gmplayer does not fall back to other vo modules if the first one fails

I've noticed the same problem on edgy (mplayer package version 2:0.99+1.0pre8-0ubuntu8) and tried to examine it a bit:

Problem exists only when mplayer is started with gui (as gmplayer) the tail of the output in terminal looks like this:

----begin quotation----
AVI file format detected.
VIDEO: [divx] 480x320 24bpp 30.000 fps 918.5 kbps (112.1 kbyte/s)
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [mp3lib] MPEG layer-2, layer-3
AUDIO: 44100 Hz, 2 ch, s16le, 128.0 kbit/9.07% (ratio: 16000->176400)
Selected audio codec: [mp3] afm: mp3lib (mp3lib MPEG layer-2, layer-3)
==========================================================================
open: No such file or directory
vo_mga: Couldn't open /dev/mga_vid
----end quotation----

and the window with message about error in opening video_out (-vo) device appears.

However when started without gui (as mplayer) the problem does not exist.

I've tried to downgrade to version 2:0.99+1.0pre7try2+cvs20060117-0ubuntu8 which used to work on dapper, but unexpectedly problem still appeared! It also appeared when I tried by my self compiled version 1.0rc1 downloaded from mplayerhq.hu. So I suspect that this is something wrong with edgy environment, not with mplayer it self, that makes it not work properly when started with gui.

oh, and by the way: a simple workaround is to add the following line at the end of your ~/.bashrc file:
alias gmplayer='gmplayer -vo xv'

ok, the other versions I've tried probably didn't work because of vo_driver entry in ~/.mplayer/gui.conf made by 2:0.99+1.0pre8-0ubuntu8 so now I think problem is in mplayer it self (sorry for the mess...), and a better workaround is to edit ~/.mplayer/gui.conf and change vo_driver to xv

You can do this from the GUI by choosing preferences -> Video and choosing "xv" or "x11" driver. No need to edit conf files by hand or add aliases.

Ok, I'm not sure why it is defaulting to xmga, but if we just change the "example.conf" to uncomment "#vo=xv", this should work. I'd include a patch, but I don't do .deb so I don't know what it should be relative to.

Is this still the case with 2:1.0~rc1-0ubuntu6 or later?

Yes. xmga is still the default for me in Feisty.

Weird that this isnt fixed yet, still xmga in 7.04 and mplayer rc1

status?

mplayer (2:1.0~rc1-0ubuntu12) gutsy; urgency=low

  * Add 01_default_config.dpatch.
    - Sets screensaver by default for non gmplayer.
      (LP: #95038), (LP: #139770)
    - Sets xv as video output for gmplayer and mplayer.
      (LP: #65165), (LP: #146307)
  * Add dpatch to build-depends in debian/control.
  * Add dpatch support to debian/rules.

 -- Mario Limonciello <email address hidden> Mon, 08 Oct 2007 01:07:53 -0500

Same thing in Karmic (x64)

This bug appears to have regressed in the latest releases - specifically Lucid in my case, but potentially Karmic as well, judging by the comment above.

Changing the default video out away from xmga fixes the issue. I'm assuming this default setting is no longer being applied for whatever reason?

a better explanation of this issue can be found in #537740

This bug was fixed in the package mplayer - 2:1.0~rc4~try1.dsfg1-1ubuntu1

---------------
mplayer (2:1.0~rc4~try1.dsfg1-1ubuntu1) maverick; urgency=low

  * merge from debian, remaining changes:
    - build depend against, lame, x264, xvid
  * debian/patches/60eval-api.patch, backport patch from upstream to
    unbreak compilation for eval.h move not yet in 0.6
  * gmplayer is gone now, please see smplayer as alternative frontend.
    LP: #503537, #493088, #467534, #467524, #460326, #390399, #285570,
        #208680, #118709, #513065, #459595, #455913, #179918, #65165.

mplayer (2:1.0~rc4~try1.dsfg1-1) experimental; urgency=low

  * enable the mencoder package
  * sort build depends alphabetically
  * enable dvdnav support, Closes: #582508, #488226, LP: #611749
  * prepare new upload
  * no longer build mplayer-gui, it doesn't build anymore with shared
    swscale
 -- Reinhard Tartler <email address hidden> Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:03:56 -0400