The Movie Player API is supported by a single dynamic-link library (DLL) called MMP.DLL. The Movie Player can load and play movie files that include animated graphics, sound, and commands for controlling MCI devices. The Movie Player performs the animation sequences, using other parts of the Multimedia extensions to play embedded audio and handle MCI commands.
The Movie Player loads the animation data in the movie file at the time the file is opened; it does not perform any streaming techniques to incrementally load the bitmaps and other animation objects during playback. If a movie contains a large number of bitmaps and other objects, the load time might be perceptible to the user. To avoid long pauses during presentations that display movies, you might consider loading the movie files while the presentation is paused, or perhaps load the movie files at the beginning of the presentation. The Movie Player gives you full control over the playback window; you don't need to display the movie frame until you're ready.
Like all Windows applications, the Movie Player uses the Windows palette manager to map the colors it needs into the limited range of colors supported by the display driver. If your movie uses a 256-color palette, the palette manager might have difficulty mapping the colors when the playback window is inactive. The Movie Player includes an option you can use to borrow all but two of the Windows static colors, providing 18 additional colors when the playback window is active. Using this option reduces all inactive windows to black and white, so you probably won't want to use it unless you're displaying the movie on a full-screen window.
For a complete discussion of authoring considerations for movies created for use with the Multimedia extensions, see the Multimedia Authoring Guide.