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Old 2006-04-24, 17:05   Link #1
iamtetsuo
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How to watch fansubs with your mac.

You've got an iBook, you've got a G5 tower, you've got an iPod too even, but how in the world do you watch all this wonderful anime?! Don't worry just because you think different doesn't mean you can't watch anime too!
First off you will need to make sure you have OS X, at least 10.2.8 You will NOT be able to watch most files in OS 9. Come on OS X has been out for years it's time to upgrade. Next you need to make sure that you have the latest version of Quicktime (at the time of this writing 7.4.1) Next you will need to download VLC and Mplayer OS X.

VLC: available for download here: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
VLC can play almost any file you throw at it. VLC is best for playing .avi and .mp4 files. VLC isn't very good with soft subbed files (most often these are .mkv files, but not always). While VLC can display softsubs, it has the annoying problem of overlapping simultaneous subtitles (such as when one character is talking in the background and one is talking in the foreground). Instead of putting one on top of the other, both are displayed at the same spot on the screen. If you still want to watch a softsubbed file with VLC in order to enable subtitles you have to select the subtitle track from the video menu while the file is playing. But I would suggest using Mplayer for soft sub files.
~edit 1/11/07: VLC 0.8.6 has been released. Playback seems to be just as good as previous versions. Soft-sub support isn't improved though so I still recommend Mplayer for soft subbed files.

Mplayer OS X: For all of your soft sub playback needs!
Board members Andiyar and Nonezumi have created a Universal version of Mplayer! You can get it here. UPDATED 8/7/07! This version will work with both Intel and PowerPC based Macs. Please note this version under OS 10.4 requires X11 to be installed (more on that below). Please follow all the instructions in the read me on how to install this version of Mplayer properly.
If you don't like Andiyar/Nonezumi's version for whatever reason you can download one of the "official" builds here: http://www.mplayerhq.hu/design7/dload.html

Before you install Mplayer on OS 10.4.x you need to install X11, available on your OS X Tiger install disc or here: http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...formacosx.html. Make sure to download the 1.1.3 update available from software update or here: http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...te2006113.html

For those of you running Mac OS X Leopard (OS 10.5) X11 is not necessary.

Now that you've installed X11 you can go ahead and install Mplayer. If you are using Andiyar's version of Mplayer, in order to enable softsub support please follow these instructions: Open the preferences panel. Under General select "none" as the subtitle font. Now click on the Miscellaneous tab and find the additional panels box and paste in the following:

-ass -embeddedfonts -fontconfig

If you are using a different build of Mplayer: open preferences under font select a true type font (I selected Gulim, to figure out what fonts you have that are truetype open fonts in your system library and look for fonts with the extension .ttf) Next select ISO-8859-1 for default encoding. If your computer is a couple of years old I would also enable "drop frames on slower machines" under Video and Audio. Now you are ready to play files.

To watch a .mkv file with softsubs do the following: press the "v" key to enable or disable subtitles during playback. Next press "j" to select the proper subtitle file if you are using Andiyar's version, otherwise press "b". Command/Apple F or just F (depending on what version of Mplayer you have) enables full screen viewing.

WARNING! Don't use the version of Mplayer (also called MPlayerOSX2) from Sourceforge! That is an old broken version that is no longer being updated as far as I can tell. Avoid it like the plague.

Quicktime
If you would prefer to use Quicktime player you can use the Perian Quicktime Component which adds support for .mkv's and softsubs. It is available here: http://perian.org/ Perian is for OS 10.4 only.

Please note: in my opinion the Quicktime player is worthless. All it can play properly without Perian are .avi files. The Quicktime player won't play most .mp4 files and doesn't recognize .mkv files. Also personally I have never really cared for the look and functionality of the basic player. With Perian it is a viable alternative to mPlayer, whether you decide to use it or not is entirely up to you.

I will try and keep this post updated as new versions of quicktime VLC and Mplayer come out.
I am always open to any criticism of this walkthrough! If you find any problems or mistakes with my walkthrough please let me know!
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Last edited by iamtetsuo; 2008-03-08 at 00:16. Reason: Updates
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Old 2006-05-03, 00:45   Link #2
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WoooT This really helped me, thx mate
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Old 2006-05-06, 18:39   Link #3
iamtetsuo
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Bump for update.
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Old 2006-05-21, 08:46   Link #4
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And what if I don't have my install disc at hand?
...

