SDPlayer Overview

SDPlayer is an audio player designed for iPhones, iPads, and Apple-silicon computers capable of running iOS applications. Originally tailored for square dance "tape groups," the app can be used by anyone wishing to play audio files from playlists created in the Apple Music app or stored directly in the device file system.

SDPlayer allows users to set a tip timer to manage dancer rotation, and to adjust audio speed while preserving pitch, matching the dancing floor's comfort level.

Startup Process

Upon launch, the app shows a splash screen before displaying the audio source selection interface. Available source selection options include:

Music Library Playlists

Tap this button to view custom playlists you've created within Apple Music. After selecting a playlist and audio file, the selected track will load into SDPlayer. Within SDPlayer, you can easily navigate forwards and backwards through playlist items, or select another song by returning to the playlist.

Select Audio Files

Tap this button to open a document picker displaying files stored on your device. For iPhones and iPads, uploading audio files to iCloud from a computer is usually the simplest method for making files available to SDPlayer. Organize your files into folders, navigate to them via the picker, select your desired files to create an ad-hoc playlist, and tap "Open." Once loaded into SDPlayer, navigation is similar to that of Music Library playlists.

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SDPlayer Interface Elements

From top to bottom, the SDPlayer interface includes:

Continuous Play

Title Block

Mark Block

Line 1:
  • 'Set Mark' button sets a bookmark at the current audio file position, whether playing or paused.
  • Time Display shows the bookmark position.
  • 'To Mark' button returns playback to the bookmarked position.
Line 2:
  • A stepper control allows precise bookmark adjustments in one-second increments.

Play/Progress Block

Line 1, Playback Controls:
  • Central Play/Stop button (green when stopped, red when playing).
  • Rewind controls: double arrow rewinds 15 seconds; single arrow rewinds 1 second.
  • Forward controls: single arrow advances 1 second; double arrow advances 15 seconds.
  • The Play/Stop button also starts the tip timer if enabled, but does not stop the timer when playback ends (see Tip Management Block below).
Line 2, Progress Bar:

The Progress Bar provides a visual indicator of playback position within the audio file.

Line 3, Timers:
  • Left: elapsed time since playback began from the current bookmark.
  • Middle: total elapsed playback time from the file's start.
  • Right: total duration of the audio file.

Tip Management Block

Line 1:
  • Reset Button: resets the timer to the displayed value below it.
  • Stepper: adjusts timer value in one-minute increments. After adjusting, press "Reset" to apply the new timer setting.
  • Start/Stop Button: starts (green "Start") or stops (red "Stop") the timer countdown.
  • Starting playback via the Play/Stop button in the Play/Progress Block above will also start the timer countdown if the timer is active, but will not stop the timer upon stopping playback. Use the dedicated Stop button to halt the timer.
Line 2:
  • Timer Display (left): shows current timer countdown setting.
  • On/Off Toggle (center): enables (green, slider right) or disables (gray, slider left) timer functionality.
Timer Expiration: Upon timer expiration, three audible dings sound, and the screen turns orange to signal the end of the rotation period. Pressing the "Reset" button returns the screen to its original white color. If timer functionality is unwanted, disable it using the toggle.

Volume/Speed Block

Includes controls for audio volume and playback speed: