Implementing Music - Loading problems

[soilride]

Ok this is my "first" help me out post - since I've been on this site for a little while and I've searched the forums and tutorials... So here goes...

I was working on a "simple" flash banner - that displays my text and image. Its about 5kb. I even have a preloader for it...and it all works pretty nice and stuff.

My problem is that I decided I wanted to add sound to this banner with a play and stop button. I wanted to play an mp3 that I had created - which is just a few seconds over 2 minutes long. Well...on my computer - it works dandy...even though my little banner is now 1300 some kbs heavier. When I go and upload it to my site...the banner never loads. Even the preloader never comes on. [the code et al. to play the music begins after the preloader finishes loading the movie] And I am on broadband connection here.

Is it because my banner is ridiculously too large? I am assuming it is.

I guess my next question is - what is the best way of implementing music [in the future I would like to load more than one mp3] in my .swf movie? I do have a separate .swf file that contains my music buttons and the actionscript code. Is it possible for me to load this .swf file into a movieclip using loadMovie? As of right now however, all my buttons and code for the music all is contained in my flash banner movie.

Anyways - thanks for checking this post out. If anyone can help - I'd appreciate it.

Peace.

[webguy]

Is it because my banner is ridiculously too large?

My answer would be yes. One of the first things flash does is download the music. Compressing the sound further by cutting it down in length and bit-rate will help.

what is the best way of implementing music

From my limited experience I find that it depends on the situation. If you have a list of mp3's that the user can listen to, then I would load them up like a juke-box. When the user calls on it, it is downloaded and plays.

If it is just for button rollOvers, I find that including them with the movie is often the most efficient.

But compression is important, because the size of the audio file is important. You don't want the user to download more than they absolutely have to.

Is it possible for me to load this .swf file into a movieclip using loadMovie?

Yes, many people use this format. You can do it this way, so everything is contained within itself. You can move it from library to library, reusing the movieClip as you need it.

[soilride]

Thanks webguy. Your response is appreciated.

I'll figure it out eventually.

Sincerely,