Sorry Tetsuo I asked lots of questions on series threads, but I really don't know how to handle those (beep) mkv files. I downloaded Mplayer, and VLC, but still nothing comes. I have to say I'm a complete idiot when it comes to coding... boohoo


edit: well, that kamisama kazoku somehow works with VLC but without subtitles, and very choppy. I guess it's obvious...
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Old 2006-05-21, 12:40   Link #5
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Uh... how about you tell us what's actually wrong instead of just saying "It's not working, MKV sucks!"? It's impossible to help you with that problem description.

BTW, if you want softsubs to show in VLC, you have to turn them on manually. But VLC's softsub rendering sucks, so I don't recommend using that for watching softsubbed MKV's...
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17:43:13 <~deculture> Also, TheFluff, you are so fucking slowpoke.jpg that people think we dropped the DVD's.
17:43:16 <~deculture> nice job, fag!

01:04:41 < Plorkyeran> it was annoying to typeset so it should be annoying to read
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Old 2006-05-21, 15:23   Link #6
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Hey, i never said mkv sucks. (at least out loud). Just that I suck at it. I guess my tongue slipped, as I was getting angry on my keyboard. It's true my post is lame too, but I was quite desperate at that moment. lol. Now, I just think I'll watch Kamisama Kazoku without subtitles. I'm supposed to be fluent in Japanese.

What I meant is that I simply can't read the file with mplayer, but it looks ok with VLC. The rest would be only due to my complete unawareness of what's inside my computer. lmao. I'm exaggerating.
I live in Japan, my install disc is far away, so I guess I can say byebye to X11, at least for a while.

Anyway, don't get mad at me please, and thanks for trying to help.
Just tell yourself I'm helpless.
For example, I didn't realize that series, Kamisama Kazoku, was softsubbed..... Don't laugh.
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Old 2006-05-21, 22:44   Link #7
TheFluff
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Hmm, last time I used a Mac I didn't have to install X11 for MPlayer to work, IIRC. Did you try this one? http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/rele...CVS-060409.dmg
Note that MPlayer for OS X doesn't have a GUI (at least AFAIK), so you will need to run it from the terminal.
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17:43:13 <~deculture> Also, TheFluff, you are so fucking slowpoke.jpg that people think we dropped the DVD's.
17:43:16 <~deculture> nice job, fag!

01:04:41 < Plorkyeran> it was annoying to typeset so it should be annoying to read
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Old 2006-05-22, 09:02   Link #8
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Well...............
It worked. I think I shouldn't have tried to download that mplayer v.2.0 thing in the first place...
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Old 2006-05-23, 02:36   Link #9
iamtetsuo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheFluff
Hmm, last time I used a Mac I didn't have to install X11 for MPlayer to work, IIRC. Did you try this one? http://www.mplayerhq.hu/MPlayer/rele...CVS-060409.dmg
Note that MPlayer for OS X doesn't have a GUI (at least AFAIK), so you will need to run it from the terminal.
Both versions I posted in the walkthrough run directly from OS X, although I think the version from haque.net works best, however they don't work if you don't have X11, or at least mine didn't work until I installed X-11. I'll try the version you posted as well.
Also you can download X11 here: http://www.apple.com/support/downloa...formacosx.html Hmm it seems you need Tiger in order to run X11... I'll test out MPlayer on my 10.2.8 machine as soon as I get the chance, results will be posted here.
Also what's your processer speed? I find that .h264 files (expecially .mkv's) drop the occasional frame on my 1.42gighrz iBook, if you're running anything slower that's probably the source of your problem. As to why subtitles aren't showing up: in VLC you have to go to the video menu and enable subtitles after you'v started playing the file (I'll add this to the walk-through). Annoying I know, there's no way to auto enable subtitles.
Quote:
I think I shouldn't have tried to download that mplayer v.2.0 thing in the first place
You tried the one from sourceforge didn't you! Yah that's broken and plays hardly anything. I'll add a warning to the walkthrough!
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Old 2006-05-23, 09:21   Link #10
TheFluff
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It was more than a year since I last used MacOS X to watch video, so I might very well be wrong about how to get MPlayer to run.

Also, prospective MPlayer users should read the "Interactive control" part of the manpage: http://www.mplayerhq.hu/DOCS/man/en/...TIVE%20CONTROL
The three most useful keys are "v" to toggle subtitle visibility and "b" and "j" to cycle through available sub tracks.
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17:43:13 <~deculture> Also, TheFluff, you are so fucking slowpoke.jpg that people think we dropped the DVD's.
17:43:16 <~deculture> nice job, fag!

