mirror of https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv
457 lines
16 KiB
XML
457 lines
16 KiB
XML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
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<!-- $Revision$ -->
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<sect1 id="formats">
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<title>Supported formats</title>
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<para>
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It is important to clarify a common mistake. When people see a file with a
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<filename>.AVI</filename> extension, they immediately conclude that it is
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not an MPEG file. That is not true. At least not entirely. Contrary to
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popular belief such a file <emphasis>can</emphasis> contain MPEG1 video.
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</para>
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<para>
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You see, a <emphasis role="bold">codec</emphasis> is not the same as a
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<emphasis role="bold">file format</emphasis>.
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Examples of video <emphasis role="bold">codecs</emphasis> are: MPEG1, MPEG2, DivX, Indeo5, 3ivx.
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Examples of file <emphasis role="bold">formats</emphasis> are: MPG, AVI, ASF.
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</para>
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<para>
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In theory, you can put an OpenDivX video and MP3 audio
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into an <emphasis role="bold">MPG format file</emphasis>. However, most
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players will not play it, since they expect MPEG1 video and MP2 audio (unlike
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<emphasis role="bold">AVI</emphasis>, <emphasis role="bold">MPG</emphasis>
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does not have the necessary fields to describe its video and audio streams).
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Or you might put MPEG1 video into an AVI file.
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<ulink url="http://ffmpeg.sourceforge.net/">FFmpeg</ulink> and
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<link linkend="mencoder"><application>MEncoder</application></link> can create these files.
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</para>
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<sect2 id="video-formats">
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<title>Video formats</title>
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<sect3 id="mpg-vob-dat">
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<title>MPEG files</title>
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<para>
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MPEG files come in different guises:
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</para>
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem><simpara>
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MPG: This is the most <emphasis role="bold">basic</emphasis> form of the
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MPEG file formats. It contains MPEG1 video, and MP2 (MPEG-1 layer 2) or
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rarely MP1 audio.
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</simpara></listitem>
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<listitem><simpara>
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DAT: This is the very same format as MPG with a different extension. It
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is used on <emphasis role="bold">Video CDs</emphasis>. Due to the way VCDs
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are created and Linux is designed, the DAT files cannot be played nor copied
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from VCDs as regular files. You have to use <option>vcd://</option>
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to play a Video CD.
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</simpara></listitem>
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<listitem><simpara>
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VOB: This is the MPEG file format on <emphasis role="bold">DVDs</emphasis>.
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It is the same as MPG, plus the capability to contain subtitles or non-MPEG
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(AC3) audio. It contains encoded MPEG2 video and usually AC3 audio, but DTS,
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MP2 and uncompressed LPCM are allowed, too. <emphasis role="bold">Read the
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<link linkend="dvd">DVD</link> section</emphasis>!
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</simpara></listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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<para>
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Series of frames form independent groups in MPEG files. This means that you
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can cut/join an MPEG file with standard file tools (like
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<command>dd</command>, <command>cut</command>), and it remains completely
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functional.
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</para>
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<para>
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One important feature of MPGs is that they have a field to describe the
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aspect ratio of the video stream within. For example SVCDs have 480x480
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resolution video, and in the header that field is set to 4:3, so that it is
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played at 640x480. AVI files do not have this field, so they have to be
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rescaled during encoding or played with the <option>-aspect</option>
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option.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="avi">
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<title>AVI files</title>
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<para>
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Designed by Microsoft, <emphasis role="bold">AVI (Audio Video Interleaved)</emphasis>
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is a widespread multipurpose format currently used mostly for DivX and DivX4
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video. It has many known drawbacks and shortcomings (for example in streaming). It
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supports one video stream and 0 to 99 audio streams and can be as big as
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2GB, but there exists an extension allowing bigger files called
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<emphasis role="bold">OpenDML</emphasis>. Microsoft currently strongly
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discourages its use and encourages ASF/WMV. Not that anybody cares.
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</para>
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<para>
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There is a hack that allows AVI files to contain an Ogg Vorbis audio
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stream, but makes them incompatible with standard AVI.
