Streaming from publishing points

After a publishing point has been created and configured, clients can connect to the publishing point and stream content. A client locates the content by using the URL of the publishing point, which a client can acquire by using one of the following methods:

• Direct connection. A client program, such as Windows Media Player, can connect to a unicast publishing point directly by using the URL of the publishing point. For example, in Windows Media Player, a user can type the URL in the Open URL dialog box. A URL consists of the protocol type, server or domain name, and publishing point name. If the publishing point sources a directory of files, you can also specify a particular file name. For example, the URL mms://my_server/my_pub_pt/my_file.wmv streams the file My_File.wmv in the publishing point My_Pub_Pt on the server My_Server using either the MMS protocol or a protocol that was selected by the server using protocol rollover logic. For more information on protocol rollover, see How protocol rollover works.

  If are using an embedded Player in a Web page, you specify the publishing point URL as the source for the Windows Media Player ActiveX® control. For more information about using the Windows Media Player ActiveX control, see the Windows Media Player SDK at the Microsoft Web site. For more information about publishing point URLs, see Client URL reference.

• Announcement file. A client can connect to the URL of a publishing point by opening an announcement file, which is a Windows Media metafile with an .asx file name extension. Announcement files are most often used to provide access to streaming media content from a Web page link. When the user clicks the link, the browser downloads and reads the announcement file. Then the browser opens the Player and accesses the URL. Announcement files should be used instead of direct links in Web pages, because many browsers cannot access streaming media content directly. For more information, see About announcements.
• Multicast information file. A client can connect to a multicast stream by reading a multicast information file. Because a client does not connect directly to a server to receive a multicast broadcast, multicast information files are used to provide clients with all the necessary connection and stream information, also known as header information. Often an announcement file is used to distribute the multicast information file. For example, a Web page link can point to an announcement, which contains the URL of the multicast information file. For more information, see About multicast information files.

When a publishing point is started, you should test the stream to make sure your configuration is working as expected. For more information, see Testing a stream.

Note

• Multicast streaming and the WMS Multicast Data Writer plug-in are available only if Windows Media Services 9 Series is running on the following editions of the operating system: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. If you are running Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, these features are not supported.

Related topics

• Archiving content
• Work with publishing points