01:04:41 < Plorkyeran> it was annoying to typeset so it should be annoying to read
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Old 2006-05-24, 10:23   Link #11
thr
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Screenshots of MPlayer OSX (CVS 20060519) with latest ASS/SSA patch applied:



The patch supports fonts embedded in MKV containers and font matching via fontconfig.

I don't know if it is feature-complete with regards to the ASS/SSA specification. The tags that are actually read and processed (straight from the patch file) are:

Spoiler:


Apparently the patch is being reviewed but won't be included in the upcoming pre8 release (this is what I got from the developer's mailing list). Well, the compilation was pretty straightforward on my Intel iMac (read: so easy that even I managed). Then I downloaded the official build and replaced the mplayer binary with my own. The result can be seen in the screenshots above.
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Old 2006-05-29, 10:23   Link #12
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Hey , I have a problem with Mplayer OSX ( CVS ).

Firstly ,I have no knowledge of complying. I downloaded the installer package as thread starter mension.

Anyhow, when i watch anime with Mplayer. I dont know how to change audio language ( like the one that has dual audio ) How to change between Eng/ JAP ?
I know that to view and toggle subtitle , one has to press B/V right ?

What about audio ? how can one toggle ?

I dont know how to bind keys either , i do a search on Mplayer site but it wasnt much help. I think there is probably a default key to change language like chaning subtitle.

Please help ><
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Old 2006-05-29, 20:08   Link #13
TheFluff
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v turns subtitles on and off, b and j goes through different sub tracks (if there's more than one). However, MPlayer has no hotkey for switching audio tracks - you have to set the language or the audio track ID on the command line.
Example:
Code:
mplayer -alang jpn,eng some_video_file.mkv
This will choose the japanese audio track if there is one, but if there isn't, choose the english one, and if there isn't an english one, fall back on the default. Unfortunately, most fansubbers don't care about muxing enough to set proper language tags, so you might have to experiment a bit and use the track ID's instead (-aid 0, -aid 1 etc. etc.).
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17:43:13 <~deculture> Also, TheFluff, you are so fucking slowpoke.jpg that people think we dropped the DVD's.
17:43:16 <~deculture> nice job, fag!

01:04:41 < Plorkyeran> it was annoying to typeset so it should be annoying to read
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Old 2006-05-30, 12:01   Link #14
ichobi
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Thx for your input theFluff, I found the hotkey last night , i try pressing a lot of combinations! ( Silly me! ) and i found alt+3 is the right one for toggle audio track.
May be you can try this and tell me if it works.

However , this hotkey does not work on my iBook keyboard , i have to use apple external keyboard to activate this.

Nevertheless that command line is useful thx again
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Old 2006-05-30, 14:02   Link #15
TheFluff
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Alt-3? That's funny... must be mac-specific, it's not in the manpage.
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17:43:13 <~deculture> Also, TheFluff, you are so fucking slowpoke.jpg that people think we dropped the DVD's.
17:43:16 <~deculture> nice job, fag!

01:04:41 < Plorkyeran> it was annoying to typeset so it should be annoying to read
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Old 2006-06-02, 00:00   Link #16
thr
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MPlayer can't change between multiple audio tracks on the fly, except when you play back Matroska or MPEG containers. Then you can use the '#' key to cycle between audio tracks.
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Old 2006-06-02, 09:29   Link #17
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I guess shift-3 is '#' on US QWERTY keyboard.
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Old 2006-06-12, 13:41   Link #18
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thr, could you please post a guide how to get mplayer to play ASS/SSA subs correctly? I tried googling the MPlayer OSX (CVS 20060519) and the ASS/SSA patch, but I couldn't find any files about it. I want to switch to mac, but the lack of correct mkv playback is holding me back. :P Another option might be parallels playing windows xp with CCCP package. But that's a bit overkill just for a video.
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Old 2006-06-14, 01:00   Link #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yamato2
thr, could you please post a guide how to get mplayer to play ASS/SSA subs correctly? I tried googling the MPlayer OSX (CVS 20060519) and the ASS/SSA patch, but I couldn't find any files about it. I want to switch to mac, but the lack of correct mkv playback is holding me back. :P Another option might be parallels playing windows xp with CCCP package. But that's a bit overkill just for a video.
Currently I have no problems with ASS/SSA with the Mplayer builds linked to in my write up. I haven't tried what thr did yet, although I probably will soon now that I don't have classes taking up all of my time.
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Old 2006-06-14, 18:02   Link #20
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Geexbox seems to work well, a Linux shell layered over an existing Mac install. Try it out if you still have a Beige G3 or a really old iMac.
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