Interested in the TVCatchup Kodi addon? This article will explore TVCatchup’s functionality, media library, and legality to help you decide if it’ll suit your needs.

TVCatchup is a Kodi addon that offers a selection of live TV streams. This article will walk you through the process of installing TVCatchup step-by-step. We’ll also be examining how TVCatchup compares to similar addons like FilmOn.TV and iPlayer WWW.

What is Kodi?

Kodi is open-source media center software. It has become very popular in part due to its high portability and the number of addons available. Kodi can be easily installed across a wide range of platforms including PC, Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and even single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi. Better yet, there’s minimal functional disparity between platforms. This means that the majority of addons will work regardless of the operating system Kodi is installed on.

Kodi doesn’t actually come with any content. Users can choose to either import video and audio files that are stored locally, or they can install Kodi plugins called addons. Addons gather content that’s hosted online, so while they require an internet connection in order to work, they take up far less space on the user’s hard drive.

Warning: Kodi should only be used for content to which you have the legal right to access. Neither the Kodi Foundation nor Comparitech advocates the use of Kodi for piracy.

Important: Always use a VPN with Kodi

Virtual private networks (VPNs) are sometimes used by people looking to hide unofficial streaming from their internet service provider (ISP). However, VPNs have several legitimate uses and can be highly beneficial to most people, even those that only stream official content.

VPNs encrypt the user’s network traffic and make it unreadable to anyone without the decryption key. This prevents your ISP from selling your data or using it to justify reducing your network speeds. Additionally, this encryption prevents most types of Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack.

VPNs vary greatly in terms of quality. Some impact your connection speeds until day-to-day browsing becomes difficult while others keep detailed logs of your online activities. For this reason, it’s important to choose a VPN that can be trusted with your sensitive personal information.

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If IPVanish isn’t for you we have a full round up of the best VPNs for Kodi in 2018 here.

What is the TVCatchup Kodi addon?

TVCatchup is a website that offers live streams for 33 different free-to-watch TV stations. The official TVCatchup addon makes these streams watchable from within Kodi. The web version shows ads before its streams begin but these aren’t present in the Kodi addon.

Also, due to a ruling in 2013, the ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 live streams are not allowed to be viewed by users on mobile broadband. Currently, these channels still show up on the mobile version of the site but show only an endless roll of ads. They can still be watched via Kodi using mobile internet, however.

In terms of content, TVCatchup lies between the iPlayer WWW and FilmOn.TV addons. Its channels cover a broader variety of content than the iPlayer, but there’s far less choice than with FilmOn. TVCatchup also offers only the most basic TV guide; it shows the name of whatever is currently playing, but nothing else. Despite the simplicity of this feature, it’s one that neither the iPlayer WWW or FilmOn.TV addons offers.

Most of TVCatchup’s channels display at 540p. This is a slight improvement over FilmOn’s 480p, but still a step down from the iPlayer’s full HD content. Still, with channels such as VIVA that can’t be found in the more popular live TV addons, TVCatchup is well worth a look.

How to install the TVCatchup addon

Installing the TVCatchup addon is fairly involved but should only take a few minutes. The first step is to allow installation of addons from unknown sources. To do this, click the gear icon on Kodi’s main page. Next, select the System Settings option on the right-hand side. When you hover over the Add-ons tab on the left, a menu will appear. Click the Unknown sources option. The button beside it should slide to the right and turn white. If it’s now grey, click it again.

Go back to the previous page by clicking the System/Settings text in the top-left. This time, enter the File Manager. You’ll see a list of all your currently installed sources. Scroll down to the bottom and double-click the last option, Add source. In the box at the top, enter the following without the quotation marks: “http://fusion.tvaddons.co”

Enter a name for this source in the box at the bottom (we’ve used “fusion”), and click the OK button to add it.

Installing Indigo

Return to Kodi’s main page. Click the Add-ons tab on the left, then click the box icon in the top-left of the following screen. Select Install from zip file, then find the source you just added in the list. Click it, then choose kodi-repos, english, and repository.xbmchub-3.0.0.zip. It should be noted that the numbers at the end refer to the repo’s version number and may be different when you try to install it.

Next, you’ll be returned to the addon browser screen. This time, choose Install from repository. Find the TVADDONS.CO Add-on repository and enter the Program add-ons menu. Install the Indigo addon by clicking it and selecting Install on the next page. You should see a notification in the top-right if it installed properly.

Installing TVCatchup

Return to Kodi’s main page. Click the Add-ons tab, then Program add-ons. Open Indigo (this can take a minute or so the first time) and choose Addon Installer. Select Video Addons. You can now choose to view addons sorted alphabetically. Choose the T folder and locate the addon named TVCatchup.com. You’ll be asked for confirmation, so click Install. Next, you’ll see a popup asking you if you want to restart Kodi. Choose Restart. When Kodi opens up, you should be able to browse live TV to your heart’s content.

Conclusion

TVCatchup might not be the ultimate live TV Kodi addon but it certainly offers enough choice for those who don’t know what they want to watch. Considering it’s free and legal, there’s no risk, although it’s important to have a valid UK TV license before you try it out.

Having problems getting Kodi to work? You might be interested in our guide to fixing Kodi’s most common issues. We even have articles that can help if Kodi keeps restarting, or if you’re trying to install a VPN for the first time.