Seamless stream playing (a working example!!)

I have been struggling to get seamless stream switching via ASX file to
work on windows media player.

Does anyone have a working example or ANY IDEA on how this can be done?
(MSDN docs aren't helpful at all).

I need to play one stream, when that finishes, play another stream
seamlessly. The streams are file based.


Any help is immensly appreciated!

can't you stitch the files together seamlessly at source and upload as one
big file - i thought that was the idea of streaming


<> wrote in message
news: ups.com...
> I have been struggling to get seamless stream switching via ASX file to
> work on windows media player.
>
> Does anyone have a working example or ANY IDEA on how this can be done?
> (MSDN docs aren't helpful at all).
>
> I need to play one stream, when that finishes, play another stream
> seamlessly. The streams are file based.
>
>
> Any help is immensly appreciated!
>

can't you stitch the files together seamlessly at source and upload as one
big file - i thought that was the idea of streaming


<> wrote in message
news: ups.com...
> I have been struggling to get seamless stream switching via ASX file to
> work on windows media player.
>
> Does anyone have a working example or ANY IDEA on how this can be done?
> (MSDN docs aren't helpful at all).
>
> I need to play one stream, when that finishes, play another stream
> seamlessly. The streams are file based.
>
>
> Any help is immensly appreciated!
>

"" wrote:

> I have been struggling to get seamless stream switching
> via ASX file to work on windows media player.
>
> Does anyone have a working example or ANY IDEA on how
> this can be done? (MSDN docs aren't helpful at all).

MSDN docs are *very* helpful in this if you take the time to
read all the info there about the multimedia architecture.
But since you can not use ASX to work around a DirectShow
limit, you won't find a magical solution.

> I need to play one stream, when that finishes, play
> another stream seamlessly. The streams are file based.
>
>
> Any help is immensly appreciated!

Stop posting the same question over and over. I already
answered you and, from your description of the problem, that
is the *only* answer. If you don't like it, that doesn't
make it any less true.


--
// Alessandro Angeli
// MVP :: DigitalMedia
// a dot angeli at psynet dot net

"" wrote:

> I have been struggling to get seamless stream switching
> via ASX file to work on windows media player.
>
> Does anyone have a working example or ANY IDEA on how
> this can be done? (MSDN docs aren't helpful at all).

MSDN docs are *very* helpful in this if you take the time to
read all the info there about the multimedia architecture.
But since you can not use ASX to work around a DirectShow
limit, you won't find a magical solution.

> I need to play one stream, when that finishes, play
> another stream seamlessly. The streams are file based.
>
>
> Any help is immensly appreciated!

Stop posting the same question over and over. I already
answered you and, from your description of the problem, that
is the *only* answer. If you don't like it, that doesn't
make it any less true.


--
// Alessandro Angeli
// MVP :: DigitalMedia
// a dot angeli at psynet dot net

The usual way is to have Media Encoder with multiple sources feeding a WMS
publishing point. The encoder will take care of switching and stitching the
sources together. The media player will receive a constant stream from the
WMS server.

The player shouldn't be expected to do what is, after all, a server-side
directed operation because network congestion and other factors means you,
as the publisher, can't control the user's experience.

TJ.

The usual way is to have Media Encoder with multiple sources feeding a WMS
publishing point. The encoder will take care of switching and stitching the
sources together. The media player will receive a constant stream from the
WMS server.

The player shouldn't be expected to do what is, after all, a server-side
directed operation because network congestion and other factors means you,
as the publisher, can't control the user's experience.

TJ.

Alessandro Angeli [MVP:igitalMedia] wrote:
> "" wrote:
>
> > I have been struggling to get seamless stream switching
> > via ASX file to work on windows media player.
> >
> > Does anyone have a working example or ANY IDEA on how
> > this can be done? (MSDN docs aren't helpful at all).
>
> MSDN docs are *very* helpful in this if you take the time to
> read all the info there about the multimedia architecture.
> But since you can not use ASX to work around a DirectShow
> limit, you won't find a magical solution.

Had you bothered to read the MSDN section you invoke you would find the
examples useless.

> > I need to play one stream, when that finishes, play
> > another stream seamlessly. The streams are file based.
> >
> >
> > Any help is immensly appreciated!
>
> Stop posting the same question over and over. I already
> answered you and, from your description of the problem, that
> is the *only* answer. If you don't like it, that doesn't
> make it any less true.

Another Microsoft failure. I've wasted WEEKS working around Microsoft
bugs and API failures -with an attitude like yours it's no wonder why.

1. Had to write my own Panel, Control, Label, Button, GroupBox,
TabControl, TabPage controls to replace the Windows Forms controls
because they don't support xp-theme. Microsoft response was "xp-themed
will be supported in .NET 2". LOL (by the way: your wonderful MSDN
claims that .NET 1.1 supports xp themes which is a lie).

2. Had to write my own NotificationIcon control because standard .NET
doesn't have BalloonWindow support.

3. Had to write my own logging framework because .NET trace doesn't
flush files properly, doesn't close files properly, and doesn't catch
it's own exceptions.

4. Now I have to write my own damn media player because the geniuses at
microsoft decided that smooth, flicker-free transition between clips is
not a necessary.

You guys are a joke. You've succeeded only in motivating me to
contribute to the mono project - which I will do once I'm done with
this post.

I'm done.

>
> --
> // Alessandro Angeli
> // MVP :: DigitalMedia
> // a dot angeli at psynet dot net

On 22 Aug 2005 19:05:18 -0700, wrote:

<snip rant to...>

> You guys are a joke. You've succeeded only in motivating me to
> contribute to the mono project - which I will do once I'm done with
> this post.
>
> I'm done.

That is welcome news.

This is instructive:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=au...ot&qt_s=Search

Follow up set to: microsoft.public.windowsmedia.sdk (Where Alessandro's
answers in the original thread are. See "Need seemless transition between
clips in playlist." posted one hour earlier (there's another thread in
between on the same subject by the OP before this five group crosspost)).

On 22 Aug 2005 19:05:18 -0700, wrote:

<snip rant to...>

> You guys are a joke. You've succeeded only in motivating me to
> contribute to the mono project - which I will do once I'm done with
> this post.
>
> I'm done.

That is welcome news.

This is instructive:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=au...ot&qt_s=Search

Follow up set to: microsoft.public.windowsmedia.sdk (Where Alessandro's
answers in the original thread are. See "Need seemless transition between
clips in playlist." posted one hour earlier (there's another thread in
between on the same subject by the OP before this five group crosspost)).