I've recently switched to Linux. I would like to export a video file from mplay the way you can with windows. i read in the mplay viewer help card.

Linux movie export is implemented via external applications. In particular, if ffmpeg or mencoder are installed on the system and are found in the PATH environment variable, appropriate menu entries will be found in the File ▸ Export submenu.

These external applications are registered via the $HFS/houdini/MVexport file.

as with many subjects in the Houdini docs, this is not a great starting point for a beginner. I know how to to create a video file from a image sequence from the command line with ffmpeg. I don't know to set it up so it works with mplay.
the cryptic line

These external applications are registered via the $HFS/houdini/MVexport file.

does not explain this. I see the $HFS is the install directory for houdini. And there is a MVexport markup file there /opt/hfs16.0.736/houdini/MVexport. I also see a directory /opt/hfs16.0.736/houdini/scripts/mvexport containing an ffmpet.py file.

Do i need to make changes to these files? Do i make a command line call to export a video file from mplay? Did the author of the help card have narcolepsy and pass out before finishing his work?

help very much appreciated.

N

Just make sure ffmpeg is installed on your system. You should be able to type in a shell ‘ffmpeg’ or ‘mencoder’ with some other output than ‘command not found’ or similar. Installing one of them it's usually a single command like yum install ffmpeg, or apt get ffmpeg, depending on your Linux distribution. Once it's on the system, mplay will find it. Just search web for “install ffmpeg on <paste your distro name>”.

Yeah, I just needed to restart houdini…

here is a suggestion for the help card: Install ffmpeg, then restart houdini.

thanks for the help symek i'm glad it wasn't narcolepsy.