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mpg123(1)							     mpg123(1)

NAME
       mpg123 - play audio MPEG 1.0/2.0/2.5 stream (layers 1, 2 and 3)

SYNOPSIS
       mpg123 [ options ] file ... | URL ... | -

DESCRIPTION
       mpg123  reads  one  or more files (or standard input if ``-'' is speci‐
       fied) or URLs and plays them on the audio device (default)  or  outputs
       them to stdout.	file/URL is assumed to be an MPEG audio bit stream.

OPERANDS
       The following operands are supported:

       file(s) The  path  name(s)  of  one  or more input files.  They must be
	       valid MPEG-1.0/2.0/2.5 audio layer 1, 2 or 3 bit streams.  If a
	       dash  ``-'' is specified, MPEG data will be read from the stan‐
	       dard input.  Furthermore, any name starting with ``http://'' is
	       recognized as URL (see next section).

OPTIONS
       mpg123  options may be either the traditional POSIX one letter options,
       or the GNU style long options.  POSIX style options start with a single
       ``-'',  while GNU long options start with ``--''.  Option arguments (if
       needed) follow separated by whitespace (not  ``='').   Note  that  some
       options can be absent from your installation when disabled in the build
       process.

INPUT OPTIONS
       -k num, --skip num
	      Skip first num frames.  By default the decoding  starts  at  the
	      first frame.

       -n num, --frames num
	      Decode  only  num	 frames.   By  default	the complete stream is
	      decoded.

       -y, --resync
	      Do NOT try to resync and continue decoding if an error occurs in
	      the  input  file.	 Normally,  mpg123  tries to keep the playback
	      alive at all costs,  including  skipping	invalid	 material  and
	      searching	 new  header  when  something  goes  wrong.  With this
	      switch you can make it bail out  on  data	 errors	 (and  perhaps
	      spare  your  ears	 a bad time). Note that this switch may either
	      disappear in future or its meaning be revised since it now  does
	      the opposite of what it suggests.

       --resync-limit bytes
	      Set  number  of  bytes  to  search for valid MPEG data; <0 means
	      search whole stream.  If you  know  there	 are  huge  chunks  of
	      invalid data in your files... here is your hammer.

       -p URL | none, --proxy URL | none
	      The  specified  proxy will be used for HTTP requests.  It should
	      be specified as full URL (``http://host.domain:port/''), but the
	      ``http://''  prefix,  the port number and the trailing slash are
	      optional (the default port is 80).  Specifying none means not to
	      use  any	proxy, and to retrieve files directly from the respec‐
	      tive servers.  See also the ``HTTP SUPPORT'' section.

       -u auth, --auth auth
	      HTTP authentication to use when recieving files via  HTTP.   The
	      format used is user:password.

       -@ file, --list file
	      Read filenames and/or URLs of MPEG audio streams from the speci‐
	      fied file in addition to the ones specified on the command  line
	      (if any).	 Note that file can be either an ordinary file, a dash
	      ``-'' to indicate that a list of filenames/URLs is  to  be  read
	      from  the standard input, or an URL pointing to a an appropriate
	      list file.  Note: only one -@ option can be used (if  more  than
	      one is specified, only the last one will be recognized).

       -l n, --listentry n
	      Of  the playlist, play specified entry only.  n is the number of
	      entry starting at 1. A value of  0  is  the  default  and	 means
	      playling	the whole list,	 a negative value means showing of the
	      list of titles with their numbers...

       --loop times
	      for looping track(s) a certain number of times, < 0 means	 infi‐
	      nite loop (not with --random!).

       --timeout seconds
	      Timeout  in (integer) seconds before declaring a stream dead (if
	      <= 0, wait forever).

       -z, --shuffle
	      Shuffle play.  Randomly shuffles the order of files specified on
	      the command line, or in the list file.

       -Z, --random
	      Continuous  random  play.	  Keeps picking a random file from the
	      command line or the play list.  Unlike shuffle play above,  ran‐
	      dom play never ends, and plays individual songs more than once.

       --no-icy-meta
	      Do not accept ICY meta data.

       -i, --index
	      Index  / scan through the track before playback.	This fills the
	      index table for seeking (if enabled in libmpg123) and  may  make
	      the  operating system cache the file contents for smoother oper‐
	      ating on playback.

