View source for MPlayer

{{Short description|Free and open source media player}}
{{about|the open source media player|Microsoft's media player (mplayer2.exe)|Windows Media Player|the online gaming community|MPlayer.com}}
{{multiple issues|{{Update|inaccurate=yes|date=June 2012}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2023}}}}
{{Infobox software
| name = MPlayer
| logo = MPlayer.svg
| screenshot = MPlayer.png
| caption = MPlayer on Linux using the ''gMplayer'' front-end
| developer = MPlayer team
| released = {{start date and age|2000}}
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q131344|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date    = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q131344|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q131344|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
| latest preview date    = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q131344|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| programming language = [[C (programming language)|C]]
| platform = [[Cross-platform]]
| language = English, Hungarian, Polish, Russian and Spanish
| genre = [[Media player (software)|Media player]]
| license = [[GNU General Public License|GPL-2.0-or-later]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html|title = MPlayer - the Movie Player}}</ref>
| website = {{official URL}}
}}

'''MPlayer''' is a [[free and open-source]] [[media player software]] application. It is available for [[Linux]], [[OS X]] and [[Microsoft Windows]]. Versions for legacy systems such as [[OS/2]] and [[AmigaOS]] were previously available, but are no longer actively maintained. A port for [[DOS]] using [[DJGPP]] is also available.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/util/user/mplayer/ |title=Index of /pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/util/user/mplayer |publisher=Ibiblio.org |access-date=2012-01-01}}</ref> Versions for the [[Wii]] [[Homebrew Channel]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Erant |url=http://hackmii.com/2008/08/libdi-and-the-dvdx-installer/ |title=libdi and the DVDX installer |publisher=Hackmii.com |access-date=2012-01-01}}</ref> and Amazon Kindle<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gitorious.org/kindlebrew |title=kindlebrew |publisher=Gitorious |access-date=2012-01-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407063924/http://gitorious.org/kindlebrew |archive-date=2012-04-07 }}</ref> have also been developed.

==History==
Development of MPlayer began in 2000. The original author, [[Hungary|Hungarian]] Árpád Gereöffy, started the project because he was unable to find any satisfactory video players for Linux after XAnim stopped development in 1999. The first version was titled ''mpg12play v0.1'' and was initially prototyped using ''libmpeg3'' from [[Cinelerra|Cinelerra-HV]]. After ''mpg12play v0.95pre5'', the code was merged with an [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]] player based on ''avifile''{{'}}s ''[[Win32]] [[Dynamic-link library|DLL]] loader'' to form MPlayer v0.3 in November 2000.<ref>[http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/history.html History]</ref> 

Gereöffy was soon joined by many other programmers, in the beginning mostly from [[Hungary]], but later worldwide.

Alex Beregszászi has maintained MPlayer since 2003 when Gereöffy left MPlayer development to begin work on a second generation MPlayer. The '''MPlayer G2''' project was abandoned, and all the development effort was put on MPlayer 1.0.<ref>{{cite web |title=MPlayer - The Movie Player |url=http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/news.html |access-date=2012-06-24}}</ref>

MPlayer was previously called "MPlayer - The Movie Player for Linux" by its developers but this was later shortened to "MPlayer - The Movie Player" after it became commonly used on other operating systems.

== Video acceleration ==
There are various [[Semiconductor intellectual property core|SIP blocks]] that can accelerate video decoding computation in several formats, including [[Nvidia PureVideo|PureVideo]], [[Unified Video Decoder|UVD]], [[Intel Quick Sync Video|QuickSync Video]], [[OMAP 4|TI Ducati]] and others. Hardware acceleration for MPlayer was implemented in the 2000s for several chipsets. However, newer forks such as <code>mpv</code> now provide more modern and active support for hardware decoding for MPlayer,<ref name=zhang>{{Cite conference |date=2010 |title=The design and implementation of an embedded high definition player |conference=The 2nd International Conference on Computer and Automation Engineering (ICCAE) |volume=4 |vauthors=Zhang H etal}}</ref> including for specific mobile device architectures.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Chang |first1=Hoseok |last2=Lee |first2=Youngjoon |last3=Sung |first3=Wonyong |chapter=Performance Optimization of a Multimedia Player on a Mobile CPU Platform |date=October 2007 |title=2007 IEEE Workshop on Signal Processing Systems |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/sips.2007.4387538 |pages=163–168 |publisher=IEEE |doi=10.1109/sips.2007.4387538|isbn=978-1-4244-1221-1 |s2cid=8023880 }}</ref>

==Capabilities and classification==
MPlayer supports a broad range of media formats, leveraging [[FFmpeg]] libraries for decoding and playback. However, users seeking support for modern codecs and streaming protocols often use [[Mpv_(media_player)|mpv]], which builds upon MPlayer's foundation and can also save all streamed content to a file locally.

A companion program, called [[MEncoder]], can take an input stream, file or a sequence of picture files, and [[transcoding|transcode]] it into several different output formats, optionally applying various transforms along the way.

