• Kyte
  • #! Junkie
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  • From: midwest usa
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 275

Topic: moc: a few comments and some links.

moc(Music On Console)  is a "lightweight" audio player which is "just gets the job done" for playing music.

This will not be an extensive "how to", it will be, rather, a mention of how to "do" some of the commands so that the new user can figure the rest of them out...that's half the fun! big_smile

And, there will be a couple of comments on what moc will do that other players do not do.

We'll start with what two things that it will do that others don't do(I append disclaimers that others may know how to do it, I'm new.)

a) I really do think that all audio players are really just one program and it is operated by seven mice that work in a building just down the block from the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

Anyway.... one thing that it has that another minimalist player(actually sound server) such as xmms2 does not have for it's clients(Esperanza for one) is that one can make the background transparent very easily.

b) It displays the artist, title , etc. which the gKrellm client does not do for xmms2(if it is a .pls from Shoutcast.).

Two things, not much, but what more can one ask?

How to do a couple of things with it.

It is in the menu system, not under audio, but under "terminal apps".  I just hadn't noticed...duuuhh.... I found it by typing "mocp" in a terminal.

"moc" is the player, "mocp" gets it going.

I have posted elsewhere, as has wench, on how to get the artist, etc, into conky.

The way to get a transparent background is not just "clicking in pofile" and what does "click on app" mean?

"click on app" is strewn across the net, and it means go to the "face" of MOC and right click and you will get a menu.

Go to "edit profile".  In there:

/appearance/ background type/ transparent

However, you also have to set "background darkness" or you will just see "black"... I set mine to  "decimal 1(.1). 

And you see the desktop through moc.

There are other things that can be done, and they are relatively easy to figure out;  but one cannot include images of the album cover and, apparently, including lastFM stuff has to be done with scripting.  HOWEVER, I am sure that there might be someone here who knows how to do that and if there is, please post it.

Here are some links of interest.

This link gives a nice image and discussion:

http://tuxarena.blogspot.com/2009/04/re … layer.html

This one has several sublinks and nice review of commands:

http://polishlinux.org/apps/cli/moc-con … for-linux/

This is to the homepage of MOC and has some discussion about dependencies.  One of the dependencies, say for .pls from places like Shoutcast.  One of which is libcurl.

I can't remember if libcurl was included with #! stock or if I installed it for xmms2, but anyway.. a nice discussion.

http://moc.daper.net/node/87

This one has some more pictures and also a discussion of how it doesn't need a "database" .."it just plays anything".. 

If I ever "do Debian" again, I'm gonna remember this one! lol

http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=38308

If anyone else has better, or more up to date information, or whatever or want's to indicate an error in the post PLEASE DO SO!

Kyte

Kyte: Always flittin' around with his head in the clouds!
  • From: Saint Cloud, Florida
  • Registered: 2009-06-08
  • Posts: 116

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

i added an alias so my moc starts up with my favorite theme and just by typing 'moc.'

you can change text to whatever you want; and be sure to change the directory name (doh).

alias moc='mocp -T /home/dave/.moc/themes/red_theme'

have fun!
dave.

Black eeePC 1005ha Atom 1.6ghz 250g hd 2g Crucial #!CrunchBang Linux!
  • Kyte
  • #! Junkie
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  • From: midwest usa
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 275

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

thanks for the comment, the more the merrier!! lol

Kyte

Kyte: Always flittin' around with his head in the clouds!
  • From: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
  • Registered: 2009-05-20
  • Posts: 238

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

i played with MoC briefly the other day, and i will say it is a nice alternative when i don't want to fire up, say, Rhythmbox.
my only real gripe is the sound quality....a bit tinny. is there anykind of EQ or whatnot available to beef up the sound?

n00b~ness, evolving at a glacial pace
"I don't have an internet-addiction....I'm just trying to get to the end of it."
   --------------------Registered Linux User #494414--------------------
Dell D420 | 1.2Ghz Core Duo | 2Gb Ram | Intel 950GM | Kick~ass #! Box
  • Registered: 2009-05-13
  • Posts: 161

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

WOW!!!!! this is cool!!!!! i never seen this before till now!!!! i like it!!!! big_smile smile

  • Kyte
  • #! Junkie
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  • From: midwest usa
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 275

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

Smashed Glass, yes, there is a patch, which I have not applied, but that, apparently, is kind of one of those things where you set your own bands to control, kind of like the thing about, "I want a "hard rock" sound, so you set the thing for "orchestral" and then just pick "orchestral" or something like that.  Here's the link:

http://moc.daper.net/node/397

Slipshot.

Just what I said! smile

Kyte

Last edited by Kyte (2009-08-09 18:17:18)

Kyte: Always flittin' around with his head in the clouds!
  • From: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
  • Registered: 2009-05-20
  • Posts: 238

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

Kyte wrote:

Smashed Glass, yes, there is a patch, which I have not applied, but that, apparently, is kind of one of those things where you set your own bands to control, kind of like the thing about, "I want a "hard rock" sound, so you set the thing for "orchestral" and then just pick "orchestral" or something like that......

