path: root/DOCS/xml/en/usage.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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<chapter id="usage">
<title>Usage</title>

<sect1 id="commandline">
<title>Command line</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> utilizes a complex playtree. Options passed
on the command line can apply to all files/URLs or just to specific ones
depending on their position. For example
<screen>mplayer -vfm ffmpeg movie1.avi movie2.avi</screen>
will use FFmpeg decoders for both files, but
<screen>
mplayer -vfm ffmpeg <replaceable>movie1.avi</replaceable> <replaceable>movie2.avi</replaceable> -vfm dmo
</screen>
will play the second file with a DMO decoder.
</para>

<para>
You can group filenames/URLs together using <literal>{</literal> and
<literal>}</literal>. It is useful with option <option>-loop</option>:
<screen>mplayer { 1.avi -loop 2 2.avi } -loop 3</screen>
The above command will play files in this order: 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2.
</para>

<para>
Playing a file:
<synopsis>
<command>mplayer</command><!--
--> [<replaceable>options</replaceable>]<!--
--> [<replaceable>path</replaceable>/]<replaceable>filename</replaceable>
</synopsis>
</para>

<para>
Another way to play a file:
<synopsis>
<command>mplayer</command><!--
--> [<replaceable>options</replaceable>]<!--
--> <replaceable>file:///uri-escaped-path</replaceable>
</synopsis>
</para>

<para>
Playing more files:
<synopsis>
<command>mplayer</command><!--
--> [<replaceable>default options</replaceable>]<!--
--> [<replaceable>path</replaceable>/]<replaceable>filename1</replaceable><!--
--> [<replaceable>options for filename1</replaceable>]<!--
--> <replaceable>filename2</replaceable><!--
--> [<replaceable>options for filename2</replaceable>] ...
</synopsis>
</para>

<para>
Playing VCD:
<synopsis>
<command>mplayer</command> [<replaceable>options</replaceable>]<!--
--> vcd://<replaceable>trackno</replaceable><!--
--> [-cdrom-device <replaceable>/dev/cdrom</replaceable>]
</synopsis>
</para>

<para>
Playing DVD:
<synopsis>
<command>mplayer</command> [<replaceable>options</replaceable>]<!--
--> dvd://<replaceable>titleno</replaceable><!--
--> [-dvd-device <replaceable>/dev/dvd</replaceable>]
</synopsis>
</para>

<para>
Playing from the WWW:
<synopsis>
<command>mplayer</command> [<replaceable>options</replaceable>]<!--
--> http://<replaceable>site.com/file.asf</replaceable>
</synopsis>
(playlists can be used, too)
</para>

<para>
Playing from RTSP:
<synopsis>
<command>mplayer</command> [<replaceable>options</replaceable>]<!--
--> rtsp://<replaceable>server.example.com/streamName</replaceable>
</synopsis>
</para>

<para>
Examples:
<screen>
mplayer -vo x11 <replaceable>/mnt/Films/Contact/contact2.mpg</replaceable>
mplayer vcd://<replaceable>2</replaceable> -cdrom-device <replaceable>/dev/hdc</replaceable>
mplayer -afm 3 <replaceable>/mnt/DVDtrailers/alien4.vob</replaceable>
mplayer dvd://<replaceable>1</replaceable> -dvd-device <replaceable>/dev/hdc</replaceable>
mplayer -abs 65536 -delay -0.4 -nobps <replaceable>~/movies/test.avi</replaceable><!--
--></screen>
</para>
</sect1>


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<sect1 id="subosd">
<title>Subtitles and OSD</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> can display subtitles along with movie files.
Currently the following formats are supported:
<itemizedlist>
  <listitem><para>VOBsub</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>OGM</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>CC (closed caption)</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>MicroDVD</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>SubRip</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>SubViewer</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Sami</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>VPlayer</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>RT</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>SSA</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>PJS (Phoenix Japanimation Society)</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>MPsub</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>AQTitle</para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>
    <ulink url="http://unicorn.us.com/jacosub/">JACOsub</ulink>
  </para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> can dump the previously listed subtitle
formats (<emphasis role="bold">except the three first</emphasis>) into the
following destination formats, with the given options:
<itemizedlist>
  <listitem><para>MPsub: <option>-dumpmpsub</option></para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>SubRip: <option>-dumpsrtsub</option></para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>MicroDVD: <option>-dumpmicrodvdsub</option></para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>JACOsub: <option>-dumpjacosub</option></para></listitem>
  <listitem><para>Sami: <option>-dumpsami</option></para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>

