PlayOn vs Kodi – A Comprehensive Comparison

In this world of streamers, you will find several tools trying their utmost to take your streaming experience to another level. These range from video recorders and video downloaders to streaming software and more. This article is also focused on some of such products.

In this article, we will take you through a comprehensive comparison of PlayOn vs Kodi, explaining how the two contrast in different aspects. Moreover, we will also shed light on how both are linked and what’s a better alternative to Y2Mate DRM Downloader.

What Is PlayOn?

PlayOn is an amazing platform that allows users to view and record video content from various platforms. Whether it's a movie from Netflix, a series from Hulu, or your favorite show from Disney Plus, you can download and stream any with PlayOn! It's a streaming media brand offering two applications to meet the offline streaming needs of Mac and PC users. Let’s have a look at them!

PlayOn Home

It’s your best buddy for recording videos on PC. It can enhance your offline streaming experience, transforming your PC into a DVR! Although the free version is available, its subscription costs $4.99 per month for recording unlimited videos.

Give this article a quick read to learn all about Audials VS PlayOn: Which One Is Better.

PlayOn Cloud

This one is the best-ever video streaming cloud DVR. Videos recorded using PlayOn cloud won’t expire ever; you get lifetime access to your fav movies and shows! It has a free trial and costs 44.99 per month for 30 recordings. You can also purchase additional recording credit and cloud storage.

Read this article to learn how to get PlayOn on Roku.

Key Features of PlayOn

Both applications of PlayOn have these features in common:

Auto-Download Recording – With PlayOn apps, you can set your recording to auto-download over Wi-Fi or during designated hours.

Cast Recording to Your TV – These enable casting recordings to your TV so you can enjoy a better streaming experience on the big screen. You will need a streaming device, i.e., Apple TV, AndroidTV, Roku, etc.

Record in 1080p – You can record videos with Full HD PlayOn video quality, i.e., 1080p, SD, and HD. You have to select one before initiating the recording.

Ad-Skip – When you are streaming content loaded with ads, PlayOn ensures to skip ads, giving you access to ad-free offline streaming.

Sync Across Different Devices – Another notable feature of PlayOn is that it supports syncing recordings across several devices, including macOS, iOS, and Android.

What Is Kodi?

Kodi is undoubtedly an ultimate entertainment center with an impressive interface, ease of use, and bundles of features. With it, you can stream almost all kinds of media, from photos, movies, TV shows, music, and more. It can also record live TV with a range of famed backends like NextPVR, MythTV, Tvheadend, MediaPortal, and many more.

It’s 100% free to use and has a user-friendly, impressive interface to assist users as much as possible. This award-winning open-source software is compatible with tvOS, iOS, Windows, OSX, and Linus.

Key Features of Kodi

Kodi has something to offer to everyone. Whether you are a gamer, streamer, or just want to view images, it’s your best bet! Some of its noteworthy features are listed below; let’s have a look!

Streaming Movies – It enables streaming movies with any video format and can conveniently import, browse, and play your movie collection.

Listening Music – Kodi supports MP3, FLAC, and WMA music formats. It comes with a tag reading support and cue sheets and gives you ultimate control over smart playlists.

Watching TV shows – Kodi library also saves the metadata of files as it supports showing descriptions and actors' info. Using this feature, you can better organize the library.

Add-Ons – Kodi features a huge collection of community-created addons for renowned scripts, applications, and web services.

Remote Web Interface – Kodi has an easy-to-navigate JSON-RPC-based remote interface. This worthy feature brings lots of possibilities for 3rd party tools, web browsers, and remote controls to better interact with Kodi.

Support for Remotes – Kodi supports loads of remote controls, a new tablet or smartphone apps, and CEC-compatible TVs to give better control over your media.

PlayOn vs Kodi – A Comprehensive Comparison

After going through the information and key features of each competitor, let’s now move on to comparing them in the battle of PlayOn vs Kodi.

PlayOn VS Kodi

PlayOn vs Kodi – Functions

Kodi is widely used to stream TV shows and movies, play games and music, and more. Whereas PlayOn is a famed video-recording application-offering platform.

PlayOn vs Kodi – Interface

Kodi has an impressive interface that can be controlled via several supported remotes. Although PlayOn has a user-friendly interface, it can’t be remotely controlled. However, you can control your streaming via remote when casting to TV.

