2008-05-25

MPlayer on Windows Vista

Everybody knows that Microsoft released it's next operating system called Windows Vista on January 30, 2007 (retail). All know, but only few pioneers use it. I don't really remember why I chose to install this OS onto my computer (both at home and work), but here I am... Throw a rock at me! I have had few BSODs, which I can't recall having on Windows XP with same hardware and software configuration, and I don't like it. However, I can do everyday tasks with no hiccups.
Video playback is numero uno among these tasks. I have used VLC player up until now, but crappy OGM (XVID video + vorb audio inside and SSA subtitles in a separate file) playback made me look for better alternatives. I installed win32 port of mplayer and opened one of anime episodes from my collection with it. Audio and video ran in sync, fast forward/backward worked like a charm (big difference from VLC), but Aero was gone. Not a single second without
eye-candy, I say!
After googling and fiddling with settings for a few minutes I managed to run mplayer without shutting Aero off. Here are instructions meant for two mplayer win32 ports.
MPUI:
Start application, go Tools -> Options, copy/paste " -dr -vo gl:glfinish" into Additional MPlayer parameters line, click Save, OK, close MPUI.
SMPlayer:
Start application, go Options -> Preferences, copy/paste "gl:glfinish" into Video under Output drivers in General tab, click OK, close SMPlayer.
You will enjoy both fantastic mplayer and beautiful Aero after that.