13 replies to this topic

[slipd]

In VLC, if I'm playing some .mkv files that are segment linked, it automatically links the files and plays back the full video.
For example, some anime have the openings and endings for each episode in a separate file, and when I play the episode, the opening and ending get attached at the right places in the episode.

However, this doesn't happen in Zoom Player presently. Do I need to enable some setting in the options?

[boogafreak]

Hi Slipd,

Do you have a link to a sample file we can try out?

[ehathgepiurhe]

Hi slipd,

As far as I know, the support for ordered/linked chapters comes from the splitter rather than the player. Haali's Media Splitter is the only splitter I know of which supports ordered chapters. What you really need to do is to ensure Haali's is installed and then set Zoom to use Haali's for your files. A majority of the formats in Smart Play now use LAV or DC-Bass as the default splitter (neither of which support ordering/linking), so it is likely Zoom won't be using Haali's for your files. Haali's is only set as the default in Zoom for two filetypes: EVO and OGM. Your files would be MKV files (ordering/linking is a function of Matroska) - and Zoom uses LAV for MKV by default, so this is what you will need to change.

So, open Install Center, ensure that Haali's Media Splitter is installed and then tell Zoom to use it for MKV files through the Smart Play options, rather than LAV - if you are not sure how to do this exactly, I can post a guide. Note that if you have Haali's installed already, but you have not used Install Center to do it (you used a codec pack for example), then you will need to verify that the linking option is enabled inside Haali's options. It is enabled when you install Haali's via Install Center, but it's possible a third party installation (such as a codec pack) could disable it. The option is in Haali's options, Options tab, Input section, and is named "Try to open linked files".

Once you have ensured Haali's is installed (with the linking option enabled) and Zoom is using it for MKV files, check if ordered chapters work or not. I'm 99% sure that the player has no part to play in this, so I think it will work - but as Booga says above, it would be nice to have a sample so we can verify this.

ehat

Edit: I managed to locate some sample files. Zoom does indeed seem to work ok with these, when Haali's is used. Samples here:
http://www.ps-auxw.de/ordered/

Choose the ordered set, download all 3 files, place them in the same folder, and play main.mkv. With LAV, Zoom only shows "Part A" (which is to be expected, as it doesn't support ordering/linking). With Haali's, Zoom shows "Part A" and "Part B". Using the latest VLC, I see the same thing as Zoom with Haali's - "Part A" and "Part B". One of the three files (dep2.mkv) is a "Part A, Version 2" - it doesn't seem to get used though. I thought initially that may have been a bug with Zoom - but it doesn't get used with VLC either, so I don't think it actually is a bug in Zoom.

Edited by ehathgepiurhe, 08 July 2012 - 05:55 AM.
Samples found!

[nx6]

One of the three files (dep2.mkv) is a "Part A, Version 2" - it doesn't seem to get used though. I thought initially that may have been a bug with Zoom - but it doesn't get used with VLC either, so I don't think it actually is a bug in Zoom.

It doesn't get used because it's part of a different Edition you haven't selected. The idea is there are two editions, each with it's own "opening".
On the "regular" edition you get the red opening, and then the green-fade-to-white "episode" (if we were comparing this metaphorically to the most common usage of MKV segment linking).



When you choose the "alternate" Edition you get the blue opening and then then same green-to-white episode.



The easiest way to compare these because of how short they are is to set Zoom to auto replay so you can play with the Haali's Media Splitter menu in the system tray while it's running.

A common usage of this setup might be a foreign show with a multi-angle opening on the original DVD. You can have the opening credits in the original language in one version, and translated credits in the other. It's possible to rip just the angle you want out of the original VOBs (the frames for each angle are all interleaved with each other), which would allow you to make multiple versions of these opening credits. One famous example of multi-angle use was the Star Wars DVDs. The "opening crawl" text was done in four different languages, each on a separate angle you can flip between while it's playing.

An MKV file with segment linking can be set to automatically play a certain edition or use a specific subtitle track (if there are multiple tracks), or do "marathon play" out of a whole folder full of episodes (play the opening credits once, play all episodes in order, and then play the ending credits only once, optionally skipping next episode previews -- whether they're part of the original episode's file or a separate discrete file).

[ehathgepiurhe]

Nice - thanks for the explanation nx6. I have learned something today!

Regards,

ehat

[slipd]

Sorry for the late reply, but thanks so much ehathgepiurhe! I switched it from LAV to Haali, and it's working swell now.

[ehathgepiurhe]

No problem slipd, thanks for reporting back

Regards,

ehat

[ehathgepiurhe]

Just to update the thread, as it is a little outdated now due to recent changes to LAV - LAV as of v0.56.0 supports ordered/linked chapters as well. So you are no longer restricted to having to use Haali's.

 

Note that in a small number of cases (judging by the posts in the LAV thread over on Doom9), LAV may not work quite as well as Haali's (or at the very least it may handle chapters slightly differently to Haali's in these cases - it's hard to tell when there are a number of people who seem to consider Haali's the gold standard "which cannot be deviated from" with regards to chapters).

 

ehat

[deathbringer]

Sorry for digging up that old thread, but I was wondering if there's some possibility to choose the edition on startup with a command line parameter, just like the audio and subtitle track?

[ehathgepiurhe]

Hi,

 

No, I don't believe Zoom actually supports editions at all at the moment, let alone through the command line. IIRC, I think I may have a feature request in the tracker to add support through Zoom itself (currently, the only way to select an edition is to enable the LAV tray icon and then use it to select), but that request has not progressed anywhere as yet. I will dig out the report and add a note to it asking bLight if he adds support through Zoom, to add an equivalent command line parameter as well if it is possible.

 

ehat

[deathbringer]

Hi ehat,

 

I don't have the LAV tray icon active, but I can select the edition through the stream selection, as you can see in the screenshot. So I guess there's some kind of support for editions already implemented in Zoom Player (or at least I hope so).

Attached Files

•  ZP_LAV_Edition.jpg   199.02KB   1 downloads

[ehathgepiurhe]

Ah, now that is interesting. I did find the report - #487. It was logged on 4 April 2013, when v8.61 was still the current version of Zoom (so quite a while ago now). At that time, Zoom didn't support chapters or editions - here is the original request:

http://forum.inmatri...showtopic=14007

 

As you can see further down in that thread (post #13), Zoom gained chapter support later that month - at some point in time, it must have gained support for editions as well (as your screenshot shows). Ok, scratch the addition I made to #487 suggesting a command line parameter when edition support was added. I have instead added a separate request for a command line option for this (#744) - it's a logical step considering that it appears Zoom already supports editions and the existence of the current /Sub and /Audio parameters.

 

ehat

[deathbringer]

Hi ehat,

 

thanks for opening a new request. I've searched the website but could not find any link to a Bug/Feature-Tracker where I could follow the progress of that request. Is the Tracker only accessible for the developers or did I just miss the link to it?

[ehathgepiurhe]

Hi deathbringer,
 

Is the Tracker only accessible for the developers or did I just miss the link to it?

 
No, the tracker is public - at least for read only/view access (you only need a logon if you want to add a new report or edit an existing one). The URL has been mentioned a few times before I think, but if you search for the word 'tracker', you will find far more results without a URL than with one, so it is probably hard to find. The tracker is here:
http://bugs.zoomplayer.com/
 
Direct link to #744:
http://bugs.zoomplay...=show&bugid=744
 
ehat