Audio Doesn't Work in HTML Widget After Book is Published

Question

Audio Doesn't Work in HTML Widget After Book is Published

I'm trying to publish a children's book that's we've created using iBook Author 2.0 (327). We've spent a lot of time building custom HTML widgets using Dashcode to make the book fun. Most of the widgets include interactive HTML as well as audio played via javascript using a video element. We're having trouble with the audio working in our widgets, but only in books that are downloaded from the book store.

When we PREVIEW the book from IBA, everything works great on the iPad. We've tested on multiple devices, with varying versions of iOS. Widgets work great, sound files play, etc.

When we EXPORT the book to an .ibooks file, and install using Dropbox, things also work on the iPad.

When we upload to the store using iTunes Producer, things validate properly, and we've (interestingly enough) even made it all the way through the review process. However we noticed that when we download the book from the market (we used a promo code), none of the sound in our HTML widgets work. We attached the iPhone configuration utility to the iPad to see if there was any kind of error being printed on the console. Sure enough we saw the following:

Feb 27 00:31:49 Davids-iPad iBooks[103] <Error>: <<<< FigPluginView >>>> -[FigPluginView validationFailedWithMessage:resultCode:]: unplayable URL (file://localhost/var/mobile/Media/Books/Purchases/-4590655459692659582.ibooks/ OPS/assets/widgets/TouchAndHear-1.wdgt/Images/tree.mp3) (error=0 -- Movie could not be played.)

I've verified everything in the file URL path that I have control over is indeed in the .ibooks file that I uploaded using ITP. Specifically, "/OPS/assets/widgets/TouchAndHear-1.wdgt/Images/tree.mp3" is definitely there before things get published.

I've got a request in to Apple, but things are moving quite slowly on that front, with no visibility and it's driving me nuts 🙂.

I see other books on the market that were made with IBA and also have audio in the HTML widgets (e.g., "Animals Around the World"). Is there some kind of trick to exporting and packaging that I'm missing?

Thanks for any hints!

iBook, iOS 6.1

Posted on Mar 4, 2013 8:51 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

WillieWinkieBooks Author

Level 1

0 points

Mar 18, 2013 9:59 PM in response to WillieWinkieBooks

Just thought I'd post the final resolution to this problem. It turns out that Apple recommends M4A files for audio in widgets. If you use MP3, the widget will work in your book preview from IBA, but will NOT work when published to the iBookstore.

Short story is, if you do custom widgets, use M4A for your audio encoding! After re-encoding all of our audio in all of our widgets, we finally work (see http://bit.ly/WsXNfL).

Good luck and thanks to Apple for helping to resolve this issue.

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Answer 2

catonpub

Level 1

8 points

Jun 21, 2014 1:36 PM in response to WillieWinkieBooks

Hello,

I just read your post and the answer. I am having the same problem with no success from apple for the solution.

Did you do your widgets using tumult hype? I creating my widgets there and tried to use the M4V audio but they did not accept them. They only accept MP3 which is my problem, I guess.

Do you have any suggestions on how to solve this?

Thanks

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Answer 3

catonpub

Level 1

8 points

Jun 24, 2014 5:39 AM in response to catonpub

Hello,

I just read your post and the answer. I am having the same problem with no success from apple for the solution.

Did you do your widgets using tumult hype? I creating my widgets there and tried to use the M4A audio but they did not accept them. They only accept MP3 which is my problem, I guess.

Do you have any suggestions on how to solve this?

Reply

Answer 4

sasgrw

Level 1

0 points

Jun 24, 2014 11:58 AM in response to WillieWinkieBooks

Uh oh. We just submitted a book that has custom widgets that play mp3 files using the <audio> tag. From javascript, I call the play() method of the audio tag. (I have one <audio> tag and I change the source to different sound files.) As Willie posted in the original description, our testing of the generated .ibooks file works great on all ipad flavors. We are not at the point yet where it exists on the ibookstore so that we can test the download.

Won't the Apple review of the book test this? It'd be so easy to write a tool that scans for mp3 files if those are not allowed. But that doesn't explain why it works in testing but not from the ibookstore.

My .wdgt folders were created by hand. I hand write the html and javascript and just put all the right files in the .wdgt folder. Everything appears to be working great, thus our submission the other day. We're waiting on the 10 day feedback period.

So, catonpub, your book plays mp3 and works fine when testing the .ibooks file but doesn't work when downloaded from itunes?

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