As is demonstrated in this answer, I have recently learned how to play audio files using both AVAudioPlayer and AudioToolbox. I have successfully played a single audio test file using both methods. However, I want to ask about which one I should actually use in my app (or if it even matters).
Here are the relevant characteristics of my app:
- There are about 800 audio clips.
- Most of the clips last less than one second.
- Any could be chosen to be played at random by the user, but only a small subset will be used on any particular run.
- No special volume control or playback options are needed.
These are my questions:
- Which method for playing a sound would be better? Why?
- Should I preload the sounds or just load them when they are needed? I'm guessing that preloading 800 sounds every time is a bad idea. But if I wait to load them until they are needed, I am worried about performance (ie, a noticeable pause before the clip is played)
- Do I need to play sounds on a background thread?
So my concerns in choosing which audio player to go with are memory and performance. I couldn't tell from any of the documentation that I saw which is better in this case.
