Though Winamp was one of the first programs to support them, other media players can open M3U files too, like Windows Media Player, iTunes, and Audacious. VLC is the top free media player because of its support for a huge variety of audio and video formats. Shoutcast Technical Support The free customizable Winamp media player that plays mp3 + other audio files, syncs your iPod, subscribes to Podcasts and more. Getting.m3u stream links to work. Winamp & Shoutcast Forums. The files are on a local drive, none of Winamp nor foobar2000 has a media list that contains these albums i have copyed with EAC. In the past i use m3u and that alway worked flawlesly on Winamp. But now I genrating playlist with EAC and use these options: 1. Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction. Write m3u playlist with enteded information. This site is dedicated to the great Winamp Media Player. Since 1997, Winamp has been the definitive music player of the mp3 era. Its continuous development and solid user base made it the best music player for Windows. However, in December 2013, AOL decided to shut down its development and website.
| Filename extensions | |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | various; see § Internet media types |
| Initial release | c. 1996 |
| Type of format | Playlist |
| Extended to | HTTP Live Streaming playlist |
M3U (MP3 URL[1][2] or Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3Uniform Resource Locator[3] in full) is a computer file format for a multimedia playlist. One common use of the M3U file format is creating a single-entry playlist file pointing to a stream on the Internet. The created file provides easy access to that stream and is often used in downloads from a website, for emailing, and for listening to Internet radio.
Although originally designed for audio files, such as MP3, it is commonly used to point media players to audio and video sources, including online sources. M3U was originally developed by Fraunhofer for use with their Winplay3 software,[4] but numerous media players and software applications now support the format.
Careless handling of M3U playlists has been the cause of vulnerabilities in many music players such as VLC media player,[5]iTunes,[6]Winamp,[7] and many others.[8]
File format[edit]
There is no formal specification for the M3U format; it is a de facto standard.
An M3U file is a plain text file that specifies the locations of one or more media files. The file is saved with the 'm3u' filename extension if the text is encoded in the local system's default non-Unicode encoding (e.g., a Windows codepage), or with the 'm3u8' extension if the text is UTF-8 encoded.[9]
Each entry carries one specification. The specification can be any one of the following:
- an absolute local pathname; e.g., C:My MusicHeavysets.mp3
- a local pathname relative to the M3U file location; e.g. Heavysets.mp3
- a URL
Extended M3U[edit]
The M3U file can also include comments, prefaced by the '#' character. In extended M3U, '#' also introduces extended M3U directives which are terminated by a colon ':' if they support parameters.
| Directive | Description | Example | Required | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
#EXTM3U | file header, must be the first line of the file | #EXTM3U | 1× | Yes |
#EXTINF: | track information: runtime in seconds and display title of the following resource | #EXTINF:123,Artist Name – Track Title | No | Yes |
| additional properties as key-value pairs | #EXTINF:123 logo='cover.jpg',Track Title | No | IPTV | |
#PLAYLIST: | playlist display title | #PLAYLIST:Music TV | 1× | IPTV |
#EXTGRP: | begin named grouping | #EXTGRP:Foreign Channels | No | IPTV |
#EXTALB: | album information, title in particular | #EXTALB:Album Title (2009) | 1× | AL,[10] M3A[11] |
#EXTART: | album artist | #EXTART:Various | 1× | AL,[10] M3A[11] |
#EXTGENRE: | album genre | #EXTGENRE:Jazz Fusion | 1× | AL[10] |
#EXTM3A | playlist for tracks or chapters of an album in a single file | #EXTM3A | 1× | M3A[11] |
#EXTBYT: | file size in bytes | #EXTBYT:34124 | No | M3A[11] |
#EXTBIN: | binary data follows, usually concatenated MP3s | #EXTBIN: | No | M3A[11] |
#EXTENC: | text encoding, must be the second line of the file | #EXTENC: UTF-8 | 1× | No |
#EXTIMG: | cover, logo or other image | #EXTIMG: front cover | No | No |
Apple used the extended M3U format as a base for their HTTP Live Streaming (HLS)[12] which was documented in an Independent Submission Stream RFC in 2017 as RFC 8216.[13] Therein, a master playlist references segment playlists which usually contain URLs for short parts of the media stream. Some tags only apply to the former type and some only to the latter type of playlist, but they all begin with #EXT-X-.
