MPV + TorBox Setup - Complete Guide

System: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 w/ Radeon 860M | 32GB RAM | 2560x1600 Display
Purpose: Stream 4K content from TorBox with optimized battery life
Setup Date: December 15, 2025

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🎯 Quick Start - Stream from TorBox

1. Get Your TorBox Media Link

1. Go to your TorBox dashboard
2. Find the file you want to stream
3. Click the file → Click "Download"
4. Find the specific media file → Click download icon
5. Choose "Copy Link" to copy the streaming URL

2. Open MPV and Paste

1. Double-click mpv.exe in C:\Development\repos\MPV_setup\
2. Press Ctrl+V to paste the TorBox link
3. Video starts playing!

That's it! The SmartCopyPaste script handles everything automatically.

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📁 Folder Structure

C:\Development\repos\MPV_setup\
├── mpv.exe                          ← Main player executable
├── portable_config\
│   ├── mpv.conf                     ← Main configuration (battery optimized)
│   ├── input.conf                   ← Keyboard shortcuts
│   ├── scripts\
│   │   └── SmartCopyPaste.lua       ← Paste URL script
│   └── script-opts\
│       └── SmartCopyPaste.conf      ← Paste script settings
└── [Other MPV files and DLLs]

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⌨️ Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Basic Playback

Key	Action
Ctrl+V	Paste TorBox URL to start streaming
Space	Play / Pause
→	Forward 5 seconds
←	Backward 5 seconds
↑	Forward 30 seconds
↓	Backward 30 seconds
f	Toggle fullscreen
ESC	Exit fullscreen
m	Mute/Unmute
q	Quit (save position)

Monitoring & Stats

Key	Action
i	Show stats (basic)
I	Toggle persistent stats
Ctrl+I	Show VRAM usage (Page 4)
?	Show help overlay

Performance Testing

Key	Action
F1	DirectX 11 mode (Default - Best stability)
F2	DirectX 12 mode (Test for battery comparison)
F3	Vulkan mode (Backup option)
F4	Low Power mode (Extreme battery saving)

Screenshots

Key	Action
S	Screenshot with subtitles
Ctrl+S	Screenshot video only

[See input.conf for complete list]

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🔋 Battery Optimization Features

What's Enabled Automatically:

✅ Hardware Acceleration - GPU decodes video (60-70% less CPU power)
✅ D3D11 Rendering - Native DirectX, efficient for AMD
✅ Smart Caching - 200MB buffer reduces network/disk access
✅ No Post-Processing - Skips unnecessary filters for 4K sources
✅ Multi-Threading - Efficient use of your 8-core CPU

Monitoring Battery Impact:

1. Press Ctrl+I to show detailed stats (Page 4)
2. Look for:
   • hwdec: Should show d3d11va or d3d11va-copy (GPU decoding active)
   • GPU Memory: Shows VRAM usage
   • Dropped frames: Should be 0 or very low

Testing Different Modes:

1. Start playback with your TorBox link
2. Press F1 (D3D11 - default)
3. Watch for ~5 minutes, check battery drain
4. Press F2 (D3D12) - compare battery usage
5. Use whichever gives better battery life

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🎬 Power Modes for Playback

Recommended Settings:

On Battery (4K Playback):

• Windows Power Mode: Balanced or Best Performance
• MPV Profile: Default (F1 - D3D11)
• Why: Hardware decoding handles 4K efficiently even in balanced mode

On Battery (Extreme Saving):

• Windows Power Mode: Efficiency
• MPV Profile: F4 (Low Power)
• Why: Reduces quality slightly but extends battery significantly

Plugged In:

• Windows Power Mode: Best Performance
• MPV Profile: Default (F1)
• Why: No restrictions, full quality

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📊 Understanding Stats Overlay

Press i or Ctrl+I to see stats. Here's what matters:

Hardware Decoding
└── hwdec: d3d11va          ← GPU is decoding ✅
    hwdec: no               ← CPU is decoding ❌ (bad for battery!)

Performance
├── Dropped Frames: 0       ← Should be 0 or very low
├── GPU Memory: 450 MB      ← VRAM usage (monitor this)
└── Cache: 180/200 MB       ← Buffer status

Video Info
├── Resolution: 3840x2160   ← Your 4K source
└── FPS: 23.976             ← Frame rate

If you see issues:

• hwdec shows "no" → Press Ctrl+H to toggle hardware decoding
• Dropped frames → Check network speed or lower quality
• GPU Memory very high → Normal for 4K, but monitor if system slows

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🔧 Troubleshooting

Video Won't Play / Stutters

1. Check internet connection (4K needs ~25-50 Mbps)
2. Press Ctrl+I - verify hwdec is active
3. Wait for cache to fill (see cache % in stats)
4. Try F4 (Low Power mode) if still stuttering

High Battery Drain

1. Press Ctrl+I - verify hwdec: d3d11va is showing
2. If shows "hwdec: no":
   • Press Ctrl+H to re-enable hardware decoding
   • If still doesn't work, GPU drivers may need update
3. Switch Windows to Balanced or Best Performance mode
4. Close other applications

Black Screen / No Video

1. Press Ctrl+H to toggle hardware decoding
2. If fixed → AMD driver issue, try updating
3. Try F3 (Vulkan mode)

Audio Out of Sync

1. Press z to delay audio -100ms
2. Press x to delay audio +100ms
3. Repeat until synchronized

TorBox Link Expired

• TorBox links expire after ~1 hour of pause
• Copy a new link from TorBox dashboard
• Press Ctrl+V to resume

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🎛️ Advanced Configuration

Changing Settings

Edit portable_config\mpv.conf:

• Use any text editor (Notepad, VS Code, etc.)
• Lines starting with # are comments
• Save and restart MPV

Common Tweaks:

Reduce cache (save RAM):

demuxer-max-bytes=100M          # Change from 200M to 100M

Always start fullscreen:

fullscreen=yes                  # Add this line

Change volume step:

# In input.conf, change:
UP add volume 5                 # Instead of 2

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📝 Configuration Profiles

You can create custom profiles in mpv.conf:

[my-profile-name]
profile-desc="Description"
setting1=value1
setting2=value2

Activate with: mpv --profile=my-profile-name [file]

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🆘 Support & Resources

Official MPV Documentation

• Website: https://mpv.io/
• Manual: https://mpv.io/manual/stable/
• Wiki: https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/wiki

TorBox Support

• Dashboard: https://torbox.app/
• Support: https://support.torbox.app/
• Discord: https://join-discord.torbox.app/

This Setup

• Configuration: See portable_config\mpv.conf (heavily commented)
• Keybindings: See portable_config\input.conf (all shortcuts listed)

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✅ Setup Complete Checklist

• MPV portable extracted
• Hardware acceleration configured (D3D11)
• SmartCopyPaste script installed (Ctrl+V support)
• Battery optimizations enabled
• Cache configured for streaming (200MB)
• Keyboard shortcuts set up
• VRAM monitoring available (Ctrl+I)
• Multiple rendering profiles (F1-F4)

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🚀 Next Steps

1. Test with TorBox:

   • Get a media link from TorBox
   • Open MPV
   • Press Ctrl+V
   • Verify playback works

2. Monitor Performance:

   • Press Ctrl+I during playback
   • Check hwdec status
   • Note VRAM usage
   • Watch battery drain rate

3. Optimize if Needed:

   • Test F1/F2/F3 profiles
   • Adjust cache in mpv.conf
   • Fine-tune based on your usage

Enjoy your 4K content! 🎬