Video playback
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Template:XBMC wiki toc Inline Videos is the component of XBMC that handles videos. To access Videos, select it from the Home screen. The pictures shown here on this page will differ from the ones you see at your own XBMC, depending on the content and features you use. Some of the key features of Videos are:
Videos Key Features
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Using Videos
You will find the interface of Videos as easy to operate as the rest of XBMC.
OSD (On Screen Display)
When playing a video full screen press M (or the equivalent using a remote control) to bring up the OSD.
The Buttons on the OSD are as follows (from left to right):
- Previous
- Rewind
- Pause
- Stop
- Fast Forward
- Next
- Subtitles
- OSD Video Settings
- OSD Audio and Subtitle Settings
- Bookmarks
- DVD
OSD Audio and Subtitle Settings
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OSD Video Settings
The Video Settings are divided into two pages.
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- View Mode
- Allows you to choose how the video is displayed. The options are:
- Normal - Movie is displayed so that at least 1 dimension fills the screen. No cropping will occur. Aspect ratio is unaffected.
- Zoom - Movie is zoomed in, and the movie cropped so that there are no black bars on screen. Aspect ratio is unaffected.
- Stretch 4x3 - Movie is stretched to fill a 4x3 frame. Aspect ratio is changed.
- Stretch 14x9 - Movie is stretched to fill a 14x9 frame. Aspect ratio is changed.
- Stretch 16x9 - Movie is stretched to fill a 16x9 frame. Aspect ratio is changed.
- Original Size - Movie is displayed so that the height (in pixels) displayed is the height of the movie exactly. No zooming is performed. Aspect ratio is unaffected.
- Custom - Movie is displayed using the Zoom and Pixel Ratio settings as defined in the video On Screen Display. See below for more details.
- Zoom Amount
- Allows you to control how much that the view is zoomed into the video.
- Pixel Ratio
- Allows you to adjust the pixel ratio that the video is displayed at. This can be used to adjust videos that are not displaying at the proper aspect ratio.
- Brightness
- Contrast
- Set as default for all movies
- Selecting this will make the current settings the default
- Video Calibration
- Opens the Video Calibration Window
Video Bookmarks
This feature allows you to create bookmarks within your videos in order to be able to return to a certain point in them. This could be compared to chapters in DVD videos. In order to create them, go to the point in your video that you wish to bookmark, select the button with the folded paper (from the Videos OSD), and select Create Bookmark. To jump to a previously stored bookmark, simply highlight and select it through the Videos OSD. |
Sources for Videos
Sources are an important aspect of Videos. They allow you to easily access your videos locally or from anywhere on your network.
XBMC gives you the ability to link to media sources that are for example:
- On your computer (on a local network) or a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device/system, which supports SMB sharing
- Stored directly on the device you run XBMC on.
- On CDs/DVDs in the optical drive or even mounted on a CD/DVD drive on another computer and than streamed over your network
- Streamed from the Internet
Note: For information on how to add media sources, see article, Adding Media Sources.
Note: For information on how to configure remote file shares, see Advanced Topics/Sharing Media From Your PC.
Note: For a complete list of available sources see main article Types of Media Sources.
Thumbnails
See main article: Thumbnails
There are a number of ways to get thumbnails to display in Videos. Examples: Movies\path\moviename.avi Movies\path\moviename.tbn
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Movies\path\videoplaylistname.pls Movies\path\videoplaylistname.tbn Movies\path\videostreamname.strm Movies\path\videostreamname.tbn
If you store each of your movies in a separate subfolder to keep things organized, you can also make the movie folder have a custom thumbnail image. To do this you either need to save your .JPG/.PNG thumbnail as folder.jpg and place it in your movie folder, or you can save it as <foldername>.tbn and place it inside the same folder where your folder is located (XBMC first checks for <foldername>.tbn before checking for folder.jpg).
Example:
Movies\path\moviename\folder.jpg
or
Movies\path\foldername\ Movies\path\foldername.tbn
Now your movie folder will have a lovely custom thumbnail image icon.
Subtitles
XBMC supports both stand-alone subtitle files, as well as some subtitles that are embedded into the video-file (as is the case when watching DVD-Video movies). Embedded VobSub subtitles, also known as DirectVobSub, inside AVI, OGM, MKV, or MP4 are however not supported yet.
By default subtitles are turned on, and can be turned ON/OFF manually from the On Screen Display (OSD).
There is no global ON/OFF setting for subtitles, as this setting is stored on a per-video basis, but you can quickly set the setting on all videos by manually changing it using the OSD, then hitting "Set as default for all movies".
Note that this will save *all* settings from this page as the default for all movies, not just the subtitle option.
Note: External stand-alone subtitle files are not yet supported for DVD-Video movies.
To use stand-alone subtitle files with video files, put them in the same folder as the video file or alternatively go to the Subtitles Settings and set a Custom Subtitle Directory. You can also choose to manually browse for the subtitle file via the OSD (On Screen Display) Audio and Subtitle Settings. You can configure the way that they are displayed through the Subtitles Settings, and you can adjust where they are displayed onscreen through the Video Calibration Screen.
The subtitle and video files must have the same name, for example:
Video File: The Matrix.avi Subtitle: The Matrix.srt
Supported Subtitle Formats
- AQT, JSS, MicroDVD, MPL, RT, SMI, SRT, SUB, TXT and VobSub (idx + sub), VPlayer subtitle formats.
- There is partial support for SSA and ASS formats. See more here.
It is also possible to use flipped (bi-directional) subtitles. This means that the subtitles will be displayed from right to left instead of left to right. To enable this Enable Flipping Bi-Direction Strings in Subtitles Settings. This option is used for subtitles in Semic languages (Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi..., etc.).
Compressed Subtitles
XBMC also supports compressed VobSub subtitles. Please note that the subtitles inside the RAR archive still need to have the same name as the video file.
Video File: The Matrix.avi Subtitle: The Matrix.rar
Where The Matrix.rar containins the VobSub-file The Matrix.sub and the The Matrix.idx VobSub index-file that has been compressed with RAR. If you want XBMC to automatically turn on packed subtitles, you have to turn on the Search for Subtitles in RARs option in Subtitles Settings.
Using Multi Language Subtitles
XBMC supports the use of more than one external subtitle. This of course is most useful when you have more than one subtitle file, (eg. for more than language).
To use this functionality you need to rename the video file and subtitle files as follows:
Video File: The Matrix.avi Subtitle 1: The Matrix.English.srt Subtitle 2: The Matrix.French.srt Subtitle 3: The Matrix.German.srt
The dot after the filename but before the extension specifies the language (you can use anything here, mix numbers and and letters or just use one or the other).
You can even mix subtitle formats, eg:
Video File: Movie Name (2006).avi Subtitle 1: Movie Name (2006).Chinese.idx Subtitle 1: Movie Name (2006).Chinese.sub Subtitle 2: Movie Name (2006).Japanese.idx Subtitle 2: Movie Name (2006).Japanese.sub Subtitle 3: Movie Name (2006).English.srt Subtitle 4: Movie Name (2006).French.smi Subtitle 5: Movie Name (2006).German.ssa
Adjusting Subtitles Position
The position of the subtitles can be adjusted vertically (but not horizontally) in the Video Calibration screen, you can also configure the way that they are displayed though the Subtitles Settings.
Note: This does not apply to DVD subtitles as the DVD itself defines their location.
Changing Subtitle Settings During Playback
Various subtitle settings can be changed or they turned On/Off via the OSD (On Screen Display) while watching a movie.