Media

Kodi 22 “Piers” reaches release candidate: HDR subtitles, FFmpeg 9 and a security fix

Kodi’s next major version is now at RC1. It adds HDR overlays and UHD PGS subtitle handling, a big retro-gaming upgrade and a fix for a UPnP file-server flaw.

By OwnYourStack Admin · Published

Kodi 22 Piers release candidate splash screen
The Kodi 22 “Piers” release candidate splash screen. © Kodi

Kodi, the free open-source media centre, published the first release candidate of Kodi 22 “Piers” on 10 October 2026. A release candidate is meant to be close to final, so this is the moment to try it on a spare device. At the time of writing, RC1 is the latest build we found; the final version had not been announced.

What is new

  • HDR and subtitles. HDR overlays, UHD PGS subtitles, and HDR-to-SDR tone mapping for PGS subtitles on Windows, plus an upgrade to FFmpeg 9.0.2.
  • Blu-ray. Better playlist matching and episode detection, and aspect-ratio detection for M2TS files.
  • Retro gaming. The RetroPlayer gets shader support, a cheat engine, RetroAchievements improvements and OpenGL hardware rendering for 3D games. Rewind now defaults to off.
  • Audio. Audio-stream switching in the PAPlayer and ReplayGain for Matroska audio.
  • Platforms. Android deep links, macOS JIT execution and initial WebAssembly support. On webOS, audio moves from ALSA to PulseAudio.
  • Housekeeping. SVG support, a fallback to the year when a premiere date is missing, and PVR guide timestamps that stay valid beyond 2038.

The security changes

Two items matter if you expose Kodi on your network. A UPnP file-server path traversal vulnerability has been fixed, and finite-field Diffie-Hellman cipher suites have been removed from the built-in web server. Neither should ever be reachable from the internet, but a media centre sitting on a home network with the web interface enabled is a reasonable place to check your settings.

Known issues

Without the patched TagLib 2.3.1, Matroska tagging falls back to Kodi 21 behaviour. On Linux, HDR playback may make some on-screen elements look too transparent, washed out or fuzzy.

Should you install it?

Treat RC1 as a test build. Back up your Kodi data folder first, install it alongside your current version if the platform allows, and let it re-scan a copy of your library rather than your only one. The beta releases earlier this year, in June and September, added work on embedded Linux rendering, HDR screenshots and Pulse-Eight CEC adapter handling, which will matter to anyone running Kodi on a small box behind the television.

Kodi, Plex or Jellyfin?

Kodi is a player and library manager that runs on the device attached to your television, whereas Plex and Jellyfin are servers that stream to many devices. Many people use more than one. Our comparison Plex or Jellyfin in late 2026 explains the costs of the two servers, and our Jellyfin 12 guide covers the latest upgrade.

Sources: Kodi, Kodi 22 “Piers” RC 1, 10 October 2026; Beta 2, 5 September 2026; Beta 1, 28 June 2026.

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