UWP Development, Media

The Windows Universal Platform (UWP) is a powerful platform that allows developers to create applications for a variety of Windows devices. UWP provides APIs that make it particularly easy to handle multimedia content. In this article, we will explore the media-related capabilities of UWP and introduce how to create a real application through code examples.

1. Overview of UWP Media APIs

UWP offers a variety of APIs that support the following media operations:

• Video and Audio Playback: You can play video and audio files using MediaElement.
• Media Streaming: You can play streaming media using MediaPlaybackItem.
• Exploring Media Libraries: You can explore the user’s media library using the Windows.Storage API.

2. Using MediaElement

MediaElement is the primary control used to play video and audio in UWP applications. Below is a simple example of playing video using MediaElement.

2.1 Declaring MediaElement in XAML

<Grid Background="White">
    <MediaElement x:Name="MyMediaElement" 
                   AutoPlay="False" 
                   AreTransportControlsEnabled="True"/>
    <Button Content="Play Video" 
            Click="PlayButton_Click" 
            HorizontalAlignment="Center" 
            VerticalAlignment="Bottom" />
</Grid>

2.2 Playing Video with C# Code

private void PlayButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    Uri videoUri = new Uri("ms-appx:///Assets/sample.mp4");
    MyMediaElement.Source = MediaSource.CreateFromUri(videoUri);
    MyMediaElement.Play();
}

3. Advanced Features of Video Playback

In addition to basic video playback capabilities, UWP offers more features. Here are some advanced features that enhance the user experience of media playback:

• Media Playback Controls: Users can easily use controls such as pause, resume, and seek.
• Media State Events: Events are provided to monitor the state of media playback and detect changes.

3.1 Handling Playback State Events

private void MyMediaElement_CurrentStateChanged(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    switch (MyMediaElement.CurrentState)
    {
        case MediaElementState.Playing:
            // Handling when the video is playing
            break;
        case MediaElementState.Paused:
            // Handling when the video is paused
            break;
        case MediaElementState.Stopped:
            // Handling when the video is stopped
            break;
    }
}

4. Media Playback Items

In UWP, you can handle the streaming and playback of media content using MediaPlaybackItem. This API is useful for managing more complex media playlists.

4.1 Using MediaPlaybackItem

private void LoadMedia()
{
    var videoUri = new Uri("ms-appx:///Assets/sample.mp4");
    var playbackItem = new MediaPlaybackItem(MediaSource.CreateFromUri(videoUri));
    
    var mediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer();
    mediaPlayer.PlaybackSession.PlaybackStateChanged += PlaybackSession_PlaybackStateChanged;
    mediaPlayer.Source = MediaSource.CreateFromPlaybackItems(new[] { playbackItem });
    mediaPlayer.Play();
}

5. Accessing Media Library

UWP provides an API that allows access to the user’s media library. This makes it easy to explore and play the user’s video and music files.

5.1 Requesting Access to Media Files

private async Task RequestMediaLibraryAccess()
{
    var accessStatus = await Windows.Storage.AccessCache.StorageApplicationPermissions.RequestAccessAsync();
    if (accessStatus == Windows.Storage.AccessCache.AccessStatus.Allowed)
    {
        // Access granted
    }
}

5.2 Exploring and Playing Media Files

private async Task LoadMediaFiles()
{
    var folder = KnownFolders.MusicLibrary;
    var files = await folder.GetFilesAsync();
    foreach (var file in files)
    {
        // response with mediaSource
        var mediaSource = MediaSource.CreateFromStorageFile(file);
        MyMediaElement.Source = mediaSource;
        MyMediaElement.Play();
    }
}

6. Conclusion

Implementing media functionality through UWP development is relatively intuitive and can be utilized in various applications. In this tutorial, we introduced MediaElement, MediaPlaybackItem, and how to access the media library. Based on this foundational knowledge, try developing your own multimedia applications. Take your next step and work on an exciting project!

Finally, it is recommended to refer to Microsoft’s official documentation for more information and resources on UWP media development. In the next article, we will cover more advanced topics, so stay tuned!