Stop, Pause, and Resume Commands

The stop command suspends the playing or recording of a device. Many devices include the basic command pause, which also suspends these sessions. The difference between stop and pause depends on the device. Usually pause suspends operation but leaves the device ready to resume playing or recording immediately.

Using play or record to restart a device will reset the to and from positions specified before the device was paused or stopped. Without the from flag, these commands reset the start position to the current position. Without the to flag, they reset the end position to the end of the media. If you want to continue playing or recording but want to stop at a position previously specified, use the to flag with these commands and repeat the position value.

Some devices include the resume command to restart a paused device. This command does not change the to and from positions specified with the play or record command which preceded the pause command.