Standalone chapter points or "video bookmarking"--how to? [SOLVE

[majin_buu]

You know DVD chapter points? I'd like to have the convenience and utility of those only without actually making a DVD. I'd like to use my video player as a "web browser" for any particular video file and "bookmark" certain points along the way so that I can skip directly to that point, set it to repeat, and so on--functioning as a DVD chapter point.

Even just the ability to bookmark two points and repeat the video between them would be helpful. You can do this in video and audio editing programs, but I'm not aware of a player. Ideally, I would like to set dozens of points--or dozens of pairs of points. I also want to save the points as a separate file so that I can access them later.

The program to do this could interface with another software, like Windows Media Player, to skip the video directly to a certain time when I push a button; or it could be a video player itself. The important thing is to add the functionality of DVD chapter points to a regular .avi or .wmv. or .mpg--any video file.

I've looked on Google for this; but "video bookmarking" is a trend now with sites like YouTube and Google Video, so I'm getting too many results to make any sense. Maybe there's another term I should look for. Or maybe nothing like this exists.

I've also considered that I could author a DVD and share only the chapters/menus with my friends, so it would be just a small email attachment. The problem with that is they would have to reencode the video and make a DVD. It would be much better if I could just share custom chapter points without any need of a DVD.

Does anything like this exist?

Where can I download it?

If nothing like this exists, what is the next best thing?

[guns1inger]

Both Media Player Classic and VLC have a concept of bookmarks, as do many software DVD players. I haven't really looked into the functionality much, but it may give you a place to start.

[majin_buu]

Thanks. Judging by all the requests for additions to this feature on the VLC forum, it looks like I'm wanting something that's only just starting to be implemented.

Maybe there's a SourceForge project that hasn't been released yet?

Also, does anyone know about those software DVD players?

To save bookmarks in VLC:

1. Settings > Bookmarks to open the bookmarks window.
2. In the bookmarks window, click "add bookmark" when at the point you want a bookmark.
3. In the bookmarks windows, highlight the new bookmark and click "edit" to rename it.
4. Continue for remaining bookmarks.
5. Select View > Playlist to open playlist window.
6. In the playlist window, select Manage > Save Playlist.

Opening your video file will not open the corresponding bookmarks. Instead open the newly saved playlist. This .m3u file can be shared with others so that they can use your bookmarks. Very useful for instructional videos or "highlights" reels.

Note that the bookmarks are not counted as separate playlist items, so you can't skip between them using the "next" and "previous" hotkeys; nor can you set them to repeat. You must open the bookmarks window and double-click the bookmark.

Also note: You may need to edit the .m3u file in Notepad, if you and your friends keep the corresponding video file in different locations or under different names. The format is simple and clear, so this may be an easy way to "import" chapter points set during DVD authoring--just copy over the names and times.

I have found that the "bytes" information is not needed, so you can just copy over the name and time. Will this have consequences later? I don't know. But you can easily pause the video, open the first bookmark, note that the time is correct, and click "add bookmark". Repeat this with all remaining bookmarks--you now have a new copy of the bookmarks, this time with correct "byte" information included. (You will also need to rename the new bookmarks and delete the old ones.)

Or vice-versa: You might set bookmarks in VLC and import those names/times (manually) when authoring a DVD.

[majin_buu]

I've moved on from VLC to BS Player for bookmarking. The interface is much easier to navigate, and the saved bookmark files are much simpler to edit.