Support for custom audio (MP3) files

[Steveiwonder]

I'm trying to play short custom MP3 clips (hosted by Home Assistant) on
my Echo devices from automations via alexa_media_player.

Right now this is quite confusing and fragile:

• Using media_player.play_media with media_content_type: "music"
  causes Alexa to respond with "Direct music streaming isn't
  supported".
• Using notify.alexa_media with SSML <audio src="..."> and
  type: tts works only if I manually build a fully public, SSL URL
  that Amazon's cloud can reach (e.g. via Nabu Casa), and even then
  the YAML structure is easy to get wrong and error messages are not
  very clear.
• From the HA side it looks like I should be able to play a local
  /local/foo.mp3 the same way I can with Google/Chromecast, but
  Alexa's restrictions and the extra URL requirements aren't obvious.

The end result is: I'm always fighting the integration just to play a
simple "alert" sound MP3 for my automations, and it's not obvious what
is actually supported vs. blocked by Alexa.

---

Describe the solution you'd like

I'd love a first-class way in Alexa Media Player to play short custom
MP3s that are already in Home Assistant's /local (or media) folder,
without having to hand-craft SSML and external URLs.

Concretely, something like:

• A dedicated service or notification type (e.g. type: sound or
  type: mp3) that:
  • Accepts either a local path (/local/my_file.mp3 or a media
    source) or a relative filename.
  • Automatically rewrites this to an Alexa-compatible, publicly
    reachable URL (using the configured external URL / Nabu Casa
    URL).
  • Wraps it in the correct SSML <audio src="..."/> and uses the
    right notify.alexa_media semantics under the hood.
• Clear handling of "what Alexa can/can't do" for custom audio.
• A simple documented example.

---

Describe alternatives you've considered

• Plain TTS via type: tts (Alexa voice only).
• Amazon built-in sound library (amzn_sfx_...).
• media_player.play_media with local MP3 URL (results in error).
• Third-party services like VoiceMonkey.
• Writing a custom Alexa Skill.

[xelemorf]

I use pre-gererated TTS MP3 files with the following settings.

Sample rate: 24000;
Channel: Stereo;
Bit depth: 32 bits
Format Settings: "MP3 48kbps CBR"

Note: AMP does not work at the moment, it seems Amazon changed something again. Been broken since 2 days for me.

[StreamingStar]

Before an mp3 can be played via TTS it needs to be encoded to a format the echo can play and as far as I know be behind https and a location amazon can reach and be under a certain length.
I don't think you can play locally unless you give an external ip/web address that circles back to your local media.

My settings for ffmpeg are:
-vn -c:a libmp3lame -ab 48k -ar 16000 -f mp3

To play music at a request woukd need to encode on the fly.

Other option is a skill similar to plex

[Steveiwonder]

I have tested my files and they all work fine using the tooling for alexa.

I see this in the documentation

"with the exception of the audio tag"

This is what i would like to be resolved.

[StreamingStar]

I don't think there is a way to get around the external https url requirement as the amazon server needs to be able to reach the mp3. This is exactly the issue with Alexa speakers not working with Music Assistant.

[StreamingStar]

The MP3 must be hosted at an Internet-accessible HTTPS endpoint. HTTPS is required, and the domain hosting the MP3 file must present a valid, trusted SSL certificate. Self-signed certificates cannot be used.

The MP3 must not contain any customer-specific or other sensitive information.

The MP3 must be a valid MP3 file (MPEG version 2).

For your speech response, the audio file cannot be longer than 240 seconds.

The combined total time for all audio files in the outputSpeech property of the response cannot be more than 240 seconds.

The combined total time for all audio files in the reprompt property of the response cannot be more than 90 seconds.

The bit rate must be 48 kbps. Note that this bit rate gives a good result when used with spoken content, but is generally not a high enough quality for music.

The sample rate must be 22050Hz, 24000Hz, or 16000Hz.

[github-actions]

The issue has received no activity for 60 days and will be closed in a week.