Windows Media Player

1
Windows Media Player
classical.com
Classical will provide a feature and sub feature
each week to appear in the media guide
Pete, March 2002
2
How it works

• Prepare content
• Create backend tool to allow classical content to
  be uploaded and stored in the database.
• Once a bulk of data is uploaded, the backend
  will, on a weekly basis, create MDF files for
  Microsoft, and send an e-mail to our Microsoft
  contact telling them where they may download the
  MDF from.
• HERE IS THE MDF document
• What Content?
• Based on the composer of the week idea, will will
  produce features consisting of images, headlines,
  editorial text and links to a playlist.

3
Examples

• Baching Mad Bach
• This is a feature about Bach. Baching mad Bach
  is the headline.
• 3 images are created by classical 1 small and
  one medium sized pictures of Bach, plus one
  larger image which is designed to include the
  Headline on the image. The sizes and
  specifications are specified in the Microsoft
  document attached.
• The editorial text will be some brief words,
  developing the headline and edging people towards
  listening to the audio clip.

4
How does classical create content

• Create and upload content
• go to backend and create new msn feature,
  naming it the headline.
• Create the small medium and large images in
  Photoshop and upload them to images 1, 2 and 3.
• Write the editorial text into the backend.
• Determine the page that opens up when users click
  to play audio, and the url they goto when they
  click the more info link in media player guide.
• Additional marketing info
• There is space in the media player for a banner
  advert to appear whilst users listen to the audio
  provided by classical, so that we can maintain
  some branding their even when the user closes any
  other window.
• THIS BANNER NEEDS TO BE DESIGNED AND IMPLEMENTED
• The urls users goto on more info etc will need
  to be existing site pages (like listen) until we
  create specific landing pages.

5
The backend

• www.classical.com/ccadmin/msn_contents.php

6
The Backend 2 (create new feature)
7
How?

• Each week the appropriate MDfs are created, and
  e-mail is sent to MSN and a different feature is
  used. If the next weeks feature is manually
  overwritten (I.e. is selected) then the rotator
  just skips a number. I.e. in week 1, feature 1
  gets used, then 2 then 3, then admin chooses
  no.78 because it is particularly relevant to that
  week, so in 4, no.78 is show, but in week 5, no.4
  is used.
• After all features have been used once, they all
  have a count of 1 so they go round again. I.e. if
  an article is used it gains 1 point, so the next
  article automatically chosen is that with the
  lowest score, and the lowest article id number.

8
Issues

• We are giving free playlists to msn media player
  users
• We need to stop these playlist being free
  elsewhere
• If we use it on the homepage also in place of the
  composer of the week, we need a design.
• We need to change promotions so that they are
  location specific, I.e. where you use a free
  playlist, it is free only there, on the domains
  you specified.