XBMC, the most popular media center software for any platform, will become Kodi entertainment center starting version 14 (Helix). XBMC 14, scratch that, Kodi 14 of course will have the same if not better awesomeness. While the renaming was done to better reflect its current capabilities and to be able to trademark the name, the act of renaming itself is not new to XBMC. Kodi entertainment center was first launched in 2002 as Xbox Media Player. [Read:15 XBMC keyboard shortcuts you should know]
More History
Since then it has has 3 names. Within two years after its initial release, it was renamed to XBMC Media Center as it was much more capable than a "media player". Then again in 2008, it became just XBMC, in its first step towards cutting its ties from Xbox for which it was originally developed. Now it is nearly impossible to run XBMC (or Kodi) on Xbox without major hacks. The Kodi entertainment center team says its all happening "one last time". It makes sense that this name might hold, but he one can never be sure right? [Read:10 of the Best XBMC Addons in 2014]
Kodi Entertainment Center
In the light of what XBMC can do today - host addons, load games, stream content, etc., the team thought, today, XBMC has become far more an Entertainment Center than a simple Media Center. The name Kodi entertainment center or Kodi media center or whatever you would like to call it also avoids all the legal issues that comes with having the already trademarked "Xbox" in the name. On the side, this name change also deters hackers who selling devices with improperly working XBMC on Xbox devices. [Read:Strategies to fix XBMC buffering issues on Raspberry Pi]
So Kodi entertainment center is now more than just "XB", "MC", or a media player. The developers promise that the software will remain the same - they are even keeping the version numbers. Except the name and the splash screen, users will only see the awesomeness of the Kodi 14 Helix. In the coming days, the Kodi team will edit a ton of code to reflect the name change to Kodi entertainment center. Changes to other websites, social media pages, etc. will happen slowly over time. Needless to say Kodi will boast new logo as well (the one above is not the final logo). The community seems to have mixed feelings about the name "Kodi Entertainment Center". Oh well, any change is tough. Rest assured, we will keep you posted about the all new Kodi Entertainment Center.
Anand is a self-learned computer enthusiast, hopeless tinkerer (if it ain't broke, fix it), a part-time blogger, and a Scientist during the day. He has been blogging since 2010 on Linux, Ubuntu, Home/Media/File Servers, Smart Home Automation, and related HOW-TOs.