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<application>MPlayer</application> supports playing these files. Seeking is
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also implemented but severely hampered by badly encoded files with
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confusing headers. Unfortunately the only encoder currently capable of
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creating these files, <application>NanDub</application>, has this problem.
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</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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DV cameras create raw DV streams that DV grabbing utilities convert to two
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different types of AVI files. The AVI will then contain either separate
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audio and video streams that <application>MPlayer</application> can play or
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the raw DV stream for which support is under development.
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</para>
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</note>
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<para>
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There are two kinds of AVI files:
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem><simpara>
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<emphasis role="bold">Interleaved:</emphasis> Audio and video content is
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interleaved. This is the standard usage. Recommended and mostly used. Some tools
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create interleaved AVIs with bad sync. <application>MPlayer</application>
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detects these as interleaved, and this climaxes in loss of A/V sync,
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probably at seeking. These files should be played as non-interleaved
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(with the <option>-ni</option> option).
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</simpara></listitem>
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<listitem><simpara>
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<emphasis role="bold">Non-interleaved:</emphasis> First comes the whole
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video stream, then the whole audio stream. It thus needs a lot of seeking,
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making playing from network or CD-ROM difficult.
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</simpara></listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</para>
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<para>
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<application>MPlayer</application> supports two kinds of timings for AVI
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files:
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<itemizedlist>
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<listitem><simpara>
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<emphasis role="bold">bps-based:</emphasis> It is based on the
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bitrate/samplerate of the video/audio stream. This method is used by
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most players, including <ulink url="http://avifile.sourceforge.net">avifile</ulink>
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and <application>Windows Media Player</application>. Files with broken
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headers, and files created with VBR audio but not VBR-compliant encoder
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will result in A/V desync with this method (mostly at seeking).
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</simpara></listitem>
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<listitem><simpara>
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<emphasis role="bold">interleaving-based:</emphasis> It does not use the bitrate
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value of the header, instead it uses the relative position of interleaved
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audio and video chunks, making badly encoded files with VBR audio playable.
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</simpara></listitem>
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</itemizedlist>
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</para>
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<para>
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Any audio and video codec is allowed, but note that VBR audio is not well
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supported by most players. The file format makes it possible to use VBR
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audio, but most players expect CBR audio, thus they fail with VBR. VBR is
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uncommon and Microsoft's AVI specs only describe CBR audio. I also noticed
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that most AVI encoders/multiplexers create bad files when using VBR audio.
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There are only two known exceptions: <application>NanDub</application> and
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<link linkend="mencoder"><application>MEncoder</application></link>.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="asf-wmv">
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<title>ASF/WMV files</title>
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<para>
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ASF (Active Streaming Format) comes from Microsoft. They developed two
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variants of ASF, v1.0 and v2.0. v1.0 is used by their media tools (<application>Windows
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Media Player</application> and <application>Windows Media Encoder</application>)
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and is very secret. v2.0 is published and patented :). Of course they differ,
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there is no compatibility at all (it is just another legal game).
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<application>MPlayer</application> supports only v1.0, as nobody has ever seen
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v2.0 files :). Note that ASF files nowadays come with the extension
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<filename>.WMA</filename> or <filename>.WMV</filename>.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="qt-mov">
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<title>QuickTime/MOV files</title>
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<para>
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These formats were designed by Apple and can contain any codec, CBR or VBR.
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They usually have a <filename>.QT</filename> or <filename>.MOV</filename>
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extension. Note that since the MPEG4 group chose QuickTime as the recommended
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file format for MPEG4, their MOV files come with a <filename>.MPG</filename> or
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<filename>.MP4</filename> extension (Interestingly the video and audio
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streams in these files are real MPG and AAC files. You can even extract them with the
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<option>-dumpvideo</option> and <option>-dumpaudio</option> options.).
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</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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Most new QuickTime files use <emphasis role="bold">Sorenson</emphasis> video and
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QDesign Music audio. See our <link linkend="sorenson">Sorenson</link> codec section.
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</para>
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</note>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="vivo">
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<title>VIVO files</title>
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<para>
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<application>MPlayer</application> happily demuxes VIVO file formats. The
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biggest disadvantage of the format is that it has no index block, nor a
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fixed packet size or sync bytes and most files lack even keyframes, so
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forget seeking!
