Creating a Clipstream™ Video Playlist

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Learning how to play multiple clips from a single applet continued...

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Modify an existing playlist (.csl) file
In order to tell the Clipstream™ Video applet which clips to play and in what order, you must call a separate text document with this information and upload it to the server. Although you may create your own, it is easier to download an existing playlist from our demo.

1. Download the existing playlist from our demo (trailer_list.csl).

2. Open it up using a text editor such as Notepad.

You will see a large text document made up of many sections. Most obviously is the long list of movie trailer clips. Below is a list of terms and descriptions of each element. Optional elements are noted. Following that is a discussion on how to edit the document.

Element	Value example	Description
Name=	High,256kbps,128kbps,Modem	The values indicate the text label that the user will see in the applet's popup bitrate selection bar. The order of the names should be in the same order as the KBPS values. i.e. "High" is the text label for "650".
KBPS=	650,250,100,0	KBPS means Kilobytes Per Second or the bit rate at which each clip may be offered. In the value examples 650 means a 650kbps version of all the clips is available.
Token=	KBPS	The Token is the key element in the playlist that enables this single document to allow Clipstream Video to use its bit-rate detection for a variety of clips. The Token identifies a common element in each video clip name that is automatically replaced in the applet deployment when VideoPlaylist is used as a parameter. In this example, "KBPS" is identified as the element that will be replaced in each video clip name. This means the applet will look for the word KBPS in the long list of video clip names at the bottom of the playlist document and automatically insert the value for EXT element throughout.
EXT=	700,256,128,40	EXT= The values for Ext are what the Token replaces the KBPS with. When the applet looks down the playlist and sees KBPS, it replaces it with the corresponding value stated in EXT. These values correspond to the file names for each bit rate version of each clip. For example: If the original .vcs file name is herbie_700.vcs, then the EXT= element must contain the value "700". The reason why there are also ",256,128,40" is that there are also herbie_256.vcs, herbie_128.vcs, and herbie_40.vcs movie files that may be called by the bit rate detection. If you didn't want to include the low end herbie_40.vcs, then you would not have "40" in the EXT.
NoSeekPlayback=	0 or 1	Enables or disables the Clipstream seek bar. You might disable this to prevent people from skipping ahead in a time-based playlist.
UseLocalTime=	0 or 1	Toggles whether the playlist is timed using the user's local machine clock (1) or the server's clock (0).
DefaultImage=	content/v/videoplaylist/please_wait.gif	Specifies an image that appears while the next video is loading. Good for branding purposes.
Date=	20050505	The Start date for the playlist to be active.
Day=	0,1,2,3,4,5,6	Specifies a day of the week when the playlist is active. In this example, all of the days of the week are activated. (0=Sunday / 6=Saturday)
0000	0001 content/v/videoplaylist/herbie_KBPS.vcs	This indicates when the clip beside the numeral will play based upon clock time. The syntax is HHMM (Hour, Hour, Minute, Minute). In this example, 0001, is the first minute of the first hour which would play the herbie clip. 1747 would mean 17hr 47m and would play Batman Begins. The string identifying the clip next to the time is the relative link and file name of the clip on the server. Note the KBPS in capitals in each clip name. This is replaced with the values contained in the EXT= element. So, in the example, in the 0 hr 01minute of the playlist, Herbie will play. If the user has 700 or better kbps detected by the autobitrate sensing of the applet, the applet will select the file herbie_700.vcs

3. Edit, save and upload
Simply change the values as needed in your document, save it (make note of the filename if you choose to save a copy), and upload it to your server.

Go to Page Three to learn about editing the applet code to reference the Playlist.csl >>