MPV

MPV is an open-source command line media player known for its high performance, versatility, and minimalist design. It has only a very basic GUI. MPV can be used with a GUI front-end like SMPlayer (package: smplayer), to have a comparable user interface like other media players for the desktop environment.

MPV supports a wide range of video and audio formats, ensuring extensive compatibility. It features advanced video rendering capabilities, including high-quality scaling algorithms, color management, and HDR support, which contribute to superior video playback quality. MPV utilizes hardware-accelerated video decoding through APIs such as VA-API, VDPAU, and DXVA2, enhancing performance and reducing CPU usage. The player’s design emphasizes minimalism and efficiency, offering a streamlined user interface with extensive configurability via command-line options and scripting interfaces.

Installation

Using nix-env

To install mpv using nix-env, execute the following command:

nix-env -iA nixos.mpv

Using nix-shell

To use MPV in a temporary environment with nix-shell, run:

nix-shell -p mpv

System-Wide Installation on NixOS

To install MPV system-wide, add it to your system configuration. Edit your /etc/nixos/configuration.nix and include MPV in the environment.systemPackages list:

environment.systemPackages = [ 
  pkgs.mpv 
];

After modifying your configuration, apply the changes by running:

sudo nixos-rebuild switch

User-Specific Installation with Home Manager

If you use Home Manager, you can add MPV to your home configuration. Edit your Home Manager configuration file (usually ~/.config/nixpkgs/home.nix) and include MPV in the home.packages list:

home.packages = [ 
  pkgs.mpv 
];

After updating your configuration, apply the changes by running:

home-manager switch

Configuration

The recommended way to enable and configure MPV on NixOS is through the programs attribute in your NixOS home configuration.

programs.mpv = {
    enable = true;
};

A more comprehensive configuration of MPV would look like this.

programs.mpv = {
  enable = true;

  # Custom package configuration for MPV
  package =
    (pkgs.mpv-unwrapped.wrapper {
      mpv = pkgs.mpv-unwrapped.override {
        waylandSupport = true;
        x11Support = false;
        cddaSupport = false;
        vulkanSupport = false;
        drmSupport = false;
        archiveSupport = false;
        bluraySupport = true;
        bs2bSupport = false;
        cacaSupport = false;
        cmsSupport = false;
        dvdnavSupport = false;
        dvbinSupport = false;
        jackaudioSupport = false;
        javascriptSupport = false;
        libpngSupport = false;
        openalSupport = false;
        pulseSupport = false;
        pipewireSupport = true;
        rubberbandSupport = false;
        screenSaverSupport = false;
        sdl2Support = true;
        sixelSupport = false;
        speexSupport = false;
        swiftSupport = false;
        theoraSupport = false;
        vaapiSupport = true;
        vapoursynthSupport = false;
        vdpauSupport = true;
        xineramaSupport = false;
        xvSupport = false;
        zimgSupport = false;
      };
    })
    .override {
      scripts = with pkgs.mpvScripts; [
        uosc
        sponsorblock
      ];
    };

  # MPV configuration options
  config = {
    profile = "high-quality";
    ytdl-format = "bestvideo+bestaudio";
    cache-default = 4000000;
  };
};

Finding MPV Scripts

You can find additional scripts for MPV under the mpvScripts attribute. To search for available scripts, use the following command:

nix search nixpkgs mpvScripts

The scripts are defined in the following Nixpkgs directory:

pkgs/applications/video/mpv/scripts

Error, unknown format

If you get the following sort of error, note that mpv currently uses the small ffmpeg version (ffmpeg_5) instead of the full version (ffmpeg_5-full).

$ mpv --log-file=foo.log av://v4l2:/dev/video5
[lavf] Unknown lavf format v4l2
Failed to recognize file format.

Exiting... (Errors when loading file)

To address this problem, you can use the following package configuration for ffmpeg.

programs.mpv = {
  enable = true;

  package =
    (pkgs.mpv-unwrapped.wrapper {
      mpv = pkgs.mpv-unwrapped.override {
        ffmpeg = pkgs.ffmpeg-full;
      };
    });
};

References

1. https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpv_(media_player)
3. https://mynixos.com/search?q=mpv