OpenVideo

Open Video dialog hints

1. File type dropdown: with it you restrict visibility to certain file extensions but also disable automatic driver selection and force associated driver. For example, "Matroska files" is associated with fcchandler mkv driver.
2. Driver override dropdown: use it to control automatic driver selection. When multiple choices are present, you can change preferred one and it will be remembered.
3. Detected file type (used as key for driver override) and also some short details (currently only for AVI files).
4. Selection override:
   Single file = open just the selected file (no matter if it is part of image sequence or has linked segments)
   Linked segments (default) = open normally, also append linked segments if any
   Sequence = open normally, also append any sequentially numbered videos (has no effect for image sequence)

[Mario Rohkrämer]

Which formats support "linked segments", is that an MKV specific feature?

And a VTS of a DVD Video (assuming simplified structure like re-authored with DVD Shrink) would be an example to use "Sequence", opening the VTS_?_1.VOB as first file?

[Anton Shekhovtsov]

Note: this is by most part new UI for old feature.
In original VD there was a checkbox "Automatically load linked segments" in Open dialog and "Autodetect additiolal segments by filename" in Append dialog.
This meant different things and was quite disappointing, because often I wanted to Open with kind of "autodetect by filename.." rule.

So "Autodetect additiolal segments by filename" became the "Sequence" option. Only the last number in filename is detected as incrementing, so I think VTS_?_1.VOB example won't work.

"Linked segments" is very VD specific as far as I know. They are created in capture mode and it only works with AVI files.

[Mario Rohkrämer]

I think you misunderstood my "VTS_?_1.VOB" sample. '?' was supposed to mean "any VTS number, but always the same", not a filename wildcard to build the sequence here. The main movie of a DVD does not always have to be contained in VTS 1, it could as well be VTS 2. So in that case, you'd open VTS_2_1.VOB, and in "Sequence" mode, it would add VTS_2_2.VOB, VTS_2_3.VOB, etc. on its own, but not VTS_3_1.VOB.

A pity I can't disable markdown formatting, it interferes with the filename pattern (italics enclosed in underbars). If I used bold formatting to highlight some parts, it would mess up the rest.

[Anton Shekhovtsov]

In that case yes, it should open as sequence.

[Anton Shekhovtsov]

However, MPEG-2 driver (MPEG2.vdplugin) does not support appending files at all.
It may work if you select "caching input driver", but it may not see full content of VOB (I dont know much of its structure).

[Mario Rohkrämer]

VOB is in general not a simple container for one linear clip. It is a result of an authoring process for possibly interactive content selection, so it may be complex. Thus, in general, you should not try to read VOB segments without knowing how to interpret the matching IFO and the contained logical structures like Program Chains (PGC).

Only in simplified cases (DVD Shrink re-author, or IFOEdit simple author, or a PCG extraction like rippers do in Movie/IFO mode), the result is simple enough to be most probably linear, just a ProgramStream with DVD private extensions (for audio streams not specified by the MPEG).