Adding audio to your website with HTML5

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

With all the furore around the HTML5 video element, the poor audio element sits in the background wondering what it’s done wrong to receive so little attention. So in an attempt to redress the balance, I’m going to show you how you can stream audio to your website visitors without any additional plugins.

As with the video element, in the past the only method of embedding audio files into a web page was to use Flash or another third-party plugin. There simply was no other way. With the introduction of the audio element, this has changed.

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How to connect your PC to your hi-fi

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

It appears there’s some confusion, even among a few of my colleagues, about audio and PC speakers and amplifiers and stuff like that. Specifically, whether you can plug a PC into normal stereo speakers, whether it will work if you do and how to do it. We’ll start with a few simple facts in handy question-and-answer format.

Can I use normal living-room stereo speakers with my PC?

Probably not directly, but essentially yes. There’s no fundamental difference between PC speakers and normal speakers, except that PC speakers have a built-in amplifier. To use standard hi-fi stereo speakers you just need an amplifier to drive them. So, either get yourself a separate hi-fi amp and speakers, or take the cheap option and plug your PC into the stereo in the living room.

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