diff --git a/ffplay.c b/ffplay.c
index 5972a5bd2e..f340153f80 100644
--- a/ffplay.c
+++ b/ffplay.c
@@ -1660,6 +1660,8 @@ void show_help(void)
 
 void parse_arg_file(const char *filename)
 {
+    if (!strcmp(filename, "-"))
+                    filename = "pipe:";
     input_filename = filename;
 }