MPlayer FAQ

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Revision as of 16:56, 23 February 2007 by Gouchi (talk | contribs) (→‎General Questions: add option *-quiet)
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This page will attempt to list all of the frequent questions we get in the #mplayer irc channel on irc.freenode.net.


Official MPlayer Frequently asked Questions: http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/HTML/en/faq.html


MPlayer FAQ by relaxed: http://johnvansickle.com/faq


Feel free to add your questions/answers here, and include important error messages.


Please try to get the latest version of mplayer. a lot of the times, a problem is fixed already. problems sometimes occur when the file you are playing is newer than your mplayer version :)


MPlayer information

where is mplayer's config?

  • usually in ~/.mplayer/config
  • on windows its in the mplayer directory where mplayer.exe is. for example c:\mplayer\mplayer.exe the config is c:\mplayer\mplayer\config
    • input.conf, codecs.conf, mencoder.conf and gui.conf can go there as well.
  • you can find where mplayer looks by using mplayer -v somefile


my docs/man does not have the feature you are talking about!


the video filters (-vf) can be used with mplayer and mencoder. currently -vf ass/-ass does not work with mencoder.


switches can be put into the config. -fs becomes fs=yes or fs=1 or fs=ja (or a few more different ways to say yes/no) -nodouble becomes nodouble=yes


options have the 'no' prefix, to disable defaults or configs. -fs/-nofs -double/-nodouble -framedrop/-noframedrop


gmplayer will not let you change gui.conf while it is running. close gmplayer first, then change gui.conf


when will you release the NEXT VERSION of mplayer? when the svn is stable and the mplayer team gets some time to build the package.


if you do not like using email to report bugs to mplayer-users@mplayerhq.hu mailing list, you can report bugs to http://bugzilla.mplayerhq.hu

Questions from #mplayer channel:

Subtitle/OSD

how do i increase the subtitle font size? / Hi, im using a Mplayer windows gui. is there a way to make subtitles smaller? mpui its named

  • subfont-text-scale=3 in config or mplayer -subfont-text-scale 3 file


none of the "freetype" commands in man work when i attempt to use -subfont-autoscale or -subfont-text-scale it says "unknown option on the command line" or Cannot load bitmap font: /usr/share/fonts/truetype/truetype/msttcorefonts/Arial.ttf

  • install freetype/truetype and recompile mplayer


i recompiled mplayer and now it doesn't complain about -subfont-autoscale or -subfont-text-scale unfortunately, they don't do anything

  • symlink any ttf font to ~/.mplayer/subfont.ttf or
  • specify a font, mplayer -font /dir/somefont.ttf -subfont-text-scale 3 file.avi


is it normal that a subtitle disappear after 7 seconds, not at the end of the time specified in the subtitle file ? or help! some subtitles are missing

  • try -overlapsub or -nooverlapsub


how do i expand the "area" so that the subtitles are lower on the screen/ put the subs in the black bars

  • mplayer -vf expand=:-100::2


how do i view romanian subtitles?

  • -subcp cp1250


General Questions

Hi, My cpu is too slow, help!

  • for mpeg1/2 or mpeg4 try adding -nodouble or mplayer -lavdopts lowres=1 -vfm ffmpeg will use half-res decoding to speed things up as well.
  • for H264 try mplayer -lavdopts skiploopfilter=all file.mkv
  • above might cause artefacts like sudden color changes, in this case try e.g. "nonref" instead of "all"
  • if using -vo gl: use -vo gl:yuv=2 or similar. For high FPS video (> 50 Hz) also try -vo gl:swapinterval=0 since the default limits FPS to well below monitor refresh.


Hi folks, is there a way to "tell" mplayer (not gmplayer) not to exit when a file has been played and then wait for some new input? via a fifo or whatever


Anyway to dump a dvd audio stream really fast?

  • mplayer -dumpaudio dvd:// -speed 90 -vc null -vo null -benchmark


i have a corrupt file that mplayer plays, how do i get a new "clean" version of the audio?

  • mplayer file -ao pcm


i have a widescreen lcd monitor and everything is stretched, help!

