SysTutorials

MPlayer 中文字幕显示配置指南

· Eric Ma · updated April 12, 2026

MPlayer is largely unmaintained; mpv is the actively developed fork that replaced it. Most MPlayer subtitle commands work in mpv with minor syntax adjustments. This guide covers both.

External Subtitle Files

Handling Character Encoding

Chinese subtitle files often display as garbage when the player guesses the encoding wrong. Specify the correct codepage explicitly.

For an .srt file in GBK (Simplified Chinese):

mpv "Gone with the Wind.avi" --sub-file="Gone.With.the.Wind.1939.Bluray.720p.DTS.2Audio.x264-CHD.chs.srt" --sub-codepage=cp936

Or with MPlayer (if you must):

mplayer -ass -subcp cp936 "Gone with the Wind.avi" -sub "Gone.With.the.Wind.1939.Bluray.720p.DTS.2Audio.x264-CHD.chs.srt"

Common Chinese codepages:

Auto-loading Subtitles

Both mpv and MPlayer can automatically find and load matching subtitle files:

mpv "Gone with the Wind.avi"

mpv searches for subtitles matching the video filename by default. For stricter control:

mpv "Gone with the Wind.avi" --sub-auto=fuzzy

With MPlayer, use the -sub-fuzziness option:

mplayer "Gone with the Wind.avi" -sub-fuzziness 1 -subcp cp936

Fuzziness levels:

Embedded Subtitles

For .mkv, .ogm, or other container formats with multiple subtitle streams, select the stream by ID.

First, list available subtitle streams:

mpv "file.mkv" --sid=no

Then play with the desired subtitle stream (e.g., stream 1):

mpv "file.mkv" --sid=1 --sub-codepage=cp936

Or with MPlayer:

mplayer "file.mkv" -sid 1 -subcp cp936

DVD Playback

For DVD content stored on disk:

mpv dvd:// --dvd-device=/path/to/dvd --sid=1 --sub-codepage=cp936

With MPlayer:

mplayer dvd://1 -dvd-device /path/to/dvd -sid 1 -subcp cp936

Font Issues with ASS/SSA Subtitles

If subtitles render with wrong fonts or missing glyphs, explicitly enable fontconfig (mpv default) or point to a specific font:

mpv "file.mkv" --sub-codepage=cp936 --sub-font="WenQuanYi Micro Hei"

For MPlayer, ensure libass support is compiled in:

mplayer -ass -subfont-text-osize 3 "file.mkv" -sid 1 -subcp cp936

Batch Processing

To convert all subtitles in a directory to UTF-8 (recommended for modern systems):

for f in *.srt; do iconv -f cp936 -t utf-8 "$f" > "${f%.srt}_utf8.srt"; done

Then play without specifying codepage:

mpv "video.avi" --sub-file="video_utf8.srt"

Quick Reference

This article covered the essential concepts and commands for the topic. For more information, consult the official documentation or manual pages. The key takeaway is to understand the fundamentals before applying advanced configurations.

Practice in a test environment before making changes on production systems. Keep notes of what works and what does not for future reference.

Additional Tips and Best Practices

When implementing the techniques described in this article, consider these best practices for production environments. Always test changes in a non-production environment first. Document your configuration changes so team members can understand what was modified and why.

Keep your system updated regularly to benefit from security patches and bug fixes. Use package managers rather than manual installations when possible, as they handle dependencies and updates automatically. For critical systems, maintain backups before making any significant changes.

Quick Verification

After applying the changes described above, verify that everything works as expected. Run the relevant commands to confirm the new configuration is active. Check system logs for any errors or warnings that might indicate problems. If something does not work as expected, review the steps carefully and consult the official documentation for your specific version.

← All posts