PlayOn vs Kodi – Supported Streaming Platform

Kodi supports countless streaming channels and services, from renowned ones like Netflix to more. On the other hand, PlayOn apps support recording content from over 25 channels.

PlayOn vs Kodi – Compatibility

Kodi is compatible with various devices, Linux, Windows, Raspberry Pi, Android, tvOS, macOS, and OS. PlayOn is compatible with Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS.

PlayOn vs Kodi – Ad-Skip

Both competitors of PlayOn v Kodi offer ad-skipping to enhance the streaming experience and take it to another level.

As described, PlayOn is a recording and downloading platform, and Kodi is a media-streaming platform. However, where they overlap is the PlayOn Kodi addon. Wondering what’s this? Hop on below to learn!

What is PlayOn Kodi Addon?

PlayOn Kodi addon is one of the 948 official addons offered. With this addon installed on Kodi, you can record your Kodi streaming and save it as high-quality videos using PlayOn.

How to Install PlayOn Kodi Addon?

Following is a step by step guidelines on how to install the PlayOn Kodi addon.

On PlayOn

  • Go to the official website of PlayOn to download and install your preferred PlayOn app.
  • After installing PlayOn, you have to register. To do so, hit Create an account, go with the rhythm to register, and then log in.
  • Navigate to the lower left screen corner and hit the gear icon. The Settings menu will pop up.

  • Go to the Channels Tab and log into each service account you have subscribed to. When done, hit Ok.

On Kodi

  • When done with the non-Kodi installation part, open the Kodi app.
  • Click Add-ons in the main menu, then click Download and Video Add-ons.

  • Scroll the list to browse for PlayOn Browser and hit Install.
  • When the installation terminates, choose PlayOn Browser again. A list of channels will load; select the one you have already logged into in PlayOn software.
  • Browse and choose the video you wish to stream. Voila! You have successfully installed and set up the PlayOn Kodi addon.

How to Record Video content Using PlayOn?

Follow the steps below to record content via PlayOn.

  • In the PlayOn app, go to the Channels tab and select your desired channel.
  • Browse for the video content you wish to record and hit the Red circle button in front of its title.

  • A Record queue icon on the upper right screen corner will turn to affirm that your recording has begun!
  • When the recording terminates, launch Kodi and go to the PlayOn Kodi addon’s main menu.
  • Hit the PlayOn recordings button. You will find your recording listed in a folder.
  • Now, you can play any recording to stream it on Kodi!

What's the Best Alternative to PlayOn?

Although PlayOn makes a good fit for recording content from renowned platforms, it sometimes faces errors that put a backlash on its popularity and usage convenience. This is when Y2Mate comes into play! This amazing downloader lets you download content and stream it without any kind of error, ad, or internet connection issues. You can easily download Y2Mate by clicking the following buttons.

Key Features of Y2Mate

Here are some of the key features of Y2Mate DRM Downloader.

Transfer Data to Other Devices – Y2Mate downloads all the videos in MP4 and MKV formats that are playable on almost every streaming platform. When done downloading, you can transfer your video to any other device for accessing streaming anywhere and anytime.

Y2Mate

Audio and Video Quality – Y2Mate can download content with high-end video quality, i.e., 1080p. Downloading with 4k, 8k, and 720p video quality is also accessible. Supported audio channels to assist audiophiles include AC3 5.1, EAC3 5.1, or AAC 2.0.

Saves Metadata of Files – Along with downloading videos, you can also save the metadata of files. This includes cast names, episode and series titles, and more. You can use this data to organize your media library better.

Supported Streaming Platforms – Y2Mate allows downloading videos from over 500 platforms and 1000 websites. Out of these, 40 are subscription-based streaming services.

High-Speed Batch Downloading – With Y2Mate, you can download multiple episodes in batch at a blistering speed of 32MB per second.

Saves Subtitles – It allows you to save subtitles as separate SRT files or embedded in the video. You can also select your preferred language for subtitles.

Wrapping Up

Are you stuck between PlayOn and Kodi and want to learn about the comparison between both? This article has featured all you should know about both to decide the winner of PlayOn vs Kodi. You will also find info about the best PlayOn alternative, i.e., Y2Mate. It’s surely worth reading!

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