  • use -monitoraspect 16:10 or -monitorpixelaspect 1.125


how do I set the video window to double size when running mplayer from command line? cannot find it in man file...

  • mplayer -xy 2


How to set video as wallpaper ?

  • mplayer -rootwin yourmovie (Only works with the x11, xv, xmga, xvidix, quartz, macosx and directx video output drivers.)
  • Gnome : gconftool-2 -s /apps/nautilus/preferences/show_desktop -t bool false (to disable background)


why can`t I make bigger the displayed image whit my mplayer? my image is small and black border / frame around tiny video, what gives?

  • mplayer -zoom or zoom=1 in config
  • but first try setting mplayer -vo xv or vo=xv in config


i get errors playing h264 like these [h264 @ 0xd96950]concealing 1840 DC, 1840 AC, 1840 MV errors or Error while decoding frame! what gives?

  • check your config and options for 'framedrop' and disable/turn it off. try also -noframedrop
  • its possible your file is incomplete, try md5sum against the original or rehash it using your torrent program.


i want a concise comparison of the various video outputs - say, their scores on performance measures - to help choose between em.

  • different vo's are faster/slower on different pc, drivers and video cards, its almost impossible to tell whats fastest for everyone.
  • use mplayer -nosound -benchmark file -vo (vohere) to test your video output speed
  • vo's with hardware accelerated output (like xv, vidix, directx, macosx/quartz) will usually be faster than vesa, fb, gl/gl2. but not always.


whats the best deinterlacing filter?


i want to seek in avi while they are downloading but -forceidx is too slow.

  • use mplayer -demuxer lavf to seek in broken/incomplete avi.


this error when trying to play an audio stream: Win32 LoadLibrary failed to load: avisynth.dll . Is this DLL only available from a licensed windows install?

  • the file is most likely a playlist
  • try mplayer -playlist http://blah
  • also try wget it to make sure its audio and not some html page.


I want to play a DVD that's already on my hard drive with gmplayer.

  • gmplayer dvd:// -dvd-device /dir/vobfiless/


how do i position mplayer window, aka how do i make mplayer start in the same spot every time?

  • see -geometry


how do i extract frames from videos? how do i make thumbnails from videos? how do i make a gallery of images from a movie?

  • mplayer -vo jpeg -sstep 30 -frames 10 yourfile
  • add -vf scale=320:240 if you want smaller image size...
  • use -vf framestep if sstep does not work on your source.


I'm having trouble viewing the Guadec 2006 talks, in Ogg Theora format, in mplayer. Anyone try these before? My error seems to be [theora @ 0x89ccef8]Missing extradata!Could not open codec.VDecoder init failed

  • use -demuxer lavf if you dont have mplayer compiled with libtheora
  • maybe also try -correct-pts


i cant play some rtsp://mov urls. but vlc can!

  • you might be behind a firewall where rtsp over udp does not work. use -rtsp-stream-over-tcp


how to play raw ac3 files?

  • mplayer -demuxer rawaudio -rawaudio format=0x2000 file.ac3
  • format=0x2001 for dts
  • check codecs.conf for format= entries

all my files with AC3 audio are too quiet! i cant hear anything! how do i make it louder?

  • mplayer -af volume=10 will add 10 db.
  • see also -af volnorm

Is there a way to get mplayer not being to much verbose ?

  • mplayer -quiet
  • mplayer -really-quiet

Non-mplayer problems

i want to distribute the win32 codecs, is it legal for me to do so?

