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Hey everyone,

I'm running Kodi on a Raspberry Pi 3B and a very old laptop with limited RAM and CPU. While it works, performance can be quite laggy, especially when navigating menus, browsing large libraries, or playing certain high-bitrate files. I'm looking for any tips and tricks to squeeze the best possible performance out of these low-spec devices.

Here are some things I've already tried:

• Disabling addons I don't use.
• Using a lightweight skin (Estuary Mod Lite).
• Setting video cache settings to a reasonable amount.

What else can I do? Are there specific settings in Kodi itself, or perhaps OS-level optimizations that are crucial? Any advice on preferred hardware configurations or specific Kodi builds for low-power devices would also be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Great thread! Optimizing low-spec devices is a common challenge. Here are some more advanced tips:

System-Level Tweaks:

• Disable unnecessary services: On Linux-based systems (like Raspberry Pi OS), disable any background services you don't need.
• Underclocking/Undervolting (use with caution!): Sometimes, reducing clock speeds and voltage can prevent thermal throttling and improve stability, though it might slightly reduce peak performance.
• Use a minimal OS: Consider a lightweight Linux distribution if you're not already.

Kodi Specific Settings:

• Disable GUI animations: Go to Settings -> Interface -> Skin -> Configure Skin -> Enable hardware acceleration for everything. Then, within the skin settings, look for options to disable or reduce GUI animations.
• Texture Caching: Experiment with the texture cache settings. Setting it too high can consume too much RAM.
• Hardware Acceleration: Ensure hardware acceleration is enabled (Settings -> Player -> Videos -> Allow hardware acceleration - necessary for most platforms).
• Disable UPnP/DLNA: If you don't use it, disable UPnP/DLNA servers/clients in Settings -> Services.
• Limit library scanning: If your library is massive, consider setting up scheduled library updates rather than having it scan constantly.
• Addon Optimization: Beyond disabling unused ones, some addons are more resource-intensive than others. Stick to essential ones.

For Raspberry Pi:

• Use LibreELEC/OSMC: These are optimized Linux distributions specifically for Kodi.
• Overclocking (with proper cooling): If you have good cooling, gentle overclocking might help, but monitor temperatures closely.

Don't forget to restart Kodi after making significant changes!

Thanks for the tips, kodi_expert_99! I've tried disabling GUI animations and that made a noticeable difference.

One thing I'm wondering about is the database. I have a large movie and TV show library, and I suspect the database itself might be slowing things down. Is there a way to optimize or even "clean" the Kodi database for better performance on older hardware?

Also, does anyone have experience with using external SQLite databases on a NAS or something similar? Would that potentially improve performance or just add network latency?