Organization of the Documentation
[The feature associated with this page, Windows Media Player SDK, is a legacy feature. It has been superseded by MediaPlayer. MediaPlayer has been optimized for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft strongly recommends that new code use MediaPlayer instead of Windows Media Player SDK, when possible. Microsoft suggests that existing code that uses the legacy APIs be rewritten to use the new APIs if possible.]
The Windows Media Player SDK documents a wide variety of technologies related to Windows Media Player. To make it easier to locate the information you need, the documentation is divided into sections that help you quickly locate topics about a particular feature or technology.
Where appropriate, major sections each include three subsections: About, Programming Guide, and Reference. The About section describes the particular feature or technology to help you understand how you can use it. The Programming Guide section adds tutorials that take you deeper into the technology with step-by-step instructions. The Reference section details the interfaces, objects, methods, properties, events, elements, and attributes that are available for your use.
The following table will help you to understand where to look for the help you need.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| About the Windows Media Player SDK | Provides overviews of the SDK's organization and of the new features and technologies available. Provides information about where to find the SDK samples and where to locate more help on the Web. |
| Windows Media Player Object Model | Provides detailed information about using the Windows Media Player ActiveX control and Windows Media Player Mobile ActiveX control object model. The About the Player Object Model section describes each object and provides general information about the control. The Player Control Guide includes topics about how to write code for the embedded Player, as well as an Object Model Migration Guide that details the differences between this version of the control and the Windows Media Player 6.4 ActiveX control. The Object Model Reference for Scripting section is written in a style designed to be easily understood by script programmers and Visual Basic 6.0 programmers. C++ interfaces are documented in the Object Model Reference for C++. Interfaces and objects available to Visual Basic .NET and C# programmers through COM interoperability are documented in the [Object Model Reference for Visual Basic .NET and C). |
| Windows Media Player Skins | Provides detailed information about creating Windows Media Player skins. The About Skins section provides an overview of skin technology and describes in detail what you need to know about creating a skin. The Skin Creation Guide section teaches you to make your first skin and shows you how to add particular features. The Skin Programming Reference details the elements and attributes available to skins. Skins can also use the Microsoft JScript programming language to add functionality, so the Object Model Reference section is useful to skin programmers as well.The Windows Media Player Mobile Skins section provides detailed information about creating skins for different versions of Windows Media Player Mobile. |
| Windows Media Player Plug-ins | There are five basic types of Windows Media Player plug-ins. Each type is detailed in a subsection of this section. |
| Windows Media Player Custom Visualizations | Visualizations are a plug-in technology that you can use to create interesting visual effects for the Player. About Custom Visualizations describes the technology and tells you what you need to know to create a visualization using the plug-in wizard. The Custom Visualization Programming Guide section steps you through the process of changing the code generated by the plug-in wizard to create a different visualization. The Custom Visualization Programming Reference section provides detailed information about the interfaces, structures, and enumerations you need to write visualization code. |
| Windows Media Player User Interface Plug-ins | User interface (UI) plug-ins allow you to add new user interface elements to the full mode Player. The About User Interface Plug-ins section provides an overview of UI plug-ins and describes how to use the plug-in wizard to create a plug-in. The User Interface Plug-ins Programming Guide teaches you to modify the code generated by the plug-in wizard to create a new UI plug-in for either the PC or Windows Mobile device. The User Interface Plug-ins Programming Reference section provides detailed information about the interfaces you need to write UI plug-in code. |
| Windows Media Player DSP Plug-ins | Digital Signal Processing (DSP) plug-ins allow you to write code that changes the audio or video data. The About DSP Plug-ins section provides the information you need to understand the technology and use the plug-in wizard to create a sample plug-in. The DSP Plug-ins Programming Guide teaches you to modify the code generated by the plug-in wizard to create a new audio DSP effect plug-in. The DSP Plug-ins Programming Reference section provides detailed information about the interfaces and enumerations you need to write DSP plug-in code. |
| Windows Media Player Rendering Plug-ins (deprecated) | Deprecated. |
| Windows Media Player Conversion Plug-ins | Conversion plug-ins allow you to write code that converts digital media files that are created using technologies not provided by Microsoft, into Advanced Systems Format (ASF). |
| Windows Media Metafiles | Windows Media metafiles are text files that use XML technology to describe how digital media files should be played. The About Windows Media Metafiles section describes metafile playlists. The Windows Media Metafile Guide section tells you how to create metafiles that perform specific tasks. The Windows Media Metafile Reference section provides detailed information about elements and file name extensions. |
| Windows Media Player Online Stores | Online stores provide digital media content to users. Online store providers can integrate their offerings into Windows Media Player. |
| Windows Media Player | Some SDK features apply to Windows Media Player, the Windows Media Player control, and Windows Media Player Mobile in a general sense. This section provides information about these features. |
| Glossary | The glossary provides definitions for terminology related to the Windows Media Player SDK. |