NextGen RT News - Kodi Video Plugin

A Kodi video plugin that streams RT News live channels directly in Kodi.

Description

NextGen RT News is a Kodi addon that provides access to RT (Russia Today) News live streams. The plugin automatically extracts stream URLs from RT's web pages and plays them using Kodi's built-in video player with HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) support.

Features

• 8 Live RT News Channels:

  • Global - Main RT News English channel
  • US - RT America
  • Documentaries - RT Documentary channel
  • ESP - RT Spanish (Actualidad RT)
  • ARAB - RT Arabic
  • DE - RT Deutsch (German)
  • FR - RT Français (French)
  • RS - RT Balkan (Serbian)

• Automatic Stream Detection - The plugin scrapes RT web pages to find and extract the actual m3u8 stream URLs

• HLS Streaming Support - Uses inputstream.adaptive for reliable HLS stream playback

• Simple Interface - Clean channel list with one-click playback

Requirements

• Kodi 19 (Matrix) or later
• Python 3.x support in Kodi
• InputStream Adaptive addon (automatically installed as a dependency)

Installation

Method 1: Install from Repository (Recommended - Automatic Updates)

1. In Kodi, go to Settings → Add-ons
2. Enable Unknown sources if not already enabled (Settings → System → Add-ons → Unknown sources)
3. Select Install from zip file
4. When prompted for a path, select "None" and enter:

https://archive.org/download/nextgenrtkodirepository/repository.nextgenrt-1.0.0.zip

1. Wait for the repository installation notification
2. Go back and select Install from repository → NextGen RT Repository
3. Select Video add-ons → NextGen RT News → Install
4. The plugin will automatically install InputStream Adaptive if needed

Benefits: Once the repository is installed, you'll automatically receive updates when new versions are released!

Repository Homepage (IA mirror): https://archive.org/download/nextgenrtkodirepository/

Direct repository zip (browse or download):

https://archive.org/download/nextgenrtkodirepository/repository.nextgenrt-1.0.0.zip

Method 2: Install from ZIP file (One-time)

1. Download the latest release zip file from GitHub Releases
2. In Kodi, go to Settings → Add-ons
3. Enable Unknown sources if not already enabled
4. Select Install from zip file
5. Navigate to and select the downloaded zip file
6. Wait for the addon installation notification
7. The plugin will automatically install InputStream Adaptive if needed

Method 3: Manual Installation

1. Copy the plugin.video.nextgenrt folder to your Kodi addons directory:
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Kodi\addons\
   • Linux: ~/.kodi/addons/
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Kodi/addons/
2. Restart Kodi
3. Make sure InputStream Adaptive is installed from the Kodi repository

Usage

1. Go to Add-ons → Video add-ons
2. Select NextGen RT News
3. Choose a channel from the list
4. The stream will start playing automatically

Technical Details

• Language: Python 3
• Video Format: HLS (m3u8)
• Stream Resolution: Determined by RT's source (typically HD quality)
• Dependencies:
  • xbmc.python (3.0.1+)
  • inputstream.adaptive

Troubleshooting

Stream won't play

• Ensure InputStream Adaptive is installed and enabled
• Check your internet connection
• Some streams may be geo-blocked in certain regions

Plugin doesn't appear

• Verify the plugin is installed in the correct addons directory
• Check Kodi logs for errors: Settings → System → Logging → Enable debug logging

No channels listed

• Restart Kodi
• Check if the addon is enabled: Settings → Add-ons → My add-ons → Video add-ons

Development

Project Structure

plugin.video.nextgenrt/
├── addon.xml                # Plugin metadata and dependencies
├── default.py               # Entry point
├── icon.png                 # Add-on icon
├── fanart.jpg               # Add-on fanart
├── resources/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── settings.xml         # Plugin settings (future use)
│   ├── lib/
│   │   ├── __init__.py
│   │   └── main.py          # Main plugin logic and stream handling
│   └── language/
│       └── en-US/           # English language strings

How It Works

1. User selects a channel from the plugin menu
2. Plugin fetches the RT webpage for that channel with proper User-Agent headers
3. Regex patterns extract the m3u8 stream URL from the page HTML
4. Stream URL is passed to Kodi with inputstream.adaptive configuration
5. Video plays using Kodi's video player

License

GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2, June 1991

Disclaimer

This plugin is not affiliated with or endorsed by RT (Russia Today). It simply provides a convenient way to access publicly available RT News streams within Kodi. Users are responsible for ensuring their use complies with RT's terms of service and local regulations.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Changelog

v1.0.0 (2025-10-23)

• Initial release
• Support for 5 RT News live channels
• Automatic stream URL extraction
• HLS streaming with inputstream.adaptive
• Required dependency on inputstream.adaptive

Support

Enjoy !!! For issues, questions, or feature requests, please open an issue on the GitHub repository.