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XML Shareable Playlist Format

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XML Shareable Playlist Format (XSPF), pronounced spiff,[1] is an XML-based playlist format for digital media, sponsored by the Xiph.Org Foundation.

Quick Facts Filename extension, Internet media type ...

XSPF is a file format for sharing the kind of playlist that can be played on a personal computer or portable device. In the same way that any user on any computer can open any Web page, XSPF is intended to provide portability for playlists.

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Content resolution

Traditionally playlists have been composed of file paths that pointed to individual titles. This allowed a playlist to be played locally on one machine or shared if the listed file paths were URLs accessible to more than one machine (e.g., on the Web). XSPF's meta-data rich open format has permitted a new kind of playlist sharing called content resolution.

A simple form of content resolution is the localisation of a playlist based on metadata. An XSPF-compliant content resolver will open XSPF playlists and search a catalog for every title with <creator>, <album> and <title> tags, then localise the playlist to reference the available matching tracks. A catalog may reference a collection of media files on a local disk, a music subscription service like Yahoo! Music Unlimited, or some other searchable archive. The end result is shareable playlists that are not tied to a specific collection or service.

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Example of an XSPF 1.0 playlist

<?xml version="1.1" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<playlist version="1" xmlns="http://xspf.org/ns/0/">
  <trackList>
    <track>
      <title>Windows Path</title>
      <location>file://C:\music\foo.mp3</location>
    </track>
    <track>
      <title>Linux Path</title>
      <location>file:///media/music/foo.mp3</location>
    </track>
    <track>
      <title>Relative Path</title>
      <location>music/foo.mp3</location>
    </track>
    <track>
      <title>External Example</title>
      <location>http://www.example.com/music/bar.ogg</location>
    </track>
  </trackList>
</playlist>
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History

XSPF was created by an ad hoc working group that commenced activities in February 2004, achieved rough consensus on version 0 in April 2004, worked on implementations and fine tuning throughout summer and fall 2004, and declared the tuned version to be version 1 in January 2005.

XSPF is not a recommendation of any standards body besides the Xiph.Org Foundation.

Features

Software and web playlist converters

See also

Other playlist file formats
  • M3U - The most common playlist format
  • PLS - SHOUTcast

References

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