I run Kodi on a Raspberry Pi 4. I have the same complaints about it that you have.
And it is nice, I guess -- it's functionally simple to just play files over an SMB share. But the interface is... well, the interface was really amazing on the OG Xbox and that was a very long time ago.
So even though I keep Kodi around, most of my video-watching is with Plex, wherein: The library updates itself. The subtitles download themselves (the subtitles even theoretically sync themselves to the video). Stuff generally Just Works, even over the WAN.
Plex is very set-and-forget, and its performance is great on a ~$20 ONN streamer-box from Wal-Mart (and there's also smart TV apps and PC-oriented playback, of course).
The user experience is really good: The interface is very remote-centric and flows well while kicked back in an easy chair in front of a TV. My eldery, tech-averse dad uses Plex without any trouble, which he'd absolutely never be able to do with Kodi.
Amusingly, Plex is/was a fork XBMC. :)
Despite the complexities of its client-server model (where both sides are kind of fat), and the expense, I can't recommend Plex highly enough.
That said: Jellyfin is free both as in beer and as in libre. It also gets most of this stuff right, and from what I've read it's been improving steadily for a number of years. I'd have written about Jellyfin instead, but I don't have as much direct experience with it (and I paid for Plex a long time ago).
And it is nice, I guess -- it's functionally simple to just play files over an SMB share. But the interface is... well, the interface was really amazing on the OG Xbox and that was a very long time ago.
So even though I keep Kodi around, most of my video-watching is with Plex, wherein: The library updates itself. The subtitles download themselves (the subtitles even theoretically sync themselves to the video). Stuff generally Just Works, even over the WAN.
Plex is very set-and-forget, and its performance is great on a ~$20 ONN streamer-box from Wal-Mart (and there's also smart TV apps and PC-oriented playback, of course).
The user experience is really good: The interface is very remote-centric and flows well while kicked back in an easy chair in front of a TV. My eldery, tech-averse dad uses Plex without any trouble, which he'd absolutely never be able to do with Kodi.
Amusingly, Plex is/was a fork XBMC. :)
Despite the complexities of its client-server model (where both sides are kind of fat), and the expense, I can't recommend Plex highly enough.
That said: Jellyfin is free both as in beer and as in libre. It also gets most of this stuff right, and from what I've read it's been improving steadily for a number of years. I'd have written about Jellyfin instead, but I don't have as much direct experience with it (and I paid for Plex a long time ago).