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Watching a movie on the hard drive

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by jardinier

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I have software (Graboid Video) which allows me to search for and download movies and some TV programs. These can be viewed on VLC Media Player.

There are various versions of some of the movies, varying in size (from less than 1 GB - 4 GB) and I assume the larger files are high definition.

Well the smaller versions display quite well but there is no facility for pausing the movie at a given point so that I can resume watching it at my convenience.

Does anyone know of software for watching a movie that allows for pause and resume?

55 replies

by slayer_

Like I admit I don't use VLC, I tried it once and disliked it, for both interface and that fact that it couldn't play the videos from my digi cam. But still...

Well w/e. Try GOM player.
http://www.gomlab.com/eng/GMP_download.html

It's free and lightweight and pretty much plays every video type known to man without requiring codec downloads. And when you do finally require a codec, it has a built in search and download.

by skdtech

But I am interested in which version of VLC you tried. I didn't like 0.8.6 myself but have been very happy with it since 0.9.5.

If you are ever looking into different players I would recommend giving it another look.

by slayer_

So I assume pretty close to their latest and greatest. My folks liked GOM player though, I had forgotten I had it installed on their computer, and they were happily using it unwittingly. And they are certainly not computer literate people.

by older mycroft

Version 0.9.9. Even when running full-screen you have a set of controls at the bottom of the screen.

If you fancy something with a little more flair, try GOMplayer:

http://www.gomlab.com/eng/GMP_download.html

Have you perhaps been messing around with some of the skins for VLC - some of them remove your controls when it's in Play Mode (dunno why).

by jardinier

OK, I will obviously have to take a closer look. I have not noticed any buttons at all.

I already have GOM. A 15-year-old whiz-kid who lives in my building downloaded and installed it for me. I thought this was only for playing DVDs that are in the drive.

Obviously I will have to do a bit of experimenting.

There is no need to make any further posts until I have this thing figured out. The actual movie sits on the hard drive as a VLC file, well that's how it looks to me.

Thanks one and all.

by older mycroft

You are [i]thinking[/i] that the movie is a VLC file because it has a VLC Icon.

The VLC Icon is because you (or your computer) have chosen to ALWAYS open this filetype [.avi, .mpg, .mpeg, or whatever] with VLC. That doesn't mean you can't open/run the file with anything else.

[i]There is no such thing as a VLC filetype.[/i] ;)

by balge

hi
I'm using latest VLC release - 1.0.0 - and there's no 'pause button', just hit the 'play button' again and that pauses the video - doesn't seem to resume on re-opening though
Also I never yet came across a 'VLC file'...
cheers!

by older mycroft

I've just installed this program and it gave me a pop-up warning asking if I wanted to delete my installed version of VLC (0.9.9) before it installed version 0.8.6.

If you allowed it to overwrite your existing copy of VLC, that [i]MIGHT[/i] explain your having no pause button. ;)

by jardinier

I will have to check the version. I will report back later. Currently I am downloading "Wild In The Country" -- the only Elvis movie I know of in which he played a purely acting role without songs.

When that has finished downloading, I will examine these various suggestions. Perhaps for example I can download the newer version of VLC and let it overwrite Graboid's version.

by older mycroft

It didn't particularly impress me, for a couple of reasons:

#1 It is charging you for downloads that it clearly states it [b]DOES NOT[/b] [u][i]actually[/u][/i] [b]HOST[/b].

Graboid is simply a conduit to the standard P2P assembly that exists on the internet.

#2 Graboid states that is carries zero Malware or Spyware. However, if you read between the lines, all it is [i]actually[/i] stating is that the [u]Graboid Program[/u] doesn't contain any Malware or Spyware - it is not guaranteeing anything regarding the content of any files available for download.

#3 Using Graboid you are PAYING for the privilege to download something that is still both FREE and ILLEGAL, because you're still getting it from a P2P network - not from Graboid.

If you want to download illegal copies of movies, you might as well do it for nothing by using a torrent program like the rest of the internet fraternity.

Paying for the privilege of doing something illegal is both expensive and ludicrous.

by jardinier

Thanks for all this but it is over my head. Graboid charges me $5 for 10 GB per month. That means 50 cents per movie.

Unless you dob me in, who is going to know I am doing something illegal?

I have good malware and spyware programs so I don't regard that as an issue.

by skdtech

All it takes is graboid being brought up on charges and your information including the credit card you used to pay for the service along with your full legal name and address is now in the hands of those who would like to prosecute you.

by older mycroft

If you were to use BitTorrent, your charges would be $0.00 and there is NO LIMITATION at all.

The only limiting factor is likely to be whatever CAP your ISP places on your internet agreement.

My ISP places no CAP on my account at all.

by older mycroft

That's probably why it [i]looks[/i] like it doesn't have a Pause Button.

Kinda makes sense. ;)

by jardinier

VLC has a pause button all right, but it doesn't remember that after you exit the program. I want something that remembers where I was AFTER closing down the computer.

