The Movie Info Channel


With Windows Media 9 Series you can stream server-side playlists and control playback of the playlists with scripting. Server-side playlists can be accessed directly by users and played on demand, or they can be the source of a publishing point. If a playlist is the source of a broadcast publishing point, it plays just like any other broadcast. End users tune in to the broadcast in progress. For example, if you start a one-hour server-side playlist on a broadcast publishing point at 10:00 AM, an end user accessing the publishing point at 10:30 AM would begin viewing the playlist at the halfway point.

The online movie site will categorize their movies into 10 genres, and then create broadcast server-side playlists for each genre, which they will call “movie info channels.” The playlists will consist of trailers in each genre and publicity material supplied by the studios, such as making-of shorts and interviews. The movie site will also produce interstitial videos to place in-between elements. Interstitial videos or clips are short transitional pieces that include branding information. They are also called bumpers. The following items could be part of the line-up for a playlist:

■ Trailer 1

2:25

■ Trailer 2

1:43

■ Bumper 1

0:15

■ Interview 1

3:04

■ Bumper 2

0:20

■ Trailer 3

2:14

■ Trailer 4

0:45

■ Bumper 3

0:13

■ Making-of 1

5:31

A playlist will run for 15 to 20 minutes, and then repeat continuously in a loop. End users will then be able to access an info channel at any time from the home page or one of the genre pages. For example, an end user may tune in to an info channel at a point 10 minutes into a playlist and continue to watch for five minutes after it loops to the beginning.

Because the playlist is run from the server, there is minimal buffering and black between segments. Also, because they are accessed through publishing points, you can apply publishing point properties to a server-side playlist, such as limits and security. Wrapper playlists will be used with the channels to add a short intro video that every end user will see when they first connect to the publishing point, but before going to the playlist in progress. Chapter 11 describes how playlists and wrapper playlists are created and configured.

To implement movie info channels on the site, the Contoso staff will need the following components:

  • Trailers and publicity material

  • Production workstation

  • Server-side playlists

  • Hosting service

  • Web design

Trailers and Publicity Material

Contoso will get this material from the studios. Trailers and the other material only have to be captured once. Then they can be linked to from the details page or other pages, or from a server-side playlist. For example, end users can view the trailer file for Movie 1 directly from the Movie 1 details page, or by viewing the movie info channel for the genre associated with Movie 1. If a movie fits in multiple genres, the same trailer file can be included on multiple playlists.

Production Workstation

A workstation will also be required to convert videotapes of other material. The server-side playlist can be created on any computer that has access to the host upload site.

Server-side Playlists

There will be one playlist for each of the 10 genres (for example, comedy, drama, action, children, and so forth). The playlist script is written using Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) in the Playlist Editor, which is installed with Windows Media Services. Scripts can also be written manually using a text editor program such as Microsoft Notepad.

After server-side playlists are written, they will be uploaded to the hosting service FTP site. Then Contoso personnel will use a server administration tool supplied by the host to configure the movie info channel publishing points and source the playlist files. To make changing the scripts easier, elements in a playlist can point to an ASP page instead of directly to a Windows Media file. This way new files can be added to the playlists dynamically by simply changing a database entry rather than by rewriting the playlist script.

Hosting Service

The hosting service will be used to deliver Web content as well as Windows Media files. In order to implement the info channels, Contoso will use a server administration tool supplied by the host, with which they can create publishing points. After the publishing points have been created, a playlist file can be changed by simply overwriting it, and then restarting the publishing point. ASP pages will be hosted with the other Web pages on a Web server.

Web Design

When an end user clicks the link for an info channel, the ASP page that the link points to will return the URL of the broadcast publishing point and open the stream in the Player.




Microsoft Windows Media Resource Kit
Microsoft Windows Media Resource Kit (Pro-Resource Kit)
ISBN: 0735618070
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 258

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