[MPlayer-users] Controlling mencoder from command line

[Ivan Kowalenko]

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On Jun 22, 2006, at 08.35, Francois Visagie wrote:

> Hi Guys,
>
> Please, I know this is a newbie question, but I've combed all html
> documentation without finding the information I'm looking for. I'm NOT
> looking for descriptions of command line options/switches. What I  
> AM looking
> for is a description of controlling the various ways mencoder can  
> read &
> write its input & output.
>
> Please help me out here or at least point me to some online  
> documentation if
> available?

First: DON'T top post.
Second: Don't expect an answer instantly. Some of us like sleeping,  
some of us are in different time zones. That means it will take more  
than seven hours to get a response from someone in the community who  
can answer your question. Patience is a virtue, especially when  
dealing with mailing lists and complex programs.
Third: Just go look at http://mplayerhq.hu All the documentation is  
there. I mean ALL of it. Seriously, check out the website, or google  
for "mplayer documentation." You'll get some good results that way.

> ---
> Hi All,
>
> I'm trying my hand at mencoder. While I'm fairly comfortable with  
> specifying
> coders, filters etc. from the command line (or from the config  
> file), I
> can't work out how mencoder's behaviour is influenced by its  
> command line
> arguments. According to man_page.html the command line synopsis is:
>
> mencoder [options] [ file | URL | − ] [−o file]
> mencoder [global options] file1 [specific options] [file2] [specific
> options]
>
> Where can I get detailed descriptions of the various arguments,  
> answering questions like -
>
> According to the first command form above, all arguments are optional.

They're not.

> What happens when no arguments are specified; how does one get  
> mencoder to do anything useful?

It doesn't.

> What happens if − is specified?

It tries to open the file "-"

> Where does output go when -o file isn't specified?

It doesn't. Seriously, just try these things. These are not optional  
things with MEncoder. They're required. If they're not specified,  
then MEncoder says "yo, something's wrong. I'm missing (option here)"  
and shuts down. It's not like doing this can damage your computer.

> According to the second form, file1 isn't optional.

Well, I'd hope it's not.

> How does mencoder distinguish between the two forms?

Perhaps the order of options? The fact that there are two files  
specified? It's called parsing. Some programs have very complex  
parsing rules, some are very flexible, some barely parse anything at  
all.

> How does the second form behave differently from the first?

Probably by using the specified functions for the second file as  
dictated in the command.

> Etc.
>
> Thank you in advance,
> Francois
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