I have just downloaded the latest version of GOM which does not appear to have any facility for playing movies on the hard drive. It is set to play DVDs that are in the optical drive, and merely includes "scenes" so that you can resume watching the movie roughly where you left off.

What I am looking for is a program that REMEMBERS precisely where I paused, as in a normal external DVD player.

by older mycroft

If you want VLC to 'remember' what point you were at in the file - try hibernating your computer without shutting VLC.

That way the computer will resume at the point you shut it down.

As for GOMplayer not playing any movies on your hard drive, try navigating to the movie file, right click on it, and then choose 'Open With ..' and select GOMplayer. ;)

OR - open the GOMplayer Playlist (bottom right hand corner of the GOMplayer window), select 'ADD' (bottom left hand corner of the Playlist) and navigate in the pop-up window to the directory that contains all your movie files. That way GOMplayer knows where to go to find your movie files, and you can jump from one movie to another by a single click in the GOMplayer Playlist. :)

by slayer_

But I'd expect you to pay me for it! J/K.

As simple as dropping a WMP OCX control on a form, then calling the "currentposition" property and writing that property to a file.
On reload, re-read the file and reset the same property.

You could do all this in 20 lines of code or less.

If you really want this, I can try writing this when I get home (if I feel like it anyways).
But respond back if this is actually what you want first. Again, it would essentially be Windows Media Player running inside a shell.

by jardinier

But I am a complete computer novice. You would have to explain how to install the code.

by balge

well I just noticed Nero Showtime player has an option for resuming on exit, but it only seems to work when playing disks, not with files on the hard drive though...is that a hardware thing, pause/resume off DVD format but not files on hard drive...?
cheers

by older mycroft

HDD movies are in compressed format (non .VOB format) and as such, need a CODEC in order to decompress as they run. It might prove difficult to 'capture' a timecode from an uncompressed file?

Just guessing out loud. ;)

by balge

I haven't got one (don't watch TV) but do 'video recorders' with HDD's in offer pause/resume?
cheers!

by older mycroft

Thanks for that. I hadn't realised it would need to spelled out in order to be understood. ;)

by slayer_

I have noticed some MP3's that, when asked their playing location, return false values. Or more rather, they return very strange values with beginning and end relative.

So, if you got a 5 minute song.

|---|--------------|
If thats our current position, what happens in the background, it screws up its time estimates, so you get this effect.
|----|----------------|
For every 1 you advance, you get twice as long.

I am not entirely sure how modern media players cope with this, but when I try, it is freaken irritating.

by seanferd

The thing has a teeny tiny file size, and is quite slick.

(It is actually Mu (the Greek letter) torrent, but you search for it as uTorrent.

And I can't make a mu, or any other cool character, on TR any longer.

by jardinier

When I opened GOM, I was invited to install the latest version. Now it has replaced all the VLC Icons with GOM Icons which is a bit of a bummer as the VLC Icon is far more visually appealing than GOM. :)

by older mycroft

Because they'll produce an options pop-up during the install, with lots of little check-boxes, most of which are already checked.

If you are the sort of user that just accepts that the computer is your friend, and always just clicks on 'OK' to speed the install to the finish line - you are missing the chance to stop GOMplayer from hijacking your VLC icons.

Somewhere in that pop-up (where you clicked on 'OK') there was a check-box that stated:
"[u]Make GOMplayer my Default program for all video / media files[/u]" and because you clicked on 'OK' without reading it, you lost your VLC "far more visually appealing" icons.

If you want them back, you should right-click on one of the media files and select 'Open with VLC'. This should change the icons back.

by jardinier

Sorry, but I think you are wrong. I NEVER allow any program to be my "default."

However perhaps I can check the drop-down menu and see if such a thing is checked.

Incidentally these days, one has less and less control on where or how a program will install. You just have to take it on faith. I find it quite scary but this is the reality.

Some, but not all software will allow you to change the directory. Other programs just "do their thing" without giving me any choice.

by jardinier

I will take my chances.

Now if every software company whose EULA I had ignored and installed the same item on several computers were to prosecute me, THEN I would be in trouble. ]:)

by jardinier

Australia is somewhat behind the rest of the world in that department.

I pay $AU 50 per month to Optus for 6 GB Wireless broadband.

As the low resolution movies are less than 1 GB, I can download 5 per month and still have plenty of bandwidth available for other purposes. HD movies are about 4 GB.

I purchased two of these accounts, locked in for 24 months, because I grossly overestimated how much I would use. And that is precisely why I am taking this opportunity to get better value for my money.

Currently I am downloading the movies and storing them in a 100 GB partition in my laptop, which has a wide screen which displays the Cinemascope correctly.

I have just purchased a terabyte HDD for my desktop computer, so that will hold 100s of movies, or I might indulge myself with a few HD movies.

It is not that I need any of these things. I like experimenting with new software. I think that was mentioned in a recent thread in relation to the Start Menu.

by older mycroft

An old bog-standard white box, Celeron 2.6GHz with a few HDDs cobbled together ~ forms the basis of my media centre.

