Forum Discussion
Audio Desync / Loading
Thank you very much for your replies!
ThierryEMMANUEL I very much agree that this problem is hard to nail down. The course I just finished had several modules split up into different Storyline projects, and only a couple of them had this issue. Also, I don't tend to see it on my end, even when published, but a colleague of mine who is testing on a wifi connection, certainly is. Since not everyone taking the final course will have the best internet connection or devices available, I'm actually thankful for this test.
Unfortunately the timeframe doesn't allow for me to downgrade my storyline version on all these modules and retest things, especially since I took advantage of some of those newer features you mentioned, but I appreciate the insight that it may be related to newer versions.
StevenBenassi Thanks very much for the insight on how Storyline loads these files. I am a bit surprised that the method of combining all the audio into one strip is suggested. I would have figured having a few smaller clips would be easier for them to load in, especially if they are loaded right when the timeline gets to them, and not all preloaded when the slide is loaded.
For example if I have a timeline with 3 short clips on it, say one at 0.5s one at 5 seconds and one at 10 seconds, the 5 and 10 clips wouldn't be loaded in until those respective times yes? So in that case, wouldn't it be better for those clips to be smaller, so they will load faster, rather than one long clip loaded at 0.5 seconds, that would take longer to load and thus increase the amount of time it is desynced from the rest of the timeline?
The rest of your suggestions make sense, and I typically do most of those, and while they help, they don't mitigate it entirely.
I did want to ask, if as you say the audio is loaded as the system encounters each clip on the timeline, what about situations where I do have several clips that are handled by a trigger? The way those clips present on the timeline, is as a 'Show Always' clip, filling the length of the timeline. Are these clips all loaded in the begging of the slide, and would all those clips trying to load a the beginning, throw off the clip that is not triggered by a button to be delayed? Something like this:
I have a hunch this is true, as most of the slides that encountered this issue did have a similar setup, or had really long clips (over 30s) that I figure are taking longer to load in, than the shorter clips.
I will certainly try the 'one long clip' method in my next project, to see how that goes.
Hey MatthewMills-20,
This is a great breakdown of what you're seeing, and your logic absolutely makes sense.
Where things get tricky is that Storyline doesn’t strictly load audio "just-in-time" at the exact moment it appears on the Timeline. This is especially apparent when publishing to SCORM and distributing through an LMS.
While it appears clips at 5s and 10s should only load when the playhead reaches them, the browser/LMS may begin requesting multiple media assets for the Slide as soon as it initializes. This isn’t strictly sequential or optimized per clip timing. It’s more dependent on how the Player and browser queue network requests. So even if clips appear later on the Timeline, they can still compete for bandwidth early on, especially in LMS environments.
Also, each audio clip requires its own file request. In an LMS context, that means:
- Frequent HTTP requests.
- More potential latency per file.
- More chances for slight delays to stack or overlap.
That’s why combined audio can perform more reliably, even if the file is larger. It can help reduce the number of requests and eliminate timing gaps between clips.
Audio that appears as “Show Always” on the Timeline (even if it’s Triggered later) is still part of the Slide’s media assets. In many cases, those files are requested right when the Slide loads. Not when the Trigger fires. Having several Triggered clips, plus a Timeline-based clip that needs to start immediately, can cause conflict. As they may compete at the start, which can delay that first clip and throw off timing.
Having said that, please let us know if the extended clip design works for you!