| Directive | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
#EXT-X-START: | TIME-OFFSET=0 | |
#EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS | toggle without parameters | |
#EXT-X-PLAYLIST-TYPE: | VOD or EVENT | |
#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION: | 10 | in seconds |
#EXT-X-VERSION: | 4 | |
#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE: | 0 | |
#EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS | toggle without parameters | |
#EXT-X-MEDIA: | NAME='English', TYPE=AUDIO, GROUP-ID='audio-stereo-64', LANGUAGE='en', DEFAULT=YES, AUTOSELECT=YES, URI='english.m3u8' | |
#EXT-X-STREAM-INF: | BANDWIDTH=1123000, CODECS='avc1.64001f,mp4a.40.2 | parameters have either one combined value or one per stream, separated by commas |
#EXT-X-BYTERANGE: | 1024@256000 | |
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY | toggle without parameters | |
#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY-SEQUENCE: | 2 | |
#EXT-X-KEY: | METHOD=NONE | |
#EXT-X-MAP: | URI=MediaInitializationSection | |
#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME: | 2010-02-19T14:54:23.031+08:00 | ISO 8601 format |
#EXT-X-DATERANGE: | ID=foo | |
#EXT-X-I-FRAMES-ONLY | i-frame toggle without parameters | |
#EXT-X-SESSION-DATA: | DATA-ID=com.example.movie.title | |
#EXT-X-SESSION-KEY: | ||
#EXT-X-ENDLIST | end-of-list signal without parameters | |
M3U8[edit]
The Unicode version of M3U is M3U8, which uses UTF-8-encoded characters. M3U8 files are the basis for the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) format originally developed by Apple to stream video and radio to iOS devices, and which is now a popular format for adaptive streaming in general.
The 2015 proposal for the HLS playlist format uses UTF-8 exclusively and does not distinguish between the 'm3u' and 'm3u8' file name extensions.[14]
Internet media types[edit]
The only Internet media type registered for M3U and M3U8 is application/vnd.apple.mpegurl, registered in 2009 and only referring to the playlist format as used in HLS applications.[15][16]
The current proposal for the HLS playlist format acknowledges two media types which it treats as equivalent: application/vnd.apple.mpegurl and audio/mpegurl.[14] Likewise, these are the two types recommended for HLS use by Microsoft.[17]
For non-HLS applications, no media types were standardized or registered with the IANA, but a number of media types are nonetheless associated with the historical and ongoing use of the M3U and M3U8 formats for general playlists:
application/mpegurlapplication/x-mpegurlaudio/mpegurlaudio/x-mpegurl[1][2]
These types, plus application/vnd.apple.mpegurl and application/vnd.apple.mpegurl.audio, are supported for HLS applications by (for example) Microsoft's Windows 10[17] and Internet Explorer 9,[18] and LG's WebOS.[19]
Examples[edit]
- Example 1
This is an example of an extended M3U file on the Windows platform. Sample.mp3 and Example.ogg are the media files. 123 and 321 are the lengths in seconds.[20] A length of -1 or 0 may be used when the media file is a streaming file, as there is no actual, predefined length value. The value after the length is the title to be shown, which is generally the same as the location of the file which is on the second line. On the Mac OS X and Linux platforms, Unix paths are used.
- Example 2
This example shows how to create an m3u file linking to a specified directory (for example, a flash drive, or CD-ROM). The m3u file should contain only one string: the path to the directory. After starting, the media player will play all contents of the directory:
- Example 3
Here is another example, using relative format. The M3U file is placed in the same directory as the music, and directories must be preserved when moving the playlist to another device if subdirectories are used. This method is more flexible, as it does not rely on the file path staying the same.
This is the same file as above, saved as sample.m3u in C:Documents and SettingsUserMy Music
This format in an M3U allows copying to another device for playback. All files and directories referred to must also be copied.
- Example 4
Here is a mixed example:
Notes:
- Alternative and Classical are sub-directories of the directory that this playlist is stored in.
- 'Song' and 'New Song' are in sub-directories of the directory that this playlist is stored in.
- 'Stuff' is in the same directory that the playlist is stored in.
- 'Foo' is in the specified (Windows) volume and directory, which may or may not be the same directory the playlist is in.
- 'Bar' is in a different directory at the same level as the playlist directory. The double-dots reference the parent directory of the playlist directory, then into the sub-directory 'Other Music' to reach 'Bar'.
