[MEncoder-users] Getting status messages without the "skipping frame" messages?

[The Wanderer]

Joe Emenaker wrote:

> The Wanderer wrote:
> 
>> -msglevel mencoder=1
> 
> Good, I'll try that.
> 
>> This *is* in the man page...
> 
> Hmmm. Thanks for the slap on the nose.

I'm not sure whether to treat that as sincere or sarcastic. This is, in
any case, much more polite than the traditional "RTFM" - which I have
delivered from time to time, but it didn't seem appropriate in this
instance.

> FWIW, the man page that I've got printed here spans over 90 pages.

This is where the / command - 'search for string' - comes in handy,
albeit only if you have some idea of what to search for. In this case,
either "verbosity" or "messages" would have helped locate the correct
option (which you did find).

> However, from my original post, you'll see that I did read through it
> enough to find the "-msglevel" option. What I neglected to mention,
> however, is that "-msglevel help", as they suggest, lists about 30
> different message categories. Since the man page doesn't seem to list
> which messages come from which categories, it would have been a
> (potentially arduous) brute-force search to find the categories
> involved...

Well, I'll admit it helps to have the source code handy, to be able to
search through for the specific message and find the module to which the
message is targeted. However, I would have thought that 'mencoder' would
be an obvious first thing to check.

FTR, module-specific message suppression or enhancement was originally
added for the benefit of developers who want to focus on just the
section of the code they're working with. Usability for end users was,
IIRC, something of a side concern. Given the immense number of different
messages in MPlayer/MEncoder, it wouldn't really be practical to list
them by module in the documentation anyway... the source code will have
to do.

> So... I figured I'd ask before I waste a few hours, and for saving me
> from it, you have my gratitude.

You're welcome.

-- 
       The Wanderer

Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.

Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.