Tips for choosing flash mp3 player for a website

Need to embed audio into a web page? Before you start looking for flash sound player, it’s a good idea to read some tips. After reading this blog post you will know for sure what music player to choose for your website or blog.

First of all, it is very important to know that there are different types of sound sources in players and, therefore, the types of web music players differ too.

All sound sources used for flash music players can be divided into:

• External files
• Embedded sound
• Audio streaming

External sound files or embedded sound?

Players for both external files and embedded sound can have a preloader to provide a complete download before starting playback. They can also provide real-time playing mode which means that playback starts as soon as a user triggers it without waiting for a complete download. So, choose what is more important for you – to let your visitors hear sound as soon as it’s possible (in real-time mode) or to be sure they’ll hear all you need without interruptions (with a preloader). Also, take into account that embedded sound means only one sound file included with swf (file containing the player). Player with an embedded sound is easier to publish so it’s the perfect choice when you need to embed only one song, sound or voice message into your web page. And if you want to use more than one sound files, create player using external files. Such players usually have Next, Previous, Play, Pause buttons, voice control and seeking bar, so they allow your visitors to control playback and enjoy the music while staying at your web page.

Audio streaming sounds

Audio streaming sounds like a real-time mode because it also means playing sound without a complete download. Nevertheless, this method differs from real-time very much. The main difference is that in case of streaming audio, no data is saved on your computer – it’s just buffered for a few seconds before you can hear it. This means you can’t rewind, repeat listening, etc. You just hear sound arriving (or streaming) at your computer. The best example for audio streaming is online radio. Live broadcast can never be downloaded completely so the only way to listen to it from your computer is audio streaming. Of course, flash sound players with audio streaming support are mainly used for radio streaming.

Tool for creation of flash mp3 player I recommend:

I use software for creating flash audio players which allow making any type of web music player. It is Fun SoundPlayer Maker. Program has extensive templates library – small buttons with embedded sound, full-functional players with multi tracks support or flash radio for audio streaming etc. Also, pay your attention to Flash WAmp – this program allows converting any original Winamp skin into both flash mp3 player and flash radio player for a website.