Kyte

thanks, i'll give that a whirl. i've never been a fan of "presets" anyhow; always end up picking one that's "eh, close..." and tweaking it out from there so that's no problem for me. smile

n00b~ness, evolving at a glacial pace
"I don't have an internet-addiction....I'm just trying to get to the end of it."
   --------------------Registered Linux User #494414--------------------
Dell D420 | 1.2Ghz Core Duo | 2Gb Ram | Intel 950GM | Kick~ass #! Box
  • Kyte
  • #! Junkie
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  • From: midwest usa
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 275

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

glad to be of help!

Kyte

Kyte: Always flittin' around with his head in the clouds!
  • From: Colorado Springs, Colorado USA
  • Registered: 2009-05-20
  • Posts: 238

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

bleh.......apparently, the "patch" is only against the svn's, not the releases....and has also been wrapped into the svn's for sometime now, which is cool............

except for the fact that the current svn won't compile sad
seems to be something wrong with the files, running the autogen.sh in the package does not produce the .configure
needed to...well, run ./configure && make && make install. bummer.
but i can verify that the equalizer bits ARE there in the source now.

unless someone a bit more knowledgeable than I wants to try to compile it to see if I'm just an idiot.

n00b~ness, evolving at a glacial pace
"I don't have an internet-addiction....I'm just trying to get to the end of it."
   --------------------Registered Linux User #494414--------------------
Dell D420 | 1.2Ghz Core Duo | 2Gb Ram | Intel 950GM | Kick~ass #! Box
  • Kyte
  • #! Junkie
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  • From: midwest usa
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 275

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

not the guy standing behind the door, that's me!, I'm the new guy on the block! lol

Kyte

Kyte: Always flittin' around with his head in the clouds!
  • From: Montréal, France
  • Registered: 2009-01-15
  • Posts: 681

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

hi ,
first, good thing to make this thread, thx Kyte
question: how do you enable m4a support ?

arpinux's Website

  • Kyte
  • #! Junkie
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  • From: midwest usa
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 275

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

Hi
apparently this was a "situation" for some time.  There are several threads around the net on it,;and an unanswered post at the MOC site.

However, APPARENTLY, here is a fix: 

HOWEVER, they use the term MP4 and M4a either "loosely" or "interchangeably" but the title is M4a

I fixed it by adding:

Code:
user@host ~ $ grep moc /etc/portage/package.keywords
media-sound/moc aac a52 flac ffmpeg mad oss vorbis alsa speex libsamplerate curl sndfile musepack


then remerging ffmpeg and moc with
Code:
emerge -Da ffmpeg moc

_________________
Alex James

And the next poster replied that he had it to work also and the thread was labled "Fixed"..

Here is the link to the discussion: Anjames third post from the bottom of the page.

http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-520736.html

I'm just an mp3/ogg/waybehindthetimes kinda guy .. don't use all that fancy new stuff! lol

Hope this helps.

Kyte

Last edited by Kyte (2009-08-10 00:01:42)

Kyte: Always flittin' around with his head in the clouds!
  • From: Montréal, France
  • Registered: 2009-01-15
  • Posts: 681

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

thx kyte, but, as i was a little lost in your link, as m4a are 15% of my music library, then i decided to convert all this 'fancy new stuff' in ogg ( thx soundconverter) . and now, no prob (as expected) .
thx anyway for your help
bye
arp

arpinux's Website

  • Kyte
  • #! Junkie
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  • From: midwest usa
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 275

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

you're welcome, and I didn't understand a lot of it either! big_smile

Kyte

Kyte: Always flittin' around with his head in the clouds!
  • From: Gurnee, IL
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 194

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

FINALLY!

#! introduced me to MoC and I've always liked console music players but never found one that I was totally happy with. After some tinkering I've got MoC setup with my Acer's multimedia keys, showing it's playlist in Conky and scrobbling to Last.Fm.

While it may lack some of the "features" of Banshee or Exaile for example, it's elegant super functional and handles my music the way I like.

  • From: Gurnee, IL
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 194

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

Setting up MoCp to submit to Last.Fm.

Installed this lastfmsubmitd via apt-get. You can also get it here: http://www.red-bean.com/decklin/lastfmsubmitd/

added this to ~/.moc/config:
OnSongChange = "/usr/lib/lastfmsubmitd/lastfmsubmit --artist %a --title %t --length %d --album %b"

added lastfm login info to:
/etc/lastfmsubmitd.conf

That's it!

  • From: Brownwood, Texas
  • Registered: 2009-07-31
  • Posts: 52

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

I've searched high and low everywhere else for this info. Finally tried here. I can start moc from the command line like twodogs said, but if I try that from the open box menu, moc crashes. I've looked through the forums on moc.dapper.net, but didn't find anything there either. Starting it from within a terminal is no bother, I was just trying to find out of there was something I was doing wrong?

