MPlayer Starter Frontend
========================
Copyright (c) 2003-2005 Szécsi Gábor (aka Deje)

License
=======
FREEWARE

You are allowed to use the program for personal, business or any purpose
for free, but the author cannot be held responsible for any damage arisen
from using or misusing the program. Distribution of program is allowed,
as long as you distribute the whole package including this text file
containing license agreement. The best solution is to distribute the setup
exe. Any modification or reverse engeneering is prohibited. The author holds
the right to alter the license agreement any time.

MPlayer licese: GPL v2,see also mplayer_license.txt
SDL is distributed under GNU Lesser GPL

READ THIS FILE!
===================
If you have problems playing movie files (too slow, flashing image or
anything) please read the section "setting up". You should find solution
there.

What is this?
=============
This is a small program to help the use of MPlayer, the best movie player
exists today (in my opinion, at least). Please visit http://www.mplayerhq.hu
if you haven't done so.
MPlayer is primarily for linux (this is the main developement platform), but
it can be compiled for MS Windoze if you have the tools needed (MinGW or
CygWin). Unfortunately, the graphical user interface (GUI) is not ported
well, so we have to use the commandline version. Now that's where mpf.exe
comes in!

Something else: MPlayer doesn't need any codec installed. You don't have to
install codec packs and get your system full with garbage. MPlayer has
all the codecs needed compiled in, actually the best codecs available.
Even QuickTime MOV files can be played.
Anyway it can use your installed ones if you desire. (but why??? :)

New features
============
0.18.2
- language handling changed: now english is default for entrys missing
- if files associated with mpf, they will get its icon also
- cache now can be set to always, none, or all except harddisk (URL, removable
  and network play will be still cached)
- movie aspect ratio setting
- playlist bug fixes
- playlist changed: now have own playlist format, .mpl which can be played
  as regular files

0.18.1
- http proxy support
- slowdown bug fixed (I suppose)
- playlist fixes: multiple files can be selected (ie. to remove from list)

0.18.0
- new mplayer cvs version. DirectSound output driver is ready, so finally
  you are able to play multichannel movies on multichannel soundcards!
- opening dvd-s is much easier, even can play dvd movies from a folder on
  your harddisk
- fixed a bug that caused mpf not to start on Win98

0.17.0
- mplayer 1.0pre5 included with internal xvid
- default DVD drive can be selected on the settings panel (defaults to first
  in system)
- multiple instances bug fixed (when filename contains space character (grr M$!))
- looping with playlist now loops playlist instead of started file
- added transparency to mpf window

0.16.7
- "Set keys" button on the settings panel now should work on every computer
- Files dropped onto the playlist won't autostart even if Autostart Drag&Drop
  is set

0.16.6
- settings window positioning issue when full window drag disabled in win fixed
- equalizer presets can be stored/recalled

0.16.5
- 'only 1 instance allowed' code is much better now
- installer improved: if upgrading, automatically detect where the program
  is installed already
- new mplayer version: 20040608 with internal xvid codec (if not satisfied
  with libavcodec) To use enter -vc xvid into params if watching xvid movie.

0.16.4
- some bugfixes
- mpf.ini multiuser write problem fixed: if a user cannot write to the
  main mpf.ini, automatically reverts to user homedir.

0.16.3
- number of output channels setting bug corrected (I suppose)
- sound equalizer (re)added

0.16.2
- File association can be set!
- some playlist fixes: if more than 1 file dragged onto the window
  than they will be put in the playlist; playlist automatically
  saved and restored
- mpf now correctly displays mplayer version

0.16.1
- always on top bug fixed
- mplayer now tries to read extrenal codecs from /mplayer/codecs dir

0.16.0
- Yeah! The mplayer included was 1.0pre3 for this time. Now I have
  compiled a post 1.0pre4 version, which has many improvements in
  stability and compatibility, some improvements in speed and
  functionality. Please go to the mplayer homepage to find out
  what's new. (one of them is the SSE support on mingw)
- new video output methods. You can use now directx (directx),
  opengl (gl2), sdl (sdl), vidix (winvidix) and caca (caca).
  ! See Video drivers section for info on how to use them !
- Always on top switch (mplayer video window will also be on top!)
- if you drag&drop a file on the playlist, it will be added there
  if you do this with a subtitle file, drop it on the appropriate
  file entry in the playlist !