OUTPUT and PROCESSING OPTIONS
       -o module, --output module
	      Select audio output module. You can  provide  a  comma-separated
	      list to use the first one that works.

       --list-modules
	      List the available modules.

       -a dev, --audiodevice dev
	      Specify  the  audio device to use.  The default is system-depen‐
	      dent (usually /dev/audio or /dev/dsp).  Use this option  if  you
	      have  multiple  audio  devices  and  the default is not what you
	      want.

       -s, --stdout
	      The decoded  audio  samples  are	written	 to  standard  output,
	      instead  of  playing them through the audio device.  This option
	      must be used if your audio hardware is not supported by  mpg123.
	      The  output  format  per	default is raw (headerless) linear PCM
	      audio data, 16 bit, stereo, host byte order (you can force  mono
	      or 8bit).

       -O file, --outfile
	      Write  raw  output  into	a  file (instead of simply redirecting
	      standard output to a file with the shell).

       -w file, --wav
	      Write output as WAV file. This will cause the MPEG stream to  be
	      decoded and saved as file file , or standard output if - is used
	      as file name. You can also use --au and --cdr  for  AU  and  CDR
	      format, respectively.

       --au file
	      Does  not	 play the MPEG file but writes it to file in SUN audio
	      format.  If - is used as the filename, the AU file is written to
	      stdout.

       --cdr file
	      Does not play the MPEG file but writes it to file as a CDR file.
	      If - is used as the filename, the CDR file is written to stdout.

       --reopen
	      Forces reopen of the audiodevice after ever song

       --cpu decoder-type
	      Selects a certain decoder	 (optimized  for  specific  CPU),  for
	      example  i586  or MMX.  The list of available decoders can vary;
	      depending on the build and what your CPU supports.  This options
	      is  only availabe when the build actually includes several opti‐
	      mized decoders.

       --test-cpu
	      Tests your CPU and prints a list of possible choices for --cpu.

       --list-cpu
	      Lists all available decoder choices, regardless  of  support  by
	      your CPU.

       -g gain, --gain gain
	      Set audio hardware output gain (default: don't change).

       -f factor, --scale factor
	      Change scale factor (default: 32768).

       --rva-mix, --rva-radio
	      Enable  RVA (relative volume adjustment) using the values stored
	      for ReplayGain radio mode / mix mode  with  all  tracks  roughly
	      equal loudness.  The first valid information found in ID3V2 Tags
	      (Comment named RVA or the RVA2 frame) or	ReplayGain  header  in
	      Lame/Info Tag is used.

       --rva-album, --rva-audiophile
	      Enable  RVA (relative volume adjustment) using the values stored
	      for ReplayGain audiophile mode / album  mode  with  usually  the
	      effect of adjusting album loudness but keeping relative loudness
	      inside album.  The first valid information found in  ID3V2  Tags
	      (Comment named RVA_ALBUM or the RVA2 frame) or ReplayGain header
	      in Lame/Info Tag is used.

       -0, --single0; -1, --single1
	      Decode only channel 0 (left) or channel 1 (right), respectively.
	      These options are available for stereo MPEG streams only.

       -m, --mono, --mix, --singlemix
	      Mix  both	 channels  /  decode mono. It takes less CPU time than
	      full stereo decoding.

       --stereo
	      Force stereo output

       -r rate, --rate rate
	      Set sample rate (default: automatic).  You may  want  to	change
	      this  if	you  need  a  constant	bitrate independed of the mpeg
	      stream rate. mpg123 automagically converts the rate. You	should
	      then combine this with --stereo or --mono.

       -2, --2to1; -4, --4to1
	      Performs a downsampling of ratio 2:1 (22 kHz) or 4:1 (11 kHz) on
	      the output stream, respectively. Saves some CPU cycles,  but  at
	      least the 4:1 ratio sounds ugly.

       --8bit Forces 8bit output

       -d n, --doublespeed n
	      Only  play every n'th frame.  This will cause the MPEG stream to
	      be played n times faster, which can be used for special effects.
	      Can  also	 be combined with the --halfspeed option to play 3 out
	      of 4 frames etc.	Don't expect great sound  quality  when	 using
	      this option.

