Kodi 21.3 Update Brings HDR to Xbox One and Fixes Blu-ray Playback on Linux
The popular, free and open-source media center application, Kodi, has released a significant update – version 21.3 – delivering key improvements for Xbox consoles and Linux systems, alongside a comprehensive suite of bug fixes across all platforms. While development of Kodi 22 ‘Piers’ is already underway with its first alpha release in August, Kodi 21 ‘Omega’ remains the stable branch, and this latest iteration provides valuable enhancements for users awaiting the next major version.
The update, finalized in October but experiencing a delayed rollout due to unforeseen issues, is now available for all supported platforms. According to a company release, the team encountered challenges “getting this version out to everyone,” but the wait is now over for eager users.
One of the most notable improvements is the full enablement of HDR playback on Xbox One consoles. Previously, HDR functionality was limited to the newer Xbox Series X and S consoles following the initial release of Kodi 21. This fix extends the high dynamic range experience to a wider range of Xbox users, provided their television or monitor supports the technology.
Linux users will also benefit from this update, with a fix addressing issues with Blu-ray disc playback. This is particularly impactful for those utilizing Linux-based home theater PCs (HTPCs) equipped with disc drives. Reports of broken functionality, including instances on systems running Arch Linux and Debian on a Raspberry Pi, prompted the developers to prioritize this fix.
Beyond these headline features, Kodi 21.3 introduces a range of refinements, including faster video library rescans, resolutions to audio and subtitle issues encountered when resuming Blu-ray playback, updated SSL certificates for enhanced network security, and improved support for HDR10 light metadata changes.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the key improvements:
Core Enhancements:
- Added HDR support on Xbox One
- Fixed Blu-ray playback on Linux
- Fixed audio/subtitle issues when resuming Blu-rays
- Fixed handling of HDR10 light metadata changes
- Fixed subtitle selection for ISO 639-1 (two-letter) language codes
Library & Source Management:
- Improved speed of video library rescans
- Fixed multi-episode files overwriting the first episode
- Fixed info dialog for certain Movie Versions
- Fixed some false positives detecting Movie Versions
Additional Fixes & Improvements:
- Fixed CDDB lookups using Gnudb.org’s CDDB API
- Fixed album search failing for artist names
- Fixed rare Pipewire crash when connecting/removing audio devices
- Fixed crash when a PVR stream is stopped via remote app
- Added support for Turkish keyboards on Linux
- Fixed enabling and disabling Pulse-Eight CEC adapters
- Fixed the Delete and Alternative Insert keys on macOS
- Fixed minor visual glitches when managing peripherals
- Fixed updating add-ons after 25 days of inactivity (extended to ~68 years)
- Fixed busy dialog crash when multiple dialogs are opened
- Fixed suspend dialog remaining open after the system wakes up
- Improved touch support for slider dialog arrows
- Added support for HTTP Basic Authentication
- Fixed some network streams failing due to interrupted HTTP/2 transfers
- Updated libnfs to v6 for embedded platforms
- Updated CA certificates to 2025-07-15 from the Mozilla CA certificate store
Users can download the latest version of Kodi from the official website or through the package repositories available in most Linux distributions. A full rollout to the Google Play Store and Microsoft Store is anticipated to take an additional one to two weeks.
