VideoView: Video in Android

The VideoView widget in Android is a simple way to play video content within your app. It provides a built-in UI for video playback, making it easy to integrate video into your Android application. Here’s how you can use VideoView to play videos:

1. Add VideoView to Your Layout:

In your XML layout file, add a VideoView element where you want to display the video. For example:

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

2. Set Up VideoView in Your Activity or Fragment:

In your activity or fragment, you’ll need to reference the VideoView and set it up to play a video. Here’s a basic example:

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

public class VideoPlayerActivity extends AppCompatActivity {

    private VideoView videoView;

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

        // Find the VideoView by its ID
        videoView = findViewById(R.id.videoView);

        // Specify the video file's URI (either a local file or a remote URL)
        Uri videoUri = Uri.parse("android.resource://" + getPackageName() + "/" + R.raw.sample_video);

        // Set the video URI to the VideoView
        videoView.setVideoURI(videoUri);

        // Create media controller for playback controls (optional)
        MediaController mediaController = new MediaController(this);
        mediaController.setAnchorView(videoView);
        videoView.setMediaController(mediaController);

        // Start playing the video
        videoView.start();
    }
}

In this example:

• We find the VideoView by its ID.
• We specify the video’s URI using Uri.parse(). In this case, we load a video from the app’s resources using android.resource://.
• Optionally, we create a MediaController for playback controls and attach it to the VideoView.
• Finally, we start playing the video using videoView.start().

3. Specify Video Sources:

You can specify different sources for the video, such as a local file, a remote URL, or a resource in your app’s res/raw folder. Just ensure that you provide the correct URI to the setVideoURI method.

4. Handle Video Events:

VideoView provides event listeners to handle events such as completion or errors. You can set an OnCompletionListener or an OnErrorListener to handle these events.

videoView.setOnCompletionListener(new MediaPlayer.OnCompletionListener() {
    @Override
    public void onCompletion(MediaPlayer mp) {
        // Handle video completion event
    }
});

videoView.setOnErrorListener(new MediaPlayer.OnErrorListener() {
    @Override
    public boolean onError(MediaPlayer mp, int what, int extra) {
        // Handle video error event
        return false;
    }
});

5. Permissions:

If you’re playing videos from the internet, don’t forget to add the appropriate internet permissions to your AndroidManifest.xml file:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />

6. Testing:

Test your video playback on various devices and Android versions to ensure compatibility and a smooth user experience.

VideoView is a straightforward way to add video playback to your Android app. If you require more advanced features, such as custom video controls or additional interactivity, you may consider using the ExoPlayer library or building a custom video player interface.