Several file types are involved with the Advanced Stream Redirector, or ASX, format. This type of file contains data that tells a media server which files to serve when a visitor to a website clicks a link. Some of the files involved in ASX relate to the website that the link appears on, while others pertain to the media files themselves.
ASX
- ASX is a type of file known as a "metadata" file. The ASX file contains data about another file. The structure of an ASX file is similar to HTML, and can be created in Notepad or any word processing program. This file contains a tag that calls another file, specifically a ASF file, from a server. This is the "<ref href="nameoffile.asf"/>" tag. Replace "nameoffile" with the actual name of the ASF file to be called.
ASF
- ASF is a type of file known as a "container." It is a list of other media files. When the ASX file references it, the media server opens the ASF file to see which media files the user is trying to access. The ASF file can act as a metadata file, because it can contain title, artist, genre, and album information for audio tracks, or director, producer and cast information for video tracks.
Media
- Various media files are associated with the ASX format through the ASF file. The file may contain Windows Media Audio and Video formats. Files that contain only audio are encoded in WMA format, while files that contain both audio and video are encoded in WMV format. A single ASX file may reference several of these media files at the same time, but the media files must be located on the same server that the ASX file resides in.
HTML
- To use an ASX file, you must make a reference to it in your page's HTML code. Use the "<a href="nameoffile.asx">Play Media</a>" tag, and replace "nameoffile" with the actual ASX file name. Replace "Play Media" with the text that you want to appear as the on-page link. When your visitor clicks this link, the default media player opens and it begins streaming the media files referenced in the ASX file.
