Jellyfin for Kodi problem

[pixel24]

Thanks for the info. I will test it. What is the technical difference between "JF4K" and "JellyCon"? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the two plug-ins?

[tmsrxzar]

not sure of a distinct advantage one over the other
jellyfin for kodi syncs the kodi database with the jellyfin database then kodi uses it's internal mechanisms for library displays
jellycon does not use any database and uses it's own programmed paths to show the library; some library views may not be available because of this

afaik or afaict they play content exactly the same

i've been using jellyfin for kodi for a while now, i like the native library part mostly but recently ive been investigating jellycon and modifying the kodi skin to use the paths from jellycon instead of the kodi library for home widgets
i kind of like jellycon as it feels snappier without waiting for a sync and library update on the kodi side

the developer did just say they prefer jellycon

i think it comes down to preference here

[mcarlton00]

I have this copy/paste that I've been using to compare the two for a while.  Should hopefully clear things up.

* [Jellyfin for Kodi](https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-kodi) - This addon syncs metadata from selected Jellyfin libraries into the local Kodi database. This has the effect of making interacting with it feel very much like vanilla Kodi with local media (shows up under Movies/TV Shows on the home screen by default, virtually no delay, etc). However, it also tends to consume the database and not share well, so if you have local media or something else that interacts with the database directly, you'll have conflicts and it won't be happy. The sync process can take some extra time on Kodi startup if you don't leave it running 24/7, but it's mostly in the background while Kodi is running.
* [JellyCon](https://github.com/jellyfin/jellycon) - Behaves more like a standard Kodi streaming addon. Media is accessed primarily by going through the Add-ons -> JellyCon menu, however you can set up menu options to link to it and show info on the home screen. It also allows easier switching between multiple Jellyfin servers or users since it doesn't have to rely on syncing all the metadata down. By not having metadata synced, it has to request info from the server which can take a bit more time when you're browsing (typically only a second or two in my testing), but you don't have to wait for the database to sync or keep it up to date.

Personally, I just got tired of the database shenanigans whenever I wanted to watch something.  Slightly slower loading times were worth knowing that things were available when I wanted them instead of having to wait for a catch up sync.  And from a dev perspective, Jellycon is so much easier to wrap my head around and keep track of stuff.

[pixel24]

Ok, yes I have read the difference that with JF4K on the client it looks/feels like a native Kodi.

Then I'll stick with JellyCon and try to customize the home screen so that it looks similar.

But that won't happen until I'm done with the final exam. And the TV server is also still on the to-do list :-)

Thanks for the info!