<para>
<application>MEncoder</application> can dump DVD subtitles into
<link linkend="menc-feat-extractsub">VOBsub</link> format.
</para>

<para>
The command line options differ slightly for the different formats:
</para>

<formalpara>
<title>VOBsub subtitles</title>
<para>
VOBsub subtitles consist of a big (some megabytes) <filename>.SUB</filename>
file, and optional <filename>.IDX</filename> and/or <filename>.IFO</filename>
files. If you have files like
<filename><replaceable>sample.sub</replaceable></filename>,
<filename><replaceable>sample.ifo</replaceable></filename> (optional),
<filename><replaceable>sample.idx</replaceable></filename> - you have to pass
<application>MPlayer</application> the <option>-vobsub sample
[-vobsubid <replaceable>id</replaceable>]</option> options
(full path optional). The <option>-vobsubid</option> option is like
<option>-sid</option> for DVDs, you can choose between subtitle tracks
(languages) with it. In case that <option>-vobsubid</option> is omitted,
<application>MPlayer</application> will try to use the languages given by the
<option>-slang</option> option and fall back to the
<systemitem>langidx</systemitem> in the <filename>.IDX</filename> file to set
the subtitle language. If it fails, there will be no subtitles.
</para>
</formalpara>

<formalpara>
<title>Other subtitles</title>
<para>
The other formats consist of a single text file containing timing,
placement and text information. Usage: If you have a file like
<filename><replaceable>sample.txt</replaceable></filename>,
you have to pass the option <option>-sub
<replaceable>sample.txt</replaceable></option> (full path optional).
</para>
</formalpara>

<variablelist>
<title>Adjusting subtitle timing and placement:</title>
<varlistentry>
  <term><option>-subdelay <replaceable>sec</replaceable></option></term>
  <listitem><para>
    Delays subtitles by <option><replaceable>sec</replaceable></option> seconds.
    Can be negative. The value is added to movie's time position counter.
  </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
  <term><option>-subfps <replaceable>RATE</replaceable></option></term>
  <listitem><para>
    Specify frame/sec rate of subtitle file (float number).
  </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
  <term><option>-subpos <replaceable>0-100</replaceable></option></term>
  <listitem><para>
    Specify the position of subtitles.
  </para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>

<para>
If you experience a growing delay between the movie and the subtitles when
using a MicroDVD subtitle file, most likely the framerate of the movie and
the subtitle file are different. Please note that the MicroDVD subtitle
format uses absolute frame numbers for its timing, but there is no fps
information in it, and therefore the <option>-subfps</option> option should
be used with this format. If you like to solve this problem permanently,
you have to manually convert the subtitle file framerate.
<application>MPlayer</application> can do this
conversion for you:

<screen>
mplayer -dumpmicrodvdsub -fps <replaceable>subtitles_fps</replaceable> -subfps <replaceable>avi_fps</replaceable> \
    -sub <replaceable>subtitle_filename</replaceable> <replaceable>dummy.avi</replaceable>
</screen>
</para>

<para>
About DVD subtitles, read the <link linkend="dvd">DVD</link> section.
</para>
</sect1>


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<sect1 id="control">
<title>Control</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> has a fully configurable, command
driven, control layer which lets you control
<application>MPlayer</application> with keyboard, mouse, joystick or remote
control (using LIRC). See the man page for the complete list of keyboard controls.
</para>

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<sect2 id="ctrl-cfg">
<title>Controls configuration</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> allows you bind any key/button to any
<application>MPlayer</application> command using a simple config file.
The syntax consist of a key name followed by a command. The default config file location is
<filename>$HOME/.mplayer/input.conf</filename> but it can be overridden
using the <option>-input <replaceable>conf</replaceable></option> option
(relative path are relative to <filename>$HOME/.mplayer</filename>).
</para>

