Am I really seeing question marks? Can't get playlist to load...

[Carole]

Hi,

Please tell me if there are really question marks in the xml tag:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>


I have been struggling for days, trying to get a simple streaming audio player to work.
I paid for two different hosts so far, and uploaded 180 megs of music twice, but I can't get the playlist to load. Host says they support streaming audio and I shouldn't be having a problem.

I have copied and pasted from several sources to ensure it isn't my error, then simply substituted file names and locations; tried both case-sensitive then all lower case, everything matching, to no avail.

I have made sure to save as UTF-8, recommended to be "plain text." I have checked all details many times but cannot fix!

The only thing I'm unable to check is the question marks. I see question marks in place of many characters and can't figure out why. May or may not be related.

Thanks in advance, I'm at my wits' end.

Oh, latest attempt, short version:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<playlist version="0" xmlns = "http://xspf.org/ns/0/">
<title>The Title of Your MP3 Player</title>
<trackList>
<track>
<location>http://correct url/music/feelingroovy.mp3</location>
<image>http://correct url/music/star.gif</image>
<annotation>Feeling Groovy</annotation>
</track>
<track>
<location>http://correct url/music/mondaymonday.mp3</location>
<image>http://correct url/music/star.gif</image>
<annotation>Monday Monday</annotation>
</track>
</trackList>
</playlist>

[Carole]

p.s. so as not to further confuse above post.

the filenames are correct, I altered Feelin' Groovy to Feeling Groovy (title) to test the possibility that XML didn't like my apostrophe.
:\

edit: I just figured out the mime-types list was lacking an xspf extension, so I googled it and added application/xspf+xml. However it still doesn't work.

*sigh...*

[BLiZZaRD]

What are you trying to load it into, and how is the XML being called?

If you want a specific audio player to work, then we need to know which one you want, if you are looking for any old one to work then we can point you to a couple easier ones.

There are even a couple nice one posted about in these forums alread

[Carole]

Well it took me nearly 3 days with little sleep to install a simple player and get it working.

But I am back to share what I learned, in case it helps some other newbie like me.

First, make sure your host allows mp3 streaming without you paying for a dedicated server.

Second, don't take their word for it, check to see if the application/xspf+xml mime support is installed.

Third, at least in the Boutell version, the webpage, player, and playlist should be in the same folder, at your root directory. If you want your mp3s in a subfolder, you must specify the path in your playlist.

Fourth, make sure you have the correct path from your web host. Mine didn't seem to KNOW the correct path when I spoke to someone online. It took me 20 minutes to get it out of him; he was obviously reading a FAQ and in the end gave me the wrong path! (In my case it was a different setup than the one I had before, so it threw a wrench in the works.)

Lastly (maybe should be firstly) If you're going to be changing the name-server addresses for your dot-com, it may take a couple of days to get it all running smoothly, and that includes testing pages in your new control center.

Arrrgghhh, this is why I didn't become a programmer. Of course, a little schooling might have made it easier...

(where's the smiley ripping out her hair?)

[BLiZZaRD]

Good advice! Glad you got it figured out!

Third, at least in the Boutell version, the webpage, player, and playlist should be in the same folder, at your root directory. If you want your mp3s in a subfolder, you must specify the path in your playlist.

This is a security issue from Flash, ALL Flash items dealing with a single movie must be in the same spot as all the others.

Lastly (maybe should be firstly) If you're going to be changing the name-server addresses for your dot-com, it may take a couple of days to get it all running smoothly, and that includes testing pages in your new control center.

Any time you switch DNS it can take anywhere from 1 to 72 hours to propagate, this is a standard from the DNS servers, nothing we mere mortals can do about it

(where's the smiley ripping out her hair?)

You can borrow mine

[Carole]

Thank you, I think I'll move the mp3s to the same directory as well, as Netscape can't seem to load them.

(thanks for the smiley too, it somehow makes me feel better. )

[BLiZZaRD]

You are welcome. It is usually best to just upload everything to the same folder. Specially when you don't know all the little tweaks and work arounds for the different browsers. (Don't worry, even I don't know them all )