Ciao for now.

Registered Linux user 456511
Life's fun when your sick and psychotic!
  • From: Gurnee, IL
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 194

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

mudlogger wrote:

I've searched high and low everywhere else for this info. Finally tried here. I can start moc from the command line like twodogs said, but if I try that from the open box menu, moc crashes. I've looked through the forums on moc.dapper.net, but didn't find anything there either. Starting it from within a terminal is no bother, I was just trying to find out of there was something I was doing wrong?

Ciao for now.

This works for me in the Openbox Menu.

terminator --command="mocp -T /usr/share/moc/themes/transparent-background"
  • From: Brownwood, Texas
  • Registered: 2009-07-31
  • Posts: 52

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

@jinnstar
Thank you very much. I was missing the quotes

Registered Linux user 456511
Life's fun when your sick and psychotic!
  • From: Brownwood, Texas
  • Registered: 2009-07-31
  • Posts: 52

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

For all:

What I was trying to do was follow the instructions in the config.example file. It claims you can put the config file and a keymap file in your ~/.moc file, then open moc with --config ~/.moc/config. I never did get that to work. May be pbkbac. What I did get working was put the config file and the keymap in /usr/share/moc. Then you can edit the config file to point to your music folder, the theme you want to use, and the keymap configured the way you would like it to be. The caveat is, they all have to be in /usr/share/moc. I tried with the config file there and the keymap in ~/.moc, didn't work.

Any time I try to start moc with the files in ~/.moc, it crashes before it gets open. Now the command I have set in the openbox menu is:

terminator --command="mcop --config /usr/share/moc

.

Registered Linux user 456511
Life's fun when your sick and psychotic!
  • Registered: 2008-12-13
  • Posts: 1,480

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

I'm pretty sure if you put the config in ~/.moc/config then you don't need to use the --config option. I've only done this setting transparency for moc, but once I made the config file I just used mocp like normal and transparency was there.

I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.
  • From: Gurnee, IL
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 194

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

mudlogger wrote:

For all:

What I was trying to do was follow the instructions in the config.example file. It claims you can put the config file and a keymap file in your ~/.moc file, then open moc with --config ~/.moc/config. I never did get that to work. May be pbkbac. What I did get working was put the config file and the keymap in /usr/share/moc. Then you can edit the config file to point to your music folder, the theme you want to use, and the keymap configured the way you would like it to be. The caveat is, they all have to be in /usr/share/moc. I tried with the config file there and the keymap in ~/.moc, didn't work.

Any time I try to start moc with the files in ~/.moc, it crashes before it gets open. Now the command I have set in the openbox menu is:

terminator --command="mcop --config /usr/share/moc

.


you also need to close your quotes.

  • From: Brownwood, Texas
  • Registered: 2009-07-31
  • Posts: 52

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

@jinnstar
I finally solved my problem. 

terminator --command="mcop -C /home/myra/.moc/config"

works if I start moc in a terminal, but not if I start moc from the Openbox menu. My solution was to create a script in my bin directory as follow:

#!/bin/bash
exec terminator --command="mocp -C /home/myra/.moc/config"

That works from the Openbox menu by running 

~/bin/start_moc.sh

.

I do not know what the difference is but it works so my problem is solved. Thanks for your assistance.

Registered Linux user 456511
Life's fun when your sick and psychotic!
  • From: Gurnee, IL
  • Registered: 2009-07-19
  • Posts: 194

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

seems a little strange to me that the above command doesn't work from the menu. how are you editing the menu? I used obmenu to add that command.

  • From: Brownwood, Texas
  • Registered: 2009-07-31
  • Posts: 52

Re: moc: a few comments and some links.

I use the GUI menu editor from 'Preferences', 'Openbox Config', 'GUI Menu Editor', then enter

terminator --command="mocp -C /home/myra/.moc/config"

in the 'Execute' line, then save the file. When I select 'Moc' (the title I use in the menu) in the menu, the program starts to open, flashes on the desktop, then crashes.

As I said, when I open a terminal and run 

mocp -C /home/myra/.moc/config

it works, and when I use the script from my previous messasge from the menu it works. It doesn't make any sense to me either, but I'm happy with the results. I intend to keep researching the issue and see if I can find out what the difference is.

I installed moc from the repositories so the version is 2.5.3-alpha3. One of my problems previously was using the --config. It didn't seem to work properly either, but -C works fine. I also discovered using '~/.moc' in the config file didn't work either. I had to use absolute path names for the .moc, the config, the keymap files and for the themes directory for everything to work properly.

/home/myra/.moc instead of ~/.moc


/home/myra/.moc/themes instead of ~/.moc/themes

My kernel is, 2.6.28-15-generic #49-Ubuntu SMP, and the system is x86_64 GNU/Linux. I'm on an amd64 tricore Phenom processor with 8GB memory. This is the only program I've had any problems(?) with, if you can call this a problem.

Registered Linux user 456511
Life's fun when your sick and psychotic!