Issues for Playing Audio on Web Pages
 | Lack of standards for audio formats and web browsers |
| Bandwidth limitations; slower connections are the most problematic. |
| Plug-in/ActiveX installation issues (how to install, size of installation and time to install, lack of skills or knowledge by the end user). |
| Abuse of the technology: overuse, applied simply for the sake of being able to do it, etc.. |
Designing Web Audio
From a planning perspective...
| look at the overall purpose of the site-does audio help/hinder? |
| target audience - who are they, how will they react to music or other sound, language issues (for narration) need to be considered. |
| bandwidth - how fast are users connected? |
Types of sound to be incorporated...
| Narration - voice over, annotation, dialogue, news/broadcasts, correlated to other content (e.g., graphics). |
| Sound effects - rollovers, transitions (foley effects). |
| Music - short loops, long-playing as either background or content. |
| Embedded into other content (e.g., Shockwave, Flash, ActiveX, etc.). |
Things to avoid with digital audio...
| embedding sounds on the first page (too much bandwidth) |
| distracting or abrasive sounds |
| monotonous loops, monotonous loops, monotonous loops... |
| constant audio without a break |
| low quality audio with hisses, clicks, and other distractions |
| inconsistent volume levels |
| artifacts from a poor capture (background sounds, hum). |
Sources of audio...
| Create your own - can be time consuming, often requires special equipment (facility, hardware, and software) and talent (voice-overs, musicians). |
| Sound libraries (clip art for sound) - range of cost and quality, be careful of use rights. |
| From existing materials (e.g., other sites, CD-ROM, etc.) - be careful of rights. |
Tools for Digital Audio
Characteristics of digital audio editing tools...
| Typically integrated into the operating system audio resources (microphone, line-in, CD-ROM). |
| Can capture at various bit rates, in stereo. |
| Graphical tools to view digital wave forms for selection and... |
| Cut, copy, paste of tracks. |
| Special effects (reverse, echo, reverb, speed, pitch shift, delay, tone modifications, and other effects). |
| Re-sampling to various bit rates. |
| Saving/converting to various formats. |