Audio Player not working on Pro Version

[1Tim4_12]

I recently updated to the pro version of Weebly.  However, when I tried to use the audio feature under the "media" section of the build elements, it didn't work.  Why is that?  Is there a way to get this paid feature to work?

[MJCS]

What is the address of your website, @1Tim4_12.

[Brodie]

@1Tim4_12, I didn't find the media page you're referring to on the Pro site in the account associated with your Community profile. Let us know what site you're referring to and the page name, and we can look into it for you.

[1Tim4_12]

Sorry for the confusion!  I meant the Audio app within the Build elements.  

[Adam7]

Thanks for clarifying, @1Tim4_12. When you say it doesn't work, how is it not working? Are you unable to upload an audio file to it, or does it not work on your live site?

[1Tim4_12]

@Adam Both.  Sometimes it won't upload a file.  Other times it looks like it uploads, but then doesn't work on the live site.

[Adam7]

Hmm... Have you tried switching to another browser temporarily to upload?

[1Tim4_12]

No.  Do you think that doing so would be really necessary?

[Queso]

Hey there! Changing browsers can help narrow down the cause of the issue, which lets us reproduce and troubleshoot it much more easily. If you're able, it would be a great help.

[swegner953]

We've been having similar issues with the Audio Player element of our website. (We also are on the Pro plan.) The files upload just fine, and on a laptop or desktop, they play back wonderfully. However, when you go to listen to them on a mobile device, it is very hard to hear, and the recording is drowned out by static.

This is the case, regardless of phone type or browser - we've tried it with iPhones, iPads, and Android devices, as well as on Safari and Chrome. It's especially frustrating given that the large bulk of our traffic comes from mobile devices. So hopefully, there is a solution to this!

The page in question is http://www.zionwayside.org/sermons.html

Thank you so much for all of your help!

[MJCS]

Hi @swegner953,

I have a solution to your problem. When I'm not playing with websites, I'm a music teacher with a strength in music technology - so audio engineering is something I'm familiar with.

The problem is that your stereo recording has been mixed so that 1 channel (left for example) is out of phase with the other (right for example). I can't say for certain where this has happened - i.e. during the recording or through some processing done after that, but this is what is causing your issue - not Weebly's player.

I downloaded your file (he_is_risen___4.16.17_.mp3 [21.8MB or 21,752,778 bytes]) from your site and have opened it in the free software Audacity. I can see when I zoom in on the audio wave that the left and right channels are the same and are therefore cancelling each other out to a large degree. However when I split the stereo track and invert one (it doesn't matter which one - left or right - but only one) the audio clarity is improved and no longer sounds like it's being fed through a phone line.

Before:

After I split the track and inverted one channel:

Although you say the files playback wonderfully on laptops or desktops I found it to be thin and unbalanced - I think you'll find they sound much better after the inversion. Please listen to this file which is an example of before and after my suggested edit:

he-is-risen - fixed example.mp3

At some point in the recording process there is an issue with a crossed stereo signal or a mono feed being changed to stereo incorrectly. Something is out of phase. I can't be more specific than that, I'm sorry. Whoever set up your audio gear needs to check your lines and processes up to the mastering of the recording.

The solution is to edit each of your recordings (the ones that have this problem) so that one channel is inverted. I suggest you have your audio engineer put all the files in a folder and use Audacity (or whatever software they normally use) to fix the problem. See example process below:

• Open the file
• Split Stereo Track
• Select one track only
• Effect>Invert
• File>Export Audio...

I hope this can be done as a batch with some help from this web page: 

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/chains_for_batch_processing_and_effects_automation.html 

otherwise it could take a while.

Please let me know if I can be of any help with the above.

Best of luck, Mark

[swegner953]

Thank you so much!

After spending some time messing around with it tonight, I was able to follow your advice, and it sounds amazing! The audio is much fuller and more balanced, and it plays clearly on all of our devices! Thank you!!!

Right now, we have our recording coming off of only one output channel on our soundboard because of limited space. I'm guessing that is part of what is causing the issue. Unfortunately, we are limited in our output channels, so we aren't able to pull off two, but would the problem be resolved if we just recorded in mono from now on?

Again, thank you! I appreciate your expertise!

[MJCS]

Hi @swegner953,

glad to hear that - you shouldn't have any problems with mono - particularly as it's only one voice - so stereo is not totally necessary.

Check that the channel panning on your desk is not set all the way to the left or right - that may have caused the problem too.

Cheers, Mark

[Singer1]

I, also, am having this problem with the Weebly Audio App on the "Build" page.  I have the PRO version.  When I add the file, it appears to be uploading and shows up on the player icon but it won't play.  I've tried uploading the MP3 files on both Google Chrome and Windows Edge.  Same results. What am I missing?

Web Page is:  Charts & Tracks - Welcome to the Valentine City Chorus

[Singer1]

...also tried on Windows 7 and Windows 10.

[Bernadette3]

Hi @Singer1 Do you happen to know the file size you are trying to upload?