Hello all, i just wanted to know if a 'mini' version of XBMC for video files is possible on mac (or Windows).
I'm talking about a small barebone interface like Quicktime or Media Player classic (or VLC) that can open up video files directly from the desktop and play them.
VLC always gave me problems with subtitles and many codecs, and has become too unstable to use as of late.
Heck, even VLC can't play 1080p movies on some Core Duo's like the mac mini, but XBMC can.
(they even plan to drop mac support in the next version due to lack of developers)
Is it possible to create a little side-application that uses XBMC's codecs for playing video files from the desktop?
Selecting the Video Player from XBMC and then navigation through some folders isn't as quick as a double-click.
A Leopard Quicklook plugin that uses XBMC's codecs would be even better ^_^
Yes, this would go against the Idea of a full-blown Media Center, but it could be a much better way of quick-looking at Video files on a mac/pc.
P.S.: i don't know if this was asked before, i searched the Forums for this but came up empty.
devilhunter Wrote:Hello all, i just wanted to know if a 'mini' version of XBMC for video files is possible on mac (or Windows).
I'm talking about a small barebone interface like Quicktime or Media Player classic (or VLC) that can open up video files directly from the desktop and play them.
VLC always gave me problems with subtitles and many codecs, and has become too unstable to use as of late.
Heck, even VLC can't play 1080p movies on some Core Duo's like the mac mini, but XBMC can.
(they even plan to drop mac support in the next version due to lack of developers)
Is it possible to create a little side-application that uses XBMC's codecs for playing video files from the desktop?
Selecting the Video Player from XBMC and then navigation through some folders isn't as quick as a double-click.
A Leopard Quicklook plugin that uses XBMC's codecs would be even better ^_^
Yes, this would go against the Idea of a full-blown Media Center, but it could be a much better way of quick-looking at Video files on a mac/pc.
P.S.: i don't know if this was asked before, i searched the Forums for this but came up empty.
double-click open (or drag and drop) and play is something that might be added in the future. You can make a feature request ticket for it on trac. That way it will not get lost several weeks/months down the road.
davilla Wrote:double-click open (or drag and drop) and play is something that might be added in the future. You can make a feature request ticket for it on trac. That way it will not get lost several weeks/months down the road.
davilla,
Simply for " double click open" it would be: #1. simple app/file association in OS + #2. metadata for rendering options, am I missing something?
I cant help but think we have already proposed #2 elsewhere (I'll search the TRAC shortly). Namely, metadata containers (MKV?) that encapsulate all the required settings etc to get it playing. Flip side there should be some work in other projects (Handbrake, or something simpler still as editor the likes proliferate for MP3s) to support encoding the data pockets if XBMC is not to be used for that reason (I cant think why it should be).
Soju Wrote:davilla,
Simply for " double click open" it would be: #1. simple app/file association in OS + #2. metadata for rendering options, am I missing something?
I cant help but think we have already proposed #2 elsewhere (I'll search the TRAC shortly). Namely, metadata containers (MKV?) that encapsulate all the required settings etc to get it playing. Flip side there should be some work in other projects (Handbrake, or something simpler still as editor the likes proliferate for MP3s) to support encoding the data pockets if XBMC is not to be used for that reason (I cant think why it should be).
Yes, you also need to support parsing the incoming file (AppleEvents) and route that to DVDPlayer and start playing. Non trivial and would take a week or so of development.
Using metadata from containers is unreliable, we find all sorts of bogus crap in there so scratch that. It's also unnecessary as XBMC knows what to do with video files that it understands.
I know this is an old thread, but has any progress been made in this front? Sorry if there's a more recent thread, but I'm not sure what exactly you'd call this feature, so it's difficult to find what you're looking for.
Basically XBMC beats both VLC and MPC-HC when it comes to support for different formats, and all around things just working where other players do not. Especially when it comes to WASAPI support, futzing with reclock is kind of a mess (especially when you load a clip with weird sampling rate that your audio card doesn't do, which necessitates going through the menus to disable reclock just to play that one file, and then going and turning it back on when you're done.)
I'd love a minimalist mode where you just want to quickly "double-click" play a file at your desk, and having regular XBMC launch with full libraries and everything if you do it from e.g. the start menu or eventghost.