<para>
You can get a full list of supported key names by running
<command>mplayer -input keylist</command>
and a full list of available commands by running
<command>mplayer -input cmdlist</command>.
</para>

<example id="input_control_file">
<title>A simple input control file</title>
<programlisting>
##
## MPlayer input control file
##

RIGHT seek +10
LEFT seek -10
- audio_delay 0.100
+ audio_delay -0.100
q quit
&gt; pt_step 1
&lt; pt_step -1
ENTER pt_step 1 1<!--
--></programlisting>
</example>
</sect2>

<!-- ********** -->

<sect2 id="lirc">
<title>Control from LIRC</title>

<para>
Linux Infrared Remote Control - use an easy to build home-brewed IR-receiver,
an (almost) arbitrary remote control and control your Linux box with it!
More about it on the <ulink url="http://www.lirc.org">LIRC homepage</ulink>.
</para>

<para>
If you have the LIRC package installed, <filename>configure</filename> will
autodetect it. If everything went fine, <application>MPlayer</application>
will print "<systemitem>Setting up LIRC support...</systemitem>"
on startup. If an error occurs it will tell you. If there is no message about
LIRC there is no support compiled in. That's it :-)
</para>

<para>
The application name for <application>MPlayer</application> is - surprise -
<filename>mplayer</filename>. You can use any <application>MPlayer</application>
commands and even pass more than one command by separating them with
<literal>\n</literal>.
Do not forget to enable the repeat flag in <filename>.lircrc</filename> when
it makes sense (seek, volume, etc). Here is an excerpt from a sample
<filename>.lircrc</filename>:
</para>

<programlisting>
begin
     button = VOLUME_PLUS
     prog = mplayer
     config = volume 1
     repeat = 1
end

begin
    button = VOLUME_MINUS
    prog = mplayer
    config = volume -1
    repeat = 1
end

begin
    button = CD_PLAY
    prog = mplayer
    config = pause
end

begin
    button = CD_STOP
    prog = mplayer
    config = seek 0 1\npause
end<!--
--></programlisting>

<para>
If you do not like the standard location for the lirc-config file
(<filename>~/.lircrc</filename>) use the <option>-lircconf
<replaceable>filename</replaceable></option> switch to specify another
file.
</para>
</sect2>

<!-- ********** -->

<sect2 id="slave-mode">
<title>Slave mode</title>

<para>
The slave mode allows you to build simple frontends to
<application>MPlayer</application>. When run with the
<option>-slave</option> option <application>MPlayer</application> will
read commands separated by a newline (\n) from stdin.
The commands are documented in the
<ulink url="../../tech/slave.txt">slave.txt</ulink> file.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>


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<sect1 id="streaming">
<title>Streaming from network or pipes</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> can play files from the network, using the
HTTP, FTP, MMS or RTSP/RTP protocol.
</para>

<para>
Playing works simply by passing the URL on the command line.
<application>MPlayer</application> honors the <envar>http_proxy</envar>
environment variable, using a proxy if available. Proxies can also be forced:
<screen>
mplayer <replaceable>http_proxy://proxy.micorsops.com:3128/http://micorsops.com:80/stream.asf</replaceable>
</screen>
</para>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> can read from stdin
(<emphasis>not</emphasis> named pipes). This can for example be used to
play from FTP:
<screen>
wget <replaceable>ftp://micorsops.com/something.avi</replaceable> -O - | mplayer -
</screen>
</para>

<note><para>
It is also recommended to enable <option>-cache</option> when playing
from the network:
<screen>
wget <replaceable>ftp://micorsops.com/something.avi</replaceable> -O - | mplayer -cache 8192 -
</screen>
</para></note>

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<sect2 id="streaming-save">
<title>Saving streamed content</title>

<para>
Once you succeed in making <application>MPlayer</application> play
your favorite internet stream, you can use the option
<option>-dumpstream</option> to save the stream into a file.
For example:
<screen>
mplayer <replaceable>http://217.71.208.37:8006</replaceable> -dumpstream -dumpfile <replaceable>stream.asf</replaceable>
</screen>
will save the content streamed from
<replaceable>http://217.71.208.37:8006</replaceable> into
<replaceable>stream.asf</replaceable>.
This works with all protocols supported by
<application>MPlayer</application>, like MMS, RTSP, and so forth.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>


