Curiosity: what means "mmsnothread"; and why might I need it?

[dinkypumpkin]

On 19/06/2014 12:27, Howard Orgel wrote:
> Installation of a previous version put "mmsnothread 1" in GiP's system
> options file <C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\get_iplayer\options>.
> It has survived updates/reinstallations to present.  What does it do; and
> why might I need it?  Removing it seems to have no effect.  (Using

If mmsnothread is unset/false and a Windows Media resource is supplied 
in multiple parts, get_iplayer will attempt to download the parts in 
parallel.  The "thread" is a bit of a misnomer - get_iplayer just 
launches multiple instances of mplayer in separate processes. 
Presumably the mechanism didn't work on Windows, so "mmsnothread 1" was 
incorporated into the installer.  I don't know any of those multi-part 
resources exists any longer.  If anyone knows of one, chime in.

> A secondary question: is there any reason, other than historical, or
> it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time, why there are separate system and
> user options files in a WinXP installation of GiP?

The system options file is managed by the installer on Windows.  You 
shouldn't touch it.  If you want to override any settings, put them in 
your user options file or use the command line.