Test a stream using Windows Media Player

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

To test a stream using Windows Media Player

  1. If you want to test the stream by using Windows Media Player on the computer running Windows Media Services, confirm that Desktop Experience is installed.

  2. In the console tree, click the publishing point that hosts the stream you want to test.

  3. In the details pane, click the Announce tab, and then, in Unicast streams, make note of the value in URL that clients may use to your content.

  4. Start Windows Media Player on a computer that can access the stream, and enter the URL that you noted in the previous step.

  5. Using the Player controls, test the control functionality of the content stream.

    Broadcast streams can make use of the Start and Stop commands. On-demand streams may make use of the Start, Stop, and Pause commands, as well as the Seek bar.

  6. Test all of the available streaming protocols.

    A unicast stream will try to connect using the MMS protocol, but will switch to the RTSP protocol if network conditions or the Player version requires it. The HTTP protocol will not be active unless the WMS HTTP Server Control Protocol plug-in is enabled. For more information, see About data transfer protocols.

  7. Allow the stream to play for a representative period of time and check that the stream quality is sufficient for the type of content and the capabilities of the equipment.

Note

This procedure only applies to the Windows Media Services snap-in.

Note

A true test of stream availability requires a Windows Media Player session on a computer under the most adverse connection circumstances. For example, if some members of your expected audience will access the stream from a dial-up connection outside a network firewall, your testing scenario should include that condition.

Note

If you are streaming by using a multicast transmission, use the Multicast Announcement Wizard to create a Web page that your test computers can connect to and test the stream.

See Also

Concepts

Installing Desktop Experience
WMS HTTP Server Control Protocol
Working with the Multicast Announcement Wizard