Example Streaming

Web Streaming Assignment Page - 421P

Non-Streaming Links - Directly to the media file itself

No-1 - "Simple" Links - a direct link to a media file itself which will download before playing

Streaming Links - Using metafiles/playlists - Separate Player

Streaming 1) plays while the file is still downloading and 2) offers player controls such as play, pause, and so forth.

A separate file with a list of the file or files to be played is called either a playlist or a metafile. The list of files contains the file location, as does a link. In this case, the link in the web page does not go to the media file, instead, the link goes to the metafile/playlist which 1) causes the browser to call the appropriate media player which reads the metafile(playlist) and 2) causes the player to connect directly with the media file or files listed in the metafile.

No-2 - Regular "Simple" links to the metafiles (the playlists) with only a single file to play, in a separate player

QuickTime
RealMedia
Windows Media

No-3 - Regular "Simple" links to the metafiles (the playlists) to play multiple files, one after another, in a separate player

[not available for] QuickTime
QuickTime - using QTL file canonMovie
RealMedia - This will show three files in succession using the RealMedia Player
Windows Media - This will show three files in succession using the Windows Media Player

Streaming Links - Using metafiles/playlists - Embedded Player

No-4 - Embedding media files within a web page (Note: Each link brings up separate page with an embedded player - these are separate pages to avoid conflicts between media player types (Quicktime versus RealMedia versus Windows Media players):
Again, use the metafiles in the page links.

QuickTime
RealMedia
Windows Media

Streaming Links - Copy and Paste from YouTube

No-5 - YouTube has become a defacto video repository for the world with millions of videos and more video uploads per day than all the major US television networks output for the last 50 or 60 years. The easiest way to get video on the web and into your own pages without causing extra download traffic from your own website (YouTube takes the load). For this part of the assignment, go to YouTube.com to copy your own link and embed code and then paste it into your own page.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViUfB5MiknI - This "simple" link opens in new window at YouTube

This embedded player is pasted from YouTube into your own page

End Of Example Section

The streaming example page is above, within the red box.

The intent here is to learn how to set up the links which allow a website to stream. Not only the simple links for one type of media file but links which are playlists and links which select portions of any media file. These are not terribly hard, once you get on to them but you will not find this information collected this compactly. This will give you the information you need to play through standalone players and to embedded media within your web pages. The media concentrates on QuickTime, RealMedia and Windows Media.

We start with a regular link (simple link) to the media files themselves
We then use the same kind of link format but this time to metafiles (which in turn call the media files)
Next we extend the use of metafiles - the links are of the same type but to metafiles with multiple media files listed
Finally we make use of additional code within pages to embedd media players directly inside the web pages.

Don't forget to make use of "view source" in your browser to learn by example.