[Mini Project] [Part 1] – Building a Media Player driven solution using Microsoft .Net

Well, hi all.
 
This is the first of a new brand of Tech posts.  I’ll be attempting to walk through steps to creating some projects for various nefarious uses.
This Mini Project focuses on re-using Media Player by hosting the WMP COM Control in a .Net Framework WinForms application. 
 
Overview & Introduction
 
Those of you who have every worked against Windows Media Player will know that it hasn’t always been fun – especially if you’ve used C++ to do it, and especially if you’ve attempted advanced use of any kind.
 
This series of articles will focus on working with WMP without the use of specially formatted media (particularly media without Markers in their content).
 
Part 1.  Identify the Project Scope
 
We’re going to attempt to build a nice operational harness for WMP which supports playing rich media (video) content and allows some nice playback functionality.
 
Part 2: Tools of the Trade
 
Have ready a copy of Visual Studio 2005 or the latest Orcas Beta 2.  I’ll be writing my code in VS 2005 for this sample.  As a result, code or instructions may vary.  You’ll need Windows Media Player installed.  We’ll be working with version 10+ so consider upgrading if you’re with Version 9 or prior.
 
Check back shortly for Part 2, where we will begin building the framework for our nice and shiny application.
 
P.S I haven’t forgotten about the unmanaged C++ code which I was planning on sharing with the big bad world.  Next week for sure..

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