How can I overlay dynamic text on a video during playback?

Question

I am using a spare linux (Ubuntu 10.04) box (os is non-negotiable) to playback videos while riding on a bike trainer. Additionally, I have a bluetooth heart monitor and I'd like to display my realtime heart rate overlayed on the video playback. I'll likely evolve this to include timing info as wellAssume that I have full control of acquisition of the data I want to display, that's not the issue.

I simply want a media player that I can easily script to create dynamic on-screen-displays (OSD).

I'm open to just about any media player to get the job done though VLC or mplayer would be nice...

Background - I am software developer with 10+ years experience, mainly Java,Python,Ruby,shell-script,C/C++ (order of proficiency)

UPDATE: This happens to me every time. I find the a promised google result AFTER I post a question.

http://n0tablog.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/controlling-vlc-via-rc-remote-control-interface-using-a-unix-domain-socket-and-no-programming/

Answer 1

I think you might be thinking too narrowly when you ask for a media player solution. Why not something system wide? I haven't had a chance to try anything yet, but osd_cat (Included in libXosd) or libnotify might work.