Google Chrome and media files

[M6NEN 2]

Since April 2018, Google Chrome decided to stop allowing media files (be it video with sound or just sound files) to start automatically on a website.

This time (this rarely happens) I have been caught out.

The problem is, I have a website where I want an mp3 file to start playing automatically when the page loads (invisible, with no controls), and I, myself use Google Chrome 68.0.3440.106 (the latest version at the time of posting).

 

To my astonishment, when the page loads, nothing happens, and I say "to my astonishment", as I have used exactly the same code as I used on another web page, where the MP3 file DOES play as expected.

The code is:

 <audio autoplay>
    <source src="xxx/xxxxx.ogg" type="audio/ogg">
    <source src="xxxc/xxxxx.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
  Your browser does not support the audio element.
  </audio> 

As I said, on my other website, with exactly the same code, the MP3 file starts playing immediately and flawlessly, while on the site I am working on now, not a single note plays.

I have read tons of advice on a vast number of websites, most of them say it is simply the bit "type="audio/mpeg" that is supposed to do the trick, while others advise using an iframe, and then there are people who say you have to resort to using Java and/or Javascript, some of the code they give can even get very lengthy.

 

Now, what I would like to know is, is there anyone who knows a solution that works, and keeps working, as I have had no joy with anything I read and tried in all the things I have gone through so far.

And what baffles me even more is that, using EXACTLY the same code as I did on another website were it works perfectly, it just refuses to work this time.

 

Any help will be much appreciated.

 

[yordan 10]

By the way, personally,  I hate websites starting things I don't master. I stopped visiting websites opening invisible windows playing music or saying sentences like "hey, buy my thing"!

[M6NEN 2]

OK, granted,

but this is not about a spam window or an annoying popup (which I hate as well) opening up.

It is only a piece of music playing while you are looking at the page.

 

[yordan 10]

6 minutes ago, M6NEN said:

It is only a piece of music playing while you are looking at the page.

OK, I understand. However, I want to master whether music should be playing or not while I am looking at a webpage.

Moreover, sometimes when I am at work, sometimes I need help and I use to ask google. Some results arise, and If I click on the wrong link, it should start no music, else I will not  be considered as a serious worker and I will loose my job.

[M6NEN 2]

2 minutes ago, yordan said:

OK, I understand. However, I want to master whether music should be playing or not while I am looking at a webpage.

Moreover, sometimes when I am at work, sometimes I need help and I use to ask google. Some results arise, and If I click on the wrong link, it should start no music, else I will not  be considered as a serious worker and I will loose my job.

Oh dear, another one joining the dole queue then.

Bad thing for the economy, i would say.

 

However, this question was meant to be technical, not about the philosophies of life or what people like or not while surfing.

Just a question about how to deal with a certain issue, and, moreover, expressing my astonishment about how exactly the same HTML code can work on one web page and not on another.

That is all it was, in other words, that is what the topic was (choosing my words carefully this time).

Since my real intelligence is failing, I might try it with the artificial stuff, who knows?

 

[yordan 10]

Sorry, you are right.

I did not have any technical answer, so I replied with my deep feeling. So maybe we should also open another thread concerning economy. Are popups and ads and unwanted music necessary for the economy ?

[M6NEN 2]

Sure, why don't we do that?

Because those ads and popups (not necessarily music, being a musician) do my head in and often serve no purpose whatsoever except to annoy people, or leading to useless sites or broken links or even filling your machine with spyware and such rubbish.

 

See, I can even answer seriously to sarcasm.

 

There is one thing I NEVER put on my websites and that is popups or third party ads or similar rubbish, apart from the cookies banner at the top or bottom, which has now become an obligation according to EU privacy rules and only occurs on a visitor's first visit (unless (s)he clears his/her cookies).

And, for users with some sense, what would be the use, they would use (as I do) a popup blocker anyway.

While I know that some "serious" sites still make use of these kind of things, they are definitely not my thing at all, so I am definitely not going to implement them.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2018 by M6NEN (see edit history)

[OpaQue 15]

If Chrome is not liking auto-play Media, There is only solution using Javascript. 

[M6NEN 2]

20 hours ago, OpaQue said:

If Chrome is not liking auto-play Media, There is only solution using Javascript. 

I do agree whole heartedly, but not being an expert in Javascript, setting this up could prove a bit problematic for me.

 

However, what I just cannot understand is that, on another site, it works perfectly, and, setting it up on the current site I am working on, using exactly the same code I used on the other website, it just refuses to work.

Strange, very strange.

[OpaQue 15]

You only said, Your code works in One Browser but fails in another. So just use Javascript to make it work in the browser where it does not work.

[M6NEN 2]

3 hours ago, OpaQue said:

You only said, Your code works in One Browser but fails in another. So just use Javascript to make it work in the browser where it does not work.

No, what I said was "My code works in Chrome on one website and will not work on another".

I know that Chrome has disabled autostart of audio and video with sound since April, but other browers still allow it.

Funny enough, I managed to solve it without any Javascript.

The trick was simply to use an iframe and it starts immediately.

Very weird, I must admit.

Thanks for your help anyway.

 

[OpaQue 15]

Ohh.. sorry, I mis-understood. 

If your code works in one web page and not in another... I m curious what would be the reason?

May be some other code in that page is stopping it from auto-play.

[M6NEN 2]

I really have not got the slightest clue.

In the page where the code refused to work, there was only some basic HTML, only some paragraphs of text, while the code on the working page was more complicated (including Bootstrap 4 cards and more).

 

It is really a mystery to me too.

 

[mastercomputers 0]

This is really strange as Chrome rolled back those changes in May so maybe it's some left over crud. You should always test with a fresh browser set at defaults as browsers have been implementing user behaviour preferences based on user browsing experiences.

If you read up on Chromium and Chrome developmets, you can see the direction they are heading. The autoplay policy seemed a bit pushed but I do prefer having choice rather than forced to hear things played on my browser unknowingly.

Edited October 3, 2018 by mastercomputers (see edit history)

[yordan 10]

7 hours ago, mastercomputers said:

Chrome rolled back those changes in May

You're right, probably the changes disappeared from fresh install but could remain on existing installations.

7 hours ago, mastercomputers said:

I do prefer having choice rather than forced to hear things played on my browser unknowingly.

+1. That's why I usually poweroff the speakers on my PC, in order not to hear things I didn't ask.