[MPlayer-users] Re: recomended components for mplayer

[Dean S. Messing]

 :: From: Colin Leroy <colin at colino.net>
 :: On Fri,  3 Jan 2003 14:19:42 -0800 (PST) "Dean S. Messing"
 :: <deanm at sharplabs.com> wrote:
 :: 
 :: Hi
 :: 
 :: >            "Oh.  Well that might be problem.  You see, MPLayer doesn't
 :: >             do so well on the Nvidia card."
 :: 
 :: I don't see any problems with my pc and its nvidia card. Anyway even if xv
 :: didn't work, many people using nvidia cards are "tech-fashion-victims" and
 :: have big enough CPUs to actually display a DVD using x11 vo.

To be honest I run nvidia (obviously) and I have not seen a problem
with xv.  But as I said I have not really exercised the thing yet.
And it may be the case the to solve my "Perfect Frame Rendering"
problem I will need (as Arpi advised me) to go with a Matrox Card and
his mga_vid driver.

In fact I have a query in to Mark V. on the Xfree Xperts group about
my rendering problem and am waiting to see what he says.

But for playing ordinary stuff I have not seen a problem. But everybody
(and the docs) seems to say that Nvidia has problems with MPlayer so
I am just believing them.

 :: 
 :: >            "That's odd. The Windows Media Player doesn't seem to have
 :: >             any problems."  Oh well.  Maybe some other time ...?
 :: 
 :: The guy you describe here is typically the guy that doesn't give a fuck
 :: How It Works and even if he tried linux, he would prompty go back to
 :: windows screaming that linux isn't usable.

I know that this stereo-type is very common among Linux people, just
as among "intellectuals" (like myself :-) the "joe sixpack"
stereo-type makes a great straw man.  But the truth is that there are
many many non-gear heads who are, nonetheless, fed up with M$ and who,
with the proper help and encouragement, would make exemplary
Document-reading Linux users. (Of course, good Linux Documentation would
help a great deal toward this end :-)

I've even seen one of my colleagues wade from Windows to GUI-based
Linux to (drum-roll) the Command Line Interface.  He's now learning
Emacs and is well on his way to becoming a bone fide Linux Hacker.

But had you hit him over the head with the "Evil Closed Source Corporation"
non-sense, he would have buzzed you off as a jerk and maybe never
switched to Linux.


 :: >            (Opportunity Lost).
 :: 
 :: Advocating people doesn't work, at least not this gentle "i'll help you"
 :: way.

My experience (with 5 people) says _it does_ with regard to Linux.

My experience with Life says that you can _always_ catch more flies with
honey than with vinegar.

 :: You have to be /cruel/ about the whole bunch of things they can't do
 :: using proprietary software, long enough until they decide by themselves to
 :: switch to linux; because then they'll have enough motivation to read some
 :: docs and try to understand.

I presume you are saying this at least with half-a-tongue in your cheek.
If so, then, as you say, it's late.

If not, then, well, it's utter drivel.  It's the free software version
of the Spanish Catholic Missionaries coming to South America to
"convert" the Indians (and there's quite a bit of stereo-typcial
falsehood in _that_ bit of anti-christian propaganda as well).

 :: -- 
 :: Colin
 :: Sorry, it's late ;)

Dean