Playing Sounds With SoundManager

Playing sounds on a webpage can be challenging since different browsers use different HTML elements that handle embedded sounds, and using them all breaks standards compliance. Fortunately, Flash can play sounds and is widely supported by all modern browsers. Even better, you don't even have to own Adobe Flash or know how to use it to take advantage of its sound-playing ability.

SoundManager 2 is "A Javascript Sound API supporting MP3, MPEG4 Audio and Video." Basically it's a JavaScript package that uses a small Flash file to stream audio and video to the browser. It gives you full control over the Flash functions via JavaScript, including but not limited to: load, play, stop, pause, seek, and volume. It also supports ID3 tag parsing and more advanced features like displaying peak and spectrum data.

Including it on the page is as simple as including the JavaScript file, which automatically adds the appropriate Flash file when the page loads. SoundManager supports the following:

• Flash plugin version 8 or above
• IE 5.0+, Win32
• Netscape 8.0+, Windows/Mac
• Mozilla 1.7.5+, Windows/Mac
• Firefox 1.0+, Windows/Mac
• Firefox 1.5+, Linux (Flash 9 beta)
• Safari 1.3+, Mac
• Opera 9.10+ (slightly buggy, 9.5+ ideal), Windows/Mac

For more information, visit the SoundManager website.