Microsoft KB Archive/309339

= Windows Media Player Does Not Support International Characters in URLs for Playlists =

Article ID: 309339

Article Last Modified on 1/31/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Media Player 8.01
 * Microsoft Windows Media Player 8.01

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This article was previously published under Q309339



SYMPTOMS
When you try to play an Advance Stream Redirector (ASX) file from the Internet in Windows Media Player, you may receive the following error message, and playback may not be possible:

The proxy did not receive a timely response while attempting to contact the media server.



CAUSE
This problem can occur if the playlist contains a URL that contains UNICODE characters. When Windows Media Player attempts to download a playlist, it converts the UNICODE URL to the ANSI code page before it sends it to the Web server. This problem occurs when the Web server cannot receive URLs that are encoded in the ANSI code page or if Windows Media Player and the server are using different code pages.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
This problem is only seen if the playlist needs to be downloaded as opposed to downloading the media itself. When Windows Media Player attempts to download media files from a Web server (progressive download), it converts the UNICODE URL to UTF-8 or ANSI, depending on the settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Most versions of Internet Explorer default to have the UNICODE URLs converted to UTF-8, as this provides full international support. It is possible to view the playlist by selecting it in the Now Playing pane, and then clicking Export Playlist on the File menu. After you choose a name and location, open the file in Notepad, and then note the location that is being referenced.

Additional query words: wmp streaming network

Keywords: kbenv kbui kbprb KB309339

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