pgSoundLoader() and latest Chrome update

[Kataleena]

Hi,

I'm using pgSoundLoader() and set to auto play and when the audio is finished I'm using "value contains "audio,end" to go next page. However since the latest update of chrome the user event is not getting triggered. I understand from other posts that Chrome has adopted new playback standards but the audio is autoplaying fine its just not getting triggered to goto next page.

I have updated to the latest version of PowerPac and get the same result.

Thanks

[Clifton]

Please double-check that you are sending the user event to the same object named in your pgSoundLoader() name paramater. Also, just checking if value contains "end" is sufficient.

If you still have trouble, post some screen shots of the actions you are using to start the audio and the actions which are processing the user event.
 

[Kataleena]

Hi,

Yes I am sending the user event to the same object named in my pgSoundLoader(), I have not changed the code in a couple of years and its been working successfully.

I even tested the code before I upgraded my own version of chrome and it was working then I did the update to Version 64.0.3282.186 (Official Build) (64-bit) and it stopped working.

pgSoundLoader.JPG (44.03 KiB) Viewed 1019 times

User Event.JPG (42.4 KiB) Viewed 1019 times

[Clifton]

Please make sure you are using the latest PowerPac version (v14.054.2) and see if it works for you.

I ran a simple test with a single audio file playing on the first page of book and it works in Chrome, at least when run from the hard drive using the PowerPac server. We have other courses working in Chrome using this version of the PowerPac. The latest PowerPac version contains some fixes designed satisfy the Google autoplay issues. These are not guaranteed to work for the long haul though, but they seem to be working for now.



simpleAutoPlayAudio.zip

ToolBook v11.5 file

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If it still doesn't work for you in Chrome:

This indicates that even if the sound is able to play, it will not send events until the user has clicked on at least one item in the opening window (e.g.: it can be a button or even just the main window itself). This will satisfy the Chrome policy for autoplay and allow all features of the sound controller to work.

NOTE: You may need to start making an opening splash screen for your courses that satisfy the "user click" policy. We are in the process of encouraging our clients to consider the opening splash screen method as it will guarantee that autoplay works. Once user interaction is satisfied on page one, media autoplay should work no matter how many pages are in your course. And this is true whether the media is audo or video.

Please keep us informed regarding issues which affect your particular scenario as we can review if further adjustments are required.

UPDATE:
Just tried by uploading my test content to another server and the autoplay failed. What Chrome is doing is tracking the MEI (Media Engagement Index) which is determined by how times a user clicks the window to interact with the web content. Once satisfied, the autoplay will always work for that user, but not necessarily for another user from a different computer. They must satisfy the MEI as well. However, the splash screen method will just always work because, you just need to make the screen with a simple button to enter the course. Clicking the button always satisfies the autoplay mechanism.

While this a Chrome-only issue, don't be surprised if ALL the browser manufacturers start adopting this. The idea behind this is to prevent advertisers from unduly messing wth a user's experience when visiting web locations with ads, etc. Unfortunately, it does not take into consideration that courseware developers are trying to provide education, not advertising. In our case, the MEI is actually messing with a user's positive experience by not being very intelligent. Uggh!!
 
 

[Kataleena]

Hi,

Audio MP3
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, I have been doing some testing and my audio issue is not caused by MEI, its caused by having silence on the end of my .mp3 files and Chrome 'Version 65.0.3325.146 (Official Build) (64-bit)'.

My audio is playing but the user end event is not being sent because of the silence, my audio is autoplayed and transparent but when I turned on the controls I noticed in Chrome the progress bar did not go to the end, like it does in IE.

I did some testing and removed the silence on the end of the mp3, and the "audio,end" user event worked.

The silence on the end of my audio has never been a problem in older version of chrome and as its voice over I can't cut it off as soon as it's finished. I also use the silence for timing and would need to edit 100's of audio files.

Videos
My videos are autoplaying without sound in IE and Chrome, I already have a time maker at 10ms, so I added a htmlVideoContro to mute = false and it is working

Thanks
kate

[Clifton]

Using Chrome v66.0.3359.22 (dev build):
I put together a simple audio test (shown below) wherein I added 1.7 seconds of silence at the end of the audio (using Audacity).

When export is run, it generates a user event with value "audio, end" in the following browsers:
(Firefox, Chrome 66.0.3359.22, Chromium 64.0.3382.119, Edge, IE11, and Chrome 49.0.2623.112)

Can you submit an example where the audio is failing to send the user event? I would like to explore this further.
 

[Kataleena]

HI Clifton,

I can submit a example later today but if you try your sample in Chrome 'Version 65.0.3325.146', I think you will find it will not work, the audio generated a user event with value "audio, end" on all versions propir to this version. It happening on all my clients machines too, maybe the issue is fixed in Chrome v66.0.3359.22?

Thanks

[Clifton]

Personally I think you are encountering a Chrome bug. This is especially likely considering that versions before and after the one you have having trouble with are all working fine.
Not to worrry your clients as Google releases new versions pretty frequently.
Upgrading to the beta or dev channel is an option for clients who encounter what appears to be a Chrome "bug."

With all the policy changes in the January release, it is not surprising that some things are broken.

Of course, this is only an opinion as I cannot find a specific article which details this situation. I generally run only the beta and dev channel releases because these are updated more often and fix things really fast.

BTW: If you run this forum thread in your troubled version of Chrome (v65.x), does the audio fire the user event in my post above? If it does, this indicates that something else is happening which may be related to the audio file itself.

UPDATE: I finally ran my sample on Chrome v65.0.3325.146, and it generated a user event when the audio finished playing including the 1.7 sec. of silence.