Develop Reference

MediaPlayer is not playing some audio files from the server

I am trying to implement an online devotional psalm streaming Android app. I am trying to stream these audio files from my website server directly using the MediaPlayer class provided by Android SDK framework.
Here is the code for my MediaPlaybackUtility.java
public class MediaPlaybackUtility {
static boolean isMediaPlaying = false;
static MediaPlayer mMediaPlayer = new MediaPlayer();
static void playPauseBhajan(String fileURL) {
if(!mMediaPlayer.isPlaying()) {
try {
mMediaPlayer.setAudioStreamType(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC);
mMediaPlayer.setDataSource(ONLINE_AUDIO_URL);
mMediaPlayer.prepareAsync();
mMediaPlayer.setOnPreparedListener(new MediaPlayer.OnPreparedListener() {
#Override
public void onPrepared(MediaPlayer mp) {
mMediaPlayer.start();
isMediaPlaying = true;
}
});
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO: handle exception
}
} else {
mMediaPlayer.pause();
isMediaPlaying = false;
}
}
static void stopBhajan() {
mMediaPlayer.stop();
isMediaPlaying = false;
}
}
I entered the URL of the audio file saved on my server in the place of ONLINE_AUDIO_URL but there are some bizarre experiences I had while I was working with MediaPlayer class. The MediaPlayer class is playing some files while it is not playing others and I am not able to understand where the problem is.
Here are the links to the audio files that the above code is playing without any errors:
1. testsong_20sec.mp3
2. TheRadiance.m4a
3. WaitingfortheEnd.m4a
And here are the links that the MediaPlayer is not able to play:
1. ShapeofYou.mp3
2. AreyDwalPalon.mp3
3. KrishnaTheme.mp3
4. BataoKahaMilegaShyam.mp3
I then tried to set a OnErrorListener to the MediaPlayer so that if there is some error streaming these files I could log these errors out and therefore I added these lines just after the mMediaPlayer.prepareAsync(); but then again when I changed the URL to one of those that the MediaPlayer was not able to play no errors were logged in the Logcat.
mMediaPlayer.setOnErrorListener(new MediaPlayer.OnErrorListener() {
#Override
public boolean onError(MediaPlayer mp, int what, int extra) {
Log.e("MEDIAPLAYER", "Can't play media.");
return false;
}
});
Then I converted these MP3 files into M4A format just like this one
AreyDwarPalonm4a.m4a but again no luck and still this file was not played by MediaPlayer from the server.
I have also searched the web and everywhere but couldn't find anything related to my specific problem. Maybe I am ignoring some fundamental concept here as I am working first time with MediaPlayer and audio files but again the main confusing part is, it is playing some of those files saved on the server but not the others.

I think you should have to add this listener before mMediaPlayer.prepareAsync() like
mMediaPlayer.setOnErrorListener(new MediaPlayer.OnErrorListener() {
#Override
public boolean onError(MediaPlayer mp, int what, int extra) {
Log.e("MEDIAPLAYER", "Can't play media.");
return false;
}
});
mMediaPlayer.prepareAsync();

It shows error while playing large audio file (>1mb).
Find some workaround for playing large file.
Thanks!

Media Player Class in Android the implementation scenario

for last three weeks I have worked on a Media Player in Android.I am trying to find a solution of how can I make my Media Player to change the song when it's already playing one.
Here is my Listener on the RecyclerView
musicList.addOnItemTouchListener(
new RecyclerItemClickListener(getApplicationContext(), new RecyclerItemClickListener.OnItemClickListener() {
#Override
public void onItemClick(View view, final int position) {
currentPosition = position;
if(!mediaPlayer.isPlaying()){
musicThread.start();
} else {
mediaPlayer.reset();
}
}
})
);
}
and my Thread is this:
final Thread musicThread = new Thread(new Runnable(){
#Override
public void run() {
try {
URL = getMusicURL(myDataset[currentPosition]);
try {
mediaPlayer.setDataSource(URL);
//mediaPlayer.prepare(); // might take long! (for buffering, etc)
mediaPlayer.prepareAsync(); // prepare async to not block main thread
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
Log.i("TEST","Eroare: "+e.getMessage());
}
} catch (StorageApiException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
Log.i("TEST","Eroare: "+e.getMessage());
}
}
});

I think you have a mess. First of all, you dont need a thread to play music, the own mediaplayer API does it for you when you call mediaPlayer.start(). However, you have to care about the time it takes to prepare the data source if you are for example streaming online music. For this, just use mediaPlayer.prepareAsync() and register a callback. When it has finished preparing, you can automatically start playing or do whatever you want.
If you want to change the data source, just follow the automaton map that you can find in MediaPlayer docs. Essentially, when the user selects another track, you register the call in your button listener, then reset the mediaPlayer, and recall all prepare, start... cycle again. By the way, it is advised to deploy all your mediaplayer code into a service so that it can keep playing even though the user has closed your activity.

