WindowsMediaController

The library uses a hierarchical structure to manage media sessions:

1. MediaManager: The top-level controller. It manages the global WindowsSessionManager and provides events for any session opening, closing, or changing state across the entire OS.
2. MediaManager.MediaSession: Represents an individual media session (e.g., a specific Spotify instance or Chrome tab). It contains a ControlSession which provides direct access to that specific session's properties and playback state.

Use MediaManager.GetFocusedSession() to retrieve the session currently controlling audio.

To begin interacting with media sessions, instantiate a MediaManager, subscribe to the desired events, and call Start() or StartAsync().

mediaManager = new MediaManager();

// Subscribe to events
mediaManager.OnAnySessionOpened += MediaManager_OnAnySessionOpened;
mediaManager.OnAnySessionClosed += MediaManager_OnAnySessionClosed;
mediaManager.OnFocusedSessionChanged += MediaManager_OnFocusedSessionChanged;
mediaManager.OnAnyMediaPropertyChanged += MediaManager_OnAnyMediaPropertyChanged;
mediaManager.OnAnyPlaybackStateChanged += MediaManager_OnAnyPlaybackStateChanged;
mediaManager.OnAnyTimelinePropertyChanged += MediaManager_OnAnyTimelinePropertyChanged;

// Start the manager
mediaManager.Start();
// OR
await mediaManager.StartAsync();

You can install the package via NuGet. Depending on your project type, you may need specific configuration to ensure compatibility with Windows Runtime (WinRT).

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="Dubya.WindowsMediaController">
    <Version>2.5.6</Version>
  </PackageReference>
</ItemGroup>

For .NET 5+ projects, you must modify your TargetFramework in the .csproj file to include the Windows SDK version to allow proper WinRT access. Replace net6.0 with your specific .NET version (e.g., net7.0, net8.0).

<TargetFramework>net6.0-windows10.0.22000.0</TargetFramework>

Once you have a MediaSession instance, you can use its ControlSession to extract specific media data.

• Playback Info: Use GetPlaybackInfo() to see available actions (play/pause) and current playback state.
• Media Properties: Use await TryGetMediaPropertiesAsync() to get metadata like song title, author, and thumbnails.

// Get playback state and available controls
var playbackInfo = mediaSession.ControlSession.GetPlaybackInfo();

// Get metadata (Title, Author, Thumbnail, etc.)
var mediaProperties = await mediaSession.ControlSession.TryGetMediaPropertiesAsync();

The MediaSession class represents a specific media source.

// Properties
readonly string Id;
GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSession ControlSession { get; }

// Events
void OnSessionClosed(MediaManager.MediaSession session);
void OnMediaPropertyChanged(MediaManager.MediaSession sender, GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionMediaProperties args);
void OnPlaybackStateChanged(MediaManager.MediaSession sender, GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionPlaybackInfo args);
void OnTimelinePropertyChanged(MediaSession mediaSession, GlobalSystemMediaTransportControlsSessionTimelineProperties timelineProperties);