Thursday, September 25, 2008

Native Ogg playback with Firefox 3.1

I have added a new Javascript function to the Radio NZ site called Oggulate.

This function parses through pages that have Ogg download links and replaces them with a Play/Pause button. The button plays (and pauses) the Ogg file using Firefox 3.1's built in support for Ogg Vorbis.

The Oggulator can be activated by installing a small bookmarklet:

javascript:oggulate();

Clicking on the bookmarklet runs the function and gives you a nice page full of buttons to play Ogg. You will need one of the latest Firefox 3.1 builds for this to work.

The functionality in the script is rudimentary, and 3.1 is still in development, so don't expect it to be perfect. (I notice there is often a delay before playback starts for the first clip you play on a page, and I have had a few crashes and lock-ups).

This feature of the RNZ site is experimental at the moment, so I'm not able to offer support. It is primarily so people can test Firefox.

If anyone wants to add features or improve the function, I'll upload it (after reviewing the changes) so everyone can access them. webmaster at radionz dot co dot nz.

(NB: As at 2013 this feature is no longer supported.)

2 comments:

Nigel Ramsay said...

I tried adding a bookmarklet with a call to the oggulate() function, but no joy. Tried calling it on the www.radionz.co.nz homepage.

This is in Firefox 3.1b1pre on the Mac.

Got any tips?

Richard Hulse said...

You need to call it on a page with Ogg links like this one. You have to run it on each new page after it has loaded.