Editing M3U (section)

===Extended M3U===
The M3U file can also include comments, prefaced by the "#" character. In '''extended M3U''', "#" also introduces extended M3U directives which are terminated by a colon ":" if they support parameters.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ M3U extensions
|-
! Directive !! Description !! Example !! Required !! Standard 
|-
| <code>#EXTM3U</code> || file header, must be the first line of the file || <code>#EXTM3U</code> || {{yes|1×}} || {{yes}} 
|-
|rowspan=2| <code>#EXTINF:</code> || track  information: runtime in seconds then optional  display title of the following resource || <code>#EXTINF:123,Artist Name – Track Title␤<br>artist - title.mp3</code>|| {{no}} || {{yes}}
|-
| additional properties as key-value pairs || <code>#EXTINF:123 logo="cover.jpg",Stream Title␤<br><nowiki>http://example.org/live.strm</nowiki></code>|| {{no}} || {{no|IPTV}}
|-
| <code>#PLAYLIST:</code> || playlist display title || <code>#PLAYLIST:Music TV</code>|| {{no|1×}} || {{no|IPTV}}
|-
| <code>#EXTGRP:</code> || begin named grouping || <code>#EXTGRP:Foreign Channels</code>|| {{no}} || {{no|IPTV}}
|-
| <code>#EXTALB:</code> || album information, title in particular || <code>#EXTALB:Album Title (2009)</code>|| {{no|1×}} || {{no|AL,<ref name=al>{{cite web|url=http://albumlist.sourceforge.net/faq1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821201917/http://albumlist.sourceforge.net/faq1.html|archive-date=2008-08-21|title=Album List for Winamp|website=albumlist.sourceforge.net}}</ref> M3A<ref name=m3a/>}}
|-
| <code>#EXTART:</code> || album artist  || <code>#EXTART:Various</code>|| {{no|1×}} || {{no|AL,<ref name=al/> M3A<ref name=m3a/>}}
|-
| <code>#EXTGENRE:</code> || album genre  || <code>#EXTGENRE:Jazz Fusion</code>|| {{no|1×}} || {{no|AL<ref name=al/>}}
|-
| <code>#EXTM3A</code> || playlist for tracks or chapters of an album in a single file || <code>#EXTM3A</code>|| {{no|1×}} || {{no|M3A<ref name=m3a>{{cite web|url=http://birdcagesoft.com/m3a-fmt.txt |title=M3A (M3U Album) Format|publisher=birdcagesoft |access-date=2019-10-21}}</ref>}}
|-
| <code>#EXTBYT:</code> || file size in bytes || <code>#EXTBYT:34124</code>|| {{no}} || {{no|M3A<ref name=m3a/>}}
|-
| <code>#EXTBIN:</code> || binary data follows, usually concatenated MP3s || <code>#EXTBIN:</code>|| {{no}} || {{no|M3A<ref name=m3a/>}}
|-
| <code>#EXTALBUMARTURL:</code> || url of album art image || <code>#EXTALBUMARTURL:<nowiki>https://example.com/a1b2c3d4.jpg</nowiki></code>|| {{no}} || {{no|Jamendo/[[VLC media player|VLC]]<ref>{{cite web |title=m3u: use the album art provided by jamendo along with the m3u files. |date=21 July 2010 |url=https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc/-/commit/fdbda6fec038e314228314288d29e2c218c0aeef}}</ref>}}
|}

Apple used the extended M3U format as a base for their [[HTTP Live Streaming]] (HLS)<ref name=hls>{{cite web|url=https://developer.apple.com/documentation/http_live_streaming/about_the_common_media_application_format_with_http_live_streaming|title=About the Common Media Application Format with HTTP Live Streaming &#124; Apple Developer Documentation|website=developer.apple.com}}</ref> which was documented in an Independent Submission Stream RFC in 2017 as [https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8216 RFC 8216].<ref name="rfc8216">{{cite RFC | rfc=8216 | title=HTTP Live Streaming | author=R. Pantos and W. May | publisher=RFC Editor | section=4.3 | url=https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc8216 | date=August 2007 | doi=10.17487/RFC8216 | issn=2070-1721 }}
</ref> Therein, a ''master playlist'' references segment playlists which usually contain URLs for short parts of the media stream. Some tags only apply to the former type and some only to the latter type of playlist, but they all begin with <code>#EXT-X-</code>. 

{| class="wikitable" 
|+ HLS M3U extensions  
! Directive !! Example !! Description
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-START:</code> || <code>TIME-OFFSET=0</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-INDEPENDENT-SEGMENTS</code> ||colspan=2| Toggle without parameters
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-PLAYLIST-TYPE:</code> || <code>VOD</code> or <code>EVENT</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-TARGETDURATION:</code> || <code>10</code> || The maximum Media Segment duration in seconds
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-VERSION:</code> || <code>4</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-MEDIA-SEQUENCE:</code> || <code>0</code> || The Media Sequence Number of the first Media Segment appearing in the playlist file
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-MEDIA:</code> || <code>NAME="English", TYPE=AUDIO, GROUP-ID="audio-stereo-64", LANGUAGE="en", DEFAULT=YES, AUTOSELECT=YES, URI="english.m3u8"</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:</code> || <code>BANDWIDTH=1123000, CODECS="avc1.64001f,mp4a.40.2"</code> || Parameters have either one combined value or one per stream, separated by commas
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-BYTERANGE:</code> || <code>1024@256000</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY</code> || toggle without parameters || The segment represents the start of a new period
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY-SEQUENCE:</code> || <code>2</code> || Indicates start of numbering of periods
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-GAP</code> || toggle without parameters || The segment represents a "spacer" before a new period
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-KEY:</code> || <code>METHOD=NONE</code> || Indicates encryption method used and decryption key
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-MAP:</code> || <code>URI=MediaInitializationSection</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-PROGRAM-DATE-TIME:</code> || <code>2010-02-19T14:54:23.031+08:00</code> || [[ISO 8601]] format
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-DATERANGE:</code> || <code>ID=foo</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-I-FRAMES-ONLY</code> ||colspan=2| [[i-frame]] Toggle without parameters
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-SESSION-DATA:</code> || <code>DATA-ID=com.example.movie.title</code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-SESSION-KEY:</code> || <code></code> || 
|-
| <code>#EXT-X-ENDLIST</code> ||colspan=2| End-of-list signal without parameters
|}