Video Streaming On Android

Despite being so simple and easy to develop applications on Android, it's still a tough job to stream a YouTube video. On a requirement of video streaming, I began my search, googled through various sites and blogs but was unsuccessful, and while m writing, i still i don't know the solution. Although I found some solutions.

The first solution that I found for video was, to play the video through the built-in YouTube app or through browser. But this wasn't the desired, as by using this method the control would go to the external app or the browser.

The code for using this approach is here..........

Intent myIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);

myIntent.setData(Uri.parse("http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxLG2wtE7TM"));

startActivityForResult(myIntent,0);

The other solution was to get the video manually from YouTube and then place it on a Web Server(like Tomcat). This way we could play the video in VideoView by setting the url in one of videoview's method as given here...........

videoView.setMediaController(new MediaController(this));

videoView.setVideoURI(Uri.parse(URL_VIDEO));

videoView.requestFocus();

videoView.start();

This way the video plays like charm, but then i don't know if it's the correct approach or what................

The third option I thought of was, instead of streaming the video every time through HTTP(which indirectly downloads the video and then plays it) I could download the video once and store it on SDcard, later whenever required I could play it through my application. This would save up the cost of network usage and also speed up the video playing except for the time spent at first download. Also it must be noted that if the video being played does not change frequently only then it should be downloaded else not.

This is all I have to say about video streaming in android................

Keeping my search on for Streaming YouTube videos .................

AsynTask, VideoDownload and ProgressBar in Android

In this post I will be dealing about how to download a video in android.........

Downloading a video and simultaneously showing a progressbar in android is elegantly handled by AsyncTask class in Android. AsyncTask enables proper and easy use of the UI thread. This class allows to perform background operations and publish results on the UI thread without having to manipulate threads and/or handlers.

The code for video download is as follows.........as can be noted the Downloader class extends AsyncTask.

The Downloader Class has to be nested in your Activity.

public class DownloaderClass extends AsyncTask {

private boolean stop = false;
private FileOutputStream fileOutputStream;
private InputStream inputStream;
// this is the total size of the file
private int totalSize = 0;
// variable to store total downloaded bytes
private int downloadedSize = 0;

private HttpURLConnection urlConnection;
private File videoFile;

@Override
protected void onPreExecute() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onPreExecute();
showDialog(0);
}

@Override
protected String doInBackground(String... params) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
// method

// String
// path=Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getAbsolutePath()+PATH+fileName;
try {
// set the download URL, a url that points to a file on the
// internet
// this is the file to be downloaded
System.out.println("doInBackground");

URL url = new URL(params[0]);

// create the new connection
urlConnection = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();

// set up some things on the connection
urlConnection.setRequestMethod("GET");
urlConnection.setDoOutput(true);

// and connect!
urlConnection.connect();

// set the path where we want to save the file
// in this case, going to save it on the root directory of the
// sd card.
// File SDCardRoot = Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory();
String videoPath = SDCARD_ROOT + params[1];
// create a new file, specifying the path, and the filename
// which we want to save the file as.

boolean exists = (new File(videoPath)).exists();
if (!exists) {
new File(videoPath).mkdirs();
}
videoFile = new File(videoPath, VIDEO_NAME);

// this will be used to write the downloaded data into the file
// we
// created
fileOutputStream = new FileOutputStream(videoFile);

// this will be used in reading the data from the internet
inputStream = urlConnection.getInputStream();

// this is the total size of the file
totalSize = urlConnection.getContentLength();

// create a buffer...
byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
int bufferLength = 0; // used to store a temporary size of the
// buffer

// now, read through the input buffer and write the contents to
// the
// file
while ((bufferLength = inputStream.read(buffer)) > 0 && !stop) {
// add the data in the buffer to the file in the file output
// stream (the file on the sd card
fileOutputStream.write(buffer, 0, bufferLength);
// add up the size so we know how much is downloaded
downloadedSize += bufferLength;
publishProgress((downloadedSize * 100) / totalSize);
// this is where you would do something to report the
// prgress,
// like this maybe
// System.out.println(downloadedSize + "/" + totalSize);

