CineDock is now Kinostrata. Same app, new name. Your installs, settings and updates carry on as before.

Kinostrata setup

Kinostrata with Jellyfin

Connect at home or use a reachable Jellyfin server from another location.

Setup pages and steps

01

Before you start

  1. Check your library plays in Jellyfin's own app.
  2. Choose where Kinostrata will run: on a Windows or Mac computer, in a container on your server or NAS, or directly on Fire TV or NVIDIA Shield.
  3. For a container or desktop installation, open Kinostrata in a computer browser. For direct TV setup, choose Away from home on the TV.

The Fire TV / Shield APK needs Android 7 or later on a compatible Android-based Fire OS device or Shield. Zidoo uses its separate two-app release.

02

Connect Jellyfin

  1. In Kinostrata, choose Jellyfin.
  2. In Server address, use the address provided by the Jellyfin server owner. Home example: http://192.168.1.20:8096. Include any configured base path; leave off /web/index.html.
  3. In hosted setup, choose Use my username & password. Direct TV setup uses this sign-in automatically.
  4. Enter your Jellyfin server username and password.
  5. Choose Test the connection. Kinostrata uses that account's watching history.
  6. Choose Open my Kinostrata library.

Use the account created on this Jellyfin server.

In direct TV mode, your signed-in account is fixed; other server users are not offered. Use Change remote server or account to sign in again. To switch modes, use Home viewing or Away from home under Setup → Settings → Home & away. Use your normal server login, not an administrator API key. For remote viewing, use a public HTTPS address with a trusted certificate; private LAN HTTP addresses are for home-network use.

Hosted container or desktop only: use an API key
  1. In the Jellyfin dashboard, open API Keys. Create a key named Kinostrata.
  2. In Kinostrata, choose Use an API key and paste it.
  3. Choose Test the connection, then whose watching history to use.
  4. Choose Open my Kinostrata library.

A key already supplied in the container's settings is offered during setup. Guard it like a password.

For someone else's server, use your own username and password. Keep the owner's API key private.

03

Connect your TV

Fire TV and NVIDIA Shield use one standard Kinostrata app with two connection choices.

Home viewing: use your Kinostrata container

  1. Keep the Kinostrata container running on your server or NAS.
  2. Install the standard Kinostrata TV APK and open Kinostrata.
  3. If no home address is saved, enter the Kinostrata address, including the scheme and host port, such as http://192.168.1.50:8955.
  4. Choose Home viewing, then your viewing profile.

Away from home on the TV

  1. In the same TV app, choose Away from home.
  2. Choose Plex, Emby or Jellyfin, then follow the account steps above.
  3. For viewing away from home, complete your server's remote-access steps first.

Remote viewing: step-by-step guide → This direct connection also works at home when the server address is reachable.

Direct TV mode does not need a Kinostrata container. Complete its setup on the TV; its local setup page cannot be opened from a phone or computer. A Plex sign-in QR code still opens Plex on your phone.

To switch later, open Setup → Settings → Home & away. Home viewing opens your saved home Kinostrata address in one press; without a saved address, it opens the home-address form once. Away from home opens your saved remote library in one press; without a saved remote connection, it opens server sign-in. Both buttons remain available in either mode. Your remote setup stays saved, and normal launches open the last connection you used. Use Edit home connection to correct your home address. Both modes use the same standard APK and update feed.

Zidoo: install Playback Helper first, then Kinostrata Zidoo, and connect to your home Kinostrata container. For local files, follow Zidoo path substitution; the box must reach your media shares.

04

Away from home

Instructions for the Jellyfin server owner.

1. Enable remote access

  1. Open Dashboard → Networking → Remote Access Settings and enable remote access. Save the changes.
  2. Configure a reachable external HTTPS address with a valid, trusted certificate for direct TV viewing. Follow Jellyfin's network setup instructions.
  3. Copy your remote server address, including the base path if you set one.

2. Set up the viewer's account

  1. Open Dashboard → Users. Create an account or select an existing one.
  2. Set a password and choose the libraries the account may use.
  3. Enable Allow remote connections to this server for that account and allow media playback. Save the changes.

Jellyfin's user settings ↗

3. Test from outside your home network

  1. Connect your TV or computer to a phone hotspot. Turn the phone's Wi-Fi off and disconnect the TV or computer from home Ethernet/Wi-Fi.
  2. Open the remote Jellyfin address. Sign in with the account you set up and check that a film plays.
  3. In Kinostrata, connect using the same address and account. Check Play and Resume.

4. Give the viewer the connection details

  • The full remote Jellyfin server address.
  • Their server username and password.
  • The Connect Jellyfin instructions.

05

Check it works

  1. Confirm the profile name and libraries are yours.
  2. Start a film. Stop after a minute, then check Resume.
  3. For remote viewing, repeat from another network. On a phone hotspot, turn the phone's Wi-Fi off and disconnect the TV or computer from home Ethernet/Wi-Fi.
  4. Open Setup → Layout → Libraries to choose your libraries. Use Layout → Home rows to arrange Home.

If resume is missing, enable Report what I watch under Setup → Settings → Home & away.

Connected, but something is wrong
  • Cannot reach the server: check the address from the machine running Kinostrata. A home LAN address needs a route back home.
  • Missing library: check your Jellyfin account's library access, then your Kinostrata profile and Libraries.
  • Playback fails: check the same title in Jellyfin's app from that network, playback permissions and your home upload speed.

Get support with the device, server type, Kinostrata version and failing step. Keep passwords and tokens private.

Using a home Kinostrata container? Arrange collections and shelves from a browser → Direct TV mode is set up with the TV remote.