4 The -slave option switches on slave mode, in which MPlayer works as a backend
5 for other programs. Instead of intercepting keyboard events, MPlayer will read
6 commands separated by a newline (\n) from stdin.
8 To try slave mode out by hand, run
10 mplayer -slave -quiet <movie>
12 and type slave commands into the console window.
14 You can also use a fifo file (named pipe):
16 mkfifo </tmp/fifofile>
17 mplayer -slave -input file=</tmp/fifofile> <movie>
19 Most slave mode commands are equivalent to command line options, though not
20 necessarily under the same name. Detailed descriptions can be found in the
23 NOTE: the following paragraph is mostly obsolete; tricky pause handling
24 was required in old MPlayer versions where all commands unpaused by default.
25 Now running commands does not require leaving pause state any more, and
26 the prefixes described here should not be required in normal use.
27 All commands can be prefixed with one of "pausing ", "pausing_keep ", or
28 "pausing_toggle ". "pausing " tells MPlayer to pause as soon as possible
29 after processing the command. "pausing_keep " tells MPlayer to do so only if
30 it was already in paused mode. "pausing_toggle " tells MPlayer to do so
31 only if it was not already in paused mode. Please note that "as soon as
32 possible" can be before the command is fully executed.
33 As a temporary hack, there is also the _experimental_ "pausing_keep_force "
34 prefix, with which MPlayer will not exit the pause loop at all.
35 Like this you can avoid the "frame stepping" effect of "pausing_keep "
36 but most commands will either not work at all or behave in unexpected ways.
37 For "set_mouse_pos" and "key_down_event", "pausing_keep_force" is the default
38 since other values do not make much sense for them.
41 Various tips and tricks (please help expand it!):
43 - To ensure the user can't control MPlayer "behind your back" use
44 something like -input nodefault-bindings -noconfig all
47 Available commands ('mplayer -input cmdlist' will print a list):
49 af_add <filter_arguments_list> (comma separated list of audio filters with parameters)
50 (experimental) Load the given list of audio filters.
53 (experimental) Unload all loaded audio filters.
55 af_cmdline <filter_name> <filter_arguments>
56 (experimental) Send new command-line options to a filter with the given name.
58 af_del <filter_name_list> (comma separated list of audio filter's names)
59 (experimental) Unload the first occurrence of the filters, if loaded.
61 af_switch <filter_arguments_list> (comma separated list of audio filters with parameters)
62 (experimental) Remove all the audio filters and replace them with the given list.
64 alt_src_step <value> (ASX playlist only)
65 When more than one source is available it selects the next/previous one.
67 audio_delay <value> [abs]
68 Set/adjust the audio delay.
69 If [abs] is not given or is zero, adjust the delay by <value> seconds.
70 If [abs] is nonzero, set the delay to <value> seconds.
72 [brightness|contrast|gamma|hue|saturation] <value> [abs]
73 Set/adjust video parameters.
74 If [abs] is not given or is zero, modifies parameter by <value>.
75 If [abs] is non-zero, parameter is set to <value>.
76 <value> is in the range [-100, 100].
79 Toggle/set capturing the primary stream like -dumpstream.
80 Requires the -capture parameter to be given.
82 change_rectangle <val1> <val2>
83 Change the position of the rectangle filter rectangle.
85 Must be one of the following:
92 Integer amount to add/subtract from the width/height.
93 Positive values add to width/height and negative values
96 Relative integer amount by which to move the upper left
97 rectangle corner. Positive values move the rectangle
98 right/down and negative values move the rectangle left/up.
100 dvb_set_channel <channel_number> <card_number>
104 Press the given dvdnav button.
115 Write the current position into the EDL file.
118 Toggle/set frame dropping mode.
121 Print out the audio bitrate of the current file.
124 Print out the audio codec name of the current file.
127 Print out the audio frequency and number of channels of the current file.
130 Print out the name of the current file.
133 Print out the 'Album' metadata of the current file.
136 Print out the 'Artist' metadata of the current file.
139 Print out the 'Comment' metadata of the current file.
142 Print out the 'Genre' metadata of the current file.
145 Print out the 'Title' metadata of the current file.
148 Print out the 'Track Number' metadata of the current file.
151 Print out the 'Year' metadata of the current file.
154 Print out the current position in the file, as integer percentage [0-100).
156 get_property <property>
157 Print out the current value of a property.
160 Print out subtitle visibility (1 == on, 0 == off).
163 Print out the length of the current file in seconds.
166 Print out the current position in the file in seconds, as float.
169 Print out fullscreen status (1 == fullscreened, 0 == windowed).
172 Print out the video bitrate of the current file.
175 Print out the video codec name of the current file.
178 Print out the video resolution of the current file.
181 Take a screenshot. Requires the screenshot filter to be loaded.
182 0 Take a single screenshot.
