Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) from the World Wide Web Consortium that enables the creation of interactive audiovisual presentations. SMIL is typically used for multimedia presentations that integrate streaming audio and video with images, text, or any other type of media, including animations, visual transitions, and metadata such as captions and subtitles. SMIL is an easy to learn HTML. and many SMIL presentations are written using a simple text editor.
SMIL allows the author to present multimedia elements such as text, images, video, audio, links to other SMIL presentations, and files from multiple web servers, allowing convenient file sharing for uses such as editing, archiving, and transcription. SMIL markup is written in XML and has similarities to HTML. SMIL files commonly take the .smil file extension, as other programs share the .smi extension.
Authoring and rendering tools for SMIL include RealNetworks’ RealSlideshow Basic, Adobe’s GoLive6, and TransTool, an open source transcription tool. SMIL players include Adobe Media Player, QuickTime Player, RealPlayer, and Windows Media Player. SMIL presentations can be accessed through a computer browser with the use of a plugin.
Some browsers, including Mozilla, are incorporating SMIL and other XML-related technologies into their browsers. SMIL can also access Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) animation. SMIL can be used on handheld and mobile devices and has also spawned Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), a video and image equivalent of Short Messaging Service (SMS). SMIL is also one of the underlying technologies used by HD-DVD for advanced interactivity. The Internet video site Hulu uses SMIL as part of its media playback technology.
SMIL documents are similar in structure to HTML documents in that they are generally divided between a mandatory body section, which contains timing information, and an optional header section, which contains layout information and metadata. SMIL refers to media objects by URL, which allows them to be shared between presentations and stored on different servers for load balancing. The language may also associate different media objects with different bandwidth requirements.
SMIL can be used as a script or playlist that strings together sequential pieces of media that can then be distributed via RSS or Atom. In addition, the combination of multimedia-laden.smil files with RSS or Atom syndication is useful for hearing-impaired people to access audio-enabled podcasts through timed text subtitles, and can also convert multimedia into hypermedia that can be You can link with hyperlinks. to other linkable audio and video media.
