Direct Paths Explained

When first installing PKC, you are asked whether you would like to use Addon (Default) paths or Native (Direct Paths). This may be changed later in the PKC settings under Sync Options at the very bottom. You will need to reset the Kodi DB afterwards.

• What are Direct Paths?
• Advantages and Disadvantages
• How to set-up Direct Paths

What are Direct Paths?

• If you choose to use Direct Paths, PKC will sync the Plex filename of a Plex item to Kodi, e.g. smb://myNas/movies/myMovie.mkv. If you play an item in Kodi, Kodi will instantly use that path without talking to the PMS first
• Addon Paths sync an URL to Kodi, e.g. https://192.168.1.2:32400/library/metadata/1234, where 1234 is the Plex id of your item
  • If you play an item in Kodi, PKC will first ask the Plex server for the item's metadata
  • PKC will then try to access the file directly using e.g. smb://myNas/movies/myMovie.mkv (Direct Play)
  • If that does not work, PKC will fall back to Direct Streaming and will play your media from an URL like https://192.168.1.2:32400/library/parts/9876.mkv

Advantages and Disadvantages

If you are unsure, choose Addon Paths!

	Direct Paths	Addon Paths (default)
Setup and installation	Complicated. Playback fails if you mess up	Easy, works out-of-the-box
Compatibility	Maximum compatibility:hopefully all Kodi addons work	Limited compatibility: chances are that a specific Kodi addon will not work
Speed	Kodi starts playing almost instantly	5s for a video to start playing are normal. If Direct Play is correctly configured, start-up time will improve.
Plex trailers	Only manually via PKC context menu: Start playback via PMS	Automatically played before a new movie
Metadata	More metadata available for 3rd party plugins because Kodi knows filename and path	The exact filename and path remains unknown to Kodi, except if you enable Direct Play
Transcoding	Only manually via PKC context menu: Force transcode	Automatic transcoding (e.g. based on codec) possible
Plex Server	PMS needs a fixed host name or a static IP	PMS does not need a static, permanent IP or host name