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Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - Printable Version

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Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - NaturalBornCamp - 2022-01-10

Anyone knows if there's a way to have multiple paths for the same video file?

For example the movie Ant-Man could have these sources:
-smb://AX86U/Movies/Ant-Man (2015).mkv    <- Samba share
-X:/Movies/Ant-Man (2015).mkv         <- External HDD

So it would use the file from my samba share if available, then try the external HDD if the first source is unavailable.
This would permit to watch that movie using the file on the HDD plugged in my router when I'm home, as well as watch it if I unplugged my HDD and brought it on a business trip to watch on my laptop for example.

NOTE: Not posted in support because I'm just wondering if it's possible in some obscure way or if an addon I didn't know about already does something similar.


RE: Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - DarrenHill - 2022-01-10

No, it's not possible.

If all the sources were set up and available, then the movie would be scraped twice as separate movies.

The only way to do something like this (separate set-ups for local and networked sources) would be two profiles, one for each scenario with only their relevant source available.


RE: Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - NaturalBornCamp - 2022-01-10

Hmm.. I thought about something like using different profiles. I didn't even know if it existed but I had planned on searching this as a backup option. Thanks for your suggestion still!

Only downside is that profiles won't be synced (watched movies, ratings, etc) but I guess that's the only option.


RE: Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - ponkotsu - 2022-01-10

Would path substitution work in this case? If the main source is the Samba share, then when you're on a business trip enable the path substitution so that it replaces smb://AX86U/ with X:/ for example. Once you're home again, remove the path substitution entry from advancedsettings.


RE: Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - NaturalBornCamp - 2022-01-11

Wow friend... that idea is genius and would have been a really nice workaround! It could have done everything I needed with minimal scripting!

However it seems like it's broken for "sources" as per the wiki so it wouldn't work


RE: Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - DarrenHill - 2022-01-11

Such an implementation would be rather "delicate" I think.

It might work to some degree, but would be all too easy to break. That's at least in part why it's not supported for sources.


RE: Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - ponkotsu - 2022-01-11

(2022-01-11, 05:08)NaturalBornCamp Wrote: However it seems like it's broken for "sources" as per the wiki so it wouldn't work

Oops! I should really learn to read more thoroughly. Thanks for pointing that out! Smile

If your home internet's upstream is fast enough, you could try running a wireguard tunnel from your laptop while you're at the hotel?

But yah, DarrenHill's recommendation is the surefire way to get this done.


Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - f1vefour - 2022-01-13

Wireguard works great with Kodi, I spent two months out of town and had a wireguard tunnel setup which allowed me to scrape my home NFS server on a device I purchased while out of town.l and was able to watch all my content.

This is of course assuming your WAN upload can handle the bitrate of the files you will be watching remotely.


RE: Multiple alternate sources for the same movie? - NaturalBornCamp - 2022-04-13

Thanks for all your help! Unfrotunately could not find the perfect solution so I moved away from Kodi after 10+ years and will be using Jellyfin. It was a difficult decision since I've been on Kodi since the first versions of XBMC. I will miss you Kodi!