Kodi Community Forum

Hi,

I originally set-up my KODI in such a way that it would launch PowerDVD to play content ripped from BlueRay discs. However when I moved from Leia to Matrix I had some issues; PowerDVD not starting, then not closing, annoying pop-ups, PowerDVD starting even when it was not supposed to etc. So while trouble shooting I decided to disable playercorefactory.xml, and I noticed that on Matrix, with Amber skin, the experience when playing BlueRay-based files is that this now feels quite "luxurious" and satisfying. Good picture, good sound, reasonable disc-like behaviour, possibility to select subtitles and audio et cetera!    So I am leaning towards using the integrated KODI player also for normal play of blueray material in the future, and therefore to leave playercorefactory.xml disabled. However, in certain instances I might want to manually trigger my PowerDVD player, from within KODI, to be able to access the original disc menus to allow for the playing of bonus materials etc.

So my question is: is it possible somehow to trigger the start of PowerDVD and play of a selected movie/TV show through an individual button or option solution, but not using the playercorefactory.xml file?

Use the PCF.xml.  Change your rule(s) for everything to open using VideoPlayer.  When you want to use PDVD instead, focus on a title, bring up the context by pressing C or whatever your remote is mapped to.  You will see Play Using in the menu.  PDVD will be a choice.  Select it.  Close the player by pressing Alt+F4 or whatever your remote is mapped to and you will be returned to Kodi library ready to navigate.  You might want to check your Windows settings for AutoPlay and deselect PDVD as default for some or all of the items.

(2022-02-17, 17:31)brazen1 Wrote: [ -> ]Use the PCF.xml.  Change your rule(s) for everything to open using VideoPlayer.  When you want to use PDVD instead, focus on a title, bring up the context by pressing C or whatever your remote is mapped to.  You will see Play Using in the menu.  PDVD will be a choice.  Select it.  Close the player by pressing Alt+F4 or whatever your remote is mapped to and you will be returned to Kodi library ready to navigate.  You might want to check your Windows settings for AutoPlay and deselect PDVD as default for some or all of the items.

That sounds like a great way forward Brazen1. However I just realized that when I made the changes necessary to open PowerDVD from Matrix (I followed you instructions here: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=366304) I somehow managed to create a set-up which now launches every movie in PowerDVD, not just bluerays. I am not really fluent in whatever language is used for the playercorefactory.xml (is that the Python language I read about on this forum?)  Anyway, I suspect it might have something to do with changing this:

<rules action="prepend">

<rule filetypes="iso|bdmv|mpls|m2ts"player="PowerDVD"/>

</rules>

into this:

<rules action="prepend">

<rule filename=".*.*." player="PowerDVD"/>

</rules>

But even when I tried moving the old rule back it still always opens movies in PowerDVD. I am not able to find a solution that opens only bluerays in PowerDVD anymore, it is all or nothing. Now this problem shouldn't really be relevant when making the change to a set-up where movies are always launched in VideoPlayer, and only opened in PowerDVD when specifically ordering it to happen on a case by case basis, but it shows how my messing around with PlayerCoreFactory can cause unintentional (and unwanted) effects on my set-up. So instead of me playing around with the code, does someone have a playercorefactory.xml file that opens everything in VideoPlayer, but that allows for also opening in PowerDVD when requesting from the context menu? If so I would be grateful if I could copy it and try it on my set-up!!

Christopher

PS I also tried this:
<rule filename=".*.*." player="PowerDVD"/>
<rule filetypes="iso|bdmv|mpls|m2ts"player="PowerDVD"/>
but still every movie started up in powerDVD

After a lot of fiddling about I finally managed to get playercorefactory to work like I wanted it to IF I want to open all bluray files in PowerDVD, but otherwise in KODI's own VideoPlayer. So I am saving the file for safekeeping in case I need to revert to it, at least now it properly open when it is supposed to, and I can close it, with KODI showing up and properly focused :-)

I also managed to rewrite it to open everything in VideoPlayer, yet have the option to open in PowerDVD. I kept <players> section, but removed the rule in the <rules> section. Might be obvious to everyone else here, but I am quite proud of myself, having figured it out on my own :-)

So I guess the thread can be marked as solved? Would still like to disable the pop-up telling me about an active external player though!! Any tips?

You're telling your rules that the player you want to open those rules is "PowerDVD".  You want to change them from "PowerDVD" to "VideoPlayer".

Like this:

(2022-02-17, 21:22)brazen1 Wrote: [ -> ]You're telling your rules that the player you want to open those rules is "PowerDVD".  You want to change them from "PowerDVD" to "VideoPlayer".

Like this:

Code:

<rule filename=".*.*." player="VideoPlayer/>

But how will KODI then know that there even is a PowerDVD to open as an alternative? The way I have it now it works just like I want it to (although I guess I could actually remove the rules section altogether and it would still work..). Not trying to be difficult, just trying to learn as I go along!

Here is my playercorefactory.xml


Notice my rules use VideoPlayer and MPC-BE for defaults.  However, there are other players I can override those defaults by selecting the Play Using from the context menu.  Those are available because I've added them to the "Players" portion of the code - PowerDVD, DVDFab 3, 5, & 6, MPC-HC, and PotPlayer.

