InputStream Helper

script.module.inputstreamhelper is a simple Kodi module that makes life easier for add-on developers relying on InputStream based add-ons and DRM playback.

Features

• Displays informative dialogs if required InputStream components are unavailable
• Checks if HLS is supported in inputstream.adaptive
• Automatically installs Widevine CDM on supported platforms (optional)
  • Keeps Widevine CDM up-to-date with the latest version available (Kodi 18 and higher)
  • Checks for missing depending libraries by parsing the output from ldd (Linux)

Example

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""InputStream Helper Demo"""
from __future__ import absolute_import, division, unicode_literals
import sys
import inputstreamhelper
import xbmc
import xbmcgui
import xbmcplugin


PROTOCOL = 'mpd'
DRM = 'com.widevine.alpha'
STREAM_URL = 'https://demo.unified-streaming.com/k8s/features/stable/video/tears-of-steel/tears-of-steel-dash-widevine.ism/.mpd'
MIME_TYPE = 'application/dash+xml'
LICENSE_URL = 'https://widevine-proxy.appspot.com/proxy'
KODI_VERSION_MAJOR = int(xbmc.getInfoLabel('System.BuildVersion').split('.')[0])


def run(addon_url):
    """Run InputStream Helper Demo"""

    # Play video
    if addon_url.endswith('/play'):
        is_helper = inputstreamhelper.Helper(PROTOCOL, drm=DRM)
        if is_helper.check_inputstream():
            play_item = xbmcgui.ListItem(path=STREAM_URL)
            play_item.setContentLookup(False)
            play_item.setMimeType(MIME_TYPE)

            if KODI_VERSION_MAJOR >= 19:
                play_item.setProperty('inputstream', is_helper.inputstream_addon)
            else:
                play_item.setProperty('inputstreamaddon', is_helper.inputstream_addon)

            play_item.setProperty('inputstream.adaptive.manifest_type', PROTOCOL)
            play_item.setProperty('inputstream.adaptive.license_type', DRM)
            play_item.setProperty('inputstream.adaptive.license_key', LICENSE_URL + '||R{SSM}|')
            xbmcplugin.setResolvedUrl(int(sys.argv[1]), True, play_item)

    # Setup menu item
    else:
        xbmcplugin.setContent(int(sys.argv[1]), 'videos')
        list_item = xbmcgui.ListItem(label='InputStream Helper Demo')
        list_item.setInfo('video', {})
        list_item.setProperty('IsPlayable', 'true')
        url = addon_url + '/play'
        xbmcplugin.addDirectoryItem(int(sys.argv[1]), url, list_item)
        xbmcplugin.endOfDirectory(int(sys.argv[1]))

if __name__ == '__main__':
    run(sys.argv[0])

The Helper class takes two arguments: protocol (the media streaming protocol) and the optional argument 'drm'.

It is recommended to not add your InputStream add-on as a dependency in addon.xml. It can cause confusion with users not being able to install your add-on because the InputStream add-on is disabled. InputStream Helper addresses issues such as these and helps the user to install/enable required InputStream components.

Accepted protocol arguments:

• mpd -- MPEG-DASH
• ism -- Microsoft Smooth Streaming
• hls -- HTTP Live Streaming from Apple
• rtmp -- Real-Time Messaging Protocol

Accepted drm arguments:

• widevine
• com.widevine.alpha

Support

Please report any issues or bug reports on the GitHub Issues page.

License

This module is licensed under the The MIT License. Please see the LICENSE.txt file for details.

Releases

v0.7.0 (2024-09-24)

• Get rid of distutils dependency (@horstle, @emilsvennesson)
• Option to get Widevine from lacros image (@horstle)
• Remove support for Python 2 and pre-Matrix Kodi versions (@horstle)

v0.6.1 (2023-05-30)

• Performance improvements on Linux ARM (@horstle)
• This will be the last release for Python 2 i.e. Kodi 18 (Leia) and below. The next release will require Python 3 and Kodi 19 (Matrix) or higher.

v0.6.0 (2023-05-03)

• Initial support for AARCH64 Linux (@horstle)
• Initial support for AARCH64 Macs (@mediaminister)
• New option to install a specific version on most platforms (@horstle)

v0.5.10 (2022-04-18)

