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Using Metafile Playlists

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[The feature associated with this page, Windows Media Player SDK, is a legacy feature. It has been superseded by MediaPlayer. MediaPlayer has been optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft strongly recommends that new code use MediaPlayer instead of Windows Media Player SDK, when possible. Microsoft suggests that existing code that uses the legacy APIs be rewritten to use the new APIs if possible.]

Playlists specify how the streaming media or media files will be played and what metadata Windows Media Player will display.

This section explains several ways you can use playlists. The section is divided into the following topics.

Topic Description
Modifying the Display Adding text, links, and images.
Redirection Using playlists to redirect the browser to Windows Media Player and specifying the URL of a stream or media file to play.
Accessing Media Using metafile elements and their child elements to specify the content to access, and the order and duration of their playback.
Using Live Event Stream Switching Using the EVENT element to specify a media stream to access and then resume playing the original stream. Used for ad insertion.
Using Metafiles for Seamless Stream Switching Using the EVENT element to preload the next media stream to access to avoid gaps in the presentation.
Using Announcements Using a metafile to provide information about the URL for a media stream, including the multicast IP address, port, stream format, and other station settings.
Using URL and Server Rollover Using metafile playlists to provide a means of automatically rolling over to alternate content sources when a stream cannot be accessed or played.
Using Custom Parameters and Commands Using the PARAM element to define custom elements to provide additional metadata.
Personalizing Media Delivery Using user preferences to determine broadcast content.

 

Metafile Playlists

Windows Media Metafile Elements Reference

Windows Media Metafile Guide