I know what Kodi does. – Kodi allows the playing of media files on a machine.
I know what Plex and Emby do. – They use a client/server architecture. They use a server to maintain a media database. Then various clients can hit the server for the media. The server can, if needed, transcode the media to something a particular client can use.
The plex/Emby plugins for Kodi – Allow the use of the skinnable and malleable kodi front end withe the Plex or Emby database.
Playon – is a server on a pc that will bundle streams that a PC can receive to relay them to other devices.
Have I got all this right
Right Now, I am using Emby on a Core I5/16GB/256GB SDD machine. It ONLY runs Emby…and PlayOn…….for which I use PlayLater…which I will not speak of further.
My experience is – It is nice to have the centralized database and streaming capability…especially outside my network. (I love having my own private Netflix. Yes I have the extra Emby pay service. )
So, if I have the delineations right, then if Emby/Plex develop a skinnable versatile front end, Kodi is not needed. If Kodi develops a server/stream capability, Plex/Emby are not needed.