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</para>
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<para>
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The video codec of VIVO/1.0 files is standard <emphasis role="bold">h.263</emphasis>.
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The video codec of VIVO/2.0 files is a modified, nonstandard
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<emphasis role="bold">h.263v2</emphasis>. The audio is the same, it may be
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<emphasis role="bold">g.723 (standard)</emphasis>, or
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<emphasis role="bold">Vivo Siren</emphasis>.
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</para>
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<para>
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See the
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<link linkend="vivo-video">VIVO video codec</link> and
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<link linkend="vivo-audio">VIVO audio codec</link>
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sections for installation instructions.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="fli">
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<title>FLI files</title>
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<para>
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<emphasis role="bold">FLI</emphasis> is a very old file format used by
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Autodesk Animator, but it is a common file format for short animations on the net.
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<application>MPlayer</application> demuxes and decodes FLI movies and is
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even able to seek within them (useful when looping with the
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<option>-loop</option> option). FLI files do not have keyframes, so the
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picture will be messy for a short time after seeking.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="realmedia">
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<title>RealMedia (RM) files</title>
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<para>
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Yes, <application>MPlayer</application> can read (demux) RealMedia
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(<filename>.rm</filename>) files. Seeking works, but you have to explicitly
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specify the <option>-forceidx</option> option (the format supports
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keyframes). Here are the lists of the supported <link
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linkend="realvideo">RealVideo</link> and <link
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linkend="realaudio">RealAudio</link> codecs.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="nuppelvideo">
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<title>NuppelVideo files</title>
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<para>
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<ulink url="http://mars.tuwien.ac.at/~roman/nuppelvideo">NuppelVideo</ulink>
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is a TV grabber tool (AFAIK:). <application>MPlayer</application> can read
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its <filename>.NUV</filename> files (only NuppelVideo 5.0). Those files can
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contain uncompressed YV12, YV12+RTJpeg compressed, YV12 RTJpeg+lzo
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compressed, and YV12+lzo compressed frames.
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<application>MPlayer</application> decodes (and also <emphasis role="bold">encodes</emphasis>
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them with <application>MEncoder</application> to DivX/etc!) them all. Seeking works.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="yuv4mpeg">
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<title>yuv4mpeg files</title>
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<para>
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<ulink url="http://mjpeg.sourceforge.net">yuv4mpeg / yuv4mpeg2</ulink>
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is a file format used by the
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<ulink url="http://mjpeg.sf.net">mjpegtools programs</ulink>.
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You can grab, produce, filter or encode video in this format using these tools.
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The file format is really a sequence of uncompressed YUV 4:2:0 images.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="film">
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<title>FILM files</title>
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<para>
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This format is used on old Sega Saturn CD-ROM games.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="roq">
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<title>RoQ files</title>
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<para>
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RoQ files are multimedia files used in some ID games such as Quake III and
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Return to Castle Wolfenstein.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="ogg">
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<title>OGG/OGM files</title>
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<para>
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This is a new fileformat from <ulink url="http://www.xiph.org">Xiphophorus</ulink>.
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It can contain any video or audio codec, CBR or VBR. You'll need
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<systemitem class="library">libogg</systemitem> and
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<systemitem class="library">libvorbis</systemitem> installed before
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compiling <application>MPlayer</application> to be able to play it.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="sdp">
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<title>SDP files</title>
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<para>
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<ulink url="ftp://ftp.rfc-editor.org/in-notes/rfc2327.txt">SDP</ulink> is an
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IETF standard format for describing video and/or audio RTP streams.
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(The "<ulink url="http://www.live.com/mplayer/">LIVE.COM Streaming Media</ulink>"
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are required.)
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="pva">
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<title>PVA files</title>
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<para>
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PVA is an MPEG-like format used by DVB TV boards' software (e.g.:
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<application>MultiDec</application>, <application>WinTV</application> under Windows).
