Fundamentals of Programming the Microsoft® Windows Media® Platform (Pro-Developer) Review

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Fundamentals of Programming the Microsoft® Windows Media® Platform (Pro-Developer) ReviewThis book should really be called "Automating Windows Media Applications using Visual Basic", because this topic forms the majority of the content. Unfortunately, automation isn't really what most serious Windows Media developers, myself included, are interested in or need information on.
The core technology behind all Windows Media programming is called the Windows Media Format SDK: it is this library that powers all encoding applications including the Windows Media Encoder, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Player, parts of DirectShow, and manipulation of Windows media files themselves. Getting to grips with this vast library and its complexities is the real task facing professional developers on this platform. Unfortunately this doesn't get much more than cursory mention in the first chapter.
The bulk of the book concentrates primarily on automating Windows Media Encoder (using the Encoder SDK), a small, higher-level subset of Windows Media functionality. I can't honestly see why you'd want to write a Visual Basic application that uses the Encoder SDK as the Windows Media Encoder application itself is already up to the job. There is also a section on Windows Media Player, but again this focusses on higher-level automation and "skinning" of the player rather than looking at how you might receive Windows Media streams directly into your own application.
In addtion to all this, the author's decision to concentrate solely on Visual Basic, even though most "automation" developers have switched to .NET by now, and more serious Windows Media developers are confined to C++, diminishes the usefulness of this book even further. The book feels more like an extended magazine article rather than a serious reference book, and I could only really recommend it to Visual Basic hobbyists who are fiddling with Windows Media technology for fun.
Receiving this was such a shame, especially as the publication that accompainied it in my order was the excellent "Windows Media Resource Kit", which is an essential for any Windows Media professional, developer and administrator alike.Fundamentals of Programming the Microsoft® Windows Media® Platform (Pro-Developer) Overview
Learn how to develop and deliver ultrafast, ultracool digital media solutions using the powerfully enhanced Windows Media 9 Series platform. Created by a digital media on Microsoft's Windows Media team, this guide walks you through platform architecture architecture and components-providing inside insights, real-world programming scenarios, and reusable code samples to help power your own streaming media solutions. You get step-by-step instructions on how to create applications to encode Windows Media files and streams, serve and receive audio and video streams, create customized players, and even build a complete broadcasting system-your own Internet radio station.

Discover how to:

Develop 20 complete applications that use Windows Media to create, distribute, and play digital media over the Internet
Create a custom version of Windows Media Encoder to convert MP3, WAV, AVI, and other multimedia files to the Windows Media format
Program the server that runs on Windows Media Services to publish files on demand, broadcast unicast streams, and multicast to all listeners at once
Develop unique UIs for Windows Media Player using banners, borders, embedded Web pages, and the skin programming language
Add the Player to a Web site and a Web site to the Player
Make the encoder, server, and Player work together to create end-to-end multimedia applications
Build an Internet radio station with dynamic playlists that respond to listener requestsGet sample programs, music files, utilities, and more on CD

CD features:

Programs and forms for all the book's examples
Sample music files to encode, serve, or play
Essential Windows Media utilities, including Windows Media Encoder
Complete Windows Media 9 Series Jumpstart CD contents, including demos of multichannel audio, high definition video, and fast streaming
Fully searchable eBook

A Note Regarding the CD or DVD

The print version of this book ships with a CD or DVD. For those customers purchasing one of the digital formats in which this book is available, we are pleased to offer the CD/DVD content as a free download via O'Reilly Media's Digital Distribution services. To download this content, please visit O'Reilly's web site, search for the title of this book to find its catalog page, and click on the link below the cover image (Examples, Companion Content, or Practice Files). Note that while we provide as much of the media content as we are able via free download, we are sometimes limited by licensing restrictions. Please direct any questions or concerns to booktech@oreilly.com.


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