}
// close the output stream when done
fileOutputStream.close();

System.out.println("Downloading finished");

playVideo();
// catch some possible errors...
} catch (MalformedURLException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
return null;
}

@Override
protected void onProgressUpdate(Integer... values) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
Log.d("% Downloaded : ", "" + values[0]);
progressDialog.setProgress(values[0]);
}

@Override
protected void onCancelled() {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub

// finish();
System.out.println("onCancelled()");
stop = true;

urlConnection.disconnect();
if (fileOutputStream != null) {
try {
fileOutputStream.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
if (inputStream != null) {
try {
inputStream.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
// TODO Auto-generated catch block
e.printStackTrace();
}
}

videoFile.delete();

}

@Override
protected void onPostExecute(String result) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
super.onPostExecute(result);
}}

In your activity call this Downloader class by calling execute() method and pass the videoUrl(from the video is be downloaded) and videoPath(where it is to be stored on SDCard)

as here........

downloaderClassObj.execute(VIDEO_URL, VIDEO_PATH);

That's it your video will start downloading and get stored on the specified location.............so simple isn't it :).

Now lets deal with the progressbar, for this you need to override onCreateDialog() method in your activity..........

@Override
protected Dialog onCreateDialog(int id) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub

progressDialog = new ProgressDialog(this);
progressDialog.setCancelable(true);
progressDialog.setMessage("Downloading...");
// set the progress to be horizontal
progressDialog.setProgressStyle(ProgressDialog.STYLE_HORIZONTAL);
// reset the bar to the default value of 0
progressDialog.setProgress(0);
progressDialog.setMax(100);
progressDialog.show();
progressDialog.setOnCancelListener(new OnCancelListener() {

public void onCancel(DialogInterface dialog) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
downloaderClassObj.cancel(true);
}
});

return progressDialog;
}

From your onPreExecute() method in Downloader class call showDialog() to initiate the progressbar.........the onPreExecute() method gets automatically called as soon as execute() method is called..............

And in the onProgressUpdate() you get the percentage download done...........

onProgressUpdate() gets called, with the function call publishProgress() in the loop while downloading the video............

That's it, your Video Downloading with a progress Bar is accomplished...........

What a pitiful situation.......

I am writing this post, just keeping in mind the situation of traffic and pollution in Pune, which I think is really pitiful. Commuting from home to workplace(which is 11km) is now becoming like everyday going on a war. There is terrible traffic on the roads and to add it all people are driving haphazardly.

But what i really feel compassionate about is that people don't have enough public transport facilities. One day while travelling to work place I saw a PMPML bus(the public transport here) in which a school boy was hanging with one hand on the last step of the bus and that too only on a single foot, even a slightest jerk could easily make his hand slip and get him caught under the wheels of the bus.

On the other hand a few men and women(mostly women) are consuming almost 10% of the city's fuel, which I think is quite a lot. More and more women in the city are carelessly opting for cars, and that too less fuel efficient cars as they don't want to compromise with the elegance(of their cars). Without proficient driving they are licensed to use four wheeler, which is constantly adding to the menace. Also no one is aware of the concept of car pooling here or may be they just don't care.

Petrol and diesel prices are sky rocketing but this hardly affects the high income group, they continue to use their luxury cars, leaving the common man to face the brunt of inflation.

It's high time now, and this should be taken seriously...........

Synchronous & Asynchronous Methods

It is so important to know whether a method call is synchronous or asynchronous.

Firstly i'll explain the difference between the two;

Synchronous methods, complete its execution and then returns the control back to where it was called from and the process further continues.

Whereas asynchronous methods when called they get started in their own separate thread, and run independently without affecting the main process thread.

Most of the methods are synchronous as they are easy to handle and operate with, but a few methods like webcomponents are asynchronous. For eg. downloading something while application is running is asynchronous method, also logically it should be so, since the data to be downloaded can be large or depending on network may take longer time, hence the main thread cannot stop for so long.