• Fix automatic submission of release (@mediaminister)
• Update German translation (@tweimer)
• Fix update_frequency setting (@horstle)
• Fix install_from (@horstle)
• Improve/Fix Widevine extraction from Chrome OS images (@horstle)

v0.5.9 (2022-03-22)

• Update Croatian translation (@dsardelic, @muzena)
• Replace deprecated LooseVersion (@mediaminister, @MarkusVolk)
• Fix http_get decode error (@archtur)
• Option to install Widevine from specified source (@horstle)

v0.5.8 (2021-09-09)

• Simplify Widevine CDM installation on ARM hardware (@horstle, @mediaminister)
• Update Chrome OS ARM hardware id's (@mediaminister)
• Update Japanese and Korean translations (@Thunderbird2086)

v0.5.7 (2021-07-02)

• Further improve Widevine CDM installation on ARM hardware (@horstle)

v0.5.6 (2021-06-24)

• Improve Widevine CDM installation on ARM hardware (@mediaminister)
• Postpone Widevine CDM updates when user rejects (@horstle)

v0.5.5 (2021-06-02)

• Improve Widevine CDM installation on ARM hardware (@mediaminister)

v0.5.4 (2021-05-27)

• Fix Widevine CDM installation on ARM hardware (@mediaminister)

v0.5.3 (2021-05-10)

• Temporary fix for Widevine CDM installation on ARM hardware (@mediaminister)
• Fix Widevine CDM installation on 32-bit Linux (@mediaminister)

v0.5.2 (2020-12-13)

• Update Chrome OS ARM hardware id's (@mediaminister)

v0.5.1 (2020-10-02)

• Fix incorrect ARM HWIDs: PHASER and PHASER360 (@dagwieers)
• Added Hebrew translations (@haggaie)
• Updated Dutch, Japanese and Korean translations (@michaelarnauts, @Thunderbird2086)

v0.5.0 (2020-06-25)

• Extract Widevine CDM directly from Chrome OS, minimizing disk space usage and eliminating the need for root access (@horstle)
• Improve progress dialog while extracting Widevine CDM on ARM devices (@horstle, @mediaminister)
• Support resuming interrupted downloads on unreliable internet connections (@horstle, @mediaminister)
• Reshape InputStream Helper information dialog (@horstle, @dagwieers)
• Updated Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish translations (@dagwieers, @horstle, @mediaminister, @tweimer, @Twilight0, @frodo19, @tmihai20, @vlmaksime, @roliverosc, @Sopor)

v0.4.7 (2020-05-03)

• Fix hardlink on Windows (@BarmonHammer)
• Fix support for unicode chars in paths (@mediaminister)
• Show remaining time during Widevine installation on ARM devices (@horstle)

v0.4.6 (2020-04-29)

• Compatibility fixes for Kodi 19 Matrix "pre-release" builds (@mediaminister)
• Optimize Widevine CDM detection (@dagwieers)
• Minor fixes for Widevine installation on ARM devices (@dagwieers @mediaminister @horstle)

v0.4.5 (2020-04-07)

• Added Spanish and Romanian translations (@roliverosc, @tmihai20)
• Added support for Kodi 19 Matrix "pre-release" builds (@mediaminister)
• Fix Widevine backups when using an external drive (@horstle)
• Various fixes for Widevine installation on ARM devices (@horstle)

v0.4.4 (2020-03-01)

• Added option to restore a previously installed Widevine version (@horstle)
• Improve progress bar when extracting Widevine on ARM devices (@dagwieers)
• Improve Widevine library version detection (@dagwieers, @mediaminister)
• Improve InputStream Helper information (@dagwieers, @mediaminister)
• Increase download reliability for Chrome OS on ARM devices (@horstle, @RolfWojtech)
• Added Japanese, Korean, Croatian and Hungarian translations (@Thunderbird2086, @arvvoid, @frodo19)
• Updated existing translations (@dnicolaas, @Sopor, @tweimer, @horstle, @mediaminister)
• Various small bugfixes for Widevine installation on ARM devices (@dagwieers, @mediaminister, @Twilight0, @janhicken)

v0.4.3 (2019-09-25)

• French translation (@brunoduc)
• Updated translations (@vlmaksime, @dagwieers, @pinoelefante, @horstle, @Twilight0, @emilsvennesson)
• Ensure Kodi 19 compatibility (@mediaminister)
• Configurable temporary download directory for devices with limited space (@horstle)
• Configurable Widevine CDM update frequency (@horstle)
• Fix add-on settings crashes when InputStream Adaptive is missing (@mediaminister)
• Improve unicode character support (@mediaminister)

v0.4.2 (2019-09-03)

