Delivered direct from Microsoft's Windows Media product team, this comprehensive handbook shows how to use the new capabilities in Windows Media Player for Windows XP to tune into streaming media, burn CDs (no plug-in required!), find and play back content from the Web, watch DVDs, and more--everywhere a PC, laptop, or pocket device goes.

Listen to Internet radio. Watch breaking news over broadband. Build your own music and video playlists. With the MICROSOFT(r) WINDOWS MEDIA(r) PLAYER FOR WINDOWS(r) XP HANDBOOK, you control the airwaves! Personalize the way you see, hear, and experience digital media with this all-in-one kit of tools and how-tos from Microsoft s Windows Media team. You get everything you need to bring cutting-edge music and video everywhere your PC, laptop, or portable device goes! Discover the exciting new MP3 and Windows Media features throughout Windows XP Use built-in CD burning to produce your own discs fast Watch DVDs and streamed media full screen!Create your own media library and keep it organized with automatic file-tracking Embed the player in your Web page Take your music and video to go on your Pocket PC or other device Personalize your player with skins and visualizations and build your own with the Software Development Kit (SDK) on CD-ROM CD-ROM FEATURES: Windows Media Player SDK your complete resource for creating skins, visualizations, and player-enhanced Web pages Windows Media Player Bonus Pack includes new skins and visualizations, MP3 converter, skin importer, Power Toys, and other useful utilities Advanced Script Indexer for creating multimedia files Additional tutorials, scenarios, and tips and tricks for Windows Media Player

Introduction xiii
PART I
USING WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER

1
Getting Started 3


Playing a Song in Four Steps 4




Step 1: Start up the Player 4




Step 2: Go to the Now Playing View 7




Step 3: Select a Playlist 7




Step 4: Play the Song You Want
9


Main Features of Windows Media Player 10




Now Playing: Plays Music and Video 11




Media Guide: Searches the Internet 15




Copy from CD: Copies Music from Your CDs 15




Media Library: Organizes Your Files 16




Radio Tuner: Tune in to Internet Radio 17




Copy to CD or Device 18




Skin Chooser: Provides Custom User Interfaces 20
2
Operating Windows Media Player 23


Outer Frame Operations 23




Playback Controls 24




Menu Controls 25




Taskbar Controls 27




Switch to Skin Mode Control 29




Windows Media Control 29




Status Pane 29




Resize Control 30




Full Screen Controls 30


Inner Window Operations 32




Now Playing view 32




Media Guide View 42




Copy from CD View 43




Media Library View 52




Radio Tuner View 58




Copy to CD or Device View 64




Skin Chooser View 70


Hidden Menus 71




Main Menu Bar 71




Skin Menu
92




Playlist Item Menu
92
3
Understanding Media Files 95


File Formats 95




Determining File Types with File Name Extensions 96




Changing File Associations 96




Supported File Types 99


Codecs 104




Sampling and Bit Rates 104




Using MP3 Files 105




Using the Windows Media Audio Codec 105




Where Do You Get Codecs? 106




Which Codecs Do You Have? 107


Understanding Digital Rights 109




Creating Encrypted Music Files 110




Enabling Personal Rights Management 112
4
Receiving Internet Audio and Video 113


Downloading Files 113




How Files Are Transmitted 113




How to Download a File 114


Progressive Streaming 116




File Buffering 117


Streaming Media 118




Live and Recorded Streaming 119




Unicast and Multicast Streaming 119
5
Using Windows Media Player with Portable Devices 125


PC in Your Pocket 125




Getting Started with Pocket PC Player 127




Copying Music and Video to the Pocket PC 129




Using Windows Media Player on the Pocket PC 139


Music in Your Pocket 144




Advantages of WMA-compatible Devices 144




Finding a Device 145




Using a Device 146
PART II
CREATING SKINS

6
How Do Skins Work? 151


Example Skins 151


Architecture of Skins 153




The Relationship between User, Skin, and Player 153




The Two Parts of a Skin 154


XML 155




How XML is Used in Skins 155




The Rules of XML 156




How to Author in XML 158




How to Create the Skin Definition File in XML 159


JScript 163




Calling JScript functions 163




Controlling the Player 164


Art Files 169




Types of Art Files 169




Art File Formats 171




Simple Art Example 171
7
How to Design Skins 179


User Interface Guidelines 179




Windows Interface Guidelines 179




Windows Media Player Interface 181


Four Steps for Designing a Skin 187




Step 1: Analyzing What to Do 187




Step 2: Designing the User Interface 188




Step 3: Creating the Art 190




Step 4: Writing the Code 192
8
Creating a Sample Skin 197


Step 1: Analyze What to Do 197




Functionality of the Sample Skin 198


Step 2: Design the User Interface 198




User Interface of the Sample Skin 199


Step 3: Create the Art 199




Creating the Art Files 200


Step 4: Write the Code 209




Creating the Skin Definition File 209
9
Adding More to Skins 217


Adding a Progress Bar 217




Progress bar art files 218




Progress Bar Code 219


Adding a Slider 220


Adding a Custom Slider 221




Custom Slider Art Files 222




Custom Slider Code 224


Adding a Video Window 225




Video Art Files 225




Video Window Code 226


Adding a Visualization 226




Visualization Art Files 227




Visualization Code 228


Adding a Sliding Drawer 228




Drawer Art Files 230




Drawer Code 231


Adding a Dialog Box for Opening Files 236


Adding a Playlist 237




Playlist Code 238


Adding Text
238




Text Code 239


Going Further 241
10
Testing and Distributing Skins 243


Testing Skins 243




Analyzing What is Going on inside Your Skin 243




Using Microsoft Visual InterDev 254




Testing to be Sure Your Skin is Complete 255


Distributing Skins 255




Zipping it Up 255




Testing it Again 256




Sending it Out 256
Part III
Advanced Topics

11
Using Windows Media Player in a Web Page 259


Getting Started 259




Examples of the Player in a Web Page 260


Setting up Your Web Page 266




Using ActiveX 266




Using the OBJECT Element of HTML 267




Defining the User Interface with HTML 268


Implementing Event Handlers 273


Understanding Player Control Limitations 274


Previous Versions of the Control 275


Ensuring that the Player is Installed 275


Going Further 276
12
Creating Custom Media Content 277


Using Markers 278




Inserting Markers 278




Using Markers in Scripts 281


Using URLs 282




Inserting URLs 282




Using URLs in Scripts 285


Using Script Commands 288




Inserting Script Commands 289




Custom Script Commands 290


Using Captioning 292
13
Creating Multimedia Applications 299


Using Borders 299




How to Create Borders 302




Delivering Enhanced Content 305
14
Creating Custom Visualizations 311


Software Tools 311




Installing Visual C++ 312




Installing the Windows Media Player SDK 312




Installing the Visualization Wizard 312


What the Wizard Does 313




Project Files 314




Creating the Files 315




Building a Test Visualization 318




Seeing the Test Visualization 319


What You Must Write 322




Implementing the Render Interface 322




Providing Preset Information 323


Sample Code 325


Going Further 329




Learning More 330




Submitting Your Visualization 330
GLOSSARY 331
INDEX 343
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 349