-5 links, usually a video would start.
Currently, free links do not work as well as they once did, often resulting in a video not playing or constantly buffering.
This could change at any time if more websites are not taken down or others unblock their servers.
Paid links are when a service is paid that will give good links that don’t buffer and will play with no issues.
Paid services include Real Debrid, Premiumize.me, All Debrid, Easy News, Furk.net, and more.
Many of these types of services are using Torrents and changing the links so they come from their servers.
As many know, using Torrents without a VPN can cause problems, but many Debrid services run the Torrent links through their own servers, basically becoming a middleman.
Torrent hardware and software such as seed boxes allow for very quick Torrent downloads and in some cases, immediately.
If the link was used without a VPN, it would cause a problem, but when run through an intermediary such as Debrid, the link is not connected to the Torrent swarm.
Be sure to check any Debrid service used, but often there is no need for a VPN.
The prices can vary but usually range from $3-$5 dollars a month.
Should You Use Paid Links?
Personally, I don’t like paid links and have always felt that Kodi, its addons, and links should be free.
I have always admired all the admins and developers who, at their own personal risk, have made all this possible, especially free links.
With that said, I know many people who use Debrid and would never think of using free links.
A Debrid service is not expensive or hard to set up and will give the user the best Kodi experience.
With the current state of links, I think many users will start to use Debrid more.
Unless something changes and more free links become available, the future may even belong to paid services.
Currently, I am still holding out, and while it is difficult to find a good stream, I am still using free links.
*WirelesSHack.org has No affiliation with Kodi, any Addons, Repos, Services, or Builds. WirelesSHack.org is a news and informational site which does not support or condone copyright infringement. Kodi should only be used with content that is bought and owned personally or is in the public domain.