Kodi 20.5 Nexus Released: Features, Download Links & Builds

The highly anticipated Kodi 20.5 Nexus has now been released. Following the huge success of Kodi 18.9 Leia and Kodi 19.5 Matrix, the XBMC Foundation (The people behind Kodi), have been busy behind the scenes preparing their latest update. In this guide, we will go through what’s new in Kodi 20.5 Nexus, how to download and install it, as well as where to find the best addons and builds. So, let’s get started!

Kodi 20.5 Nexus – New Features

This new version of Kodi includes over 4,600 commits (Commits are basically updates to bits of code). Meaning that Kodi 20.5 Nexus is a huge release and lots of hard work has gone into making this possible. A huge shout out to the team behind this, nearly all of which are volunteers.

So, what are the new features in Kodi 20.5 Nexus?

Multiple Instances of Binary Add-ons

One of the most significant updates is the ability to load multiple instances of binary add-ons. This means that TVHeadend users, for example, can now run more than one instance of the add-on to connect to multiple back-end TVHeadend servers, with individual settings like channel groups and hidden channels maintained per add-on instance.

AV1 Video Support

Another update is the support for AV1 video decoding on several Kodi platforms. The Inputstream API has been updated to support AV1 and this allows add-ons using inputsream.adaptive to play AV1 streams. This is especially useful for users who want to watch high-quality videos with Kodi.

Subtitles Rework

Kodi has also undergone a massive rework of its subtitle system. Making subtitle formats more consistent for development and maintenance, and enabling features that were previously not possible. Kodi now supports dynamic positioning of fonts, changing of border and background colours, subtitle positioning, improved multi-language support, and more. This is great news for users who rely on subtitles while watching videos.

Game (libretro) Savestate Support

Gamers will also be pleased to know that Kodi now supports game savestate support. The GSOC 2020 project by someone called NikosSiak received some polishing touches before finally being merged. With help and support from many other developments, this project has been in the pipeline for a long time so it’s great to see it finally be included in Kodi 20.5 Nexus. This feature allows you to save game state at any time, even if games do not provide native savestate features themselves.

Windows HDR Support

Windows users will be happy to know that Kodi now supports full HDR support for the Windows Desktop platform. This was implemented along with many improvements throughout the Windows (DXVA/2) video pipeline. Note – HDR is not available on non-Desktop, i.e. UWP Store (Xbox) versions. Improvements to allow more accurate ACES Filmic and HABLE tonemapping make even SDR video look better, and these capabilities are implemented for both UWP and Desktop versions of Kodi.

NFSv4 Support

Lastly, Kodi has implemented changes to allow NFSv4 support. This was implemented as previously Kodi only supported NFSv3. There are some caveats with this (you must explicitly select either NFSv4 or NFSv3 for a source). Give it a try!

Context Menu Consistency

The context menu, which appears when you right-click or long-press an item, is an important feature of Kodi that allows you to perform various actions on the selected item.

One of the most significant changes to the context menu is the increased consistency of its function across different windows. This means that you can now expect the same options to be available no matter where you are in the Kodi interface. This makes it much easier to navigate and use the software.

In addition to the improved consistency, the Kodi team has also added some new capabilities to the context menu. For example, you can now play an album directly from a widget, or resume a series from where you left off. These new features add extra convenience to the Kodi experience, making it even easier to find and play your favorite content.

Summary

Overall, Kodi has made great strides in improving its platform for users. The multiple instances of binary add-ons, AV1 video support, subtitle rework, game savestate support, Windows HDR support and NFSv4 support are all significant updates that will enhance the user experience. Keep an eye out for these updates, and give them a try!

