2011-03-16, 23:25
The main problem with this (as I'm sure you've discovered in your travels) is ensuring that the URLs are stable. For UPnP this is in general not the case, and I suspect for many addons it's not the case either.
Reason is that in the online world, very few URLs are stable, and hence, you often need to manufacture a "stable" URL that is basically a wrapper on a search function that finds the URL_at_time_of_play (if it exists). Essentially you need a unique identifier that you can use.
The way I see this occurring would be a way for addons to supply XBMC with said unique identifiers, and a way for XBMC then to ask the addon for the actual URL when required. It would also need to have a way of telling XBMC when those unique identifiers are no longer valid.
XBMC would then have to handle multiple identifiers for the same piece of content (as you could have multiple sources for the same episode for instance) and allow the user to choose (in addition to auto-selection based on quality or previous selection etc.)
I'm not convinced that using the existing addon API is appropriate for this, or whether it's better to define a new interface that more clearly differentiates between browsing the addon and "scanning" the addon.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Reason is that in the online world, very few URLs are stable, and hence, you often need to manufacture a "stable" URL that is basically a wrapper on a search function that finds the URL_at_time_of_play (if it exists). Essentially you need a unique identifier that you can use.
The way I see this occurring would be a way for addons to supply XBMC with said unique identifiers, and a way for XBMC then to ask the addon for the actual URL when required. It would also need to have a way of telling XBMC when those unique identifiers are no longer valid.
XBMC would then have to handle multiple identifiers for the same piece of content (as you could have multiple sources for the same episode for instance) and allow the user to choose (in addition to auto-selection based on quality or previous selection etc.)
I'm not convinced that using the existing addon API is appropriate for this, or whether it's better to define a new interface that more clearly differentiates between browsing the addon and "scanning" the addon.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Always read the XBMC online-manual, FAQ and search the forum before posting.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
Do not e-mail XBMC-Team members directly asking for support. Read/follow the forum rules.
For troubleshooting and bug reporting please make sure you read this first.