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</para>
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<para>
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The PVA specifications can be downloaded from the following address:
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<ulink url="http://www.technotrend.de/download/av_format_v1.pdf"/>
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="gif">
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<title>GIF files</title>
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<para>
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The <emphasis role="bold">GIF</emphasis> format is a common format for web
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graphics. There are two versions of the GIF spec, GIF87a and GIF89a. The
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main difference is that GIF89a allows for animation. <application>MPlayer</application>
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supports both formats through use of <systemitem class="library">libungif</systemitem> or
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another libgif-compatible library. Non-animated GIFs will be displayed as
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single frame videos. (Use the <option>-loop</option> and <option>-fixed-vo</option>
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options to display these longer.)
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</para>
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<para>
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<application>MPlayer</application> currently does not support seeking in GIF
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files. GIF files do not necessarily have a fixed frame size, nor a fixed
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framerate. Rather, each frame is of independent size and is supposed to be
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positioned in a certain place on a field of fixed-size. The framerate is
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controlled by an optional block before each frame that specifies the next
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frame's delay in centiseconds.
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</para>
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<para>
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Standard GIF files contain 24-bit RGB frames with at most an 8-bit indexed
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palette. These frames are usually LZW-compressed, although some GIF encoders
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produce uncompressed frames to avoid patent issues with LZW compression.
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</para>
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<para>
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If your distribution does not come with <systemitem class="library">libungif</systemitem>,
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download a copy from the
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<ulink url="http://prtr-13.ucsc.edu/~badger/software/libungif/index.shtml">libungif
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homepage</ulink>. For detailed technical information, have a look at the
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<ulink url="http://www.w3.org/Graphics/GIF/spec-gif89a.txt">GIF89a specification</ulink>.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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</sect2>
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<!-- ********** -->
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<sect2 id="audio-formats">
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<title>Audio formats</title>
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<para>
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<application>MPlayer</application> is a <emphasis role="bold">movie</emphasis>
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and not a <emphasis role="bold">media</emphasis> player, although it can play
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some audio file formats (they are listed in the sections below). This is not
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a recommended usage of <application>MPlayer</application>, you better use <ulink
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url="http://www.xmms.org">XMMS</ulink>.
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</para>
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<sect3 id="mp3">
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<title>MP3 files</title>
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<para>
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You may have problems playing certain MP3 files that
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<application>MPlayer</application> will misdetect as MPEGs and play
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incorrectly or not at all. This cannot be fixed without dropping support
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for certain broken MPEG files and thus will remain like this for the
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foreseeable future. The <option>-demuxer</option> flag described in the
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man page may help you in these cases.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="wav">
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<title>WAV files</title>
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<para>
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="ogg-vorbis">
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<title>OGG/OGM files (Vorbis)</title>
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<para>
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Requires properly installed
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<systemitem class="library">libogg</systemitem> and
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<systemitem class="library">libvorbis</systemitem>.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="wma-asf">
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<title>WMA/ASF files</title>
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<para>
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="mp4">
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<title>MP4 files</title>
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<para></para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="cdda">
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<title>CD audio</title>
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<para>
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<application>MPlayer</application> can use <application>cdparanoia</application>
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to play CDDA (Audio CD). The scope of this section does not contain enumerating
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<application>cdparanoia</application>'s features.
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</para>
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<para>
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See the man page's <option>-cdda</option> option which can be used to pass
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options to <application>cdparanoia</application>.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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<sect3 id="xmms">
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<title>XMMS</title>
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<para>
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<application>MPlayer</application> can use <application>XMMS</application> input
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plugins to play many file formats. There are plugins for SNES game tunes, SID
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tunes (from Commodore 64), many Amiga formats, .xm, .it, VQF, musepack, Bonk,
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shorten and many others. You can find them at the
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<ulink url="http://www.xmms.org/plugins_input.html">XMMS input plugin page</ulink>.
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</para>
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<para>
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For this feature you need to have <application>XMMS</application> and compile
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<application>MPlayer</application> with <filename>./configure --enable-xmms</filename>.
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If that does not work, you might need to set the <application>XMMS</application>
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plugin and library path explicitly by way of the <option>--with-xmmsplugindir</option>
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and <option>--with-xmmslibdir</option> options.
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</para>
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</sect3>
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</sect2>
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</sect1>
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