2016-03-10, 13:25
Any plans for the new video player architecture to support playback of two videos at the same time?
Perhaps by either by having the one VideoPlayer be able to play two different videos, or allow two (or even more) instances of the VideoPlayer core to run at the same time to that way enable Kodi to play different videos at the same time.
I think the primary reason for wanting this feature in Kodi is PiP (Picture-in-Picture) support. PiP is commonly supported by almost all modern DVR boxes these days if they have multiple TV-tuners inside them. With the GUI showing two different video streams where one smaller window is overlaying the other in only one corner of the screen. This would perhaps also be the natural progression of Kodi as a PVR frontend software to display Live TV, and preview of a new program when browsing the EPG.
Picture-by-Picture (PbP), also referred to as Picture-and-Picture (PaP/P&P), is a related Picture-in-Picture feature however instead it refers to showing two programs side-by-side on the screen, with bonus feature being that the sound from one program can be being played through the speakers, and the sound from the other program is being sent to headphones.
Blu-ray Disc (and HD DVD) specifications also included picture-in-picture support as a standard feature, this to allowing viewers to see, say, the director's comment on a film they are watching. All of the Blu-ray Disc titles in 2006 and 2007 that had a PiP track used two separate HD encodings, with one of the HD encodings including a hard-coded PiP track. Starting in 2008 Blu-ray Disc titles started being released that use one HD and one SD video track which can be combined together with a Bonus View or BD-Live player. This method uses less disc space allowing for PiP to be more easily added to a title. Several studios have released Bonus View PiP Blu-ray Disc titles in 2008 such as Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Resident Evil: Extinction, V for Vendetta, and War.
Other reasons for wanting this could be to create the opertunity for more unusual features; such as seamless or crossover playback of videos, like when for examples playing a playlist of music videos. Or perhaps playing a video game through RetroPlayer while having the a 'Let's Play' video from YouTube or fotball game (Live TV) playing windowed in a corner while gaming, PictureInPicture style.
Perhaps by either by having the one VideoPlayer be able to play two different videos, or allow two (or even more) instances of the VideoPlayer core to run at the same time to that way enable Kodi to play different videos at the same time.
I think the primary reason for wanting this feature in Kodi is PiP (Picture-in-Picture) support. PiP is commonly supported by almost all modern DVR boxes these days if they have multiple TV-tuners inside them. With the GUI showing two different video streams where one smaller window is overlaying the other in only one corner of the screen. This would perhaps also be the natural progression of Kodi as a PVR frontend software to display Live TV, and preview of a new program when browsing the EPG.
Picture-by-Picture (PbP), also referred to as Picture-and-Picture (PaP/P&P), is a related Picture-in-Picture feature however instead it refers to showing two programs side-by-side on the screen, with bonus feature being that the sound from one program can be being played through the speakers, and the sound from the other program is being sent to headphones.
Blu-ray Disc (and HD DVD) specifications also included picture-in-picture support as a standard feature, this to allowing viewers to see, say, the director's comment on a film they are watching. All of the Blu-ray Disc titles in 2006 and 2007 that had a PiP track used two separate HD encodings, with one of the HD encodings including a hard-coded PiP track. Starting in 2008 Blu-ray Disc titles started being released that use one HD and one SD video track which can be combined together with a Bonus View or BD-Live player. This method uses less disc space allowing for PiP to be more easily added to a title. Several studios have released Bonus View PiP Blu-ray Disc titles in 2008 such as Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, Resident Evil: Extinction, V for Vendetta, and War.
Other reasons for wanting this could be to create the opertunity for more unusual features; such as seamless or crossover playback of videos, like when for examples playing a playlist of music videos. Or perhaps playing a video game through RetroPlayer while having the a 'Let's Play' video from YouTube or fotball game (Live TV) playing windowed in a corner while gaming, PictureInPicture style.
