DVD/Bluray ISO Chapter -> Episode Linking
#1
This may end up being migrated to be a feature request, but I am trying to clarify that there isn't a way to accomplish this behavior currently first.

The issue I am trying to solve has been brought up several times over the years, but the gist of it is this:

- DVD/Bluray's to ISO files where single ISO's may often contain multiple episodes of TV Shows/Special Features or otherwise map to separate distinct entries in the library
+ Kodi supports this currently with the concept of episode bookmarks, however there are a few downsides to this usage (from most to least relevant to me)
  1. Individual video segments/episodes are not clipped to their boundaries, so will keep playing until the end of the title where the episode bookmark resides (which is usually the remainder of the episodes on the disc if not starting from the last). This prevents any sort of playlist functionality, since if I want to play a shuffled or queued list, it will be playing all episodes within a title from that point, and not skip to the next when the episode is over
  2. Setting each individual episode bookmark can be cumbersome and time consuming
  3. Resume points are not tracked for each episode on a multi-episode ISO, and playing the next episode after watching another on the same disc first prompts to resume from the last played point (which is a different episode)
  4. Watching any episode on a multi-episode ISO causes all episodes to be toggled as watched

Much of the above is noted in the Wiki, and I'm not intending to say these are bugs, just a less than optimal implementation for my use cases. I am also aware that many at this point would suggest encoding to split MKV files or something similar, which I may end up doing down the road, but I have my entire collection of DVDs/Blurays ripped to my home server as ISOs, and have used it this way for years without issue, aside from the above mentioned cases.

My question is, is there a way to reference video files in the library by pointing to a DVD or Bluray title/chapter? This would solve the first main issue, and possible the 3rd and 4th in the list, depending on how watch tracking is implemented.

I found this pull request ( https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/pull/1736 ), but it wasn't accepted and merged. It was back in 2012, but it looks like it contains exactly what I am looking for, however, in the discussion of the pull request, there are references to using Bluray URL paths to accomplish the same, but I can't find any documentation on it. When I dig into my shared MySQL database used for Kodi, I do see some entries in the path table that look like this for some of my bluray ISO's:

bluray://udf%3a%2f%2fS%253a%255cMedia%255cVideo%255cGame%2520of%2520Thrones%255cSeason%25204%255cGame_of_Thrones.s04e01-02.iso%2f/BDMV/PLAYLIST/

So I'm assuming some url logic must be used there - is it possible to utilize this to point to a specific title or chapter using Kodi's current code?

Using titles/chapters for ISOs would also open up the possibility of solving point #3, as it would facilitate the possibility of using a public chapter repository (if one were to be created in the future - along the lines of this thread discussion: http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=229027)

I wanted to check if there is any functionality that would meet my requirements, and also check if there is something like this in the works. If not, I could look into possibly implementing it, and creating a PR for it if there is any interest in it. However, that's a big if currently; I am an experienced software developer, but am short on time and unmanaged code isn't my forte.

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance
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#2
After re-reading that pull request referenced above, and their reference of streams, I did find a solution for Blurays at least (don't know if it will work for DVDs yet, I am not sure if there is a url convention for DVDs implemented)

- To add an individual episode of an episode/feature within an ISO, create a .strm file (http://kodi.wiki/view/Internet_video_and_audio_streams), pointing to the correct Bluray .mpls file. For example:

Filename: Game_of_Thrones.s04e09.strm (is parsed correctly to the library)
File content: bluray://udf%3a%2f%2fS%253a%255cMedia%255cVideo%255cGame%2520of%2520Thrones%255cSeason%25204%255cGame_of_Thrones.s04e09-10.iso%2f/BDMV/00808.mpls

This then plays correctly from the ISO as intended, and I am thinking I can do the same to index and point to individual special features as well. What doesn't appear to be working with this method is the marking as watched and resume support, but I can live with that I believe. The only other modification I would need is to implement some sort of regex exclusion to not index the ISOs, as the strm files replaces them as the indexed library files.
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#3
Moved to OS independent as discussions isn't for this sort of thing.

If you do decide to make it a feature request, let me know here and I'll move it to there instead.
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#4
The trouble with this .strm method is that the information with the show and episode title and thumbnail etc. are missing:

Image

What has been working for me is if I duplicate the .mpls file and and rename it to include the season and episode number and set kodi to scan for .mpls files in that format:

Image

Is there a way to get Kodi to pull in the show and episode title and thumbnail etc for .strm files?

Also, can other media players play .strm files? I tried with mpc and vlc and potplayer with no result. Is there a format similar to .strm that has universal playback with Kodi and other media players?
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#5
Yeah, I noticed the same. The media information isn't getting pulled as you stated. However, I am not able to rename the .mpls file, as I am using ISOs.

This seems like it might be a good place for an extension point - I wonder if I could modify the .strm behavior to carry over the scrapped information from the .strm filename itself (as it appears in the library). If I could implement that, and the watched tracking/resume point, it would cover everything I need.
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#6
I'm developing a new addon, bluray iso utils. Maybe this could help...
Add-on : Bluray iso utils Rewrite of BR_iso_enhancements
Add-on : BR_iso_Enhancements Give theatrical & directors cut from the same bluray iso each their own library entry, use bluray iso's of tv shows as if they are already ripped.
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