What steps can I take to identify and manage a browser's inability to play a media file?

Question

What steps can I take to identify and manage a browser's inability to play a media file?

I am currently utilizing a JavaScript utility to stream mp3 content. Unfortunately, there are instances where I direct users to a file that cannot be played due to external factors. In such cases, Firebug displays an error message indicating that the file could not be decoded.

The media resource https://example.com/bad_file.mp3 was unable to be decoded.

https://i.stack.imgur.com/Sfwz7.png
Check out the issue in action on jsfiddle by clicking here

Considering that replacing the files is not within my scope of control, I am seeking a method to determine whether a file is playable or not. Although the framework supplies an onerror() function for handling script loading failures, it lacks a solution for identifying unplayable files.

While a response tailored to SoundManager2 would be acceptable, I am more interested in a resolution independent from any specific library or platform.

javascript ajax error-handling media-player soundmanager2

Answer 1

Answer №1

If you want to handle errors for elements that load resources, you can add an onerror event listener. For example, if you are working with audio, you would attach an event listener to the audio element.

// Assuming this HTML:
// <audio id="myaudio" src="http://badurl.com/mp3.mp3"></audio>
document.getElementById("myaudio").addEventListener("error",function(event){
  // Handle error here
});

For SoundManager2 specifically, you can use the onload callback option which will be passed a success variable indicating if the resource loaded successfully or not. You can refer to the API reference for more information.

var mySound = soundManager.createSound({
  id: 'aSound',
  url: 'http://badurl.com/mp3.mp3',
  onload:function(success){
     if(!success){
        // Error occurred
     }
  } 
});
mySound.play();

Answer 2

If you want to handle errors for elements that load resources, you can add an onerror event listener. For example, if you are working with audio, you would attach an event listener to the audio element.

// Assuming this HTML:
// <audio id="myaudio" src="http://badurl.com/mp3.mp3"></audio>
document.getElementById("myaudio").addEventListener("error",function(event){
  // Handle error here
});

For SoundManager2 specifically, you can use the onload callback option which will be passed a success variable indicating if the resource loaded successfully or not. You can refer to the API reference for more information.

var mySound = soundManager.createSound({
  id: 'aSound',
  url: 'http://badurl.com/mp3.mp3',
  onload:function(success){
     if(!success){
        // Error occurred
     }
  } 
});
mySound.play();

Answer 3

Answer №2

One way to handle audio errors when using the standard <audio src="whatever.mp3"> notation is by implementing this script:

function handleError(e) { alert('Error loading: '+e.target.src); }
function handleMediaIssue(e) {
  switch (e.target.error.code) {
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_ABORTED:
      alert('You stopped the media playback.'); break;
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_NETWORK:
      alert('A network error interrupted the media download.'); break;
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_DECODE:
      alert('The media failed due to corruption or unsupported features.'); break;
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED:
      alert('The media could not be loaded because of server issues or unsupported format.'); break;
    default:
      alert('An unknown media error occurred.');
  }
}

var array = Array.prototype.slice;
array.apply(document.getElementsByTagName('audio')).forEach(function(audio){
  audio.addEventListener('error', handleMediaIssue);
  array.apply(audio.getElementsByTagName('source')).forEach(function(source){
    source.addEventListener('error', handleError);
  });
});

If you have access to an Audio instance, you can attach the error handler like so:

audioInstance.addEventListener('error', handleMediaIssue)

Answer 4

One way to handle audio errors when using the standard <audio src="whatever.mp3"> notation is by implementing this script:

function handleError(e) { alert('Error loading: '+e.target.src); }
function handleMediaIssue(e) {
  switch (e.target.error.code) {
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_ABORTED:
      alert('You stopped the media playback.'); break;
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_NETWORK:
      alert('A network error interrupted the media download.'); break;
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_DECODE:
      alert('The media failed due to corruption or unsupported features.'); break;
    case e.target.error.MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED:
      alert('The media could not be loaded because of server issues or unsupported format.'); break;
    default:
      alert('An unknown media error occurred.');
  }
}

var array = Array.prototype.slice;
array.apply(document.getElementsByTagName('audio')).forEach(function(audio){
  audio.addEventListener('error', handleMediaIssue);
  array.apply(audio.getElementsByTagName('source')).forEach(function(source){
    source.addEventListener('error', handleError);
  });
});

If you have access to an Audio instance, you can attach the error handler like so:

audioInstance.addEventListener('error', handleMediaIssue)

What steps can I take to identify and manage a browser's inability to play a media file?

Answer №1

Answer №2

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