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Guide‐MANUAL Installation

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TyRaS edited this page Sep 13, 2026 · 3 revisions

🛠️ MANUAL Installation (step-by-step)

This is for users who want to install MPV-SW-Capture without the installer — either because they prefer full control, or because they want to update components manually.

⚠️ IMPORTANT — Read before starting

The 3 core executables (mpv.exe, ffplay.exe, ffmpeg.exe) are NOT included in the MPV-SW-Capture ZIP. You must download them yourself from their official sources before running the Setup tool.

If mpv.exe is missing, MPV-SW-Capture_SETUP.vbs will silently fail to open — it uses mpv.exe to launch the setup script internally, so it cannot run without it.

Follow steps 1 and 2 below in order, then proceed to the Setup in step 3.

1. Download files

MPV (video player) — required

  • Go to https://github.com/zhongfly/mpv-winbuild/releases.
  • Check the "Download Tips" section. There are 3 versions.
  • Choose only ONE of the latest builds matching your Windows version:
    • 64-bit for modern PCs
    • 64-bit-legacy for older PCs
    • ARM64 for ARM-based Windows
  • Download the .7z archive.

FFmpeg / FFplay (audio engine + tools) — required

MPV-SW-Capture (this project)

2. Prepare the folder

  1. Create a folder (e.g. C:\MPV-SW-Capture) anywhere you like.
  2. Open the MPV .7z archive you downloaded and extract only mpv.exe into that folder.
  3. Open ffmpeg-git-essentials.7z, go to the bin/ folder, and copy ffplay.exe and ffmpeg.exe into the same folder.
  4. Open the MPV-SW-Capture ZIP and extract all the files into the same folder.

✅ Verify before continuing: open the folder and confirm you see mpv.exe, ffplay.exe, and ffmpeg.exe alongside the MPV-SW-Capture files. If any of them is missing, the Setup tool will not work.

You should end up with a structure like this:

MPV-SW-Capture/
├── bezels/
├── data/
├── scripts/
├── shaders/
├── 1_INSTALLER_MSC_First-Usage.cmd ← free to keep or delete
├── 1_README FIRST - MSC.txt ← free to keep or delete
├── ffmpeg.exe         ← from ffmpeg-git-essentials.7z
├── ffplay.exe         ← from ffmpeg-git-essentials.7z
├── input.conf
├── menu.conf
├── MPV-SW-Capture_INSTALLER.vbs
├── MPV-SW-Capture_SETUP.vbs
├── mpv.conf
└── mpv.exe            ← from zhongfly build

About 1_INSTALLER_MSC_First-Usage.cmd and MPV-SW-Capture_INSTALLER.vbs: in a manual installation you don't need them — they're for users who install via the automated installer. You can:

  • Keep them (recommended) so you can use MPV-SW-Capture_INSTALLER.vbs for future updates.
  • Or delete them if you prefer a cleaner folder and will update manually every time.

1_README FIRST - MSC.txt is only informational. You can safely delete it after reading.

3. First setup

Connection

  • Connect your capture card to your PC using USB 3.0 (or USB 2.0).
  • Connect HDMI from your console to the input of the capture card.

Run the Setup tool

⚠️ Before running Setup: make sure mpv.exe, ffplay.exe, and ffmpeg.exe are already in the folder (see step 2). If they are, you're good to go. If not, go back to step 1.

Inside the folder, double-click MPV-SW-Capture_SETUP.vbs.

Security Warning dialog

⚠️ Windows may show a Security Warning the first time you run any .vbs or .cmd file like this example. This is normal — click Run to proceed. To stop it from asking every time, check "Always ask before opening this file" before clicking Run.

You'll see a GUI window similar to this:

INSTALL

  • If the files are correctly placed in the folder, you'll see messages like ffplay.exe: Found! and menu.conf: Found!.
  • Language: to change the GUI language, select it from the dropdown list and press "Apply Language". Currently available: English, Spanish, Japanese.
  • Press "Scan Device" — it will list all audio and video devices currently connected. (If nothing is connected, the list will be empty. Connect your devices and press the button again.)
  • Choose the video device, then the audio device (must be the same type as the capture card).
  • Configure your preferences: Date Format, Auto Start Special Shaders, Default Record Video Time, Create Desktop Shortcut.
  • When you're ready, press the green "Apply Setup" button.
  • If everything is correct, you'll receive a confirmation message with the changes applied.

Note about languages: there are two ways to change the menu language in MPV-SW-Capture:

  1. From the Setup: select the language from the dropdown list and press "Apply Language". The change is applied after restarting MPV-SW-Capture.
  2. From the in-game menu: click the language badge (EN, ES, JP) in the header, or go to Quick Options → SETTINGS. The change is applied instantly, without closing MPV.

Both methods modify the same menu language — just pick whichever is more convenient for you.

4. Launch the stream in MPV-SW-Capture

  • Run MPV.exe (or use the desktop shortcut if you enabled it in Setup).
  • If everything is set correctly, you'll see your console with audio and video.
  • To access the menu, right-click inside the window or press ESC.
  • Double-click toggles full screen.

📖 Want to learn how the menu works in detail? See the full MSC Menu Guide.

MPV-SW-Capture Wiki

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