0.15.5
- commandline option: if -start incuded after filename, it will be started
  automatically, regardless of the switch AutoStart Commandline
- multiple files can be selected in the Open Media File dialog. Files will
  be added to the playlist automatically
- multiple subtitle files can be selected so mplayer can display them
  simulteanously

0.15.4
- commandline autostart now works again (was bad from 0.15.*)
- shutdown routine is more app friendly on win2k and above :)
- OSD and subtitle font outline and blur can be adjusted

0.15.3
- language fixes
- some minor fixes (PanScan,Expand didn't always work)

0.15.2
- PanScan emulation !!! Although the video drivers don't know have
  panscan feature, it can be emulated. If you have a very wide movie,
  the sides can be stripped, so the movie won't be so narrow.
- Expand: expand video to whole screen by insertint black stripes.
  This is very useful if you would like MPlayer to put subtitles and
  OSD outside the movie image.
- Now mouse support is added with the default directx player.
  Left button:pause, right button:fullscreen, mouse wheel:volume. If
  you dislike it, edit mplayer/input.conf
- MPlayer process priority setting. If movie playing pops or skips
  because of too heavy load on you machine (ie. you are also an ftp
  server), increase it. CAUTION! It can eat all your CPU!
- Setting the number of audio output channels. Please test it, because
  I have only stereo sound system.
- decoding of matrix encoded audio (ie Dolby Surround/ProLogic) to 4 or
  more channels. These are actually 2 channel audio datas, but if you
  have a 5.1 audio system, than you should try it, as large number of
  2 channel audio films are really of this type. Use sub-woofer emulation
  also!
- sub-woofer emulation - if the audio source does not have sub-woofer
  channel, it can be emulated from the front 2 channels.

0.15.0
- MPlayer output window now does not always show up, default setting is
  only on error.
- Image PostProcessing

0.14.0
- I have recompiled mplayer myself, all optimizations turned on. Up to this
  time I've used a cvs version made by Sasha Sommer (downloaded from mplayerhq)
  Now i've managed to compile 1.0pre3 (the pre3 version i found wad buggy),
  and this is much faster!!! On my 850celeronii an 608x256 movie with ac3
  consumes avaragely 20-30% with post-processing turned on!!!

Features
==============
 - Remembers last open file folder
 - Remembers all settings automatically
 - can use per-user config files
 - subtitles
 - settings of subtitle font and size
 - accepts drag&drop files (including subtitle files)
 - can play subtitles from even a ZIP (sub or srt)
 - fullscreen
 - idx recalculation - you can seek in bad or partial avi files too
 - if you set it a default player for media files, you can start movies
   with a double-click in Explorer
 - playlist
 - poweroff after play
 - volume setting
 - normalize volume
 - extra stereo
 - brightness, contrast, etc.
 - and a lot more

MPlayer keyboard settings
=========================
Key layout is located in mplayer/input.conf. If you wish, you can edit
this file (ie with notepad)

Most important settings

seek +10 sec     Right
seek -10 sec     Left
seek   1 min     Up
seek  -1 min     Down
seek  10 min     PgUp
seek -10 min     PgDn
pause            Space,  Left mouse button
exit             Q, Esc
osd              o,      Middle mouse button
volume up/down   / *.    Mouse wheel
fullscreen       f.      Right mouse button
brightness, etc  1-8

Please read mplayer manual for the full list.

User dependent configuration files
==================================
If you want each user to have an own configuration file, simply
copy the default mpf.ini file (or make an empty one) to the
users home directory (Usually: C:\Documents and Settings\username)
One more to mention: if more users use a computer, it may be
that not every user can write to the mpf.ini in the mplayer
installation folder. On 9x/Me this is unimportant, as these pieces
of sh*t don't have security system (XP Home edition also lacks
this feature) Usually normal users don't have the right to alter
system files, including installed programs. In this case you should
copy mpf.ini to user home folder.

Setting up
===========
There are a lot of thing you can do with mplayer, if you are interested,
read the mplayer manual (included in setup). This is why extra parameters
are there in my program. Anyway, please read on.

If you have display problems, eg. black or disorted image, or flashing
subtitles, slow play... than probably you have an old videocard, or
very bad drivers. In most cases there is a solution.

Black picture, slow play, or doesn't work at all (probably your card
lack YV12 overlay mode): check use YUY2 colorspace. If this does not
help, disable hardware accelaration at all by entering -vo directx:noaccel
into mplayer extra parameters. And buy a new card:) You may try the
opengl output with -vo gl2

I have met a card (a half-bad Savage4), which is unable to play some
videos if direct rendering is turned on, with other videos the
fullscreen goes wrong if disabled. (YUY2 has to be turned on always)
This is a complex problem, which cannot be solved, so one has had to
turn this option on/off from film to film. Again, this card is
broken.

If you encounter flashing osd and subtitles, try settings on or off
the direct rendering and double buffer. These have to solve it.

