Leave
images unsorted - Leave the images in the command line unsorted
(in the order they appear). If off, frame numbers will be sorted
properly. This only has an effect if -g is not specified.
-Z <pad>
Image
Padding - Load only images that are padded to 'pad' digits (or
0 for non-padded images only).
-z <level>
Zoom
Factor - Load images at the specified zoom level (in %): 12 25
33 50 66 75 100 133 150 200 300 400 and 800. To specify an image in
terms of its X and Y resolution, use -w and -h. This can also be
changed using the Zoom level pulldown menu above the viewer (not
visible in all profiles).
-w <width>
Force
Image Width - Load images at width specified (only for files
loaded via the command line). Must be specified with -h. If reading
from stdin, this option must be specified.
-h <height>
Force
Image Height - Load images at height specified (only for files
loaded via the command line). Must be specified with -w. If reading
from stdin, this option must be specified.
-S <nframes>
Number
of Frames - Load 'nframes' images from stdin in RGBA format.
This is only used when image data is piped to mplay in raw RGBA format.
-w and -h must also be specified (as the image information does not
contain the resolution).
-v
Flip
Vertically - Flips all images loaded via the command line
vertically, in case they were saved upside-down. This can be set on a
per-sequence basis in the Sequence Manager (File->Sequence List), by
toggling the "Flip" icon.
-B <file>
Load
Background Image - Set the background image or sequence. This
will automatically enable transparency and background images.
Background images appear behind the main images - if your main images
don't have alpha (.jpg, .cin) or have solid alpha, you won't see the
background images. This can also be specified in the Display Options
dialog (default hotkey 'd') on the Background page.
-c
Load
Color Only - Loads the main RGB color components only. This is
helpful when viewing larges sequences with alpha when you're only
interested in color - it frees up a bit more memory for the images by
ignoring the alpha Of course, you won't be able to view to the alpha
plane. This can also be specified in the Options->Settings dialog.
-U
Unlimited
Memory Usage - Use an unlimited amount of memory for
images. MPlay uses all your physical memory minus 64Mb by
default, so by overriding this behaviour, you may encounter stuttering
when the OS swaps memory. This can also be specified in the Display
Options dialog (default hotkey 'd') on the Memory page.
-m <mem>
Memory
Usage - Limit the memory usage to 'mem' Mb. Normally, MPlay uses
all your physical memory minus 64Mb. This can also be specified in the
Display Options dialog (default hotkey 'd') on the Memory page.
-L <lutfile>
Cineon
Lookup Table - Sets 'lutfile' as the lookup table for cineon
images. The LUT must be a .lut file produced by the Houdini ilut
program. This can also be specified in the Options->Settings dialog.
-l <w> <g> <iw>
Set
Cineon Parameters - Sets the Cineon white point 'w'
(0-1023), the film gamma 'g' and the image white point 'iw' (0-65535).
These can also be specified in the Options->Settings dialog.
-N
No
Cineon Conversion - Leave Cineon files in their natural 10 bit
log space (0-1023). Cineon files will appear very washed out, but this
is useful for cineon value inspection. This can also be specified in
the Options->Settings dialog.
-d <lutfile>
Display
Lookup Table - Sets the display LUT to 'lutfile'. Images are run
through this LUT before display. The LUT must be a .lut file produced
by the Houdini ilut program. This can also be specified in the Display
Options dialog (default hotkey 'd') on the Correction page.
-i <lutfile>
Inspect
Lookup Table - Sets the inspect LUT to 'lutfile'. Values are run
through the inverse LUT during pixel inspection. The LUT must be a .lut
file produced by the Houdini ilut program. This
can also be specified in the Display Options dialog (default hotkey
'd') on the Correction page.
-8
Convert
to 8 Bit - Load all images at 8 bit depth, regardless of their
natural depth. This speeds up playback of 16bit and floating point
image files considerably on most video cards. This also cuts down on
memory usage. However, image precision is lost.
Playback Options
These options set the playbar options, such as frame range and rate.
-C
Precache
- Cache all images at startup, and adjust the memory usage so that all
images fit in the cache. This can also be done manually with
File->Cache All Images.
-f <s> <e> <st>
Frame
Range and Step - Sets the frame range (s,e) and frame step (st)
of the playbar. This can also be set in the Option->Settings dialog,
or on the playbar itself. This can also be set with the
fplayback command.
-p
Play!
- Startup in playback mode, playing forward.
-P <mode>
Playback
Mode - Sets the playback mode to 'loop', 'once' or 'zigzag'.
"Loop" plays from start to end, then repeats. "Once" plays from start
to end, then stops. "ZigZag" plays from start to end, then end to
start, and repeats. This can also be set in the Options->Settings
dialog, and with the
play command.
-r <fps>
Realtime
FPS - Set the frames per second for realtime play. This also
enables realtime playback. This can be specified on the playbar, or in
the Options->Settings dialog. The
fps
command will also set the FPS value. If the environment variable $FPS
is set, this is used as the default FPS, otherwise 30 is assumed. This
option will override that default.
-R
Realtime
Mode - Turn on realtime play without specifying a rate. The
fplayback command can also be
used to turn realtime mode on or off.
UI Options
-b <s|d>
Single/Double
Buffer - Startup in single (s) or double (d) buffer mode. Single
buffer provides faster playback speed (default), but may show image
tearing at fast playback speeds.
-F
Full
Image View - Do not show any extra UI, except for the playbar.
-H
Disable
Help Tags - This disables the popup help tags when the mouse is
left over a UI gadget. This can also be disabled by the
Options->Help Tags menu toggle.
-K
Listen
for Renders - Tell MPlay to listen on a socket for input images.
Images rendered to the ip device will be displayed. This option is
ignored if stdin is specified as a file.
-k
Listen
for Composite Flipbooks - Tell MPlay to listen for flipbook
images originating from Flipbook commands or Composite output drivers
from Halo or COPs. This option is ignored if stdin is specified as a
file.
-T
Always
on Top - MPlay will always remain a topmost window (NT only).
-V <x> <y>
Viewport
Layout - Sets the viewport layout to 'x' cols by 'y' rows. Not
all viewports may be visible, if there are not enough sequences to fill
them.
Audio Options
-a <file>
Load
Audio File - Loads audio file 'file' and enables audio.
-A <volume>
Volume
Level - Sets the volume level (default 1). Zero is off.
-o <fr> <sec>
Audio
Synchronization - Audio time 'sec' is synchronized with
playbar frame 'fr'.
-s on|off
Audio
Sustain - Enable or disable the audio scrub sustain. If sustain
is on, scrubbing audio sounds more continuous.
Image Files
Any number of images can be loaded into mplay. MPlay supports all image
formats that Houdini does. Any files that mplay does not recognize will
not be loaded, and a warning will be printed.
MPlay loads files in one of 2 modes:
- Grouped mode - (default)
All image files are grouped together in one sequence, starting at frame
1. Frames are sorted numerically in files of similar name.
- Filtered mode - (-g option) All images of similar names are grouped
together in the same sequence. Frames are sorted and occupy the same
frame as their frame number.
Command Scripts
Any number of command scripts can be specified on the command line.
These will be executed in order, left to right. It doesn't matter if
they come before, in the middle or after the images - they are all
executed after the image sequences have been established. MPlay has a
smaller command set than
Houdini, but it still allows you to do many useful things.
Example:
# This starts playing forward, in ZigZag mode, at 24fps.
play -z
fplayback -r on
fps 24