Hello all,
My problem is this, I use Mplayer for watching DVDs, as many people do, and I have no problem with this. I also like to use it to listen to streaming audio/radio over the net, but when I click on a link for streaming radio, all that happens, is my browser (firefox) opens a new tabbed window, and then just sits there ad infinitum, waiting for audio to be delivered. If I then edit my Mplayer.conf file, so the amount of cache used is only 4kb, then streaming audio is fine, but DVD playback is U/S, but with the default cache of 8Mb, DVD is fine , but streaming is U/S. I have been unable to find a cache setting that adequetely covers both scenarios, so can I have 2 .conf files for the 2 uses I have, and if so, how do I go about setting them up so that Mplayer picks the right one depending on my required use?

TIA

It seems that mplayer doesn't have a command option to specify a configuration file, but you could write a simple script or alias to rename your configs. Assume you have 2 configs, one named mplayer.conf1 and one named mplayer.conf2. You can make two aliases like so:

alias mplay='cp ~/.mplayer/mplayer.conf1 ~/.mplayer/mplayer.conf; gmplayer'
alias mplay-net='cp ~/.mplayer/mplayer.conf2 ~/.mplayer/mplayer.conf; gmplayer'

This wont be very effective for dynamic use, though, since the player still won't be able to automatically detect which one you want.

Maybe it's better to create a different user and place the alternative config file in his home, then run gmplayer as that user (open a xterm, log as user 2, run gmplayer)... I suggest you use the second user for playing DVD, otherwise you should also start firefox as user 2.
I know it sounds really "rude way to solve", but it's the first thing passed through my mind

Hope it helps

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I will try both of those, but I may just have to revert to using Mplayer for streaming and maybe Totem or Xine for DVD playback. That is, unless you have any suggestions as to a better app for streaming radio of the net, especially in windoze .ASF format. I suppose really that I'm looking for a clone-a-like of windoze media player 9.

Thanks again.