  • yes
  • no
  • depends on your country :)
  • See Mike Melanson's answer to this question
  • Unless Microsoft explicitly gives you permission within the End-User License Agreement (EULA) or License Terms that accompany the Products and Services and/or in the guidelines below, you may not copy, modify, distribute, display, license, or sell any Products and Services or components contained in them. from Microsoft Permissions.
  • Microsoft grants you the right to reproduce, install and use a reasonable number of copies of the Client OS Components on computers at your premises that are each running a validly licensed copy of the Client OS Software. from the eula.txt inside one of the codec downloads at microsoft's site.
  • the mpeg4 license for ms codecs is for individuals only:
  • USE OF THIS PRODUCT IN ANY MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH THE MPEG 4 VISUAL STANDARD IS PROHIBITED, EXCEPT FOR USE DIRECTLY RELATED TO (A) DATA OR INFORMATION (i) GENERATED BY AND OBTAINED WITHOUT CHARGE FROM A CONSUMER NOT THEREBY ENGAGED IN A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE, AND (ii) FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY; AND (B) OTHER USES SPECIFICALLY AND SEPARATELY LICENSED BY MPEG LA, L.L.C.


help! when i play a file over the network i get desync and cpu is at 100%, but if i play it locally its fine!

  • are you using a ne2000 clone NIC? (Realtek cards like RTL8019 or 8029 or 8039). they use some cpu when transferring data.
  • check the ethernet howto for tips and try to decrease your tcp window size.


How to include mplayer in a java application or program or library?


having adjusted the hue/contrast previously, what's an easy way to set them all back to neutral?


i get a 'process input error' with some wmv files and mplayer plays all blocks.

  • its probably a drm protected file
  • run strings -n19 yourfile.wmv and if a url comes out, its drm.
  • if you can play the file on windows you can remove the drm using fairuse4wm (FU4WM) or drmcreep or automateundrm or sidda or drmdbg or drm2wmv.


i want to play and record tv video at the same time with mencoder. OR how do i pipe mplayer/mencoder output to stdout?

  • mplayer devs reccomend using mkfifo (named pipe) instead of stdout.
  • mencoder tv:// -tv driver=v4l:width=324:height=248:outfmt=rgb24:device=/dev/video0:adevice=hw.1,0 -oac mp3lame -lameopts cbr:br=128 -flip -ovc lavc -lavcopts threads=2 -o >( tee filename.avi | mplayer -)


how can i play movie in rar?

  • unrar p -inul movie.part01.rar |mplayer -noidx -


i want to get images from videos by frame number or frame range, not by time.

  • transcode -c 0-100 will encode 100 frames starting at frame 0 up to frame 99

Build questions/crashes

anyone know how to play mp4 files with sound? i can only see video but no audio

  • check mplayer output for helpful messages.
  • Requested audio codec family [faad] (afm=faad) not available. Enable it at compilation.
  • your mplayer was not compiled with faad support. recompile it after installing libfaad package.


Hi, playing a 3GP file, I get "Cannot find codec 'amr_nb' in libavcodec". How can I solve this please


help i get this crash X11 error: BadAlloc (insufficient resources for operation)?,?% 0 0 MPlayer interrupted by signal 6 in module: vo_check_events or this error "X11 error: BadAccess (attempt to access private resource denied)" using an intel card

  • add Option "LinearAlloc" "8192" to xorg.conf and restart X


How to setup XvMC ?

  • Get xmvc dev lib (libxvmc-dev) and compile MPlayer with --enable-xvmc
  • Point /etc/X11/XvMCConfig to your /lib/libXvMCNVIDIA.so.* , for example : echo "libXvMCNVIDIA.so.1.0.9742" > /etc/X11/XvMCConfig
  • mplayer -vc ffmpeg12mc -vo xvmc yourmovie.mpeg2
  • NB : works only with mpeg2 and mpeg.


i get this error when playing files, whats up? Opening audio decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg/libavcodec audio decoders Compiler did not align stack variables. Libavcodec has been miscompiled and may be very slow or crash. This is not a bug in libavcodec, but in the compiler. Do not report crashes to FFmpeg developers.


mplayer saya: error opening/initializing selected video_out device and -vo x11 does not help!

  • run mplayer -vo help and see if x11 is listed
  • use a different mplayer package if its not listed
  • recompile mplayer after getting hte x11-devel or libxv or x11 header files.


Mencoder questions

i try to add subtitles to my video with mencoder but nothing happens, here is my mencoder command : mencoder file.avi -sub file.srt -oac copy -ovc copy.