       -h n, --halfspeed n
	      Play  each frame n times.	 This will cause the MPEG stream to be
	      played at 1/n'th speed (n times slower), which can be  used  for
	      special  effects.	 Can  also  be combined with the --doublespeed
	      option to double every third frame or things like	 that.	 Don't
	      expect great sound quality when using this option.

       -E file, --equalizer
	      Enables  equalization,  taken from file.	The file needs to con‐
	      tain 32 lines of data, additional comment lines may be  prefixed
	      with  #.	Each data line consists of two floating-point entries,
	      separated by whitespace.	They specify the multipliers for  left
	      and  right  channel  of  a certain frequency band, respectively.
	      The first line corresponds to the lowest, the 32nd to the	 high‐
	      est  frequency  band.   Note  that you can control the equalizer
	      interactively with the generic control interface.

       --gapless
	      Enable code that cuts (junk) samples at  beginning  and  end  of
	      tracks,  enabling	 gapless  transitions  between MPEG files when
	      encoder padding and codec delays	would  prevent	it.   This  is
	      enabled per default beginning with mpg123 version 1.0.0 .

       --no-gapless
	      Disable  the  gapless  code.  That  gives you MP3 decodings that
	      include encoder delay and padding plus mpg123's decoder delay.

       -D n, --delay n
	      Insert a delay of n seconds before each track.

       -o h, --headphones
	      Direct audio output to the headphone  connector  (some  hardware
	      only; AIX, HP, SUN).

       -o s, --speaker
	      Direct  audio  output  to the speaker  (some hardware only; AIX,
	      HP, SUN).

       -o l, --lineout
	      Direct audio output to the  line-out  connector  (some  hardware
	      only; AIX, HP, SUN).

       -b size, --buffer size
	      Use  an  audio  output buffer of size Kbytes.  This is useful to
	      bypass short periods of heavy system activity, which would  nor‐
	      mally  cause  the	 audio	output	to be interrupted.  You should
	      specify a buffer size of at least 1024 (i.e. 1 Mb, which	equals
	      about 6 seconds of audio data) or more; less than about 300 does
	      not make much sense.  The default is 0,  which  turns  buffering
	      off.

       --smooth
	      Keep  buffer  over track boundaries -- meaning, do not empty the
	      buffer between tracks for possibly some added smoothness.

MISC OPTIONS
       -t, --test
	      Test mode.  The audio stream is decoded, but no output occurs.

       -c, --check
	      Check for filter range violations (clipping),  and  report  them
	      for each frame if any occur.

       -v, --verbose
	      Increase	the  verbosity level.  For example, displays the frame
	      numbers during decoding.

       -q, --quiet
	      Quiet.  Suppress diagnostic messages.

       -C, --control
	      Enable terminal control keys. By default use 's' to stop, 'p' to
	      pause, 'f' to jump forward to the next song, 'b' to jump back to
	      the beginning of the song, ',' to rewind, '.' to	fast  forward,
	      and  'q'	to  quit.   Type 'h' for a full list of available con‐
	      trols.

       --title
	      In an xterm, or rxvt (compatible, TERM environment  variable  is
	      examined),  change  the  window's title to the name of song cur‐
	      rently playing.

       --long-tag
	      Display ID3 tag info always in long format  with	one  line  per
	      item (artist, title, ...)

       -R, --remote
	      Activate	generic	 control interface.  mpg123 will then read and
	      execute commands from stdin. Basic usage is ``load <filename> ''
	      to  play some file and the obvious ``pause'', ``command.	``jump
	      <frame>'' will jump/seek to a given point (MPEG  frame  number).
	      Issue ``help'' to get a full list of commands and syntax.

       --remote-err
	      Print  responses for generic control mode to standard error, not
	      standard out.  This is automatically triggered when using -s .

       --fifo path
	      Create a fifo / named pipe on the given path and	use  that  for
	      reading commands instead of standard input.

       --aggressive
	      Tries to get higher priority

       -T, --realtime
	      Tries  to	 gain realtime priority.  This option usually requires
	      root privileges to have any effect.

       -?, --help
	      Shows short usage instructions.

       --longhelp
	      Shows long usage instructions.

       --version
	      Print the version string.