On windoze, PostProcessing works other way than under linux. It
uses DirectShow internal routines. For some reason, this cannot
work (works, but is VERY SLOW) if direct rendering is enabled,
so please turn it off.

You can show MPlayer output window anytime pressing F11

Video drivers
=============
There are several video output drivers. Default is directx, as
this driver works well on almost all system. Other drivers may
provide more functionality (ie PanScan) on your system, if you want,
you may explore them. To get the list of available output drivers
use the -vo help parameter. Some of the drivers are:
DirectX (driver name: directx), OpenGL (gl2), Vidix (winvidix),
SDL (sdl). You can use them by entering ie. -vo gl2 into the
mplayer parameters editbox if you want OpenGL output.
Note: SDL works on all systems buy some may experience fullscreen
problems. OpenGL depends on your card's drivers, 

Note on Vidix: is great for Matrox cards, NVidia users have to use
other output. If you want to use Vidix, you have to download and
install a driver called dhahelper.sys. You can find the installer in
the dhahelper directory. Use 'dhasetup.exe install' to install, and
'dhasetup remove' to remove the driver. System restart is needed
after both!!

Setup
=====

Video:

- Double buffer: decoding of a frame is done to a separate back buffer,
    so playing may be smoother. If OSD blinks, turn this on.

- Direct rendering: decoding of a frame is done directly to the
    videocard. Faster play, but not all cards/codec can do this.
    PostProcessing may slow down very much if turned on.

- Graphic equalizer: brightness and contrast control with keys 1-4

- PostProcessing: image enhancement. Uses internal DirectShow routines
    (not mplayer routines), may slow down very much if direct renderng
    is turned on

- YUY2 colorspace: not all cards support YV12 colorspace (which is
    the default), especially old cards. Most of these cards however
    do support YUY2. If playing is very slow or image is bad or
    doesn't play at all, try this.

- Expand video: Inserts black stripes at the sides of the image to
    meet monitor aspect. Useful if you don't want the subtitles to
    be drawn onto the picture, but under/above it.

- PanScan emulation: if the movie is too wide and you put it
    fullscreen, the image becomes a narrow stripe. This option chops
    some from the sides of the film, the movies aspect will be closer
    to the monitor's aspect

Audio:

- Normalize volume: reduces volume to get rid of digital disortion.
  
- Set output channels: if mplayer does not recognize your audio stuff
    correctly, set the number of channels supported here.
    For example, if you have an 5.1 stuff, set 6.

- Decode Dolby Surround: there are a lot of films whose audio is Dolby
    Surround encoded. These have 2 channel audio, but if you have more
    than 4, than set this settings on.

- Emulate sub-woofer: if audio-source doesn't contain sub-woofer
    channel, set this on to mix it from the front left&right channels.

Attention: if a movie contains 5.1 audio data, do NOT set Dolby decode
and sub-woofer emulation as these settings are for 2 channel audio
sources.

- Equalizer: use 10 channel equalizer to improve sound quality. This
    Settings does not work on all soundcards, it highlt depends on the
    soundcard driver. (your soundcard driver has to support floating
    point number formats)

Font:

- Font: choose the desired font-file. Please choose only .TTF because
    mplayer won't start if it cannot handle the font file.

- Font size: has no meaning if default font used

- Sub encoding: here you can enter the character encoding your
    subtitle files use. For example "latin1", "iso-8859-2", "unicode",
    "utf-8"

Misc:

- Disable screensaver: as it's name says. Note that directx output
    driver does this also, so you don't have to check it if using
    directx, but it won't hurt if you do so...

- Autoplay Drag&Drop files: if a file has been "droppen" onto mpf
    window with a mouse, itt will start playing immediately if this
    settings is on

- Autoplay commandline: if you start mpf by specifying a movie file
    on commandline (for example you have assigned mpf with avi and
    you double-click on an avi file) it will start playing instantly

- Only 1 copy of MPF: set this to prevent mpf from starting multiple
    times. Note: if you specify a commandline file for the second
    mpf then it will command the first instance to open the specified
    file.

- MPlayer result window: if checked, upon starting mplayer a window
    will apear in which you can see the text output produced by
    mplayer. You can make this window appear anytime by pressing F11

- MPlayer priority: You can set the process priority of mplayer.
    If you specify a large priority, and your system is heavily loaded
    mplayer will eat up your cpu easily. Actually above normal
    should do it.

Contact
========

Any ideas are welcome here:
deje@miki.hu
Subject: MPF
  or
ICQ:34015879

Download latest version:
http://mpf.dzm.hu

That's all, use it
Deje