Kodi 20.5 Nexus – Full Changelog

Below are the specific changes between Kodi 20.0 and Kodi 20.5:

  • EndTime: fix overflow when doing large comparisons by @fritsch in #22471
  • DXVA: fix AMD SD interlaced workaround by @thexai in #22489
  • [music] Fixes for playback related context menu item apperance by @ksooo in #22533
  • [PVR] Fix sort by channel backend order. by @ksooo in #22544
  • [backport] TrueHD fixes + AudioTrack fixes + PAPlayer fixes by @thexai in #22564
  • [music] Fix next item not selected on queue item context menu item. by @ksooo in #22555
  • [music] Fix ‘Play’ and other related context menu items not appearing … by @ksooo in #22575
  • [backport] Retroplayer: Savestate manager fixes by @KOPRajs in #22517
  • backport: [android] strip abi version off cryptodome lib names by @wsnipex in #22550
  • [backport][addons][filesystem] Fix memory limits with kodi::vfs::readline by @phunkyfish in #22593
  • [backport][Android][gradle] Configure android.ndkPath by @joseluismarti in #22586
  • Fix version format as they need to be sortable by @razzeee in #22504
  • [backport][Video][GUIViewState] Add and set missing playlist sort by @CastagnaIT in #22601
  • [favourites][keymaps] Favourites Browser window: Catch-up on features of the deprecated Favourites dialog by @ksooo in #22604
  • [music] Fix playlist item order. … by @ksooo in #22610
  • [backport] windowing: X11: Add missing include (fix build with GCC 13) by @thesamesam in #22630
  • [PVR] CPVRClients: Optimize calls which obtain client capabilities. by @ksooo in #22655
  • [Backport] Game OSD: Address savestate manager usability issues by @garbear in #22632
  • [Windows] handle WM_INITMENU event to disable move from system menu when window is in full screen by @thexai in #22671
  • [dllwrapper] wrap dll_stat64 and dll_fstat64 by @vpeter4 in #22683
  • [Backport] RetroPlayer: Code improvements by @garbear in #22666
  • [backport][python][xbmcgui] Fix ControlEdit constructor args by @CastagnaIT in #22704
  • [backport] RetroPlayer: Improve reading from write-only memory by @garbear in #22694
  • fixed: PVR timer validation was broken for certain (TVHeadend) timer rules by @arnova in #22732
  • [backport] tools/depends: Python update to 3.11.2 by @lrusak in #22749
  • render the .notdef characters to fix drawing of text with missing unicode font by @fritsch in #22659
  • [Backport][Subtitles] Fix subtitles in livestreams with high start timestamps by @mediaminister in #22568
  • [backport][Subtitles][TagSami] Handle basic color names by @CastagnaIT in #22718
  • [backport][Subtitles][WebVTT] Fixed segmented webvtt sync by @CastagnaIT in #22709
  • [backport][Subtitles][WebVTT] Fix overlapped subtitles on malformed segments by @CastagnaIT in #22719
  • [backport][Subtitles][Libass] Fix line spacing to avoid overlap box by @CastagnaIT in #22660
  • Audio Backports from testing group by @fritsch in #22757
  • [backport][pvr] Always retirieve the max DB ID for providers when reading them from the DB – Nexus by @phunkyfish in #22741
  • [Backport] Savestate Manager: Break dependency on DialogSelect and add “Saved with” by @garbear in #22750
  • [Backport] RetroPlayer: Faster in-game savestate dialog and autosaves by @garbear in #22754
  • [backport][upnp]: fix state reporting by @enen92 in #22785
  • [Nexus] Update translation related workflows by @gade01 in #22797
  • [backport][upnp]: load library art before broadcasting remote watched state by @enen92 in #22783
  • [backport] CSMBDirectory: fix return value for smbc_getxattr by @howie-f in #22767
  • [settings][airplay] Fix password setting order/dependencies by @enen92 in #22814
  • [backport][Subtitles] Fix RTL on subtitles by @CastagnaIT in #22776
  • [backport][Subtitles][TX3G] Fix styles lookup by @CastagnaIT in #22831
  • [backport][Android] Fix symbol relocation errors on Android x86 by @joseluismarti in #22833
  • [Backport] Savestate rendering by @garbear in #22781
  • [backport][libass] Temporary font folder checking by @joseluismarti in #22849
  • [GUI][GUIImage] Fix inconsistencies for colordiffuse by @enen92 in #22848
  • [Backport] Port Dialog: Fix resetting multitaps by @garbear in #22844
  • [PVR] Rework PVR windows late init. by @ksooo in #22864
  • VideoPlayerAudio: use simple algorithm for self-learning max allowed a/v Out-Of-Sync by @fritsch in #22870
  • StringUtils: fix sorting by name with ascii punctuation and symbols o… by @vpeter4 in #22556
  • [Backport][GUIImage] Fix regression for color diffuse if no info is set by @enen92 in #22872
  • AudioTrack: Increase robustness by @fritsch in #22795
  • [backport][Valgrind] Fix some jumps depending on uninitialized values by @neo1973 in #22850
  • [Backport] guilib: Fix warning in GUIListGroup control by @garbear in #22887
  • Fix watched status not taken into account when queueing items. by @ksooo in #22903
  • [backport][Skin][Estuary] Fix player settings adjustments if autoclose video osd is active by @enen92 in #22904
  • AESinkAudioTrack: Revert sanity checking by @fritsch in #22905
  • [Windows][Installer] fix the missing .html files of Chorus2 with proper exclusion of .h by @thexai in #22908
  • [Addons] Having no repos is no error by @mglae in #22916
  • [backport] NFSv3 and NFSv4 fixes and improvements by @thexai in #22909
  • [Backport] Controller Dialog: Fix “Ignore Input” buttons not being saved by @garbear in #22893
  • [Backport] Fixes and improvements from “show actual controllers” PR by @garbear in #22892
  • Revert “AESinkAudioTrack: Use most simple pause() logic” by @fritsch in #22907
  • ActiveAESink: workaround for TrueHD and DD+ broken after pause or seek in AudioTrack RAW (Android only) by @fritsch in #22945
  • [Backport] Sync controller add-ons with controller-topology-project by @garbear in #22928
  • [Windows] Fix SMB read chunk size when is not used FileCache by @thexai in #22946
  • [upnp] fix regressions for folder definitions by @enen92 in #22859
  • [BP] [jenkins][Apple] Some fixes for apple buildsteps in #22958
  • [BP] tools/depends: make the hash file an order only prerequisite in #22959
  • [BP] VideoPlayerCodec: Stop dividing by zero in #22957
  • [BP][Windows][dxva] fix processor height in #22962
  • [BP] ExifParser: Fix several out of bounds accesses while parsing exif information in #22960
  • [BP][Windows] shrink window to fit the screen and avoid a crash in #22961
  • [Nexus] Bump version 20.1.1 by @fuzzard in #22965

