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Certification

The Soundtrack SDK certification process ensures that partner applications meet our standards for quality, stability, and user experience. All applications built using the Soundtrack SDK must be certified by us before any public release. This page outlines the requirements and steps for certification and is only applicable to the Soundtrack SDK, not the Soundtrack API .

The process is designed from a customer-experience standpoint, where ease of use and reliability are critical.

The Certification Process

  • Self Certification: Before submitting for review, you must complete and pass all the self-certification tests outlined on this page.

  • Soundtrack's Review: Once you've completed the self-certification, we require two (2) units of your production hardware and the recorded results from your self-certification. Our team will then conduct the certification tests in an environment that mimics real-world usage.

  • Approval: Once your application passes our review, we will provide you with official approval, and your player is ready to be released.

Key Policies

  • Hardware Changes: A new certification process is required only if you change the device's underlying architecture.

  • Realistic Test Environment: The certification shall be conducted in an environment that is as close to the final customer setup as possible. For example, if the platform normally has other applications running in the background, they must also be running during the certification tests.

Glossary

  • Pair is Soundtrack lingo for connecting the Application with Soundtrack
  • Pairing code is the Soundtrack generated code needed for pairing the Application with Soundtrack's services
  • SDK is the APIs and library provided by Soundtrack
  • Application is the partner built application that contains the SDK

Certification

The following outlines the required test cases for self-certification. Passing all tests in this section is a prerequisite for submitting your hardware for official review. Before you begin testing, your hardware must already be able to successfully connect to the network, pair with a Soundtrack zone, and perform audio playback.

1.0 Playback control

This section outlines the required device behavior in response to playback commands. The requirements apply to all available control interfaces, including:

  • The Soundtrack web portal (mandatory)

  • Any application remote controls (if applicable)

  • Any physical hardware buttons on the device (if applicable)

Test Case Instructions Expected behaviour
1.1 Press skip track button Track skipped within one second, no music data shall be lost at the start of next song
1.2 Press pause button Track paused within one second
1.3 Press play button Track resumed within one second
1.4 Increase volume to max Volume set to max within one second
1.5 Decrease volume to zero Volume should be set to minimum within one second
1.6 Change playlist New playlist should start playing after current track is finished

2.0 Offline playback

This section covers the test cases for ensuring the device can play music correctly while offline.

Note

These tests are optional and can be skipped if your hardware does not support offline playback.

Test Case Instructions Expected behaviour
2.1 Cut off internet access while the device is powered on and playing music Music should keep playing and device should show as disconnected to the sound zone in our web portal
2.2 Enable internet access to the device again Music should keep playing and device should show as connected to the sound zone in our web portal
2.3 Start device without internet access Music should start playing when device is booted

3.0 Automatic updater

This section provides the test cases for verifying your automatic updater implementation. For implementation details please refer to Upgrade and Provisioning page. No instructions for the test cases are provided, but instead, the expected behaviours that must be met for your implementation to become certified.

Test Case Instructions Expected behaviour
3.1 - Contact Soundtrack API release channel endpoint every 15 minute
3.2 - Download the Player Library if a new version is available
3.3 - Upon a valid update download, the application must wait for the current song to finish if playback is active. It will then quit, install the update, and restart, restoring the exact playback state (playing or paused) from before the update
3.4 - If installation fails, fallback to a previous library version

4.0 Stability

This section provides test case for veriying the stability of the SDK integration made on your platform.

Test Case Instructions Expected behaviour
4.1 While the application is running, simulate a crash by unexpectedly killing its process. The watchdog should restart the application, and music should resume playing within 30 seconds.
4.2 Assign a schedule and let the application play music continuously for 7 days. Music should play uninterruptedly for the entire duration, and the application should remain responsive.

5.0 General

This section outlines test cases for core application functionality and user interactions that are not addressed in other specific categories.

Test Case Instructions Expected behaviour
5.1 Navigate to the application's troubleshooting or diagnostics view The view must accurately display the device's current status, including its pairing status, matching the actual state of the device.
5.2 Schedule a non active slot from your test account on the Soundtrack portal Your application and/or hardware display should show pause button as specified in the Playback Control page
5.3 Check for Soundtrack brand guidelines within your application. Material not in breach with Soundtrack guidelines.