Putting Audio on my site

[darksknn]

what program do I use to convert audio or musis from wav files to a smaller files. I'm using Frontpage 2000

[tikanet]

One of the best ways to add sound to a site is through the use of Flash's very powerful sound object methods. Using it properly permit your visitor to initiate the playing of a sound file rather than jamming it down your visitor's throat as they hit your page. There's nothing worse. It's never a good idea to force your visitors to reach for the volume control on their local system or, worse yet, hit the back button because they've been startled by a sudden, unwanted burst of what they may feel to be noise.

[cyanide]

Have a look here (http://msdn.microsoft.com/archive/default.asp?url=/archive/en-us/dnarwmt/html/abc.asp)

You will also need to download an encoder here
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp
From the top drop-down, choose Windows Media Encoder

[mnywpw]

PLEASE DON'T PUT AUDIO ON YOUR SITE! GIVE ACCESS TO A RADIO STATION OR SOMETHING THAT YOUR USERS CAN BRING UP IF THEY WANT TO BUT DON"T MAKE ALL OF US LISTEN TO YOUR SOUNDS!

[minstrel]

PLEASE DON'T PUT AUDIO ON YOUR SITE! GIVE ACCESS TO A RADIO STATION OR SOMETHING THAT YOUR USERS CAN BRING UP IF THEY WANT TO BUT DON"T MAKE ALL OF US LISTEN TO YOUR SOUNDS!

There ARE some legitimate uses of audio on a web site. If the visitor clicks on a link to an audio file, there is nothing wrong with it.

The crime is in coding background audio that the user can't turn off...

[mnywpw]

That is what I meant. Thank you Minstrel.

Benjamin

[amorphic8]

I would recommend using QuickTime Pro for compressing audio for your site. You can embed it using the code below.


<object classid="clsid:02BF25D5-8C17-4B23-BC80-D3488ABDDC6B" width="100" height="16" codebase="http://www.apple.com/qtactivex/qtplugin.cab>
<param name="src" value="PATH TO YOUR .mov FILE HERE">
<embed src="PATH TO YOUR .mov FILE HERE" width="100" height="16" pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/"></embed>
</object>


This code will do a few things:
1.put audio on your site that will play back reliably in most browsers
2. add controls so that a visitor can stop the playback and/or adjust the volume

Just be wary of a few things:
as stated so eloquently above, some people don't appreciate background music on the web, so use the technology appropriately, and ALWAYS include controls for the viewer to mute, stop, or adjust the volume.

I would recommend using Quicktime over the above suggested Windows Media Player for a few reasons:
1. the Windows Media almost never works on Macs and requires that you have a Windows machine to use the encoder
2. the Quicktime player plays back reliably on Mac and Windows platforms and implimenting the controls is eaiser than with WMP

The drawback is that you have to spring $29.99 to apple for the Quicktime Pro encoder, but it is well worth it if you plan on doing this type of thing in the future.

You could also use Flash, as suggested above, but that would require you are familiar with Actionscript and the sound object. Flash is nice, and I would use it for a 'web jukebox' if, for example, you were creating a site for a musician or group and wanted a neat interface for people to hear many samples of music. I suppose you could search the web for a 'ready made' Flash audio player, but if you're unfamiliar with Flash, setting it up could be a bit frustrating.

For more help on embedding and using audio in web pages, consult the page I set up for my NYU class, Sound Design for the Web:
http://homepages.nyu.edu/~rjc223/SoundDesign

[mikmik]

Are we talking streaming media (audio) here? I was looking at quickTime aboot three week ago and saw a "Darwin" or something encoder/converter that was for windows platform, and free to boot. Okay, this just in, it is only available as source code so scratch that.
Do we still need a plugin for quicktime though? I figure on IE but I don't know aboot netscape and Moz'.
Also, my hosting server (readyhosting) supports Realtime audio and video streaming for free as part of the package. Does this mean that that is all I can use, and if not, would I have to get them to install WMP for straeming? They run IIS on win2k platform.
One more thing, when you embed media with Quicktime, can you add ' autostart="true(false)" like with WMA?
Also volume ="100" or "0" ?
Thanks.

[jamescompton]

You can have a look at www.maestromediaservices.com and then the audio content of your site can be interactive (and as said already, turn off/down-able).
I am slightly worried about the stated "rules" "Thou shalt not put sound on a web-site".... why? Maybe Al Jolson should never have sung in the movies.
Why should I not have an audio element to a multimedia experience, as long as it is good. It sounds like some people have embraced the the full possibilities of web design only up as far as the 1980's and are not willing to look to the future.

[carbonize]

Everybody, with the exception of Cyanide has failed to even read the question that darksknn asked.


what program do I use to convert audio or musis from wav files to a smaller files.

They didn't ask about playing audio on the site. For converting audio files I personally use dbpoweramp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com) which, with the aid of various codecs, can convert pretty much any audio format to any other audio format.

[minstrel]

Everybody, with the exception of Cyanide has failed to even read the question that darksknn asked.

[quote=darksnn]what program do I use to convert audio or musis from wav files to a smaller files.

Good point - I think we were distracted by the comment, "I use FrontPage"...


For converting audio files I personally use dbpoweramp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com) which, with the aid of various codecs, can convert pretty much any audio format to any other audio format.

If you already own CD-burning software, you may already have that capability - Easy CD Creator and Nero Burning ROM both include options for converting audio file formats. I've also used dbPowerAmp converter - it's freeware as I recall. Another handy freeware program I use sometimes is Right-Click-MP3 which adds a right-click context menu item which allows you to convert back and forth between wav and MP3 get this at http://execpc.com/MrShannon. However, if you're using FrontPage you'll probably want something to convert the wav or MP3 to WMA - so go with the one carbonize recommended.

[dani_zee]

I like to use Music Match Juke Box it is free. I do suggest you get a wav editor and put in two links on your site, one for a short version and one for a full length version.

[amorphic8]

Streaming Audio requires a streaming server. This is not the same as a standard Web server. Although you can store media files on a standard Web server, the files must be downloaded in order to be played.

If your files are relatively small, and you don't mind people being able to possibly save your media then this is of little consequence and a Web server will suit just fine.

If, on the other hand you want to truly 'stream' your media, then you need to use a streaming server.

Streaming differs from downloading in the following ways:
1. streaming media cannot be downloaded
2. streaming media 'passes through' the player in a similar way that an FM signal passes through your radio
3. streaming media usually requires a shorter starting delay than downloading....the player must only download some header information and buffer a small amount of data
4. a user can fast 'forward' or 'rewind' to any portion of the media at any time and playback will begin from the selected ppoint after a short buffer delay
4.a. this is not possible with a live stream in which the streaming media is begin broadcast live
4.b you must make controls available to your user in order to jump to a point in the file

Quicktime offers a compromise for those not inclined to actually stream:
Progressive Download.

Progressive Download means that although the player will download the entire media file, it begins playing after only a small amount has been buffered. You can also prevent your media from being saved by enabling 'kiosk mode' in the embed attributes of the player.
There are some drawbacks, however:
1. the user cannot jump forward in the file to a point beyond what has been downloaded
2. if the media is encoded at a high bit rate, the playback may stutter or stop if the player 'catches up' to the buffer.
2.a. this is most likely if your user is surfing using 56k and the quality of your media is high

As I said before, Quicktime seems to have the most reliable playback on both Windows and Mac systems and I highly recommend it for both encoding music and media files (as the original post requested) or for delivering it in a Web page.

[ManInBlack]

Just try Flash Voice Buttons. It's the best choice for adding sound, music and any voices to your website.
http://www.reutera.com/Flash-Voice-Buttons/