- 'Listen' is a Shoutcast stream.
- 'Mine' is an MP3 stored on a web server.
- Example 5
References to other M3U playlists, for example, are generally not well-supported.
- Example 6
The following is an example of a M3U playlist file for 'Jar of Flies' album by 'Alice in Chains' that was created by Mp3tag with the following custom option settings:[21][22][23]
- playlist extended info format =
'%artist% - %title%' - playlist filename format =
'%artist%_%album%_00_Playlist.m3u' - tag to filename conversion format =
'%artist%_%album%_$num(%track%,2)_%title%'
Software[edit]
Tag editors[edit]
The following tag editor software allows users to edit the ID3 tags in MP3 files, and has support for creating M3U files.
- Linux
- EasyTAG, puddletag.
- Windows
- Mp3tag, puddletag.
Media players[edit]
- Multi-platform
| Program | Platforms | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | Mac | Linux | Other | |
| Amarok | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Audacious | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Banshee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clementine | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GNOME Videos | No | No | Yes | No |
| Kodi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MPlayer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| mpv | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| VLC media player | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iTunes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
- Android
- Astro Player,[24][25][26]Kodi, N7Player,[27][28] Musicolet[29]
- Mac
- Nintendo
- New Nintendo 3DS (including XL and 2DS XL variants) with Internet Browser app
- Nintendo Switch with the YouTube (site-specific) app
- Wii U with the Internet Browser or YouTube app
- Windows
- foobar2000, JRiver Media Center, JuK, MediaMonkey, PotPlayer, Winamp, Windows Media Player, XMPlay[30]
See also[edit]
- Other playlist file formats
- ASX - Windows media
- PLS - SHOUTcast
- XSPF - Xiph.Org Foundation
- WPL - Windows Media Player
References[edit]
- ^ abFraunhofer Gesellschaft, Fraunhofer Institut für Integrierte Schaltungen-A (1996-10-30). 'WinPlay3 - Windows real-time ISO/MPEG Audio Layer 3 Player'. Archived from the original on 1997-06-06. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
- ^ abGruett, Matt. 'M3U FILES AND STREAMING'. LockerGnome. Archived from the original on 2001-04-26.
- ^Nero. 'Nero MediaHome 4 - Manual'(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 2015-09-05.
- ^'WINAMP.COM | Winamp Documentation'. June 6, 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-06-06.
- ^'VideoLAN-SA-0804 (CVE-2007-6683)'. 2008.
Arbitrary file overwrite and other abuses through M3U parser and browsers plugins.
- ^'CVE-2012-0677: Heap-based buffer overflow in Apple iTunes before 10.6.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands'. cve.circl.lu.
- ^'CVE-2000-0624: Buffer overflow in Winamp 2.64 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a long #EXTINF: ext'. www.cvedetails.com.
- ^'247 search results'. Packet Storm. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
- ^'Nero 2015 Platinum - System Requirements'.
MP3 URL + UTF-8 (M3U8)
- ^ abc'Album List for Winamp'. albumlist.sourceforge.net.
- ^ abcde'Data'. birdcagesoft. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
- ^'About the Common Media Application Format with HTTP Live Streaming | Apple Developer Documentation'. developer.apple.com.
- ^R. Pantos; W. May (August 2007). '4.3 Playlist Tags'. RFC 8216: HTTP Live Streaming. Request for Comments (RFC) Pages - Test. RFC Editor. ISSN2070-1721.
- ^ abPantos, Roger; May, William. 'HTTP Live Streaming'. tools.ietf.org.
- ^'Media Types'. www.iana.org.
- ^'Data'. iana. Retrieved 2019-10-21.
- ^ ab'Simplified Adaptive Video Streaming: Announcing support for HLS and DASH in Windows 10 – IEBlog'. blogs.msdn.microsoft.com.
- ^'HTMLVideoElement'. MDN Web Docs.
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'DigiLinX Application Note - Creating Playlists to Work with the Streaming Music Manager'(PDF). 2007-10-05.
- ^'Mp3tag Help - Configuration > Export'. help.mp3tag.de.
- ^'Mp3tag Help - Configuration > Playlist'. help.mp3tag.de.
- ^'Mp3tag Help - Scripting functions'. help.mp3tag.de.
- ^'Loading...'astroplayer.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009.
