Audio Player Component

VIDEO TUTORIAL: Video tutorial available online for Audio Player.

The Audio Player plays audio files meeting the following requirements:

File format: wav, mp3, FLAC

Sample size: 8, 16, 24, 32-bit fixed-point and 32-bit floating-point

Sample rate: 8 kHz to 96 kHz

Tracks based on Feature purchased:

Standard - up to 16 tracks, 4 GB Flash drive (3.8 GB available for media and design files)
Upgrade MTP-64 - 64 tracks, and an 80 GB Solid State SATA drive.
Upgrade MTP-128 - up to 128 tracks, and a 160 GB Solid State SATA drive.

Maximum file size: 2^31 bytes (approximately 2.15 GB)

The Audio Player features a Control Pin named Location. This Control Pin allows you to enter a number of seconds via Lua script, or a custom control, and move to that spot in the file before pressing the Start button, or during playback.

CAUTION: If you upgrade your hard drive, you will lose any files you had on the flash drive. Back up the files prior to upgrading.

The files must be loaded onto the Core using the Administrator > Audio Files tab.

When setting the Properties of the Core, you set the maximum number of tracks the design requires, either the default of 16 or, 64, or 128. If the Core has not been upgraded to the number of tracks requested in the Core Properties, the design will fail to compile. Audio tracks can be divided between multiple Audio Players, as the system designer sees fit. The total number of Audio Player tracks in a Q-SYS design cannot exceed 16, 64 or 128 based on the options you have purchased.

IMPORTANT: If you play a multi-track file on the Audio Player, be sure that your Track Count for the Audio Player is set to the same number of tracks as your file. If not, the Audio Player plays only the first n number of tracks from the file.

Controls

Control	Function	Default/Range
Rewind	The Rewind button is a standard audio player type feature. Click and hold to move backwards in the file until you reach the location you want.	N/A
Play	The Play button starts playing the selected audio file from either the beginning, or from where it was paused. The Play indicator lights green when the file is playing.	Off/On
Fast Forward	The Fast Forward button is a standard audio player type feature. Click and hold to move forward in the file until you reach the location you want.	N/A
Stop	The Stop button stops playing the selected audio file. The file is reset to the beginning. The Stop indicator lights red when the file is stopped.	On/Off
Pause	The Pause button temporarily stops playing the selected file. The Pause indicator lights yellow when the file is paused. The must be playing (green Play indicator is lit) in order to pause the playback. You can resume playing the file by clicking either the Play or Pause buttons.	Off/On
Loop	The Loop button allows continuous playing of the selected file. The Loop indicator illuminates white when the button is engaged. To discontinue the looping, click the Loop button again. NOTE: Do not use the Loop function in conjunction with a periodically scheduled Event. Doing so will cause the Audio Player to continue playing even though the Event is complete.	Off/On
Auto Play	Enables the selected file to begin playing when the design is saved to the Core and run.	Off/On
Gain (dB)	The Gain knob controls the output gain of the Audio Player.	Default = 0 Range = -100 to 20
Mute	The Mute button mutes the output of the Audio Player, the file continues to play.	Off/On
Time	The Time display indicates how long the file has been playing, including any silence at the beginning or end of the file. The format is HH:MM:SS. The Time readout will stop when the Pause button is engaged, and is reset to zero when the Stop button is engaged.	00:00:00
Remaining	The Remaining display indicates the play-time remaining for the current audio file, including any silence at the beginning or end of the file. The format is HH:MM:SS. The Remaining readout will stop when the Pause button is engaged, and is reset to the total play-time of the selected file when the Stop button is engaged.	nn:nn:nn (length of file)
Status	Displays information about the file currently playing. For example: OK: 44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo OK: 16kHz, 16-bit, mono Invalid or corrupt file	N/A
Root	Sets the root directory to any of the existing directories. This restricts the available Directories and Files to that which exists beneath the selected Root directory. There is a blank line at the top of the Root drop-down to remove the filter for the Directory drop-down. When the filter is removed, the Directory drop-down displays all directories and sub-directories containing audio files. If for some reason, the Root directory specified by the Audio File Player no longer exists, this field turns red, along with the Directory and File fields.	N/A
Directory	With nothing selected in Root, this drop-down list displays all directories and sub-directories on the Core containing valid audio files. The Audio Files directory is selected by default. When you select a directory from the list, the File drop-down list is filtered to display only the files in the selected subdirectory. If you select a different directory when a file is playing, and the file is not in the selected subdirectory, the file stops playing and the Status displays "Missing file". If the file is in the newly selected directory, the file stops playing, Status is OK, you must click the Play button to continue playing the file. If for some reason, the Directory specified in this field by the Audio File Player no longer exists, this field turns red, along with the File field.	N/A
File	Enter the name of the file you wish to play - filename.ext or use the drop-down list to display the available files, and select the one you want to play. The drop-down list displays any audio files in selected Directory. If you select a new file during playback of another, playback stops. The new file does not begin to play until the Play button is clicked. If a file is playing, and the name of the file is changed, or the file is deleted or corrupted, the Audio Player stops playback and the File field turns red. The Audio Player continues to look for the file, and if it is found, the status is updated, but playback does not start until the Play button is pressed.	N/A
Playlist	This field is available when the Playlist Capable Property is set to Yes. Use the drop-down list to display the available Playlists, and select the one you want to play. You must click the Play button to begin playback. In addition to selecting Playlists, you can select <All Files> or <None>. <All Files> plays all the files in the directory selected in the Directory field and in any subdirectories of the selected directory. <None> allows you to select a file in the File field. When you select anything other than <None>, the File field is not accessible. To create a Playlist, refer to the Administrator > Audio Files tab topic.	<None> <All Files> User defined Playlist names
Shuffle	Click this button if you want the files in the Playlist played in a random order. If the Repeat button is selected, when all the files in a Playlist have been played, they are re-shuffled and played again. If you do not click the Shuffle button, the files play in the order they are listed in the Playlist. When you change the playlist, a different random sequence is used.	Off/On
Repeat	Click this button if you want the Playlist to repeat playback in the order in which the files are listed. The repeat playback continues until you stop it.	Off/On
First	Click this button to go to the first file in the Playlist order or Shuffle order.	N/A
Prev	Click this button to play the previous file in Playlist order or Shuffle order. If the current song is the first in either order, this button is inactive.	N/A
Next	Click this button to play the next file in Playlist order or Shuffle order. If the current song is the last in either order, this button is inactive.	N/A