A variety of [[command-line interface|command-line]] parameters allows changing the appearance of the player, including <code>-speed [number]</code>, <code>-af scaletempo</code> for changing audio speed while maintaining the pitch, <code>-ss</code> (start at x seconds), <code>-sb</code> (start at x bytes), <code>-endpos</code> (stop playing at x seconds), <code>-novideo</code> for only playing the audio track of a video, and <code>-loop [number]</code> for looping.<ref>MPlayer documentation and user manual</ref>

==Media formats==
[[File:MPlayer cmd win32.png|thumb|MPlayer being run via command line in Microsoft Windows.]]
MPlayer can play many formats, including:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/info.html |title=MPlayer Features |publisher=Mplayerhq.hu |access-date=2012-01-01}}</ref>
* '''Physical media''': [[compact disc|CDs]], [[DVD]]s, [[Video CD]]s, [[Blu-ray Disc|Blu-ray]] discs
* '''[[Container format (digital)|Container format]]s''': [[3GP]], [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]], [[Advanced Systems Format|ASF]], [[FLV]], [[Matroska]], [[QuickTime|MOV (QuickTime)]], [[MP4]], NUT, [[Ogg]], [[OGM]], [[RealMedia]], [[Bink Video|Bink]]
* '''[[Template:Compression Formats|Video formats]]''': [[Cinepak]], [[DV (video format)|DV]], [[H.263]], [[H.264/MPEG-4 AVC]], [[HuffYUV]], [[Indeo]], [[MJPEG]], [[MPEG-1]], [[MPEG-2]], [[MPEG-4 Part 2]], [[RealVideo]], [[Sorenson codec|Sorenson]], [[Theora]], [[Windows Media Video|WMV]], [[Bink Video|Bink]]
* '''Audio formats''': [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]], [[Dolby AC-3|AC3]], [[Apple Lossless|ALAC]], [[Adaptive Multi-Rate|AMR]], [[DTS (sound system)|DTS]], [[FLAC]], Intel Music Coder, [[Monkey's Audio]], [[MP3]], [[Musepack]], [[RealAudio]], [[Shorten (file format)|Shorten]], [[Speex]], [[Vorbis]], [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]], [[Bink Video|Bink]]
* '''[[Subtitles|Subtitle formats]]''': AQTitle, [[SubStation Alpha|ASS/SSA]], [[Closed captioning|CC]], JACOsub, [[MicroDVD]], MPsub, OGM, PJS, RT, [[SAMI|Sami]], [[SubRip|SRT]], SubViewer, [[VobSub|VOBsub]], VPlayer
* '''Image formats''': [[BMP file format|BMP]], [[JPEG]], [[Multiple-image Network Graphics|MNG]], [[PCX]], PTX, [[Truevision TGA|TGA]], [[Tag Image File Format|TIFF]], [[Silicon Graphics Image|SGI]], [[Sun Raster]]
* '''Protocols''': [[Real-time Transport Protocol|RTP]], [[Real Time Streaming Protocol|RTSP]], [[Hypertext Transfer Protocol|HTTP]], [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]], [[Microsoft Media Services|MMS]], Netstream ({{mono|mpst://}}), [[Server Message Block|SMB]], {{mono|ffmpeg://}} (Uses [[FFmpeg]]'s protocol implementations)

MPlayer can also use a variety of output driver protocols to display video, including [[VDPAU]], the [[X video extension]], [[OpenGL]], [[DirectX]], [[Direct3D]], [[Quartz Compositor]], [[VESA]], [[Framebuffer]], [[Simple DirectMedia Layer|SDL]] and rarer ones such as [[ASCII art]] (using [[AAlib]] and [[libcaca]]) and [[Project Blinkenlights|Blinkenlights]]. It can also be used to display TV from a TV card using the device {{mono|{{not a typo|tv}}://channel}}, or play and capture radio channels via {{mono|radio://channel{{!}}frequency}}.

Since version 1.0RC1, Mplayer can decode subtitles in [[SubStation Alpha|ASS/SSA]] subtitle format, using [[libass]].

===Available plugins===
* [[XMMS]] plugins
* [[Avisynth]]

== {{Anchor|GNOME MPlayer|gMplayer|}}Interface and graphical front-ends==
[[File:Gnome-MPlayer v1.0.9 on Debian 8.png|thumb|Gnome-MPlayer v1.0.9 on [[GNOME]]]]

Like [[GStreamer]], MPlayer has only [[command line interface]] and there are a couple of [[Front-end (computing)|front-end]]s available, which use [[GUI widget]]s of [[GTK]], [[Qt (software)|Qt]] or some other widget library. When not using these front-ends, mplayer can still display video in a window (with no visible controls on it), and is controlled using a keyboard. MPlayer itself is a command-line based player, but various third-party front-ends have been developed over time. Active and popular front-ends include '''[[SMPlayer]]''' (Qt-based), while others such as '''Gnome-MPlayer''' and '''MPlayerX''' are no longer actively maintained.

