2004-11-24, 16:52
i'd like to know how people keep their backed-up dvds organized for use with xbmc - i.e. if you are using full dvd backups (not compressed divx or whatever), what format do you keep them in and how do you keep them organized? i would make this a survey, but i don't think i really know all the possibilities.
specifically, here's my scenario: i want to be able to use file browsing (i have no internet connection right now) to catalog all my videos, by categories, and i'd like to be able to see my dvd's alongside my divx stuff, etc. i've come up with several ways to do this myself:
1. keep the full dvd backup in a sub folder, with the necessary vobs and ifo stuff for the main video part;
2. use vobmerge to merge the whole movie to a single vob file, and then put the vob file in the main directory with other divx stuff, and then play directly. this is especially nice for when i have a multi-disk dvd that i want to combine to be browsable/playable in one file - such as lord of the rings.
3. i guess renaming all the vobs and then just using stacking would accomplish the same thing as (2) above.
4. use imgtool to combine all the vob and ifo stuff into one img file, and then put the img file in the directory with all the videos, and just play it directly. this seems to be much slower to play than (2) above, but the nice thing is that this maintains certain things like subtitles and correct names of the audio tracks. i understand that maybe someone is working on speeding up this type of playback? the other problem is that this still gives me 2 separate img files for two volumes - and i haven't figured out how to edit ifo files to create a single combined ifo file for all the vobs from both dvd discs or something like that - is this possible, and if so where should i look for info?
i'm guessing having the imdb lookup and browse by titles turned on resolves this problem anyways, but i'm wondering if anyone else has the same scenario i have, where there is no internet connection, and there is a large collection of combination divx and full dvd backups.
are there better ways to do what i am trying to do?
specifically, here's my scenario: i want to be able to use file browsing (i have no internet connection right now) to catalog all my videos, by categories, and i'd like to be able to see my dvd's alongside my divx stuff, etc. i've come up with several ways to do this myself:
1. keep the full dvd backup in a sub folder, with the necessary vobs and ifo stuff for the main video part;
2. use vobmerge to merge the whole movie to a single vob file, and then put the vob file in the main directory with other divx stuff, and then play directly. this is especially nice for when i have a multi-disk dvd that i want to combine to be browsable/playable in one file - such as lord of the rings.
3. i guess renaming all the vobs and then just using stacking would accomplish the same thing as (2) above.
4. use imgtool to combine all the vob and ifo stuff into one img file, and then put the img file in the directory with all the videos, and just play it directly. this seems to be much slower to play than (2) above, but the nice thing is that this maintains certain things like subtitles and correct names of the audio tracks. i understand that maybe someone is working on speeding up this type of playback? the other problem is that this still gives me 2 separate img files for two volumes - and i haven't figured out how to edit ifo files to create a single combined ifo file for all the vobs from both dvd discs or something like that - is this possible, and if so where should i look for info?
i'm guessing having the imdb lookup and browse by titles turned on resolves this problem anyways, but i'm wondering if anyone else has the same scenario i have, where there is no internet connection, and there is a large collection of combination divx and full dvd backups.
are there better ways to do what i am trying to do?
