Develop Reference

Set AudioStreamType for an audio file played from Resource (raw folder)

[First App] I am creating a sort of Alarm app that allows user to select alarm sound from either sd-card or app-supplied sounds. Since, the app essentially plays alarms, I want the volume to be 'alarm volume' of the device. I am able to achieve this for sd card sounds. But, I am unable to setAudioStreamType for raw resource sounds.
I am using following code :
MediaPlayer m_player = new MediaPlayer();
m_player.setAudioStreamType(AudioManager.STREAM_ALARM);
switch (bin_name) { //bin_name = various user selectable music files
default:
m_player = MediaPlayer.create(context, R.raw.blu);
break;
}
m_player.setLooping(true);
m_player.start();
My blu.mp3 plays at media volume only. Upon checking the documentation for MediaPlayer.create(Context context, int resid), I found this :
Note that since prepare() is called automatically in this method, you cannot change the audio stream type (see setAudioStreamType(int)), audio session ID (see setAudioSessionId(int)) or audio attributes (see setAudioAttributes(AudioAttributes) of the new MediaPlayer.
I also tried finding code samples for above method but none of them showed how to set AudioStreamType to AudioManager.STEAM_ALARM. I will accept answers with alternative ways that simply play the sound with infinite loop. How to achieve this ?

As the documentation you are referring to says, you must create and prepare the MediaPlayer yourself. Haven't tried with the STREAM_ALARM but I'm using following snippet to play on STREAM_VOICE_CALL
Uri uri = Uri.parse("android.resource://com.example.app/" + R.raw.hdsweep);
MediaPlayer mMediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer();
mMediaPlayer.setAudioStreamType(AudioManager.STREAM_VOICE_CALL);
mMediaPlayer.setDataSource(context, uri);
mMediaPlayer.prepare();
mMediaPlayer.start()

I cannot change a video using MediaPlayer without reseting

I am working with streaming video and I want to change from one source to another dinamically.
First I set the video uri to the VideoView
view.setVideoURI(myUri);
And I know that I am capable of changing it afterwards by doing (this is in onPrepare method but it could go somewhere else where I have access to the MediaPlayer).
#Override
public void onPrepared(MediaPlayer mp)
{
Uri newUri = getOtherUri();
mp.reset();
mp.setDataSource(getApplicationContext(), newUri);
mp.prepare();
mp.start();
}
The thing is, I want to change the source without reseting the mediaPlayer (I do not want to disturb the user).
I tried to create a new VideoView with the new Uri and then change one object for the other, and likewise with the media player. However, none of that seems to work.
Is it possible to replace a video while it is playing in Android?
Any comments would be appreciated.

There is no option to reset the video without using mediaplayer.stopPlayback() or mediaplayer.reset. The reason is that; the previous object of the mediaplayer has to be released before you can play other video .
I want to change the source without reseting the mediaPlayer (I do not want to disturb the user).
Well, this cannot be achieved as the mediaplayer has to be reset. So there will be lag while changing videos. And to satisfy you, you can see these behavior in any videoplayer app like youtube or mxplayer.
So the only thing you can do is to show progressbar while loading or changing video.
Hope it helps. Cheeers.:)

How can I play videos consecutively using VideoView control?

I have a video playing using the VideoView control,
VideoView vid;
vid = (VideoView)findViewById(R.id.video);
String urlpath = "android.resource://" + getPackageName() + "/" + R.raw.videoviewdemo;
vid.setVideoURI(Uri.parse(urlpath));
vid.start();
which works fine, but I assumed incorrectly that calling setVideoURI() and start() would wait for the first video to finish before playing the second. Is there any way to make the entire video play before moving on to the next line of code? Thanks
(I just started Android/Java programming a few days ago, and haven't written software in ANY language for years, so forgive me if I'm a little slow)

you can always use the completion listener to play the next video.
it will trigger as soon as current video gets finished.
keep track of the currently running video in the global integer.
update it to keep the track of them and get the next video to play
check this link
Listener (or handler) for video finish

hide media controller without removing it ?

I have a video view which uses media controller. I want to hide the media controller somehow without doing video_view.setMediaController(null);
If I do that then the following code won't work:
this.setVolumeControlStream(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC);
So I want to hide the media controller permanently while the video is playing but still be able to turn the volume up and down. How can I do that

This might help if to remove permanently controller...
VideoView videoHolder = new VideoView(contex);
MediaController controller=new MediaController(this);
videoHolder.setMediaController(controller);
then apply this statement to hide permanently your controller...
controller.setVisibility(View.GONE);
just call this to show it again...
controller.setVisibility(View.VISIBLE);

Try this.
MediaController mediaController = new MediaController(this);
apply on touch listener on your video view.
in that place this code.
if(mediaController.isShowing ()){
mediaController.hide();
}
here is the link for more info.

Video Streaming and Android

Today for one of my app (Android 2.1), I wanted to stream a video from an URL.
As far as I explored Android SDK it's quite good and I loved almost every piece of it.
But now that it comes to video stream I am kind of lost.
For any information you need about Android SDK you have thousands of blogs telling you how to do it. When it comes to video streaming, it's different. Informations is that abundant.
Everyone did it it's way tricking here and there.
Is there any well-know procedure that allows one to stream a video?
Did google think of making it easier for its developers?

If you want to just have the OS play a video using the default player you would use an intent like this:
String videoUrl = "insert url to video here";
Intent i = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
i.setData(Uri.parse(videoUrl));
startActivity(i);
However if you want to create a view yourself and stream video to it, one approach is to create a videoview in your layout and use the mediaplayer to stream video to it. Here's the videoview in xml:
<VideoView android:id="#+id/your_video_view"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_gravity="center"
/>
Then in onCreate in your activity you find the view and start the media player.
VideoView videoView = (VideoView)findViewById(R.id.your_video_view);
MediaController mc = new MediaController(this);
videoView.setMediaController(mc);
String str = "the url to your video";
Uri uri = Uri.parse(str);
videoView.setVideoURI(uri);
videoView.requestFocus();
videoView.start();
Check out the videoview listeners for being notified when the video is done playing or an error occurs (VideoView.setOnCompletionListener, VideoView.setOnErrorListener, etc).