OnInfoListener never fires. Ever

I'm currently trying to write a simple audio player that streams a URL until the user quits. Nothing fancy really, but I'm trying to use the onInfo method of MediaPlayer to wait for the metadata update flag. I have the following code for creating the media player object.
/**
* Creates a new media player and attempts to prepare it.
*/
private void createPlayer(){
Log.v(TAG, "Now in createPlayer()");
if(mPlayer==null){
Log.i(TAG, "No existing media player found, creating.");
mPlayer=new MediaPlayer();
mPlayer.setOnErrorListener(this);
mPlayer.setOnInfoListener(new OnInfoListener() {
public boolean onInfo(MediaPlayer mp, int what, int extra) {
Log.w(TAG,"---Got some info!---");
return false;
}
});
mPlayer.setOnPreparedListener(this);
mPlayer.setWakeMode(getApplicationContext(), PowerManager.PARTIAL_WAKE_LOCK);
mPlayer.setAudioStreamType(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC);
} else {
Log.i(TAG, "Found an existing media player. Doing nothing.");
}
try{
mPlayer.setDataSource(mStreamUri);
mPlayer.prepareAsync();
Log.i(TAG, "Just sent the media player a prepareAsync()");
}catch(Exception e){
Log.e(TAG,"Caught exception while trying to set up media player.");
}
}
I have yet to see onError fire, but I also have yet to actually get any errors because of the simplicity of my app, but of course onPrepare works fine. I've tried implementing it with the class, as well as an inline method like the above code but nothing happens.

Change your code with this and try again -
mPlayer.prepare();

You cannot return false in onInfoListener. The android developer says if it returns false, the infoListener seems as if it was not set.

Create() fails in MediaPlayer - android

I am trying to play a few music (wav format) files based on button clicks. I am unable to get MediaPlayer to work properly. Every time I try to instantiate an object of MediaPlayer class, it fails on create(). Before I post the code, here is a run-through of what I am doing:
1. A layout file that contains 2 buttons.
2. Those buttons are read and onClickListeners defined for them.
3. Depending on the button clicked, a function called playAudioFile(View) called which creates the MediaPlayer instance and plays the file. The code for playAudioFile(View) is as follows:
public void playAudioFile(View v) {
/*Steps:
* 1. Take in id of the button.
* 2. Using id, identify what file needs to be played.
* 3. Play file.
*/
String path_to_file = null; //this is the path to the file.
if(b01.getId() == ((Button)v).getId()) {
Log.v(this.toString(), "Button 01 pressed.");
path_to_file = "/sdcard/audio/temp1.wav";
} else if(b02.getId() == ((Button)v).getId()) {
Log.v(this.toString(), "Button02 pressed.");
path_to_file = "/sdcard/audio/temp2.wav";
}
path_to_file = "file://" + path_to_file;
Uri streamUri = Uri.parse(path_to_file);
Log.v(this.toString(), "Path of file = " + path_to_file);
MediaPlayer mp = MediaPlayer.create(this, streamUri);
if(mp == null) {
Log.v(this.toString(), "Create() on MediaPlayer failed.");
}
mp.setOnPreparedListener(new MediaPlayer.OnPreparedListener() {
#Override
public void onPrepared(MediaPlayer mp) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
try {
mp.start();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
Log.v(this.toString(), "Illegal state exception thrown in start.");
}
}
});
mp.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
mp.release();
}
});
}
I have gone through a lot of posts here on stackoverflow that detail solutions to the above problem. I am encountering this problem after having incorporated all the suggestions made therein. Any help is most welcome.
Thanks,
Sriram

