"iTunes-like" Music Download Store

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"iTunes-like" Music Download Store

Business Case

The customer needed a new channel to sell downloadable content to their expanding customer base. iPlayMusic company contacted SoloSoft to develop a media player with specialized features for users seeking a fun, simple, and effective music learning experience.
Additionally, iPlayMusic software should connect to the iPlayMusic Store via the Internet to purchase and download music, videos, and other products.

Solution

SoloSoft developed Download Store (web-based) and desktop software for Windows and Mac:

Web-based Application
A web application is the iPlayMusic Download Store, it has the functionality of iTunes Music Store: organizes digital content into categories, allows browsing around and downloading videos.

Features

  • Ability for users to search for downloadable product listings via keyword,
  • Create user account/view user account information,
  • Browse for downloadable product listings via a category hierarchy,
  • Browse lessons
  • Upload video lessons
  • Make secure payments

Standalone Applications for Macintosh and Windows
The software works on its own as a standalone product and provides the ability to shop for the video(s), add them to a cart, check it out and play it - all from within the iPlayMusic software.


'iTunes-like' Music Download Store

All the functionality is implemented in a set of external and internal plug-ins and exposed by the main (host) application to the end user through its user interface.

The iPlayMusic application has several external plug-ins:

  • MediaManager, to control user's media and video files and to organize them. The iPlayMusic content is organized into a hierarchical structure;

  • VideoViewer, to allow a user to see video files; it displays media selected from within the Media Manager and responds to transport commands from playback control buttons on the button bar

  • PdfViewer, to allow a user to see Adobe PDF files;

  • IPodExporter, to export video and audio contents to iPod player native format

Dividing the application onto separate modules each of those can operate on its own and does not interfere with an end user directly, allow easily replacing old modules on new ones and adding new requested functionality without affecting the rest of the applications and modules.

Features

  • User client application communicates with server via SOAP-based protocol over HTTP

  • Ability for users to view/search media episodes and series catalogs using player browser

  • Ability for users to view catalogs hierarchy using player media browser

  • Ability for users to register using the player


'iTunes-like' Music Download Store

  • Ability for users to purchase and download/re-download episodes or entire series.

  • Ability for store administrators to manage users, categories and series tree and upload episodes and episodes previews.

  • Ability to display complete "series" listings (a series is a group of video files) within the main window of the client application with the ability to purchase and download an entire "series" from the web page itself.

  • Pass down category information during the purchase/download of a file, so that the file is properly categorized upon completion of download within the client application on the user's local drive.

'iTunes-like' Music Download Store

Benefits

With adding an e-commerce video downloading component, the software has the potential to generate repeat business and incremental revenue from existing customers and establishes a platform for interaction with the client website.
Leveraging the power of the web with today's Macs, PCs, and iPods, the music learning product is now best-in-class.

Key benefits to the user will be the ability to:

  • experience the fun and enjoyment of playing music
  • control their learning experience with specialized playback/viewing controls
  • experience the fun and enjoyment of creating music
  • take their content with them wherever they want to experience it

Tools and Technologies

Linux, PHP, XML, MySQL, SOAP, OSCommerce, C#

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