Showshifter is a great media centre program, catering for MP3s, video files, digital TV from aerial, and digital radio from both aerial and internet, it's got a PVR function in it where I can Pause/Resume a live broadcast. The old 19" CRT monitor fairly pumps out the video images though - other folk keep telling me how great it looks, particularly the levels of contrast.

However I could count on the fingers of one hand, the number of times I've ever bothered using the PVR function.

[i]S'pose it's a bit like only ever having a craving for something you don't have!![/i] ;)

Edit for typo.

by jardinier

It could make you famous. There is a 15-year-old Korean lad who lives in my block of apartments. He built his own computer and has copied from a friend's computer, 400 plus HD movies onto a terabyte HDD.

I am wondering what other movies to download. I have given to the lassie who manages the local Video Rental Shop, a list of Classic movies (on VHS) which I would like to acquire as they are replaced with DVDs. So I will be looking for something different.

I have a book which lists, apparently, every sci-fi movie made between 1900 and 1983.

I have downloaded one of my favourites, "Forbidden Planet." I suppose now I will have to start a new discussion asking for recommended Sc-Fi movies to download.

But for starters I might download some more Elvis movies. So far I have done: "Wild In The Country" and "Blue Hawaii."

Suggestions might as well be added to this thread.

by slayer_

I'll post it to this thread when its done.

by slayer_

http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/download/MediaWrapper/MediaWrapper.sfx.exe

Just download it, extract it to a folder, anywhere is fine. To use it, drag and drop media files onto it or associate it with files, or add it to your sendTo menu, all is good. This will only remember one position, if you play one movie with it, then another, it will not remember the first movie.

I provide no warranty on this :). I did however, provide the source code, so you can modify and recompile this if you so choose.

Also, I only tested this using WMP9, which is all I got. So I got no idea if it works properly for later versions, but if not, you should be able to just open the project, and just delete and re-add the reference, you might have to change the positioning in the form_load event.

Also, I have noticed a couple of times that it doesn't always register the position of the movie because it is taking too long to load, basically if the movie takes a long time to load up, it doesn't always resume. Let me know if this is a problem for you. It only does it too me vary rarely.

by jardinier

Are you saying that this media player does what I am looking for?

by rob miners

of different formats and it has Pause Resume. It's similar to the one from Win98.

by slayer_

As in, he pauses at time index 30, and when he resumes days later, after his computer has been shutdown/crashed/whatever, it still resumes at time index 30.

by rob miners

very much. He would probably be able to do it with PowerDVD.

by slayer_

I even intend to make it for him. I just intend to shell media player and handle the open and close events to save the current position.

by jardinier

I already have Power DVD. It does nothing of the sort. Because the young Korean boy misunderstood what I wanted, he said Power DVD would do it. As I have a Power DVD disc, I installed it but it replaced the ASUS version of DVD which was already on the ASUS laptop.

by slayer_

http://trevorsarchives.selfip.net/download/MediaWrapper/MediaWrapper.sfx.exe

Just download it, extract it to a folder, anywhere is fine. To use it, drag and drop media files onto it or associate it with files, or add it to your sendTo menu, all is good. This will only remember one position, if you play one movie with it, then another, it will not remember the first movie.

I provide no warranty on this :). I did however, provide the source code, so you can modify and recompile this if you so choose.

Also, I only tested this using WMP9, which is all I got. So I got no idea if it works properly for later versions, but if not, you should be able to just open the project, and just delete and re-add the reference, you might have to change the positioning in the form_load event.

Also, I have noticed a couple of times that it doesn't always register the position of the movie because it is taking too long to load, basically if the movie takes a long time to load up, it doesn't always resume. Let me know if this is a problem for you. It only does it too me vary rarely.

by jardinier

Unfortunately that is not an option for me. I know nothing about programming. I am quite likely the only person who regularly posts here who has never worked in IT.

But once again, thank you.

by jardinier

Using GOM I merely have to move the slider at the bottom of the screen to any position in the film.

by older mycroft

That wasn't what you originally specified.

You wanted a media program that REMEMBERED the position of the movie when you switched off.

It is not only GOMPlayer that you can use the slider with - THEY ALL CAN DO THAT. ;)

It's good you've found (realised) a suitable solution though. :D

by jardinier

At the bottom center of GOM is a small item: "Preferences." All I had to do to achieve my desired result was to check a box which says:

"Play from the latest point."

I guess none of you has ever noticed that before.

But thanks for trying. :)

by older mycroft

Just as I no longer have a collection of Vinyl or a few boxes full of Compact Cassettes.

All DVD media that I own, running somewhere into 400+ all have films stored in computer format (AVI, DIVX, MPG, MPEG, MP4).

That way I can store [i]at least[/i] 4 or 5 films per DVD.

If I had conventional DVD formatted media, I'd need a bigger flat. :)

by jardinier

It seems to have no bearing whatsoever on the question I originally asked.

But as you give statistics, are you saying that you have 400+ movies X 4 - 5 which would be close to 2,000. Is that what you are saying? You have close to 2,000 movies?

by jardinier

So are you saying that you watch complete movies in one session, or that you don't watch movies on a computer at all?

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