uploads show as "asx" files? wont play...

[soundchaser]

I recently uploaded some MP3 files, but when I try to review them by playing from the NWR link, my Media Player opens and says it cannot play "asx" files.

Q:  Why are they showing up as "asx" files instead of MP3 files? Other people I know click on the song link (hi-fi) and they tell me the songs play fine and show up as MP3 on their computers. Why am I getting this "asx" format?

Thanks! - SC

[TheRealWaldo]

An ASX file is a Windows Media Playlist file, it is NOT a different format or codec.  An ASX file simply links to the MP3 stream so that the player can find it.

If you are getting this error from Microsoft Windows Media Player than it is not configured properly and I suggest contacting Microsoft for support on their product.

If it is another player, it may not be properly configured, or you may have chosen the wrong player format on NWR.  Use the 'choose player' link at the top to change your NWR settings.  Make sure to set it to Windows Media Player ONLY if Windows Media Player is configured for ASX format, and if you don't want it to go through Windows Media, choose the next one on the list, and make sure Windows Media Player is NOT associated to the M3U play list format.

W.

[Terrell]

I have the same problem.  I have WMP 9 and I'm using 98SE.  I looked for some solutions on the web, but the most I found was to reinstall WMP 9, which didn't work.  Also, the interesting thing is that my WMP 9 will play some people's songs in asx, but it won't play mine or some others.  For example, in the Blues section, new songs, when I select External Windows Media Player, it tries to play them in asx, and when I try to play my song (Terrell Dismukes) or BluesJr. (Crawl), I get an error message "Class not registered" and it won't play the song.  Someone else on the net also had trouble playing my song.  From the looks of the unique plays, it looks like people tried to play it and failed, because there are several plays by the same person several seconds or about a minute apart (the song is only 2:27).  However, I have no problem when I try to play the songs by Emiel de Koekkoek or Mojo & the Boogieman in asx.  Also, if I change the player to the second option you have, "WinAmp, Sonique, ..." etc., it plays just fine as an m3u file, and it plays it in my Windows Media Player 9.  It seems like it might be better just to eliminate the first option (External Windows Media Player - asx).

[TheRealWaldo]

That would mean your mp3 is not in a compatible codec for streaming w/ your windows media player.  Try re-encoding the mp3 and upload it, with something like LAME, which tends to be more widely compatible.  This has nothing to do with ASX playlists.

Eliminating the first option would eliminate most versions of WMP prior to 9, as most of the earlier versions did not support SC protected streaming.  SC protected streaming is used when the artist ellects to not allow downloads, not all artists do this.

W.

[Terrell]

Thanks.  I just used the software that came with Cakewalk Home Studio 2 and is free for 30 days.  Do you think I could use LAME to convert my Cakewalk file to an mp3?

Maybe I wasn't clear in my description, but the m3u format works just fine for my song and even plays it in WMP 9.  It just doesn't work for asx.  

[TheRealWaldo]

Yep, in WMP9 it will play (most of the time), as I said, newer versions of windows media can work with SC PLS (m3u again, is just a playlist, not a format, that points to the stream), which the m3u's point to some of the time (depending on what the artist chose).

LAME will convert any WAV file to mp3.  If you can export your final project to a WAV, then you can convert to mp3 without issue. Look up WinLAME for an easy to use interface.

W.