diff --git a/player/configfiles.c b/player/configfiles.c
index dc3de14679..4a9700c7cd 100644
--- a/player/configfiles.c
+++ b/player/configfiles.c
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
 #include "common/playlist.h"
 #include "options/options.h"
 #include "options/m_property.h"
+#include "input/input.h"
 
 #include "stream/stream.h"
 
@@ -91,8 +92,10 @@ void mp_parse_cfgfiles(struct MPContext *mpctx)
 
     load_all_cfgfiles(mpctx, section, "mpv.conf|config");
 
-    if (encoding)
+    if (encoding) {
         m_config_set_profile(mpctx->mconfig, SECT_ENCODE, 0);
+        mp_input_enable_section(mpctx->input, "encode", MP_INPUT_EXCLUSIVE);
+    }
 }
 
 static int try_load_config(struct MPContext *mpctx, const char *file, int flags,
diff --git a/player/main.c b/player/main.c
index 8ed0f4d94d..f40e89abda 100644
--- a/player/main.c
+++ b/player/main.c
@@ -415,8 +415,6 @@ int mp_initialize(struct MPContext *mpctx, char **options)
             MP_INFO(mpctx, "Encoding initialization failed.\n");
             return -1;
         }
-        m_config_set_profile(mpctx->mconfig, "encoding", 0);
-        mp_input_enable_section(mpctx->input, "encode", MP_INPUT_EXCLUSIVE);
     }
 
     mp_load_scripts(mpctx);