Kodi 20.5 Nexus – Download Links

Now that you know all of the exciting new Kodi 20 Nexus features, here are the links to download it!

Amazon Firestick

If you’re looking to install Kodi 20 Nexus on your Amazon Firestick, we have a brand new, step-by-step guide here:

Windows

MacOS

iOS (Must be jailbroken or use a signing service)

Linux

If you’re using Linux, please open your terminal and enter the following commands to install Kodi 20 Nexus:

  • sudo apt install software-properties-common
  • sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:team-xbmc/xbmc-nightly
  • sudo apt install kodi

Android

Kodi 20.5 Nexus can be easily downloaded from the Google Play Store here:

Kodi 20.5 Nexus – Best Builds

So, now you have Kodi 20.5 Nexus installed on your device, you’re probably wondering what the best Kodi 20 Nexus builds are! Not to worry, we have you covered! Please read our latest guide here:

Kodi 20.5 Nexus – Best Addons

Similarly, we’re sure you’re also looking for the best Kodi 20.5 Nexus addons too! We’ve also got you covered for that too with this latest guide here:

 

If you have any questions or issues at all, please let me know below.

 

We also recommend a fast, secure and unlimited VPN which you can get by clicking below, this will protect your privacy and give you the fastest Kodi speeds with no buffering:

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