• Move release history to readme file (@mediaminister)
• Clean up coverage/codecov config (@dagwieers)
• Add InputStream Helper Information to settings page (@horstle, @dagwieers)
• Make sure addon.xml meets all requirements (@mediaminister)
• Simplify add-on entry point to speed up loading time (@mediaminister)
• Unicode fix for os.walk (@mediaminister)
• Revert "Fix ARM processing in unittest locally" (@mediaminister)
• Fix unresponsive Kodi when opening add-on information pane (@dagwieers, @mediaminister)
• Add-on structure improvements (@dagwieers)

v0.4.1 (2019-09-01)

• Follow kodi-addon-checker recommended code changes (@mediaminister)
• Implement api using runscript (@mediaminister)
• Fix ARM processing in unittest locally (@dagwieers)
• Add more project information (@dagwieers)
• More coverage improvements (@dagwieers)

v0.4.0 (2019-09-01)

• Use local url variable (@mediaminister)
• Directly use Kodi CDM directory (@mediaminister)
• Implement settings menu and API (@dagwieers)
• Add integration tests (@dagwieers)
• Add a progress dialog for extraction on ARM (@dagwieers)
• Fix crash when using platform.system() (@dagwieers)
• Fix a python error (@mediaminister)
• Remove legacy Widevine CDM support (@dagwieers)
• Replace requests/urllib3 with urllib/urllib2 (@dagwieers)
• Various unicode fixes (@mediaminister)
• Add proxy support (@dagwieers)
• Add setting to disable inputstreamhelper (@horstle, @JohnPlayerSpecial2018)
• Check Widevine support before all checks (@vlmaksime)
• Support 64-bit kernel with 32-bit userspace (@mrfixit2001)
• Dutch translation (@mediaminister, @basrieter)
• German translation (@flubshi)
• Greek translation (@Twilight0)
• Italian translation (@pinoelefante)
• Russian translation (@vlmaksime)
• Swedish translation (@emilsvennesson)

v0.3.5 (2019-08-15)

• Auto install inputstream.adaptive (@mediaminister)
• Fix latest Widevine version detection (@dagwieers)
• Check for Widevine updates on new release (@mediaminister)

v0.3.4 (2019-03-23)

• python2_3 compability (@mediaminister, @Rechi)
• Option to disable inputstreamhelper in settings.xml
• calculate disk space on the tmp folder (@dawez)
• Support for Unicode paths in Windows (@WallyCZ)
• Italian translation (@pinoelefante)
• Dutch translation (@dnicolaas)
• Greek translation (@Twilight0)
• Russian translation (@vlmaksime)

v0.3.3 (2018-02-21)

• Load loop if it's a kernel module (@mkreisl)
• Fix legacy Widevine CDM update detection
• inputstream_addon is now a public variable
• Notify user that ARM64 needs 32-bit userspace
• Improve logging
• Cosmetics

v0.3.2 (2018-01-30)

• Fix OSMC arm architecture detection
• Fix ldd permissions error

v0.3.1 (2018-01-29)

• check_inputstream() return fix

v0.3.0 (2018-01-29)

• Bug fix: module left xbmcaddon class in memory
• Keep Widevine CDM up-to-date with the latest version available (Kodi 18 and higher)
• Check for missing depending libraries by parsing the output from ldd
• Use older Widevine binaries on Kodi Krypton (fixes nss/nspr dependency issues)

v0.2.4 (2018.01.01)

• Fix ARM download on systems with sudo (OSMC etc)
• Actually bump version in addon.xml, unlike v0.2.3...

v0.2.3 (2017-12-30)

• Make sure Kodi and Widevine CDM binary architecture matches
• Minor wording changes/fixes

v0.2.2 (2017-12-05)

• Fixes for widevine download when using 64-bit Kodi (@gismo112, @asciidisco)

v0.2.1 (2017-10-15)

• Update German translation (@asciidisco)
• Improve root permissions acquisition

v0.2.0 (2017-09-29)

• Automatic Widevine CDM download on ARM devices
• Display Widevine EULA during installation procedure
• German translation (thanks to asciidisco)
• New, smaller and less ugly generic icon
• Better exception handling
• Code cleanup

v0.1.0 (2017-09-13)

• Initial release