183 1 Start/stop taking screenshot of each frame.
185 key_down_event <value>
186 Inject <value> key code event into MPlayer.
188 loadfile <file|url> <append>
189 Load the given file/URL, stopping playback of the current file/URL.
190 If <append> is nonzero playback continues and the file/URL is
191 appended to the current playlist instead.
193 loadlist <file> <append>
194 Load the given playlist file, stopping playback of the current file.
195 If <append> is nonzero playback continues and the playlist file is
196 appended to the current playlist instead.
199 Adjust/set how many times the movie should be looped. -1 means no loop,
203 Execute an OSD menu command.
205 down Move cursor down.
207 cancel Cancel selection.
208 hide Hide the OSD menu.
211 Display the menu named <menu_name>.
214 Toggle sound output muting or set it to [value] when [value] >= 0
218 Toggle OSD mode or set it to [level] when [level] >= 0.
221 Show the progression bar, the elapsed time and the total duration of the
224 osd_show_property_text <string> [duration] [level]
225 Show an expanded property string on the OSD, see -playing-msg for a
226 description of the available expansions. If [duration] is >= 0 the text
227 is shown for [duration] ms. [level] sets the minimum OSD level needed
228 for the message to be visible (default: 0 - always show).
230 osd_show_text <string> [duration] [level]
231 Show <string> on the OSD.
233 panscan <-1.0 - 1.0> | <0.0 - 1.0> <abs>
234 Increase or decrease the pan-and-scan range by <value>, 1.0 is the maximum.
235 Negative values decrease the pan-and-scan range.
236 If <abs> is != 0, then the pan-and scan range is interpreted as an
240 Pause/unpause the playback (use "set_property pause X" to set a particular
241 value regardless of whether the player is already paused or not).
244 Play one frame, then pause again.
246 pt_step <value> [force]
247 Go to the next/previous entry in the playtree. The sign of <value> tells
248 the direction. If no entry is available in the given direction it will do
249 nothing unless [force] is non-zero.
251 pt_up_step <value> [force]
252 Similar to pt_step but jumps to the next/previous entry in the parent list.
253 Useful to break out of the inner loop in the playtree.
256 Quit MPlayer. The optional integer [value] is used as the return code
257 for the mplayer process (default: 0).
259 radio_set_channel <channel>
260 Switch to <channel>. The 'channels' radio parameter needs to be set.
262 radio_set_freq <frequency in MHz>
263 Set the radio tuner frequency.
265 radio_step_channel <-1|1>
266 Step forwards (1) or backwards (-1) in channel list. Works only when the
267 'channels' radio parameter was set.
269 radio_step_freq <value>
270 Tune frequency by the <value> (positive - up, negative - down).
272 seek <value> [type] [hr-seek]
273 Seek to some place in the movie.
274 type = 0 is a relative seek of +/- <value> seconds (default).
275 type = 1 is a seek to <value> % in the movie.
276 type = 2 is a seek to an absolute position of <value> seconds.
277 The hr-seek parameter controls whether to use precise seeks (not limited
278 to keyframe positions in video).
279 hr-seek = 0 means use default set with option -hr-seek (default).
280 hr-seek = 1 means force precise seek if possible.
281 hr-seek = -1 means force non-precise seek.
283 seek_chapter <value> [type]
284 Seek to the start of a chapter.
285 0 is a relative seek of +/- <value> chapters (default).
286 1 is a seek to chapter <value>.
289 Switch to the angle with the ID [value]. Cycle through the
290 available angles if [value] is omitted or negative.
292 set_mouse_pos <x> <y>
293 Tells MPlayer the coordinates of the mouse in the window.
294 This command doesn't move the mouse!
296 set_property <property> <value>
299 set_property_osd <property> <value>
300 Same as above, but show the new value on the OSD in the standard
301 manner defined for that property (if any).
304 Add <value> to the current playback speed.
307 Multiply the current speed by <value>.
310 Set the speed to <value>.
312 step_property <property> [value] [direction]
313 Change a property by value, or increase by a default if value is
314 not given or zero. The direction is reversed if direction is less
317 step_property_osd <property> [value] [direction]
318 Same as above, but show the new value on the OSD in the standard
319 manner defined for that property (if any).
