Play sound clip in Windows Phone 8 - xaml

Question

I'm trying to do something that I thought would be pretty simple, but its not proving that way. I want to play a sound clip from a URI that I'm obtaining from an API. The URI provides an absolute URI to the audio clip.
I've tried using the MediaElement component and that works, except it hangs the UI while the clip is downloading/playing. This means a poor user experience and probably wouldn't get past store certification either.
I've also tried the SoundEffect class from the XNA framework, but that complains about an absolute URI – it seems this only works with relative links and thus wont suffice.
I'm wondering what other options I have for playing a sound clip in a windows phone 8 app that wont hang the UI
Any suggestions welcomed.
Thanks

Answer 1

Using media files on a network or the Internet is going to add latency to the app. You can't start playing the media until the phone has loaded the file. Use the MediaElement.MediaOpened to determine when the media is ready, then call .Play();
Of course, you need to let the users know that the media is downloading. My example uses the SystemTray ProgressIndicator to show the user a message.
XAML
<Grid x:Name="ContentPanel"
Grid.Row="1"
Margin="12,0,12,0">
<StackPanel>
<Button x:Name='PlayButton'
Click='PlayButton_Click'
Content='Play Media' />
<MediaElement x:Name='media1'
MediaOpened='Media1_MediaOpened'
AutoPlay='False' />
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
CODE
private void Media1_MediaOpened(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) {
// MediaOpened event occurs when the media stream has been
// validated and opened, and the file headers have been read.
ShowProgressIndicator(false);
media1.Play();
}
private void PlayButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e) {
// the SystemTray has a ProgressIndicator
// that you can use to display progress during async operations.
SystemTray.ProgressIndicator = new ProgressIndicator();
SystemTray.ProgressIndicator.Text = "Acquiring media - OverTheTop.mp3 ";
ShowProgressIndicator(true);
// Get the media
media1.Source =
new Uri(#"http://freesologuitar.com/mps/DonAlder_OverTheTop.mp3",
UriKind.Absolute);
}
private static void ShowProgressIndicator(bool isVisible) {
SystemTray.ProgressIndicator.IsIndeterminate = isVisible;
SystemTray.ProgressIndicator.IsVisible = isVisible;
}