Pull mode

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A-SMIL players support having players "pull" the server for SMIL file periodically. This allows players behind NAT firewalls to receive updates via SMIL.

Configuration

A-SMIL players can be configured a "Content Source Server URL" to load at boot time. Typically this is set by connecting a USB keyboard to the player, which brings up a BIOS-like configuration menu for setting the Server URL. Consult your model-specific user's manual on how to configure this Server URL.

Upon player boot-up, it accesses this Server URL expecting to find a SMIL file. If it doesn't, the player retries the connection while playing back the latest content available on the player. If a valid SMIL file is found at the Server URL, it is loaded and played.

Updating the Players

To supply fresh contents to a player, one needs to specify a Refresh meta attribute in the first SMIL file loaded from the server. The syntax is as follows:

<smil>
  <head>
    <meta http-equiv="Refresh" content="60" />
  </head>
 
  ...
 
</smil>

The "content" value of the "Refresh" command is the refresh period in seconds.

See Related link below for an example on using pull-mode to feed a player with fresh Media RSS content.

Related