Thanks Brazen1! If I understand correctly you have 7 different external players set up, and 3 sets of rules for opening players automatically under certain circumstances, in 1 out of those 7 players, as well as the internal KODI player. So external 6 players are never automatically selected. I assume you can chose between all 7 external players manually from the context menu if you don't want to use the internal player?

Why is a rule necessary for opening something in VideoPlayer? Would that not be a default, so a lack of a rule would open the filetype in VideoPlayer anyway?


Out of interest, why so many different players? What are the qualities of those 6 other players than VideoPlayer and PowerDVD? I guess maybe 3D movies or something, but still 6

(2022-02-17, 23:56)cgroth Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks Brazen1! If I understand correctly you have 7 different external players set up, and 3 sets of rules for opening players automatically under certain circumstances, in 1 out of those 7 players, as well as the internal KODI player.

Yes and VideoPlayer (the internal native Kodi) is the 8th player.
 

(2022-02-17, 23:56)cgroth Wrote: [ -> ]So external 6 players are never automatically selected. I assume you can chose between all 7 external players manually from the context menu if you don't want to use the internal player?

Yes and VideoPlayer is also an option in the Play Using menu.  
 

(2022-02-17, 23:56)cgroth Wrote: [ -> ]Why is a rule necessary for opening something in VideoPlayer?

It's necessary for me because I want VideoPlayer to be the default player for everything in my collection that is HDR.
 

(2022-02-17, 23:56)cgroth Wrote: [ -> ]Would that not be a default, so a lack of a rule would open the filetype in VideoPlayer anyway?

No.  I have to specify a rule for it otherwise there would be a conflict with another rule(s).  For example:  If I didn't specify that filenames containing HDR in the filename were designated to VideoPlayer, than MPC-BE would assume the task because an iso, bdmv, mpls, mkv, etc. can be SDR video also and MPC-BE is ruled to be the default for those types of files.  I don't want MPC-BE to open HDR video just because it's an mkv FILETYPE.  So, I added the FILENAME rule for VideoPlayer to default for HDR video exclusively.  There are other reasons I have my rules exactly as I have them too.
 

(2022-02-17, 23:56)cgroth Wrote: [ -> ]Out of interest, why so many different players?

Because I like to adjust players for the content they will be playing.  For instance, all HDR content I want VideoPlayer to be default because I passthrough all HDR video.  There is nothing to improve 4k UHD 2160p HDR video.  It doesn't get any better than it is.  It doesn't need to be upscaled because my chain is 4k.  It doesn't need to be tone mapped because my display does an excellent job.  It doesn't need any algorithms to enhance it because there is nothing to enhance.  If I was using equipment that distorted the picture, then I would depend on band-aids to limp it along, but I'm not.  Lastly, because I passthrough, I don't tax my video card preserving the life and quality of it while at the same time lowering energy usage.  But the real reason is VideoPlayer now handles blu-ray menus.  No other player I have handles them as correctly as VideoPlayer does. 

That said, I prefer all video less than 4k (no menus, main movie only consequence) be assigned to MPC-BE because I DO want to upscale and enhance amap using LAV Filters and madVR with MPC-BE because they are very custom above VideoPlayer abilities.  I further group certain video to different profiles in madVR customizing them further which produces various enhancements for various videos producing the best quality per video group that can be mustered.

I use MPC-HC for video editing slimmed down without any bells or whistles so navigation during editing is more efficient.  It's more about timeframes than picture quality.  I make 4D windtracks which adds another layer of immersion to my theatre.  https://www.avsforum.com/threads/4d-thea...t.3152346/  MPC-HC is my go to player for editing.  Also, I don't require a wiz-bang GPU but one would be nice for editing but I will never justify the price gouging involved so I pass and 'run what I brung'.

The other players have their time and place too.  Daily driving I really only require VideoPlayer and MPC-BE.  I demand that my collection of videos be 100% automated.  Not only Kodi automated but madVR profile selection automation too.  All I require is pressing enter on any title and all the wheels turn behind the scenes just how I like it.  
 

(2022-02-17, 23:56)cgroth Wrote: [ -> ]What are the qualities of those 6 other players than VideoPlayer and PowerDVD?

Well, plenty.  Neither VideoPlayer nor PDVD are compatible with madVR for one example.  I've also noticed that some blu-rays do not play correctly in one player but do in another so it's handy to have them all at my fingertips.  As for quality, when you passthrough untouched, they all look the same.  What separates them are the capabilities, settings offered, GUI's, etc.  One may render a video picture different than another but that could be because some settings are defaulted for some players and others they're not.  When you turn off enhancements one has enabled that another doesn't, they look the same.  If you can't control these enhancements and they're hard coded, that player will continue to look different than others.

Thanks Brazen1, this was both very useful and interesting!

With so many external players, did you find a way of enabling the 'external player active' pop-up? It might seem like a small thing, but I find it quite annoying because it requiers an additional key press to get rid of, it is incorrect (since it is not visible when the external player is active, and only visible when the external player is not active), and my girlfriend finds it confusing asking me what she should do to close the external player.

I only see that pop-up using PDVD.  None of the other players trigger that and I rarely use PDVD.  It appears when PDVD starts and remains in the background while PDVD is active playing a title.  Once PDVD is closed, I press enter on the pop-up and Kodi stays in focus ready for action.  I don't see any problem confirming the pop-up.  It's just one button press.