摘要 |
The invention includes a streaming multimedia rendering system having a network client and a network server that form part of a hyperlink web such as the Internet. In accordance with the invention, a hyperlink to multimedia content is actually an indirect link to a reference file. The reference file contains a plurality of different resource specifiers and a preferred order for attempting communications using the resource specifiers. Each resource specifier designates a transport protocol. A streaming data client open the resource file in response to activation of a hyperlink to the resource file. In response to the resource specifiers contained in the resource file, the network data client repeatedly attempts to establish a streaming data connection using the different resource specifiers, in the preferred order specified in the reference file, or in the preferred order specified by a file referenced by the reference file, until a streaming data connection is successfully established. Each attempt with a different resource specifier uses the transport protocol designated by that different resource specifier. Different types of protocol specifiers are available. Some of the protocol specifiers override configuration settings made at the network data client relating to which transport protocols are permitted.
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