Control

Function

Default/Range

Rewind

The Rewind button is a standard audio player type feature. Click and hold to move backwards in the file until you reach the location you want.

N/A

Play

The Play button starts playing the selected audio file from either the beginning, or from where it was paused. The Play indicator lights green when the file is playing.

Off/On

Fast Forward

The Fast Forward button is a standard audio player type feature. Click and hold to move forward in the file until you reach the location you want.

N/A

Stop

The Stop button stops playing the selected audio file. The file is reset to the beginning. The Stop indicator lights red when the file is stopped.

On/Off

Pause

The Pause button temporarily stops playing the selected file. The Pause indicator lights yellow when the file is paused. The must be playing (green Play indicator is lit) in order to pause the playback. You can resume playing the file by clicking either the Play or Pause buttons.

Off/On

Loop

The Loop button allows continuous playing of the selected file. The Loop indicator illuminates white when the button is engaged. To discontinue the looping, click the Loop button again.

NOTE: Do not use the Loop function in conjunction with a periodically scheduled Event. Doing so will cause the Audio Player to continue playing even though the Event is complete.

Off/On

Auto Play

Enables the selected file to begin playing when the design is saved to the Core and run.

Off/On

Gain

(dB)

The Gain knob controls the output gain of the Audio Player.

Default = 0

Range = -100 to 20

Mute

The Mute button mutes the output of the Audio Player, the file continues to play.

Off/On

Time

The Time display indicates how long the file has been playing, including any silence at the beginning or end of the file. The format is HH:MM:SS. The Time readout will stop when the Pause button is engaged, and is reset to zero when the Stop button is engaged.

00:00:00

Remaining

The Remaining display indicates the play-time remaining for the current audio file, including any silence at the beginning or end of the file. The format is HH:MM:SS. The Remaining readout will stop when the Pause button is engaged, and is reset to the total play-time of the selected file when the Stop button is engaged.

nn:nn:nn

(length of file)

Status

Displays information about the file currently playing.