  • you cant use -sub or -vf with -ovc copy, try -ovc lavc instead


why is encoded video always at a lower bitrate than specified?

  • try using vqmin lavc option
  • it may mean that the encoder is using all possible bits to encode the video and it's not possible to go any higher


Hi, I am looking for a way to automatically convert ogg to mp3 I must give a directory and have everything in converted is it possible to achievve such a thing with mplayer ?

  • use aconvert found in mplayer source TOOLS/aconvert .


i'm converting some video and i get bad desynch!

  • try adding -noskip and/or -mc 0
  • also look at -vf harddup


i cant encode ssa subtitles with mencoder with styles?

  • -ass does not work with mencoder yet.
  • First terminal: mkfifo stream.yuv ; mplayer -vf expand=:-60::2 -ao pcm foo.avi -ass -sub subtitles.ssa -vo yuv4mpeg
  • Second terminal: mencoder stream.yuv -o bar.avi -ovc lavc -audiofile audiofile.wav -oac mp3lame -lameopts cbr:br=128
    • the stream.yuv fifo is the file mplayer default outputs -vo yuv4mpeg to, so dont change this!
    • this technique also works for encoding vobsubs


how do i record video from my webcam?

  • mencoder tv:// -tv driver=v4l2:width=640:height=480:fps=90:device=/dev/v4l/video0 -nosound -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mjpeg -o cooking.avi

Streaming Questions

help i cant access azntv.com nsv streams!

  • the server only allows winamp user agent
  • -user-agent "Winamp NSV Player/5.12 (ultravox/2.0)"


rtsp:// rm streams are soooo slow! even with -dumpstream!

  • -bandwidth 1000000

Encoding to PSP/iPod/Other Devices

  1. -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=aac produces better streams for embedded devices than -oac faac
  2. or using ffmpeg


how do i make videos for my ipod? or other video device?

MEncoder PSP AVC profile (put in ~/.mplayer/mencoder.conf ) by predatorfreak :

[psp]
profile-desc="PSP AVC encoding profile."
vf=hqdn3d,scale=368:208
af=lavcresample=48000
ofps=30000/1001
ovc=lavc=1
oac=lavc=1
lavcopts=aglobal=1:vglobal=1:vcodec=h264:acodec=aac:vbitrate=320:abitrate=97:coder=1
of=lavf=1
lavfopts=format=psp:i_certify_that_my_video_stream_does_not_use_b_frames=1


  • for Symbian 9.1/S60 - Nokia E70 (thanks Honeyman)

http://forum.nokia.com/main/resources/technologies/audiovideo/

mencoder $SOURCE_FILENAME -ofps $FPS -o temp.vid -of rawvideo -oac copy -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mpeg4:vbitrate=400 -vf scale=$SCALE
mencoder $SOURCE_FILENAME -ofps $FPS -o temp.aac -of rawaudio -ovc frameno -oac lavc -lavcopts acodec=aac:abitrate=96
mp4box -new -add temp.vid -add temp.cmp -fps $FPS -brand mp42 -isma $OUTPUT_FILENAME
For $SCALE, "352:264" works for 4:3 movies, and "352:200" works for 16:9

Patches

This section links to external patches that add interesting features to mplayer/mencoder.

MPlayer

-af lame for mplayer to output mp3 using lame.

stereoscopic support to -vo gl

ocr support to mplayer for reading hard subtitles into soft subs.

mplayer dvd menu support

vf overlay for overlay text/video on mplayer video.

ability to change subtitle/osd size while playing.


MEncoder

Both

pthreads, winamp plugins, sse, matrixview, and more vfw config support for windows port of mplayer.

subtitle/osd rotate feature, zaurus patches.

tv:// support for win32

patch to support binary codec coreavc (fast h264 decoder with multiple cpu support)


Complaints/Known Bugs

some complaints/known bugs about mplayer and mencoder

  • -oac mp3lame -lameopts abr/vbr causes desync in videos
  • -dumpstream and -endpos or -frames dont work together
  • cant save/encode video and play at the same time with one mplayer/mencoder instance