Re: Audio Volume API?

Dominique Hazael-Massieux wrote:
> Hi,
>
> As a follow-up to my mobile web app state document [1], someone asked if
> there is any work around getting/setting audio volume from within the
> Web environment. The use case would be for instance to produce haptic or
> visual feedback instead of audio when muted.
>
> I don't think there is any such work, and I don't believe it is in scope
> of the proposed new Audio WG [2] (but I would appreciate feedback, e.g.
> from Doug, if it actually is).
>
> Should we consider this as part of our rechartering discussions?
>

I'd steer clear of being able to set volume from a website. I think 
users are capable of adjusting the volume themselves. It's a well-known 
hardware paradigm that pre-dates computing. Also, when my headphones are 
plugged in, anything above 20% volume causes my ear drums to explode. 
Anything above 80% would result in certain death so I'd prefer to choose 
when that occurs myself ;)

For getting audio I can see some uses though I'm wary of whether those 
are in the interest of users or whether the web experience will be 
improved with such an addition.

Spotify desktop apps don't allow users to mute advertisements. If the 
app detects muted volume it pauses the ad. When it detects that some 
volume has been restored then the ad resumes playing. In that model ads 
are unskippable and we'd effectively be opening up both the good and the 
evil of that functionality for the web.

I'd prefer not to tackle either case in our recharter based on those use 
cases.

- Rich


> Dom
>
> 1. http://www.w3.org/2011/02/mobile-web-app-state.html
> 2. http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-new-work/2011Jan/0000.html
>
>

Received on Tuesday, 8 March 2011 14:30:25 UTC