PlayStream: Linking

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There are three options for linking to your RealMedia. Please select one of the options below to get started.

• Option 1: Use PlayStream's Easy Link Technology (Recommended)
• Option 2: RealNetworks' "RAM" File Method
• Option 3: Embedding with RealMedia

Option 2: RealNetworks' "RAM" File Method

Once you have uploaded your RealMedia file to your PlayStream account, create a text file (Windows users can do this with Notepad or TextPad; MAC users with Simple Text) with the following text entered (in upper, left corner):

rtsp://real.playstream.com/servicename/your file.rm

Save this text file by any name (no spaces) with the extension ".ram" after it (i.e: movie.ram). Upload this RAM file to your Web site (NOT your PlayStream Account). Create a link on your Web page to this file. For example:

http://www.YOURWEBSITE.com/movie.ram

Now test your movie by launching your browser. Go to your Web site and click on the link that you have created on your Web page. That link should launch the "movie.ram" file, which is a simple instruction that tells RealPlayer to launch and play the RealMedia file you referenced inside the movie.ram file.

Option 3: Embedding with RealMedia

PlayStream EasyLink technology makes it easy to embed RealMedia into a Web page. Just insert the following OBJECT/EMBED tag in your Web page:

NOTE: Please replace the highlighted text above with your stream link.

The "type" attribute lets the browser know which plug-in to use to play the media. The "src" attribute tells the plug-in what media to play and where it resides. The "src" attribute can either be the PlayStream Easylink path to your media, a ramgen path to your media, or a ".ram" reference file. The "height" and "width" attributes are the dimensions of your media. If the media is audio only be sure to set both the "height" and "width" to at least "2" or it may not work in all browsers. The "autostart" attribute determines whether the clip starts playing automatically or not. The "console" attribute gives the OBJECT/EMBED tag an identifier that allows multiple OBJECT/EMBED tags to work together. The "controls" attribute defines which controls if any are used in the OBJECT/EMBED tag. To provide every control to the viewer you would use a second OBJECT/EMBED tag like this:

NOTE: Please replace the highlighted text above with your stream link.

In this second OBJECT/EMBED tag the only thing that has changed is the values of the "height" and "controls" attributes. Be certain the "console" attribute keeps the same value. The value of "all" for the "controls" attribute tells the plug-in to display all of the Real player controls in the 320x100 space defined by the "height" and "width" attributes. Here is a list of other "controls" values.

ControlPanel
PlayButton
PlayOnlyButton
PauseButton
StopButton
FFCtrl
RWCtrl
MuteCtrl
MuteVolume
VolumeSlider
PositionSlider
TACCtrl
HomeCtrl
InfoVolumePanel
InfoPanel
StatusBar
StatusField
PositionField

The reason for the use of both the OBJECT and EMBED tag is to insure functionality in all browsers.

For more information on embedding you can review Chapter 8 of RealSystem Production Guide [http://service.real.com/help/library/guides/production8/realpgd.htm] provides a good introduction into the art and science of embedding RealMedia.