HTTP SUPPORT
       In addition to reading MPEG audio streams from ordinary files and  from
       the  standard  input,  mpg123 supports retrieval of MPEG audio files or
       playlists via the HTTP protocol, which is used in the  World  Wide  Web
       (WWW).	Such  files  are specified using a so-called URL, which starts
       with ``http://''.  When a file with that prefix is encountered,	mpg123
       attempts	 to open an HTTP connection to the server in order to retrieve
       that file to decode and play it.

       It is often useful to retrieve files through a WWW cache	 or  so-called
       proxy.	To  accomplish this, mpg123 examines the environment for vari‐
       ables named MP3_HTTP_PROXY, http_proxy and HTTP_PROXY, in  this	order.
       The value of the first one that is set will be used as proxy specifica‐
       tion.  To override this, you can use the -p command  line  option  (see
       the  ``OPTIONS''	 section).  Specifying -p none will enforce contacting
       the server directly without using any proxy, even if one of  the	 above
       environment variables is set.

       Note  that,  in order to play MPEG audio files from a WWW server, it is
       necessary that the connection to that server is fast enough.  For exam‐
       ple,  a	128  kbit/s MPEG file requires the network connection to be at
       least 128 kbit/s (16 kbyte/s) plus protocol overhead.   If  you	suffer
       from  short  network  outages, you should try the -b option (buffer) to
       bypass such outages.  If your network connection is generally not  fast
       enough to retrieve MPEG audio files in realtime, you can first download
       the files to your local harddisk (e.g. using  wget(1))  and  then  play
       them from there.

       If authentication is needed to access the file it can be specified with
       the -u user:pass.

INTERRUPT
       When in terminal control mode, you can quit via	pressing  the  q  key,
       while  any time you can abort mpg123 by pressing Ctrl-C. If not in ter‐
       minal control mode, this will skip to the next file (if	any).  If  you
       want  to	 abort playing immediately in that case, press Ctrl-C twice in
       short succession (within about one second).

       Note that the result of quitting mpg123 pressing Ctrl-C	might  not  be
       audible	immediately,  due to audio data buffering in the audio device.
       This delay is system dependent, but it is usually not more than one  or
       two seconds.

SEE ALSO
       wget(1), sox(1),

NOTES
       MPEG audio decoding requires a good deal of CPU performance, especially
       layer-3.	 To decode it  in  realtime,  you  should  have	 at  least  an
       i486DX4,	 Pentium,  Alpha, SuperSparc or equivalent processor.  You can
       also use the -m option to decode mono only, which reduces the CPU  load
       somewhat for layer-3 streams.  See also the -2 and -4 options.

       If  everything else fails, use the -s option to decode to standard out‐
       put, direct it into a file and then use an appropriate utility to  play
       that  file.  You might have to use a tool such as sox(1) to convert the
       output to an audio format suitable for your audio player.

       If your system is generally fast enough	to  decode  in	realtime,  but
       there  are  sometimes  periods  of heavy system load (such as cronjobs,
       users logging in remotely, starting of ``big'' programs	etc.)  causing
       the  audio  output to be interrupted, then you should use the -b option
       to use a buffer of reasonable size (at least 1000 Kbytes).

BUGS
       Mostly MPEG-1 layer 2 and 3 are tested in real life.  Please report any
       issues and provide test files to help fixing them.

       Free format streams are not supported, but they could be (there is some
       code).

       No CRC error checking is performed.

       Some platforms lack audio hardware support; you may be able to use  the
       -s  switch  to  feed  the decoded data to a program that can play it on
       your audio device.  Notably, this includes  Tru64  with	MME,  but  you
       should  be  able	 to install and use OSS there (it perhaps will perform
       better as MME would anyway).

AUTHORS
       Maintainers:
	      Thomas Orgis <maintainer@mpg123.org>, <thomas@orgis.org>
	      Nicholas J. Humfrey

       Main author:
	      Michael Hipp

       Uses code or ideas from various people, see the AUTHORS file accompany‐
       ing the source code.

LICENSE
       mpg123 is licensed under the GNU Lesser/Library General Public License,
       LGPL, version 2.1 .

WEBSITE
       http://www.mpg123.org
       http://sourceforge.net/projects/mpg123

				  31 Jan 2008			     mpg123(1)
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