For example:

OK: 44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo
OK: 16kHz, 16-bit, mono
Invalid or corrupt file

N/A

Root

Sets the root directory to any of the existing directories. This restricts the available Directories and Files to that which exists beneath the selected Root directory.

There is a blank line at the top of the Root drop-down to remove the filter for the Directory drop-down. When the filter is removed, the Directory drop-down displays all directories and sub-directories containing audio files.

If for some reason, the Root directory specified by the Audio File Player no longer exists, this field turns red, along with the Directory and File fields.

N/A

Property	Function	Choices
Track Count	Sets the number of output tracks for the Component. The maximum number of tracks you can specify is based on purchased options. The standard is feature is 1 - 16 tracks; upgrade to 1 - 64 and upgrade to 1 - 128 tracks. If you add Audio Players with a total track count greater than this setting, your design will not compile. If the Track Count is 1, and you play a multi-track audio file, only one track from the audio file is played. The file's tracks are not summed. If the Track Count is 2 or more, and you play a mono audio file, Track 1 of the Audio Player carries the mono signal, all other tracks are silent.	1 - 128
Player Name	User-defined name for the Audio Player. When the Audio Player component is placed into the Schematic, the default name displayed is "Audio Player". If you enter a name in the Player Name property, for example "First", the name of the component displayed in the Schematic changes to "Audio Player First". If you select the component in the Schematic and type something, the displayed name changes to what you typed. This has no effect on the Player Name in the Properties.	User defined
Playlist Capable	Determines if you can play any existing Playlists with this Audio Player.	Yes / No

Pin Name	Value	String	Position	Pins Available
All Files	N/A	text array of all files ¹	N/A	Output
Auto Play on Startup	0 1	false true	0 1	Input / Output
Directory	N/A	text - list of directories and subdirectories	N/A	Input / Output
Fast Forward				Input / Output
File Name	N/A	text - name and path of file	N/A	Input / Output
Gain	-100 to 20	-100 dB to 20 dB	0.000 1.000	Input / Output
Location ²	Input values are in seconds. Maximum number depends of audio file size.	Input
Loop	0 1	false true	0 1	Input / Output
Mute	0 1	unmute mute	0 1	Input / Output
Pause Trigger	trigger	Input / Output
Paused LED	0 1	false true	0 1	Output
Play Trigger	trigger	Input / Output
Playing LED	0 1	false true	0 1	Output
Playlist	N/A	text - name of playlist	N/A	Input / Output
Playlist First	trigger	Input / Output
Playlist Next	trigger	Input / Output
Playlist Previous	trigger	Input / Output
Playlist Repeat	0 1	false true	0 1	Input / Output
Playlist Shuffle	0 1	false true	0 1	Input / Output
Remaining	N/A	HH:MM:SS (total length of selected file)	N/A	Output
Root	N/A	text - lists available subdirectories	N/A	Input / Output
Status	N/A	text - lists status of player	N/A	Output
Stop Trigger	trigger	Input / Output
Stopped LED	0 1	false true	0 1	Output
Time	N/A	HH:MM:SS	N/A	Output
1. This is an array control that contains a list of all of the files under the Root Directory. It is intended to be wired to a Control Script component to create scripts for play lists, and so on. In the script you use Controls.Inputs[1].Strings. (Note that "Strings" is plural because it returns an array rather than " String", which returns just one string). 2. Connect a script or custom control to the Location Control pin. The input is the total number of seconds from the beginning of the file to the point you want to start playing the file, then press Start. If the file is playing, you can move to that point and the file continues to play. If you enter a number of seconds that exceeds the playtime of the file, an error message is displayed.

1. This is an array control that contains a list of all of the files under the Root Directory. It is intended to be wired to a Control Script component to create scripts for play lists, and so on. In the script you use Controls.Inputs[1].Strings. (Note that "Strings" is plural because it returns an array rather than " String", which returns just one string).

2. Connect a script or custom control to the Location Control pin. The input is the total number of seconds from the beginning of the file to the point you want to start playing the file, then press Start. If the file is playing, you can move to that point and the file continues to play. If you enter a number of seconds that exceeds the playtime of the file, an error message is displayed.

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Audio Player Component

Controls

Properties

Control Pins