FrameWork Importance

While working with big frameworks the likes of Struts, Hibernate etc. you don't apprehend the importance of frameworks, nor do you completely understand the working of framework.

Being into mobile application development, only native sdk's provide the frameworks for developing appns, but what about the open source cross-platform compilers, i.e. the tool generating builds for all phone platforms using the same code.

Exploring such open source tools will make you think and rethink about how to develop a framework that will optimize mobile development.

Mosync is a tool that does the cross-compilation for you, but lacks a good framework to work upon with, thus to enable smooth operations while development it is was very important(while working) to develop a framework.

Fortunately one of my colleagues wrote a framework for Mosync, and now work flows like fluid, it has allowed us to work seamlessly on mobile apps, switching between different screens has become very comfortable and easy.

Had the framework not been developed, it would have been very difficult to work with.

Also it has made me realize how important it is to have a framework for development. Now all the apps that we develop are well synchronized and easily maintainable.

Most importantly any new functionality can be easily integrated within the application.

Mosync is truly a herculean tool, only skills to harness its power are required.

Will write about the experience with Mosync 2.5 alpha.

Till then keep surfing....................

Desktop R&R

Hi,

Thought of buying a new machine suddenly, as my old one is really old now. A pentium-4 processor 2.4Ghz, with just 1Gb of ram and 40Gb hdd, not really enough. So i began doing Research & Research for the same.

Suggestions from my team mates flowed in and was convinced to assemble a machine instead of going for a branded one.

After a lot of googling and reading from different forums i concluded upon a configuration which is more than enough for my needs:-

-> Intel i5-2500k processor(6M cache 3.3Ghz) an ultimate 2nd generation processor that beats i7-875k in price as well as performance

-> Intel DP55WB motherboard as a standard for i5 and i7 processors.

-> Samsung B2030 LCD monitor 20"

-> Seagate 1Tb HDD

-> Transcend DDR3 4Gb RAM 1300Mhz

-> LG 22x IDE super multi DVD Writer

Whole assembly is expected to come around in Rs 30k. Awaiting desperately to get my new beast as soon as possible.

Till then hope for the best.............

BlackBerry Workshop

Happened to be at the BB workshop held in pune on the 6th april '11 at the Hotel Deccan Rendezvous. Was a nice event, which explored about the company facts and their latest product the BB Playbook which is scheduled to be launched in early May in US and by June in India.

The workshop started with a small introduction about the company delivered by
Mr Pradeep Rao from Research in Motion.
Second spokesperson was Mr Alan Wong who had specially come down from HongKong
to give a handsOn experience of the BB Playbook.

The BB Playbook tablet is a powerful machine with its OS built over the QNX technology,
the OS promises powerful multitasking capabilities and is powered by 1Ghz dual core
processer(make not disclosed) with 1Gb ram.
It has got Flash 10.1 support and a HD display with HDMI port. Rear camera is 5mp while
3mp at the front, and records video at 720p which is lower than that of
Galaxy tab 2(1080p HD recording).

To develop apps on the Playbook and other BB devices there are several options as follows:-

1) Adobe AIR
2) BB Webworks
3) Native SDK
4) Browser development -> HTML5, Flash 10.1 and CSS3.

1) Adobe AIR
-> Uses Flex(SDK) based on the Adobe Flash platform.
-> MXML is used for designing the UI/Front end.
-> Interactivity is achieved through the use of ActionScript.
-> FlashBuilder is the IDE required for developing using Flex and also BB Tablet OS SDK is required to build apps for BB.
-> Apps developed using Flex can be ported to BB, android and iPhone devices.

2) BB webworks
-> It is supported on BB v5.0 onwards.
-> Involves development using HTML5, CSS and JavaScript.
-> Simply we need to design UI in HTML5 and use javascript for interactivities, ZIP all the files and with the issue of a command(bbwp .zip) u get the .bar file generated to be deployed on the BB device.

More information can be found on the following website http://us.blackberry.com/developers/tablet

Will soon try the development and would be in a position to more clearly explain the steps.........

Till then keep surfing........GoodNight.