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<sect1 id="edl" xreflabel="Edit Decision Lists (EDL)">
<title>Edit Decision Lists (EDL)</title>

<para>
The edit decision list (EDL) system allows you to automatically skip
or mute sections of videos during playback, based on a movie specific
EDL configuration file.
</para>

<para>
This is useful for those who may want to watch a film in "family-friendly"
mode. You can cut out any violence, profanity, Jar-Jar Binks .. from a movie
according to your own personal preferences. Aside from this, there are other
uses, like automatically skipping over commercials in video files you watch.
</para>

<para>
The EDL file format is pretty bare-bones. There is one command per line that
indicates what to do (skip/mute) and when to do it (using pts in seconds).
</para>

<!-- ********** -->

<sect2 id="edl_using">
<title>Using an EDL file</title>

<para>
Include the <option>-edl &lt;filename&gt;</option> flag when you run
<application>MPlayer</application>, with the name of the EDL file you
want applied to the video.
</para>
</sect2>

<!-- ********** -->

<sect2 id="edl_making">
<title>Making an EDL file</title>

<para>
The current EDL file format is:
<programlisting>[begin second] [end second] [action]</programlisting>
Where the seconds are floating-point numbers and the action is either
<literal>0</literal> for skip or <literal>1</literal> for mute. Example:
<programlisting>
5.3   7.1    0
15    16.7   1
420   422    0
</programlisting>
This will skip from second 5.3 to second 7.1 of the video, then mute at
15 seconds, unmute at 16.7 seconds and skip from second 420 to second 422
of the video. These actions will be performed when the playback timer
reaches the times given in the file.
</para>

<para>
To create an EDL file to work from, use the <option>-edlout
&lt;filename&gt;</option> flag. During playback, just hit <keycap>i</keycap> to
mark the beginning and end of a skip block.
A corresponding entry will be written to the file for that time.
You can then go back and fine-tune the generated EDL file as well as
change the default operation which is to skip the block described by each line.
</para>
</sect2>
</sect1>


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<sect1 id="advaudio" xreflabel="Advanced Audio">
<title>Advanced audio</title>

<sect2 id="advaudio-surround">
<title>Surround/Multichannel playback</title>

<sect3 id="advaudio-surround-DVD">
<title>DVDs</title>

<para>
Most DVDs and many other files include surround sound.
<application>MPlayer</application> supports surround playback but does not
enable it by default because stereo equipment is by far more common. To play a
file that has more than two channels of audio use <option>-channels</option>.
For example, to play a DVD with 5.1 audio:
<screen>mplayer dvd://1 -channels 6</screen>
Note that despite the name "5.1" there are actually six discrete channels.
If you have surround sound equipment it is safe to put the
<option>channels</option> option in your <application>MPlayer</application>
configuration file <filename>~/.mplayer/config</filename>. For example, to make
quadraphonic playback the default, add this line:
<programlisting>channels=4</programlisting>
<application>MPlayer</application> will then output audio in four channels when
all four channels are available.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="advaudio-surround-stereoinfour">
<title>Playing stereo files to four speakers</title>

<para>
<application>MPlayer</application> does not duplicate any channels by default,
and neither do most audio drivers. If you want to do that manually:
<screen>mplayer <replaceable>filename</replaceable> -af channels=2:2:0:1:0:0</screen>
See the section on
<link linkend="advaudio-channels-copying">channel copying</link> for an
explanation.
</para>
</sect3>


<sect3 id="advaudio-surround-passthrough">
<title>AC-3/DTS Passthrough</title>

<para>
DVDs usually have surround audio encoded in AC-3 (Dolby Digital) or DTS
(Digital Theater System) format. Some modern audio equipment is capable of
decoding these formats internally. <application>MPlayer</application> can be
configured to relay the audio data without decoding it. This will only work if
you have a S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) jack in your sound card.
</para>

<para>
If your audio equipment can decode both AC-3 and D