The Current Retrospect Status

We’re doing it slowly!

2017-11-01 – Update #4

I have seen some zip files pop-ing up with Retrospect versions. None of them are from a trusted source and I would like to caution everybody to not blindly install add-ons of un-trusted sources. So to prevent this from happening further, I am opening up the Retrospect GIT repository so everyone can download the official code themselves. But I will no longer maintain a Kodi Repository for it, as I don’t want to actively distribute the code anymore.

This has the following consequences:

1. The Retrospect code and add-on will not disappear
2. I won’t be introducing any new big features in the future, but I will try to keep things working
3. A hope more and more other users will start to contribute via Pull-Requests so the development is done by more than just me.
4. The Retrospect repository will no longer exists, but zip-files that van be installed via Kodi can still be downloaded manually from BitBucket.

So perhaps the good news is that the code will be here and pull-requests for fixes will be accepted, and I will try to contribute myself every now and then. The bad news is that it will always require a manual install.

2017-10-02 – Update #3

Apparently things just can’t go easy. The official RTL XL add-on for Kodi stopped working…..because RTL actively started blocking that add-on:

As you can see, RTL started blocking the RTL XL Add-on for Kodi: The Kodi RTL XL app is no longer supported. Visit www.rtlxl.nl to watch all RTL shows!

So it seems that the people at RTL have made up their minds and do not longer like Kodi add-ons. This again, makes me think and doubt how far I am willing to with this. So for the moment, stuff will remain offline.

2017-09-19 – Update #2

Arnoud Engelfriet has written a blog post with Retrospect in mind. The bottom line is that although playback of streams might not be in line with the user agreement, it is not illegal to distribute a player that can playback those streams. This is great news, as it means that I can put stuff back online.

2017-09-17 – Update #1

A short update to the situation. It seems that not all is lost! I am currently in discussion with a number of people regarding this situation. And it looks promising. However, until the big word is out, I the situation will remain the same. But I have confidence that stuff will be back online soon.

The story

Today is a sad day….. Over the past months, there has been a lot of fuzz around Kodi and Kodi add-ons. Especially add-ons that stream copyrighted materials (something we do not endorse, support or promote). These add-ons give Kodi a bad reputation and are not welcome in the Kodi repository. Within the Netherlands ‘Stichting Brein’ has been hunting the builders and resellers of Kodi boxes that were created for only that purpose: streaming illegal content. These boxes came with all these illegal streaming add-on pre-installed. Many of the builders and resellers were forced to stop their activities and were fined or prosecuted.

How does this related to Retrospect?  Yesterday the same organisation (‘Stichting Brein’)  mentioned that they also consider just the distribution of add-ons that provide copyrighted material as a crime. And this changes things: Retrospect provides a lot of content from many sources and sites, all of which is publicly available and without copyrights. And although all the video material is publicly available via internet, streaming them directly from Kodi/Retrospect and not via the originating site/player is something that could be considered unwanted or not legal.

Retrospect is hobby I have, and I have put in a large amount of the past 15 years. And although many users are enjoying the add-on, I am not willing to put myself and my family at risk of legal actions, what so ever. So for the moment, Retrospect will be put on hold.

So what now?

• I have taken all official downloads offline. This includes:
  • The main add-on
  • All Channels (it makes little sense to take only some channels off line, as most of the content providers will have the same view on what is allowed)
  • All Channel Updates
• The Retrospect repository is still online, but without Retrospect or the channels.
• The Retrospect BitBucket GIT repository is offline, howerver the issue tracker is still online. Still thinking about what to do with that one.

I will try to find some legal consult and see what is allowed and not allowed. If there is a chance to put it back up, I will certainly do that (that is why the the Repository is still online).