Linking up Video Library

Thanks to Nested Playlists System realized in SS IPTV, you can create for your users complicated hierarchical structures that includes transitions from one playlist to another. This structures may be useful for organization of Video Library or TV Program Archive.

In this article there will be described, how using nested playlists to link up your Video Library. For this purpose you will probably need attributes tvg-logo and description as well as directives #EXTSIZE and #EXTBG described in article About M3U.

The main difference of the root playlist of Video Library from usual playlist is that its items refer not to video streams but to other playlists. In order to tell the app that the item is the link to playlist (not to the stream), use type attribute with a value playlist.

Note, if url refers to the file with extension m3u or xspf, there is no need to use type attribute. The app will define item's type automatically.

Thus the root playlist of your Video Library can look similar way:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", 2015
http://example.com/playlists/2015.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", 2010-2014
http://example.com/playlists/2010-2014.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", A-Z
http://example.com/playlists/a-z.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", Documentary
http://example.com/playlists/docs.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", Drama
http://example.com/playlists/drama.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", Comedy
http://example.com/playlists/comedy.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", TV Series
http://example.com/playlists/serials.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", Triller
http://example.com/playlists/trillers.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", Horror
http://example.com/playlists/horror.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", Fiction
http://example.com/playlists/fantastic.m3u

This playlist will look in the app such a way:




Let's make use of tvg-logo attribute and #EXTSIZE directive to make our playlist more visual:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", 2015
#EXTSIZE: Medium
http://example.com/playlists/2015.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", 2010-2014
#EXTSIZE: Medium
http://example.com/playlists/2010-2014.m3u
#EXTINF:0 type="playlist", A-Z
#EXTSIZE: Medium
http://example.com/playlists/a-z.m3u
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://example.com/logos/docs.png", documentary
http://example.com/playlists/docs.m3u
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://example.com/logos/drama.png", Drama
http://example.com/playlists/drama.m3u
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://example.com/logos/comedy.png", Comedy
http://example.com/playlists/comedy.m3u
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://example.com/logos/serials.png", TV Series
http://example.com/playlists/serials.m3u
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://example.com/logos/trillers.png", Triller
http://example.com/playlists/trillers.m3u
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://example.com/logos/horror.png", Horror
http://example.com/playlists/horror.m3u
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://example.com/logos/fantastic.png", Fiction
http://example.com/playlists/fantastic.m3u

Modified in such a way playlist will look so:




Below-level playlists may contain links as to specified streams, as to another playlists-subsections, creating in this way cataloguized structure. Let's consider possible example of end-file fantastic.m3u:

#EXTM3U size="medium"
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic1.png" type="video" description="2014", Edge of Tomorrow
http://example.com/stream1
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic2.png" type="video" description="2005", Flightplan
http://example.com/stream12
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic3.png" type="video" description="1997", Gattaca
http://example.com/stream3
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic4.png" type="video" description="2003", Identity
http://example.com/stream4
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic5.png" type="video" description="2014", Interstellar
http://example.com/stream5
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic6.png" type="video" description="2010", Inception
http://example.com/stream6
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic7.png" type="video" description="2001", K-PAX
http://example.com/stream7
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic8.png" type="video" description="1999", Matrix
http://example.com/stream8
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic9.png" type="video" description="2002", The Bourne Identity
http://example.com/stream9
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic10.png" type="video" description="2004", The Butterfly Effect
http://example.com/stream10
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic11.png" type="video" description="2008", The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
http://example.com/stream11
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic12.png" type="video" description="2008", The Dark Knight
http://example.com/stream12
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic13.png" type="video" description="2012", The Dark Knight Rises
http://example.com/stream13
#EXTINF:0 tvg-logo="http://examples.com/logos/films/fantastic14.png" type="video" description="1997", The Fifth Element
http://example.com/stream14

The attribute size at header directive #EXTM3U defines default size for all the tiles of this playlist. Of course, it's possible to vary size instead, using this parameter, for example, to mark most popular films. Type attribute tells the app that the items of the playlist refer to VoD, i.e. these streams may be paused or rewinded on Playback Screen. This attribute is not mandatory but we recomend it to use to avoid any ambiguity.

Be very careful using in large playlists (hundreds of items) tvg-logo attribute. Its value musn't be full-size pictures as theirs synchronous loading may be the cause of "Our of memory" failure and the app's abortion.

Playlist fantastic.m3u described above will look so:


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