Streaming paradox

[KiwiBrian]

On the following page I have two links to pages with identical content.
The source content of each is identical and the daughter (called/referenced
files) of each are located in both directories.
Yet one streams and the other doesn't.
Can anyone tell me why the one that doesn't stream doesn't?
Puzzled.
Brian Tozer

 

[KiwiBrian]

On the following page I have two links to pages with identical content.
http://www.hibiscuslink.co.nz/rospat/why.html

The source content of each is identical and the daughter
(called/referenced files) of each are located in both directories.
Yet one streams and the other doesn't.
Can anyone tell me why the one that doesn't stream doesn't?
Puzzled.
Brian Tozer

 

[cwdjrxyz]

I would first look at the script that creates the player on each page.
I did not see any difference in the script on casual observation, but
the least little error in a script, including hidden things and extra
white space, can cause a script to fail completely. Completely delete
the script on the page that is not working and replace it with the
script on the page that is working and see what happens.

I should point out that you are using an ActiveX object only to play
the audio. Thus most browsers, other than the IE family, will not play
your audio at all unless they have had a plugin added to play the WMP
using AX. There are codes to take another path if the browser does not
support AX. Also any browser that has script turned off will not hear
your audio. Since you give links to the audio anyway, the most simple
thing to do is to use a .wax redirector file as the link. This will
bring up the audio on the WMP, but of course there will not be a
picture on the page. At least you could include the .wax redirector
link as an alternative for those to click who do not hear the audio
using the AX code you now have.

 

[KiwiBrian]

I would first look at the script that creates the player on each page.
I did not see any difference in the script on casual observation, but
the least little error in a script, including hidden things and extra
white space, can cause a script to fail completely. Completely delete
the script on the page that is not working and replace it with the
script on the page that is working and see what happens.

I should point out that you are using an ActiveX object only to play
the audio. Thus most browsers, other than the IE family, will not play
your audio at all unless they have had a plugin added to play the WMP
using AX. There are codes to take another path if the browser does not
support AX. Also any browser that has script turned off will not hear
your audio. Since you give links to the audio anyway, the most simple
thing to do is to use a .wax redirector file as the link. This will
bring up the audio on the WMP, but of course there will not be a
picture on the page. At least you could include the .wax redirector
link as an alternative for those to click who do not hear the audio
using the AX code you now have.

Thankyou very much for your enlightening reply.
My objective was to subject the user to as little change in the viewing
environment as possible, rather than cause Windows Media Player to be
launched to play the audio.
What happens if WMP is not installed on the client's PC?
I think it was you who previously gave me a helpful reply regarding using a
..wax redirector file. I was successful with this but did not like the fact
that the WMP was launched to play the audio.
As it is audio only, is there a way of reliably streaming audio without
invoking WMP?
I seem to have gone some way to accomplishing it at present, but only by
using a daughter page.
My thinking was to ascertain the reason for the present paradox and then
enquire as to how the process could be invoked directly from the parent page
without the use of a daughter page.
But if I am aiming for the unnattainable, or even the inadvisable, I need to
find out now, altho the client seems very happy with the present results on
all PCs that he has tested on.
Thanks for your advice.
Brian Tozer

 

[cwdjrxyz]

Thankyou very much for your enlightening reply.
My objective was to subject the user to as little change in the viewing
environment as possible, rather than cause Windows Media Player to be
launched to play the audio.
What happens if WMP is not installed on the client's PC?
I think it was you who previously gave me a helpful reply regarding using a
.wax redirector file. I was successful with this but did not like the fact
that the WMP was launched to play the audio.
As it is audio only, is there a way of reliably streaming audio without
invoking WMP?
I seem to have gone some way to accomplishing it at present, but only by
using a daughter page.
My thinking was to ascertain the reason for the present paradox and then
enquire as to how the process could be invoked directly from the parent page
without the use of a daughter page.
But if I am aiming for the unnattainable, or even the inadvisable, I need to
find out now, altho the client seems very happy with the present results on
all PCs that he has tested on.

You do not need script or ActiveX, if I understand you correctly. By
adjusting the parameters for the WMP ordinary object, you can create a
button on the main page to play the audio. See
http://www.cwdjr.info/media/streamtest.html . See the source code of
this page, and read the instructions for the wax redirector file shown
at the bottom of the page. The code is valid at the W3C validator up to
xhtml 1.1. Mine is written at the 1.1 level, to check validation, but I
served it as html to avoid the complication of the php include, as you
do not seem to be using xhtml. This code works on the latest versions
of IE6, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, and Opera. It even works on the old
Netscape 4.8, although the button appears a little funky on this old
relic. You can adjust the style in the division to change the style of
the text you use along with the button for audio.

 

[KiwiBrian]

Thanks heaps!! Looks like exactly what I was after.
Thou art a scholar and a gentleman.
Brian.

 

[cwdjrxyz]

You do not need script or ActiveX, if I understand you correctly. By
adjusting the parameters for the WMP ordinary object, you can create a
button on the main page to play the audio. See
http://www.cwdjr.info/media/streamtest.html . See the source code of
this page, and read the instructions for the wax redirector file shown
at the bottom of the page. The code is valid at the W3C validator up to
xhtml 1.1. Mine is written at the 1.1 level, to check validation, but I
served it as html to avoid the complication of the php include, as you
do not seem to be using xhtml. This code works on the latest versions
of IE6, Netscape, Firefox, Mozilla, and Opera. It even works on the old
Netscape 4.8, although the button appears a little funky on this old
relic. You can adjust the style in the division to change the style of
the text you use along with the button for audio.

You can also extend to the Real player and a m3u playlist to give the
maximum chance of playing your sound. See
http://www.cwdjr.info/media/streamtest2.html . Since some players may
be installed on some browsers and not others and since different
players may be made the primary player for different file types, there
is a huge number of combinations of how a computer can be set up for
playing sound. On my setup, the IE6 plays the sound on both the WMP and
Real players. It plays the m3u playlist using the Winamp player. On my
several other browsers, both the WMP and Real players work. However the
mu3 play list does not.

 

[cwdjrxyz]

You can also extend to the Real player and a m3u playlist to give the
maximum chance of playing your sound. See
http://www.cwdjr.info/media/streamtest2.html . Since some players may
be installed on some browsers and not others and since different
players may be made the primary player for different file types, there
is a huge number of combinations of how a computer can be set up for
playing sound. On my setup, the IE6 plays the sound on both the WMP and
Real players. It plays the m3u playlist using the Winamp player. On my
several other browsers, both the WMP and Real players work. However the
mu3 play list does not.

I gave the url of the WMP only page. The correct url is
http://www.cwdjr.info/media/streamtest2.html .