M3U Playlist: What is an M3U File & How to Play M3U Files?

M3U Playlist: What is an M3U File?

You can stream live TV for free with the right IPTV M3U playlist and if you have ever downloaded M3U files, you may have noticed that M3U files are very small. So here comes the question: Where are the songs and videos stored? How can I play M3U files? And, is there an M3U converter that can convert M3U to MP3, M4A, MP4, AVI and other well-known audio/video formats? Read on to get the answers.

M3U is often misunderstood because it is simply a text file that stores a multimedia playlist or links to audio or video content, usually used for streaming music/video on the internet.
An M3U file provides index entries for each media item, but it's not a real audio file.
The number following the "#EXTINF" section is the audio length in seconds. If the audio is being streamed online and no length is set, then you will see -1 here as shown in the picture. And the M3U URL like "http://ip.fannan.se:8000/live/332/332/7934.ts" is the relative path of the M3U file.

💡 Why do I explain how to recognize the relative path of an M3U file? Because you just need to copy & paste the URL, and then you can easily share audio or video with others. And even if you change the computer, the relative path can be identified, but the absolute path (for example: C:/Files/My Music/Example.mp3) is not. This works so long as the media files and M3U file are kept in the same folder just as they were on the original computer.

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How to Play M3U Files with VLC?

VLC is my favorite free media player because of its support for a huge variety of audio and video formats. So how do you play M3U files with it?

Step 1: Download M3U File and Copy M3U Playlist URL

First, download an M3U file and open it. Choose one M3U playlist URL and copy it. M3U files can be opened with any text editor since the files are text-based.

Step 2: Import M3U URL to VLC

Click "Open Network Stream" under the Media menu, and then a new window will pop up. Choose "Network" and paste your M3U URL into the box. Finally, click "Play" to play M3U files.
An easier way: If you drag the M3U file into the player, then all the audio or videos will be played automatically. So you don't need to copy and paste each URL.
💡 Playing M3U files this way requires a stable network, playback quality depends on your internet speed.

How to Play M3U Playlist with iTunes?

iTunes is also often used to play M3U files so you can simply import the M3U directly to iTunes. It is a popular way to start the audio playback through streaming media. It may take some time to start loading if the network connection is lagging. Next, let’s look at how to play M3U files in iTunes. Take http://media-ice.musicradio.com/ClassicFMMP3.m3u as an example.

Step 1: Open iTunes and click "Open Stream" under the File menu.

Step 2: Copy the downloaded M3U audio URL and paste it into the popup window.

Step 3: Play the audio in the "Internet Songs" section of the library.

Also see: Create M3U Playlist | WPL vs M3U

Once you open the M3U in iTunes, even if the M3U file contains a podcast instead of music, they will be categorized in the "Internet Songs" section.
However, if we directly save M3U files into iTunes, we must ensure the network connection is available, because once the network is disconnected or the server is out of reach, it will not be available when you try to access the audio.
Now, you've got the basics of the M3U files and two ways to play M3U, but sometimes the players may not be able to understand the M3U playlist file, so, when you don't know what to do, try using an export tool like M3UExportTool (https://sourceforge.net/projects/m3uexporttool/).

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