The SMIL file
The SMIL file can perform three functions:
- indicate the source of media and data files
- describe the overall layout of the presentation
- establish the overall presentation time line.
Required Tags
The SMIL markup must start with a <smil> tag
and end with the </smil> closing tag. It must
also include the <body></body> and <head></head>
<smil>
<body>
<head></head>
</body>
</smil>
The <head></head>
The body of the SMIL file is where you will reference all your
media clips. Here are some examples of links:
<audio src=
"rtsp://realserver.bu.edu:554/a/v/av/nis/training/smil/one.mp3"/>
<video src=
"rtsp://realserver.bu.edu:554/a/v/av/nis/training/smil/two.gif"/>
<text src="http://www.bu.edu/av/nis/training/smil/three.txt"/>
In its simplest format, a SMIL file lists multiple clips played
in sequence:
<smil>
<head></head>
<body>
<audio src="rtsp://realserver.bu.edu:554/a/v/av/nis/training/smil/one.mp3"/>
<img src=
"rtsp://realserver.bu.edu:554/a/v/av/nis/training/smil/bigtwo.gif"/>
<text src="http://www.bu.edu/av/nis/training/smil/three.txt"/>
</body>
</smil>
Note the different types (audio, video, text) followed by a source
(src) URL. The following chart lists the various types of clips
you might include:
| animation |
Animation clips such as a Flash Player file (.swf). |
| audio |
Audio clips such as RealAudio (.rm) or MP3 (.mp3) |
| img |
JPEG (.jpg), GIF (.gif), or PNG images (.png) Can be served
from Web server or Real server. |
| ref |
Any clip type not covered by other attributes, such as a RealPix
file (.rp). |
| text |
Static text clips (.txt). Must be served from Web server. |
| textstream |
Streaming RealText clips (.rt). |
| video |
Video or other clips that display continuous motion, such
as RealVideo (.rm). |
The URLs for these links must reflect the actual location of the
files, and reference the correct server (which is generally the
Real server unless noted otherwise above). If all your media content
is contained in the same folder or subfolder, you can link file
with relative paths (recommended).
.
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