- ^'Astro Player (old) - Sidenis LLC'. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^'Astro Player - Sidenis LLC'. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^'n7player Music Player - Apps on Google Play'. play.google.com.
- ^'n7player 1.0 - Apps on Google Play'. play.google.com.
- ^'Musicolet Music Player [No ads] - Apps on Google Play'. play.google.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
- ^Hindley, Nathan. 'XMPlay 3.8.2'. XMPlay. Un4seen Developments. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
External links[edit]
- 'Unofficial M3U and PLS file specification'. Forum. Tech Support Greatest Hits. WinAmp. 2008 [2001].
- Gonze, Lucas (2003). 'Survey of playlist formats'. Draft.
- May, W. (2017). Pantos, R. (ed.). 'HTTP Live Streaming specification'. Draft. IETF.
Includes M3U and M3U8
Ffmpeg M3u8 To Mp4
Winamp M3u
Winamp playlists are just a text file containing links to the location of the proper file. You can crate or edit a playlist in any text editor. It could be anything to MP3, WMA, or even another playlist. Just because something is in a playlist, doesn't mean Winamp can play it though. Winamp will just skip over unknown file formats. This document will hopefully try to clarify the differences of the playlist formats available.
Generic M3U/PLS
A list of links to files makes a valid generic playlist. The entry can be relative (i.e. filessong.mp3) or specific (i.e. c:mediafilesson.mp3). Also, URLs can he inserted to point to a stream or a file on the Internet.
Here are a few sample generic MP3/PLS files:
A Simple M3U
sample.m3u
- Alternative and Classical are sub-directories of the directory that this playlist is stored in.
- 'Song' and 'New Song' are in sub-directories that this playlist is stored in.
- 'Crap' is in the same directory that the playlist is stored in.
- 'Foo - Bar' is in the specified directory, which may or may not be the same directory the playlist is in.
- http://www.site.com:8000/listen.pls is a Shoutcast stream.
- 'Mine' is a MP3 stored on a web server somewhere.
These path options hold true of the extended playlists described below.
Extended M3U
Let's first look at an extended M3U file then I will describe everything below
sample2.m3u
Explanation of entries:
#EXTM3U At the VERY top of the Extended M3U file is this header, which signifies this is an extended M3U file. '#EXTM3U' must be all capital letters.
#EXTINF:233,Everclear - So Much For The Afterglow: This is the line that tends to confuse people. Let's break it up into parts
- #EXTINF:: This signifies this is an Extended Information field. It ends with a colon (:).
- 233,: This is the time of the file in seconds followed by a comma. (233 seconds = 3:53). On the last entry there is a negative one, this is usually seen on streams, it tells the program to ignore the time entry.
- Everclear - So Much For The Afterglow: Title to display. This is usually the title read from the file name or ID3 tags. This also can be the name of a stream. No characters follow the title.
Alternativeeverclear - SMFTA.mp3: File location as described above with basic playlists.
M3U8
M3U8 is a Unicode UTF-8 version of M3U files for support of Unicode/'international' characters/text. M3U8 follows the same principles as explained above.
Extended PLS (PLSv2)
Same playlist from the M3U section in PLS format.
Explanation of entries:
[playlist]: Signifies that this is a playlist. This is case sensitive.
File#=: Location of the file in any of the formats described above. This is also case sensitive. Also the # sign after 'File' signifies what file number it is. The first file in the playlist is 'File1', the second is 'File2' and so on.
Title#=: Title to display. This is usually the title read from the file name or ID3 tags. Like the other fields, this is case sensitive. This also can be the name of a stream. Like 'File#' the pound sign (#) is replaced by the entry number that is in the playlist.
Length#=': Length in seconds, this is also case sensitive. On the last entry there is a negative one, this is usually seen on streams, it tells the program to ignore the time entry. Like 'File#' the pound sign (#) is replaced by the entry number that is in the playlist.
NumberOfEntries=#: The total number of entries in the playlist. This should match the last number on the 'File#', 'Title#', and 'Length#' fields. Also case sensitive.
Version=2: This required entry near the bottom tells the player what format the PLS is in. Older versions of the PLS format did not include this. Like everything else, it is case sensitive.
[edit 25 September 08 > JonnyMac] removed URL tags from URL examples, removed defunct WA3 B4S specification topic header [/edit]
[edit 11 April 08 > JonnyMac] Added M3U8 info [/edit]