Why is there a delay in the audio when playing a game?
The first thing to check is your internet connection. A slow connection speed can cause a delay in audio playback.
While we do preload most of the audio a game may use ahead of time, there are still a few things that can cause some audio delays / timing issues.
1. Using a Bluetooth/Wireless Speaker or Headphones
- In order to save battery life, Bluetooth devices may go to "sleep" when not actively playing audio. It may take some time to wake them up, and be ready to start receiving data.
- While your computer/device has preloaded the audio, there can still be a delay because of the time it takes to send that data to your Bluetooth device, and for it to process the data. This will most likely appear as the audio being out of sync with a video (ex. someone talking) or animations in a game.
Games most likely affected:
- Melody Playback
- Beat & Rhythm games (animations may appear out of sync)
- Any of the Virtual Instruments
- The "Sound Boards" (ex. Spooky Sound Effects)
2. Using a mobile or touch device, especially older iPads.
- Some devices may block us from "preloading" an audio track entirely, which means we can't load the audio until the button is clicked. This is intended to protect users from going over their monthly "data usage" limits (even if using WIFI), and is unfortunately not something we have control over.
- If you are experiencing a delay between when you press the button and when you hear the sound, please reach out to support@musicplay.ca, as there can be some ways to improve this. (Especially using virtual instruments).
3. If a full classroom of students load the game at once (15-20+), a few may start to fail. Try playing instead in small groups. You may need to wait up to 5 minutes for best results.