Develop Reference

Android MediaPlayer.start does not start

I have yet to find an answer to this.
I have a local file (R.raw.Bob); and I am trying to use MediaPlayer to play the file.
Sometimes it plays, sometimes it does not. I have another file which plays seemingly fine every time.
My activity flow is like this: In onCreate I do the following:
MediaPlayer mBackground = MediaPlayer.create(MainAct.this, R.raw.background);
mBackground.start(); // Works as expected.
Now in a different part of the activity I have the following:
MediaPlayer mBob= MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.Bob);
mBob.start();
And nothing occurs. I have used Log.i() and the execution goes through the relevant code but the file does not start.
Why does MediaPlayer sometimes work and sometimes does not, and is there a more reliable way of playing sound files?

Try this to start:
MediaPlayer mBob = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.Bob);
mBob.setOnPreparedListener(new MediaPlayer.OnPreparedListener() {
#Override
public void onPrepared(final MediaPlayer mp) {
mp.start();
}
});
and this to stop:
mBob.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
mp.stop();
}
});

Playing sounds in Android in certain order

In an Android app I am using MediaPlayer to play sound files.
This is just for personal use and will not be published.
I have several references to the sound files:
MediaPlayer dooropen = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.dooropen);
MediaPlayer doorclose = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.doorclose);
//...
For example the length of the dooropen sound clip is 2 seconds so after I play it I sleep for 2.5 seconds and then play the doorclose sound clip, like so
dooropen.start();
try{ Thread.sleep(2500); }catch(InterruptedException e){ }
doorclose.start();
The issue I am having is some of my sound files are not playing in the order I have them in.
There does not seem to be any reason why certain sound files do not play, because if I play them at the top of my onCreate() procedure they all play, it is only when I try and play them in a certain order.

You should implement the setOnCompletionListener() of the mediaplayer to get a callback when playback has completed and then load another audio file that needs to start playing.
See MediaPlayer Documentation about the mediaplayer state.

Yes you can use MediaPlayer along with oncompletionListener or you may try reseting the mediaplayer after one audio is completed. example code here. You may also use session id to keep track of which file was playing and which to start now.
mPlayer = new MediaPlayer();
//set other attributes here
mPlayer.setAudioSessionId(1);
mPlayer.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
//check which audio session was playing and set new datasource and session
mPlayer.reset();
//set other data source here and different session id
}
});
Hope it solves your problem.

If you want to play sound in order, try this:
mp1.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
mp2.start();
}
});
mp2.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
mp3.start();
}
});
mp3.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
mp1.start();
}
});

Android Media Player Release won't stop playing

Here's my scenario:
I have a timer that counts down from 20 seconds. At 13 seconds, a sound starts playing. At 0 seconds, I stop the current sound, load up a new sound and play that new sound. Once that sounds finishes, I load up the previous sound, set it to loop, and start it.
This is the logic for hitting 0 seconds:
mp.stop();
mp = MediaPlayer.create(mActivity, R.raw.second_sound);
mp.start();
mp.setOnCompletionListener(new OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
mp = MediaPlayer.create(mActivity, R.raw.first_sound);
mp.setLooping(true);
mp.start();
}
});
Once the last sound starts playing, calling mp.release() doesn't stop the player. Any ideas as to how to stop the player?
Note: mp.release() works during the first time I start playing and during the second sound but not during the looping sound.
Solution: My global MediaPlayer is also named "mp". Oops.

You're getting the mp MediaPlayer objects mixed up a little. If mp.release() is being called outside of the onCompletion() method, it is not referring to the looping instance created there. Change the identifiers in onCompletion() to refer to the "outer" mp. For example, if your code is in MainActivity:
mp.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener()
{
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp)
{
MainActivity.this.mp = MediaPlayer.create(MainActivity.this, R.raw.chirp);
MainActivity.this.mp.setLooping(true);
MainActivity.this.mp.start();
}
}
);

Why are you creating new media player every time and not releasing old one onCompltion? did you try setDataSource?

Android audio looping

Although a seasoned developer, I'm new to Android, and am wanting to develop an app to loop between user defineable sections of audio recorded via Android's mic in.
I'm wanting as low latency as possible when the loop point is hit (i.e. miminal time to seek the start point of the section and resume playback).
I'm after some general recommendations such as:
audio file format
which classes should I be considering for playback (e.g. soundpool, media player etc)
Thanks for any advice
Dave

You can use Media player and an OnCompletetionListener like this:
MediaPlayer mp;
mp = MediaPlayer.create(getApplicationContext(), R.raw.yoursound);
mp.setOnCompletionListener(new OnCompletionListener() {
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
mp.create(getApplicationContext(), R.raw.nextsound);
mp.prepare();
mp.start();
}
});
mp.prepare();
mp.start();
As for sound file types I've never noticed much of a difference between any of them. I tend to stick with .mp3 or .ogg though just because the file size tends to be smaller for those than for .wav.
Edit: Ahh I see, If you are wanting to play the whole audio file over and over you just need to call setLooping(true) like this:
MediaPlayer mp;
mp = MediaPlayer.create(getApplicationContext(), R.raw.yoursound);
mp.setLooping(true);
mp.prepare();
mp.start();
If you are trying to play the full audio file once, then loop some small section of it over and over you can use the .seekTo() method inside the completionlistener like this:
MediaPlayer mp;
mp = MediaPlayer.create(getApplicationContext(), R.raw.yoursound);
mp.setOnCompletionListener(new OnCompletionListener() {
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
mp = MediaPlayer.create(getApplicationContext(), R.raw.yoursound);
mp.seekTo(3000); //3 seconds in
mp.prepare();
mp.start();
}
});
mp.prepare();
mp.start();

Android MediaPlayer issue

I have followed the steps to create my media player object but I cant understand why it is not playing the music track. I used the following code:
mp = new MediaPlayer();
mp.create(this, R.raw.testmed);
mp.setVolume(100, 100);
mp.start();
but no sound is playing through the emulator, and furthermore when i check the method mp.isPlaying() it returns false. What have I missed?!
Many thanks

You have to call all methods necessary to actually start the player. Take a look at Android Media Player state diagram
I think you need to prepare the player before starting. When the player is prepared, it can be started. This is done through a onPreparedListener:
mp = new MediaPlayer();
mp.create(this, R.raw.testmed);
mp.setVolume(100, 100);
mp.setOnPreparedListener(this);
mp.prepare();
Then you will need to define this and it should work:
public void onPrepared(MediaPlayer player) {
mp.start();
}