==Forks==
'''mplayer2''' was a GPLv3-licensed fork of MPlayer, largely the work of Uoti Urpala, who was excluded from the MPlayer project in May 2010 due to "long standing differences" with the MPlayer Team.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=OTI0Ng |title=Is MPlayer2 a viable fork of MPlayer? |publisher=[[Phoronix]] |date=2011-03-24 |access-date=2014-04-18}}</ref> The main changes from MPlayer were improved pause handling, Matroska support, seeking, and support for Nvidia VDPAU; enabling multithreading by default; and the removal of MEncoder, the GUI interface, and various video drivers and bundled libraries, such as ffmpeg, relying instead on shared libraries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mplayer2.org/comparison.html |title=mplayer2 differences from mplayer |date=2011 |access-date=May 4, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504055423/http://www.mplayer2.org/comparison.html |archive-date=May 4, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ostatic.com/blog/did-you-know-there-was-a-fork-of-mplayer |title=Did You Know there was a Fork of MPlayer? |publisher=ostatic.com |date=2011-03-22 |access-date=2011-11-29 |archive-date=2012-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111135451/http://ostatic.com/blog/did-you-know-there-was-a-fork-of-mplayer |url-status=dead }}</ref> The developers also indicated intentions to enable MPlayer2 to use [[Libav]] as an alternative to ffmpeg.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.gentoo.org/scarabeus/2013/01/15/libav-going-to-be-default-provider-for-your-codec-experience/#comment-2705|title=Libav going to be default provider for your codec experience (comment)|date=January 16, 2013}}</ref> The first release, 2.0, was published in March 2011. Mplayer2 development has ceased, and its goals have largely been continued by '''mpv''', an actively developed fork.

'''[[mpv (media player)|mpv]]'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mpv.io|title=mpv.io|access-date=2015-01-28}}</ref> is a GPLv2-licensed fork of mplayer2. Since June 2015, mpv has worked to relicense its code as [[GNU Lesser General Public License|LGPL]] v2.1 or above.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/issues/2033|title=Possible LGPL relicensing|website=[[GitHub]]|access-date=2016-09-27}}</ref>

MPlayer, MPlayer2 and mpv all use incompatible [[Edit decision list|EDL]] formats.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/HTML/en/edl.html|title=3.7. Edit Decision Lists (EDL)|access-date=21 Jul 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717212428/http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/HTML/en/edl.html|archive-date=2015-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://devel.mplayer2.org/changeset/968154ba77f8e8974d6dd36d1109a473b3ff5b6c/|title=EDL: add support for new EDL file format|work=MPlayer2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425211510/http://devel.mplayer2.org/changeset/968154ba77f8e8974d6dd36d1109a473b3ff5b6c|archive-date=25 April 2011}} [http://pastebin.com/ZYPSqjSW Alt URL]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/DOCS/edl-mpv.rst|title=EDL files|work=mpv|date=25 Oct 2014|access-date=21 Jul 2015}}</ref>

==Legal controversy==
In January 2004, the MPlayer website was updated with an allegation that the Danish DVD player manufacturer, [[Kiss Technology]], were marketing DVD players with [[firmware]] that included parts of MPlayer's GPL-licensed code. The implication was that Kiss was violating the GPL, since Kiss did not release its firmware under the GPL license. The response from the managing director of Kiss, Peter Wilmar Christensen, countered that the similarities between the two pieces of code indicate that the MPlayer team had in fact used code from Kiss's firmware.<ref name="2004-03">{{cite web |title=MPlayer - The Movie Player |date=2004-01-10 |url=http://mplayerhq.hu/design7/news-archive.html#kiss05 |access-date=2012-06-24}}</ref> However, the Kiss DVD player, released in 2003, used a subtitle file format that is specific to MPlayer, which was designed by an MPlayer developer in 2001.<ref name="2004-03" />

== Current status ==
As of 2025, MPlayer remains available as a legacy media player but is no longer under active feature development. Users seeking a more modern and actively maintained media player are generally encouraged to use [[Mpv (media player)|mpv]], a fork that continues the MPlayer2 development line with improved compatibility, hardware acceleration, and interface options.

==See also==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[FFmpeg]]
* [[VLC media player]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{wikibooks}}

* {{official website}}

{{Media player (application software)|free}}

[[Category:2000 software]]
[[Category:Amiga media players]]
[[Category:Cross-platform free software]]
[[Category:Free media players]]
[[Category:Free music software]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C]]
[[Category:Free video software]]
[[Category:Linux DVD players]]
[[Category:Linux media players]]
[[Category:MacOS media players]]
[[Category:Portable software]]
[[Category:Software derived from or incorporating Wine]]
[[Category:Software that uses FFmpeg]]
[[Category:SVGAlib programs]]
[[Category:Video software that uses GTK]]
[[Category:Windows media players]]
[[Category:Software using the GNU General Public License]]
[[Category:Software DVD players]]