Watching video file from URL Edit: Partially solved

[homestar3.14]

Is it possible to give Zoom Player the URL to a media file, and have it stream/load it without needing me to download the file beforehand? For example:

I want to watch all these videos https://archive.org/details/AwesomeGamesDoneQuick2014

I want to use ZP's features, so I want to get it to play this file https://ia600801.us.archive.org/23/items/AwesomeGamesDoneQuick2014/AwesomeGamesDoneQuick2014_part003_SpyroYearOfTheDragon_720p.mp4

I could use chrome to play it, but it won't look as good. I could download it ahead of time, but that takes time and HD space. If chrome can load faster than the play speed, then ZP should be able to accomplish the same, and have it look much better.

I have used some other players that can accomplish this, but can't find the option on ZP. Any help from other users or developers would be appreciated.

Edit:
I tried it again, and now it seems to be working. However if I try to add a streaming link to my playlist editor, it ends the video I am watching, clears the playlist, and then adds the link. Is there a way to make a playlist of URLs?

Edit 2:
I have been able to hack together a playlist by editing a saved playlist file in notepad, and manually entering URLs, but also I have discovered that a lot of ZP's features are unavailable while streaming. I will likely be manually downloading the files so I can take advantage of ZP's full features.

[romulous]

Hi,

I think you have discovered a bug there - the adding of a URL to the playlist should not clear the playlist as far as I know (I just tested it here, and I see the same behaviour you do). I will log that as a bug.

Manual downloading of the files would probably be the better course of action - Zoom does have some weaknesses when it comes to streaming media and certainly handles local media files better. However, what features specifically did you want to use that aren't available with streaming?

Regards,

romulous

[homestar3.14]

I'm glad I was able to point out a bug. Since I have been watching a lot of video game related videos, the main features I have been using are the high quality video filters, both for smooth motion and for high quality upscaling of pixel based game footage. Chrome, for example, "helpfully" blurs videos when zooming them in, so viewing a 320x240 source footage at my native 1920x1080 is a fuzzy, blurry mess. Better players like zoom manage to maintain the distinct edges of pixels.

I have noticed that when streaming, I lose access to the filter properties, which I assume to mean it uses a more baseline system then the MadVR that I normally use. I have not yet had the chance to do a comparison between the same file streamed and local, so If I am mistaken about that interpretation, then I don't think I have any concerns left.

[romulous]

Zoom Player has a couple of different ways it handles streaming - for some, it uses the Windows Media Player ActiveX control, and for others it uses DC-BASS (Shoutcast, Icecast). For that stream, Zoom uses the WMP ActiveX control. If you disable the following setting, it uses DirectShow, and Filter Properties becomes available:

Playback : Windows Media > Stream Windows Media content using Windows Media Player ActiveX control

If you have the 'show Smart Play errors' setting enabled, you will probably see an error at this point. Assuming you are using the default Smart Play profiles, the error relates to LAV Splitter, and is probably because it cannot handle the stream. Once you acknowledge the error, Zoom drops back to normal DirectShow mode (ie Smart Play is not used) - on my system, madVR is still used at this point, but LAV is not because a couple of Microsoft components have a higher merit.

romulous