The problem with the MediaElement in WPF .NET 8.0 not supporting relative paths for the media source,Why?

Question

The problem with the MediaElement in WPF .NET 8.0 not supporting relative paths for the media source,Why?

Sanjay Kumar Jha 156

Hi,

I'm attempting to utilize the MediaElement in WPF to play video files with either .mp4 or .wmv extensions. However, I've encountered issues when passing the source as a relative path or a Pack URI. Strangely, it works fine when I provide an absolute path. I'm curious if there have been any changes in path resolution in .NET 8.0, as the same functionality was operational in .NET Framework 4.5.1. Any assistance in resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Source Code:-https://vemp-my.sharepoint.com/:u:/g/personal/sanjaykumarjha_virtualemployee_com/EWpfo3O67YhJv-sk3_4cpUoBJby65oPXjukw8PQotjaC-Q?e=dBbPHu

Thanks,

Sanjay

Hui Liu-MSFT 48,666 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-04-08T10:17:42.32+00:00
Hi,@Sanjay Kumar Jha. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. I'm working on it and will come back if I find an explanation in the documentation. Could you try the following code and see if it helps?

string mediaFileName = "t.mp4"; string mediaDirectory = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory; string mediaFilePath = System.IO.Path.Combine(mediaDirectory, "Videos", mediaFileName); myMediaElement.Source = new Uri(mediaFilePath);
Sanjay Kumar Jha 156 Reputation points

2024-04-08T11:08:36.6466667+00:00

Hi,

Initially, the solution you provided yields the path "C:\Users\sanjay\Desktop\Testing\MediaElementSampleProject\bin\Debug\net8.0-windows\Videos\file_example_MP4_480_1_5MG.mp4". However, this approach assumes that the video file is located within the 'bin' directory, which is not feasible as my .mp4 file cannot be placed there.

Additionally, my video file resides in a separate library project, which is outside the scope of the current base directory.

Thanks,

Sanjay
Hui Liu-MSFT 48,666 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-04-10T09:27:00.4533333+00:00

Hi,@Sanjay Kumar Jha. What is the value of your "Build Action" for mp4? You could try setting the "Build Action" to "Content" and using a normal relative file URI. You can also try looking here and Pack URIs in WPF and see if you can find something new. Whether I specify an absolute path or a relative path, I can't get it to display the video. And what is the version of your Visual Studio?
Sanjay Kumar Jha 156 Reputation points

2024-04-10T13:30:27.4566667+00:00

Hi,

The "Build Action" for the MP4 file is set to "Content". I have attempted to use Pack URIs and adjust the properties of this file with "Copy to Output Directory" set to "Copy always", yet the issue persists. The version of my Visual Studio is 17.8.0.

Thanks,

Sanjay
Hui Liu-MSFT 48,666 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-04-12T09:47:02.55+00:00

Hi,@Sanjay Kumar Jha. I'm looking for the cause of the problem and testing in different versions of Visual Studio and will come back if there are any updates. Please wait patiently.
Sanjay Kumar Jha 156 Reputation points

2024-04-19T07:02:29.0633333+00:00

Hi,

Can you provide any new information regarding the matter mentioned earlier?

Thanks,

Sanjay

1 answer

Your answer

Hui Liu-MSFT 48,666 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-04-08T10:17:42.32+00:00

Hi,@Sanjay Kumar Jha. Welcome to Microsoft Q&A. I'm working on it and will come back if I find an explanation in the documentation. Could you try the following code and see if it helps?

string mediaFileName = "t.mp4"; string mediaDirectory = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory; string mediaFilePath = System.IO.Path.Combine(mediaDirectory, "Videos", mediaFileName); myMediaElement.Source = new Uri(mediaFilePath);
Sanjay Kumar Jha 156 Reputation points

2024-04-08T11:08:36.6466667+00:00

Hi,

Initially, the solution you provided yields the path "C:\Users\sanjay\Desktop\Testing\MediaElementSampleProject\bin\Debug\net8.0-windows\Videos\file_example_MP4_480_1_5MG.mp4". However, this approach assumes that the video file is located within the 'bin' directory, which is not feasible as my .mp4 file cannot be placed there.

Additionally, my video file resides in a separate library project, which is outside the scope of the current base directory.

Thanks,

Sanjay
Hui Liu-MSFT 48,666 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-04-10T09:27:00.4533333+00:00

Hi,@Sanjay Kumar Jha. What is the value of your "Build Action" for mp4? You could try setting the "Build Action" to "Content" and using a normal relative file URI. You can also try looking here and Pack URIs in WPF and see if you can find something new. Whether I specify an absolute path or a relative path, I can't get it to display the video. And what is the version of your Visual Studio?
Sanjay Kumar Jha 156 Reputation points

2024-04-10T13:30:27.4566667+00:00

Hi,

The "Build Action" for the MP4 file is set to "Content". I have attempted to use Pack URIs and adjust the properties of this file with "Copy to Output Directory" set to "Copy always", yet the issue persists. The version of my Visual Studio is 17.8.0.

Thanks,

Sanjay
Hui Liu-MSFT 48,666 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2024-04-12T09:47:02.55+00:00

Hi,@Sanjay Kumar Jha. I'm looking for the cause of the problem and testing in different versions of Visual Studio and will come back if there are any updates. Please wait patiently.
Sanjay Kumar Jha 156 Reputation points

2024-04-19T07:02:29.0633333+00:00

Hi,

Can you provide any new information regarding the matter mentioned earlier?

Thanks,

Sanjay

Answer 1

According to my testing, the relative source in xaml works when the video's property "Copy to Output Directory" is set to "Copy always".

I set the property "Copy to Output Directory" of the video w.wmv to "Copy always" and tested, it works.

Method 1:

<MediaElement Name="myMediaElement1"  LoadedBehavior="Manual"
  Source="Videos\w.wmv" IsHitTestVisible="True" 
   Margin="10">
</MediaElement>

Method 2:

  <MediaElement Name="myMediaElement"  LoadedBehavior="Manual"
   IsHitTestVisible="True"  
   Margin="10">
  </MediaElement>   

     Uri videoUri = new Uri("Videos/w.wmv", UriKind.RelativeOrAbsolute);
    myMediaElement.Source = videoUri;

Method3: still not working

 Uri videoUri = new Uri("pack://application:,,,/MediaElementSampleProject;component/Videos/w.wmv", UriKind.RelativeOrAbsolute);
     myMediaElement.Source = videoUri;

You could use the previous two methods.

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The problem with the MediaElement in WPF .NET 8.0 not supporting relative paths for the media source,Why?

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