324 sub_alignment [value]
325 Toggle/set subtitle alignment.
330 sub_delay <value> [abs]
331 Adjust the subtitle delay by +/- <value> seconds or set it to <value>
332 seconds when [abs] is nonzero.
334 sub_load <subtitle_file>
335 Loads subtitles from <subtitle_file>.
338 Logs the current or last displayed subtitle together with filename
339 and time information to ~/.mplayer/subtitle_log. Intended purpose
340 is to allow convenient marking of bogus subtitles which need to be
341 fixed while watching the movie.
343 sub_pos <value> [abs]
344 Adjust/set subtitle position.
347 If the [value] argument is present and non-negative, removes the subtitle
348 file with index [value]. If the argument is omitted or negative, removes
352 Display subtitle with index [value]. Turn subtitle display off if
353 [value] is -1 or greater than the highest available subtitle index.
354 Cycle through the available subtitles if [value] is omitted or less
355 than -1 (forward or backward respectively).
356 Supported subtitle sources are -sub options on the command
357 line, VOBsubs, DVD subtitles, and Ogg and Matroska text streams.
358 This command is mainly for cycling all subtitles, if you want to set
359 a specific subtitle, use sub_file, sub_vob, or sub_demux.
362 Display first subtitle from [source]. Here [source] is an integer:
363 SUB_SOURCE_SUBS (0) for file subs
364 SUB_SOURCE_VOBSUB (1) for VOBsub files
365 SUB_SOURCE_DEMUX (2) for subtitle embedded in the media file or DVD subs.
366 If [source] is -1, will turn off subtitle display.
367 If [value] is omitted or less than -1, will cycle between the first subtitle
368 of each currently available source (forward or backward respectively).
371 Display subtitle specifid by [value] for file subs. The [value] is
372 corresponding to ID_FILE_SUB_ID values reported by '-identify'.
373 If [value] is -1, will turn off subtitle display.
374 If [value] is omitted or less than -1, will cycle all file subs
375 (forward or backward respectively).
378 Display subtitle specifid by [value] for vobsubs. The [value] is
379 corresponding to ID_VOBSUB_ID values reported by '-identify'.
380 If [value] is -1, will turn off subtitle display.
381 If [value] is omitted or less than -1, will cycle all vobsubs
382 (forward or backward respectively).
385 Display subtitle specifid by [value] for subtitles from DVD or embedded
386 in media file. The [value] is corresponding to ID_SUBTITLE_ID values
387 reported by '-identify'. If [value] is -1, will turn off subtitle display.
388 If [value] is omitted or less than -1, will cycle all DVD subs or embedded subs
389 (forward or backward respectively).
391 sub_scale <value> [abs]
392 Adjust the subtitle size by +/- <value> or set it to <value> when [abs]
396 This is a stub linked to sub_select for backwards compatibility.
399 Step forward in the subtitle list by <value> steps or backwards if <value>
402 sub_visibility [value]
403 Toggle/set subtitle visibility.
405 forced_subs_only [value]
406 Toggle/set forced subtitles only.
408 switch_audio [value] (currently MPEG*, AVI, Matroska and streams handled by libavformat)
409 Switch to the audio track with the ID [value]. Cycle through the
410 available tracks if [value] is omitted or negative.
412 switch_angle [value] (DVDs only)
413 Switch to the DVD angle with the ID [value]. Cycle through the
414 available angles if [value] is omitted or negative.
417 Change aspect ratio at runtime. [value] is the new aspect ratio expressed
418 as a float (e.g. 1.77778 for 16/9).
419 There might be problems with some video filters.
421 switch_title [value] (DVDNAV only)
422 Switch to the DVD title with the ID [value]. Cycle through the
423 available titles if [value] is omitted or negative.
426 Toggle vsync (1 == on, 0 == off). If [value] is not provided,
427 vsync status is inverted.
429 teletext_add_digit <value>
430 Enter/leave teletext page number editing mode and append given digit to
431 previously entered one.
432 0..9 - Append apropriate digit. (Enables editing mode if called from normal
433 mode, and switches to normal mode when third digit is entered.)
434 - - Delete last digit from page number. (Backspace emulation, works only
435 in page number editing mode.)
