[MPlayer-users] Video card confusion

[Bruce Miller]

I am an "intermediate" user of Linux, but a total newcomer to playing video on 
Linux and still rather overwhelmed by mplayer's long manpage.

All attempts to run MPlayer abort with the error "Couldn't open /dev/3dfx". 
The full 69 line terminal output is reproduced below. (For this sample, I was 
running from a root session after having had the same failure in a regular 
user account) The only cases of this error message found in Google involved a 
user who actually had a 3dfx card. I do not; I have an nVidia Geforce4 MX440 
with nVidia's binary driver version 4363. As in the earlier case reported on 
Google, after mplayer aborts, the xterm does not display typed text although 
the "invisible" commands are executed.

I would welcome advice on how to get mplayer to recognize the correct display 
adapter.

System:
Linux bruce_P4 2.4.22 #1 Mon Aug 25 13:31:31 EDT 2003 i686 GNU/Linux


Distribution:
Libranet 2.8. For those unfamiliar with it, Libranet is Debian.


Video entries from the kernel .config:
CONFIG_AGP=y
CONFIG_AGP_INTEL=y
# CONFIG_AGP_I810 is not set
# CONFIG_AGP_VIA is not set
# CONFIG_AGP_AMD is not set
# CONFIG_AGP_AMD_8151 is not set
# CONFIG_AGP_SIS is not set
# CONFIG_AGP_ALI is not set
# CONFIG_AGP_SWORKS is not set
CONFIG_AGP_NVIDIA=y


Video entries from /etc/X11/XF86Config-4:
Section "Module"
        Load    "ddc"
        Load    "dbe"
        Load    "extmod"
        Load    "glx"
        Load    "record"
        Load    "bitmap"
        Load    "freetype"
        Load    "speedo"
        Load    "type1"
        Load    "vbe"
        Load    "int10"
EndSection

Section "Device"
        Identifier      "nVidia Corporation NV18 [GeForce4 MX 440 AGP 8x]"
        Driver          "nvidia"
        #VideoRam       65536
EndSection


MPlayer version:
as downloaded from Christian Marillat's informal Debian repository:
bruce at bruce_P4:~$ apt-show-versions mplayer-686
mplayer-686/unstable uptodate 1:1.0-pre1cvs20031005-0.2
bruce at bruce_P4:~$ apt-show-versions libdvdcss2
libdvdcss2/stable uptodate 1.2.5-woody0.1
"MPlayer user's list." <mplayer-users at mplayerhq.hu>

MPlayer output:
MPlayer dev-CVS--3.3.2 (C) 2000-2003 MPlayer Team

CPU: Intel Pentium 4/Xeon/Celeron Northwood 2406 MHz (Family: 8, Stepping: 7)
Detected cache-line size is 64 bytes
MMX2 supported but disabled
SSE2 supported but disabled
CPUflags:  MMX: 1 MMX2: 0 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 0
Compiled for x86 CPU with extensions: MMX SSE

Reading config file /etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf: No such file or directory
Reading config file /root/.mplayer/config
Reading /root/.mplayer/codecs.conf: Can't open '/root/.mplayer/codecs.conf': 
No such file or directory
Reading /etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: 61 audio & 157 video codecs
font: can't open file: /root/.mplayer/font/font.desc
Font /usr/share/mplayer/font/font.desc loaded successfully! (206 chars)
Using Linux hardware RTC timing (1024Hz).
Can't open input config file /root/.mplayer/input.conf: No such file or 
directory
Can't open input config file /etc/mplayer/input.conf: No such file or 
directory
Falling back on default (hardcoded) input config
Opening joystick device /dev/input/js0
Can't open joystick device /dev/input/js0 : No such device
Can't init input joystick
Setting up LIRC support...
mplayer: could not connect to socket
mplayer: No such file or directory
Failed to open LIRC support.
You will not be able to use your remote control.

Playing dvd://1
Reading disc structure, please wait...
There are 1 titles on this DVD.
There are 27 chapters in this DVD title.
There are 1 angles in this DVD title.
DVD successfully opened.
MPEG-PS file format detected.
VIDEO:  MPEG2  720x480  (aspect 2)  29.970 fps  9800.0 kbps (1225.0 kbyte/s)
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [liba52] AC3 decoding with liba52
Using SSE optimized IMDCT transform
AC3: 1.0 (mono)  48000 Hz  128.0 kbit/s
Using MMX optimized resampler
AUDIO: 48000 Hz, 2 ch, 16 bit (0x10), ratio: 16000->192000 (128.0 kbit)
Selected audio codec: [a52] afm:liba52 (AC3-liba52)
==========================================================================
open: No such file or directory
vo_mga: Couldn't open /dev/mga_vid
open: No such file or directory
vo_mga: Couldn't open /dev/mga_vid
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [mpegpes] MPEG 1/2 Video passthrough
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 480 (preferred csp: Mpeg PES)
Could not find matching colorspace - retrying with -vop scale...
Opening video filter: [scale]
The selected video_out device is incompatible with this codec.
VDecoder init failed :(
Opening video decoder: [libmpeg2] MPEG 1/2 Video decoder libmpeg2-v0.3.1
Selected video codec: [mpeg12] vfm:libmpeg2 (MPEG 1 or 2 (libmpeg2))
==========================================================================
Checking audio filter chain for 48000Hz/2ch/16bit -> 48000Hz/2ch/16bit...
AF_pre: af format: 2 bps, 2 ch, 48000 hz, little endian signed int
AF_pre: 48000Hz 2ch Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian)
AO: [oss] 48000Hz 2ch Signed 16-bit (Little-Endian) (2 bps)
Building audio filter chain for 48000Hz/2ch/16bit -> 48000Hz/2ch/16bit...
Starting playback...
VDec: vo config request - 720 x 480 (preferred csp: Planar YV12)
VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is 1.33:1 - prescaling to correct movie aspect.
VO: [3dfx] 720x480 => 720x540 Planar YV12
Couldn't open /dev/3dfx