Playing Video | Media | Android Development Tutorial

Introduction

Playing videos in an Android application is a common requirement for many apps, whether for tutorials, entertainment, or educational purposes. This tutorial will guide you through the process of playing videos in an Android app using the VideoView and MediaPlayer classes.

Prerequisites

Before we start, ensure you have the following:

Android Studio installed.
Basic understanding of Android development.
A video file to play or a URL of a video.

Step 1: Setting Up the Project

Open Android Studio and create a new project. Choose "Empty Activity" as the template.

Step 2: Adding VideoView to Layout

Open the activity_main.xml file and add a VideoView to your layout.

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <VideoView
        android:id="@+id/videoView"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_centerInParent="true" />

</RelativeLayout>

Step 3: Configuring the VideoView in Java

Next, open MainActivity.java and configure the VideoView to play a video.

package com.example.playvideo;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.MediaController;
import android.widget.VideoView;
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity;

public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

        VideoView videoView = findViewById(R.id.videoView);
        String videoPath = "android.resource://" + getPackageName() + "/" + R.raw.sample;
        Uri uri = Uri.parse(videoPath);
        videoView.setVideoURI(uri);

        MediaController mediaController = new MediaController(this);
        videoView.setMediaController(mediaController);
        mediaController.setAnchorView(videoView);

        videoView.start();
    }
}

In this example, we assume you have a video file named sample.mp4 in the res/raw directory.

Step 4: Adding Video to Resources

If you haven't done so already, add your video file to the res/raw directory. Create the raw directory if it doesn't exist.

Step 5: Running the Application

Run your application on an emulator or a physical device. You should see the video playing with media controls available.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully integrated video playback into your Android application. This tutorial covered the basics of using VideoView and MediaPlayer to play videos. You can further explore advanced features and customizations as needed for your application.

Playing Video in Android Development