[MPlayer-users] two questions about playing from the console

[Nathan Thern]

Hi -
I regularly use mplayer under both linux/X11 and windows on my
dual-boot home desktop. However, recently other family members have
needed this desktop in the evening for school. I also have an old PII
running debian squeeze in console mode (no X11installed) that is my
backup computer & would like to have the option to watch videos on it
using the framebuffer. (*)

Question 1:
When I try to install mplayer using aptitude, it wants to include tons
of X11 libraries & stuff. The disk space isn't an issue, it's just
that I don't want this computer slowed down by adding cruft it doesn't
need. Can I force an install of mplayer without the X11 libraries &
will it still work? What libs do I need to make sure I _do_ install?
Or is there a console-only binary out there somewhere I can use? If
necessary, I can compile my own, but, of course, laziness is a virtue
:-).

Question 2:
I'm finding it very difficult to determine how I will actually play to
the framebuffer. I have no /dev/fb* device. All my google searches
turn up instructions on how to get different framebuffer modes during
boot, and I can't figure out how to get a framebuffer device that's
available _after_ I boot. What am I missing?

regards,
NT

* I often watch slide shows that I have reformatted to CIF on my old
IPAQ. I can also reformat those vids to 640x480 or whatever is needed.
I'm sure processor speed won't be too much of an issue.