I dont understand why you are trying to do
MediaPlayer mp = MediaPlayer.create(this, streamUri);
This is my implementation of my Player, Hope this will help you in some way:
MediaPlayer mp = new MediaPlayer();
setContentView(R.layout.player);
Intent intent = getIntent();
String path = "";
System.out.println("My Scheme : "+intent.getData().toString().substring(8));
if (intent.getData().getScheme().equals("video")) {
path = intent.getData().toString().substring(8);
System.out.println("Path : "+path);
if(path.endsWith(".mp3")) {
setContentView(R.layout.musicplayer);
setContentView(R.layout.controls);
Log.e("MusicPlayer", "Playing: " + path);
try {
Notification notification = new Notification(
R.drawable.playbackstart, path, System.currentTimeMillis());
nm.notify(NOTIFY_ID, notification);
mp.reset();
mp.setDataSource(path);
mp.prepare();
mp.start();
mp.setOnCompletionListener(new OnCompletionListener() {
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer arg0) {
System.out.println("Hi i am at the End");
}
});
}catch {expression}

If I'm not wrong, you can't use onPrepare because mp.prepare() is called inside MediaPlayer.create(). The simpliest code can be something like this:
MediaPlayer mp = MediaPlayer.create(this, streamUri);
mp.start();
If you want something more elaborated, you can try this:
MediaPlayer mp = MediaPlayer.create(this, streamUri);
if(mp == null) {
Log.v(this.toString(), "Create() on MediaPlayer failed.");
} else {
mp.setOnCompletionListener(new OnCompletionListener() {
#Override
public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
//here you should call the methods to release memory
mp.stop();
mp.release();
}
});
mp.start();
}
Tell me if it helped you.
PD: Is better if you use a device for testing rather than a simulator. Some classes don't work properly there (MediaPlayer can't reproduce video in simulators) and I don't remember if it supports audio.

As far as I understand your problem: You are calling the MediaPlayer.create(...) method, and it returns null, meaning the creation of a MediaPlayer instance failed. According to the accepted answer of this post MediaPlayer.create() always returns null it is due to a corrupted audio file.
I also have an issue, where the sound gets played but on rare occasions the create() method also returns null. I use sounds in a turn based game, after each turn a sound is played. I always call the create method, start the player and release it when it's done. That happens every turn and like once in 300 turns the create method returns null... So in my case it must be something else. In yours it could probably have something to do with the corruption of the mp3 file.

Strange behaviour with mediaplayer and seekTo

I'm implementing a custom video player because I need custom video controls. I have an app with only one activity, which on startup shall start playing a video right away.
Now, the problem I have is:
I don't want the video to start from the beginning, but from a later position. Therefore I do a seekTo(16867). Since seekTo is asynchronous, I place the start call of the mediaplayer (player.start()) in the onSeekComplete of the onSeekCompleteListener.
The strange behaviour I experience though is that I can see/hear the video playing from the beginning for a few millisecs before it actually plays from/jumps to the position I seeked to.
But - on the other hand - the Log output I call before the player.start returns the correct position 16867, where I seeked to.
Below is the relevant code section, the complete class is at http://pastebin.com/jqAAFsuX
(I'm on Nexus One / 2.2 StageFright)
private void playVideo(String url) {
try {
btnVideoPause.setEnabled(false);
if (player==null) {
player=new MediaPlayer();
player.setScreenOnWhilePlaying(true);
}
else {
player.stop();
player.reset();
}
url = "/sdcard/myapp/main/videos/main.mp4"; // <--- just for test purposes hardcoded here now
player.setDataSource(url);
player.setDisplay(holder);
player.setAudioStreamType(AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC);
player.setOnCompletionListener(this);
player.setOnPreparedListener(this);
player.setOnSeekCompleteListener(new MediaPlayer.OnSeekCompleteListener() {
public void onSeekComplete(MediaPlayer mediaPlayer) {
Log.d("APP", "current pos... "+ player.getCurrentPosition() );
player.start(); // <------------------ start video on seek completed
player.setOnSeekCompleteListener(null);
}
});
player.prepareAsync();
}
catch (Throwable t) {
Log.e(TAG, "Exception in btnVideoPause prep", t);
}
}
public void onPrepared(MediaPlayer mediaplayer) {
width=player.getVideoWidth();
height=player.getVideoHeight();
if (width!=0 && height!=0) {
holder.setFixedSize(width, height);
progressBar.setProgress(0);
progressBar.setMax(player.getDuration());
player.seekTo(16867); // <------------------ seeking to position
}
btnVideoPause.setEnabled(true);
}

Since I also haven't recieved any reply from the Android developer list and found similar issues on the web, I conclude it's a bug. I filed a bug report at http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=9135