437 teletext_go_link <1-6>
438 Follow given link on current teletext page.
441 Start automatic TV channel scanning.
443 tv_step_channel <channel>
444 Select next/previous TV channel.
452 tv_set_channel <channel>
453 Set the current TV channel.
456 Set the current TV channel to the last one.
458 tv_set_freq <frequency in MHz>
459 Set the TV tuner frequency.
461 tv_step_freq <frequency offset in MHz>
462 Set the TV tuner frequency relative to current value.
465 Set the TV tuner norm (PAL, SECAM, NTSC, ...).
467 tv_set_brightness <-100 - 100> [abs]
468 Set TV tuner brightness or adjust it if [abs] is set to 0.
470 tv_set_contrast <-100 -100> [abs]
471 Set TV tuner contrast or adjust it if [abs] is set to 0.
473 tv_set_hue <-100 - 100> [abs]
474 Set TV tuner hue or adjust it if [abs] is set to 0.
476 tv_set_saturation <-100 - 100> [abs]
477 Set TV tuner saturation or adjust it if [abs] is set to 0.
480 Switch volume control between master and PCM.
483 Toggle/set borderless display.
485 vo_fullscreen [value]
486 Toggle/set fullscreen mode.
489 Toggle/set stay-on-top.
492 Toggle/set playback on the root window.
495 Increase/decrease volume or set it to <value> if [abs] is nonzero.
498 The following commands are really only useful for OSD menu console mode:
501 Displays help text, currently empty.
504 Exits from OSD menu console. Unlike 'quit', does not quit MPlayer.
507 Hides the OSD menu console. Clicking a menu command unhides it. Other
508 keybindings act as usual.
511 Run <value> as shell command. In OSD menu console mode stdout and stdin
512 are through the video output driver.
515 Available properties:
517 name type min max get set step comment
518 =================================================================
520 osdlevel int 0 3 X X X as -osdlevel
521 speed float 0.01 100 X X X as -speed
522 loop int -1 X X X as -loop
523 hr_seek string X X X as -hr-seek
524 pts_association_mode string X X X as -pts-association-mode
525 pause flag 0 1 X 1 if paused
526 filename string X file playing wo path
527 path string X file playing
528 demuxer string X demuxer used
529 stream_pos pos 0 X X position in stream
530 stream_start pos 0 X start pos in stream
531 stream_end pos 0 X end pos in stream
532 stream_length pos 0 X (end - start)
533 stream_time_pos time 0 X present position in stream (in seconds)
534 chapter int 0 X X X select chapter
535 chapters int X number of chapters
536 angle int 0 X X X select angle
537 length time X length of file in seconds
538 percent_pos int 0 100 X X X position in percent
539 time_pos time 0 X X X position in seconds
540 metadata str list X list of metadata key/value
541 metadata/* string X metadata values
542 volume float 0 100 X X X change volume
543 balance float -1 1 X X X change audio balance
545 audio_delay float -100 100 X X X
551 switch_audio int -2 255 X X X select audio stream
552 switch_angle int -2 255 X X X select DVD angle
553 switch_title int -2 255 X X X select DVD title
554 capturing flag 0 1 X X X dump primary stream if enabled
555 fullscreen flag 0 1 X X X
556 deinterlace flag 0 1 X X X
558 rootwin flag 0 1 X X X
559 border flag 0 1 X X X
560 framedropping int 0 2 X X X 1 = soft, 2 = hard
561 gamma int -100 100 X X X
562 brightness int -100 100 X X X
563 contrast int -100 100 X X X
564 saturation int -100 100 X X X
565 hue int -100 100 X X X
566 panscan float 0 1 X X X
571 width int X "display" width
572 height int X "display" height
575 switch_video int -2 255 X X X select video stream
576 switch_program int -1 65535 X X X (see TAB default keybind)
577 sub int -1 X X X select subtitle stream
578 sub_source int -1 2 X X X select subtitle source
579 sub_file int -1 X X X select file subtitles
580 sub_vob int -1 X X X select vobsubs
581 sub_demux int -1 X X X select subs from demux
582 sub_delay float X X X
583 sub_pos int 0 100 X X X subtitle position
584 sub_alignment int 0 2 X X X subtitle alignment
585 sub_visibility flag 0 1 X X X show/hide subtitles
586 sub_forced_only flag 0 1 X X X
587 sub_scale float 0 100 X X X subtitles font size
588 tv_brightness int -100 100 X X X
589 tv_contrast int -100 100 X X X
590 tv_saturation int -100 100 X X X
591 tv_hue int -100 100 X X X
592 teletext_page int 0 799 X X X
593 teletext_subpage int 0 64 X X X
594 teletext_mode flag 0 1 X X X 0 - off, 1 - on
595 teletext_format int 0 3 X X X 0 - opaque,
599 teletext_half_page int 0 2 X X X 0 - off, 1 - top half,