[This is a re-post. No replies last time. Can anyone help with
this -- even to confirm whether you get sound on this using I.E.? If
the answer is "no," I'd like to get back to you to try to find
similarities between your setup and my two setups that don't
work. Thanks! -Marc]
This is a follow-up on a previous post. I'm still having the problem,
but now have more details. Really need help with this, so please read
the following and let me know if you have ideas or solutions.
Problem in brief:
Where Flash uses a sound object to load and stream an MP3 file, no
sound is heard on a small percentage of Windows computers using I.E.
and Flash Player 8.
Problem and troubleshooting in-depth:
I have tested this in a more complex and also in a simpler Flash
movie with indentical results. The complex version (which uses MP3's
in a separate directory from the .swf, and constructs their URLs
dynamically) is at:
http://www.dartfrogmedia.com/birdGame.
If you test this and want to send a report, please include 1) whether
you heard sound; 2) version and sub-version of I.E.; 3) OS, including
sub-version, service packs, etc.; 4) Flash Player version and
sub-version (requires Player 7 or above).
In the simpler version, Flash uses a Sound object to download and
stream an MP3 file that is located in the same directory as the .swf
and html file whenever a button is pressed:
_global.narration = new Sound();
btn.onRelease = function() {
narration.loadSound("americanRobin.mp3", true);
};
On Windows using Netscape and Firefox, and on Mac using Safari, the
movie plays the sound fine on all tested platforms and computers.
In Windows using I.E. 6, the movie works locally on all computers
tested. Played from the internet, it works for most computers (about
a dozen tested). But for two of my computers, it fails to work over
the web. Note that the MP3's always end up in I.E.'s cache, so it's
not an issue of I.E. not finding the files, but of Flash never
playing them. Also, I can play the MP3's directly from I.E.
The two computers where this thing breaks are a Dell Inspiron laptop
and a custom desktop. Looking at versions of I.E. for all tests, I
note that the desktop that fails to play has the same I.E.
sub-version as a colleague's computer that works fine, so I would
rule out that the sub-version of I.E. is causing the problem (at
least not in and of itself). Also, all three of my computers are
running Windows XP Pro, but one (the one that works) has no service
packs and the two that don't work have SP1 and SP2 respectively. I am
assuming that among those colleagues who have tested this for me, at
least some must have the later service packs, so I would rule out
that SP1 or SP2 are causing the problem.
When Flash in I.E. fails to play via an internet connection, it is
still observed that I.E. loads the MP3 files into cache. Furthermore,
if I type the URLs of the MP3s directly into I.E., they are located
and are played via Windows Media Player. Thus I can rule out that
I.E. is not loading the MP3 file at Flash's command.
I have swapped network cables between the desktop that works and the
desktop that doesn't work, and the computer that doesn't work still
fails. So I can rule out something in my network connection.
I have tried using a listener in Flash to determine when the MP3 has
loaded, and to play it only after it has loaded. This does not fix
the problem. I've also tried setting the streaming parameter to
"false" instead of "true," and it makes no difference. Nor does
listening for onLoad, and then starting the sound, help.
I have moved the Flash movie to a different web server. This does not
fix the problem. So I can almost certainly rule out some peculiarity
of my web server.
And that's it! Any thoughts?
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