ApsaraVideo VOD:FAQ about ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Android

By default, ApsaraVideo Player SDK returns a callback about the current playback position every 500 milliseconds. You can reduce the interval at which callbacks are returned to obtain playback positions more frequently. Sample code:

// Change the callback interval.
PlayerConfig config = mAliyunLivePlayer.getConfig();
config.mPositionTimerIntervalMs = 100; // The callback interval. Unit: milliseconds. 
mAliyunLivePlayer.setConfig(config);

mAliPlayer.setOnInfoListener(new IPlayer.OnInfoListener() {
        @Override
        public void onInfo(InfoBean infoBean) {
        if(infoBean.getCode() == InfoCode.CurrentPosition){
            // The current playback position.
            long currentPosition = infoBean.getExtraValue();
        }
    }
});

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check whether the CPU uses an x86 architecture.

   ApsaraVideo Player SDK supports only the arm64-v8a and armeabi-v7a architectures. The x86 architecture is not supported.

2. Check whether both the .so files and Maven dependencies are added to the project.

   For example, if you integrate ApsaraVideo Player SDK by adding the Maven dependencies to the build.gradle file, and you add the dynamic frameworks for the SDK to the libs directory at the same time, a crash occurs.

   Solution: If both the Maven dependencies and dynamic frameworks are added to the project, we recommend that you delete the dynamic frameworks. If you must add dynamic frameworks to the project, make sure that the .so files are of the same SDK version. For more information about how to integrate ApsaraVideo Player SDK and obtain dynamic libraries, see Quick integration. The following figure shows the dynamic frameworks for ApsaraVideo Player SDK.

3. If you use a part package to integrate the SDK, make sure that the correct version of AlivcFFmpeg is added to your project.

   For more information, see AlivcFFmpeg dependencies.

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check whether the crash occurred on ApsaraVideo Player SDK.

   If a crash stack name prefixed with AliyunPlayer exists, the crash occurred on ApsaraVideo Player SDK.

2. Update ApsaraVideo Player SDK to the latest version and check whether the issue is fixed.

3. If the problem persists, contact Alibaba Cloud technical support. Include the files about all threads and crash logs and describe the crash scenario when you contact technical support. For more information, see How do I obtain the error log?

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check if black bars appear on your video source.

2. Call the following operations to change the scaling mode of the player.

   /*
   SCALE_ASPECT_FILL: crops the video to fit the view based on the aspect ratio of the video. 
   SCALE_ASPECT_FIT: scales in the video based on the aspect ratio of the video. Black bars are displayed in the view. 
   SCALE_TO_FILL: stretches the video to fill in the view. The aspect ratio of the video is not maintained. 
   */
   mAliPlayer.setScaleMode();

3. If the issue persists after you change the scaling mode, call SurfaceView or TextureView at the application layer to change the view size.

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Play the video in another player and check whether the video contains only audio.

2. Check whether the view is configured correctly. For example, this problem may occur if the view is not configured or placed outside the playback window. For more information about how to configure the view, see Step 4 in Create a player.

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check whether the CPU architecture meets the requirements.

   ApsaraVideo Player SDK supports only the arm64-v8a and armeabi-v7a architectures.

2. Check whether the version of Apsaravideo Player SDK is outdated.

   If the version of ApsaraVideo Player SDK that you use is 5.4.6.0-full or earlier, we recommend that you update the SDK to 5.4.6.0-full-15467853 or later. For more information about the versions of ApsaraVideo Player SDK, see Release notes for ApsaraVideo Player SDK for Android.

If you use ApsaraVideo Player SDK V5.4.5.0 or earlier, you cannot use AliListPlayer to play HLS (M3U8) videos. If you use ApsaraVideo Player SDK V5.4.5.0 or later, you must enable local caching to play HLS (M3U8) videos. For more information, see Configure local caching.

The following sample code provides an example on how to switch the seeking mode:

// Switch to the inaccurate seeking mode. 
mAliPlayer.seekTo(1000);
mAliPlayer.seekTo(1000, IPlayer.SeekMode.Inaccurate);
// Switch to the accurate seeking mode. 
mAliPlayer.seekTo(1000,IPlayer.SeekMode.Accurate);

Solution: Call the setMaxAccurateSeekDelta operation to increase the maximum interval between the seeking position and the nearest keyframe allowed for the accurate seeking mode. This way, the seeking accuracy is improved but the response time is longer. We recommend that you set the maximum interval based on your business requirements. Sample code:

// Unit: milliseconds. 
mAliPlayer.setMaxAccurateSeekDelta(1000);

Obtain the cause of the caching failure in the onInfo callback. The following sample code provides an example on how to configure the onInfo callback:

mAliPlayer.setOnInfoListener(new IPlayer.OnInfoListener() {
        @Override
        public void onInfo(InfoBean infoBean) {
        if(infoBean.getCode() == InfoCode.CacheSuccess){
            // Caching during playback succeeded.
        }else if(infoBean.getCode() == InfoCode.CacheError){
            // Caching during playback failed.
            String error = infoBean.getExtraMsg();
        }
    }
});

The following items list the common causes of caching failures:

• The size and duration specified in CacheConfig do not match those of the video.

• The position where you stop or seek to during playback is outside the buffer.

The media source data can be returned only when you use software decoding and play unencrypted videos. Sample code:

// Switch to software decoding. 
mAliPlayer.enableHardwareDecoder(false);
IPlayer.RenderFrameCallbackConfig renderFrameCallbackConfig = new IPlayer.RenderFrameCallbackConfig();
// Specifies whether to return only the address of the underlying video data. Default value: true. 
renderFrameCallbackConfig.mVideoDataAddr = false;
// Specifies whether to return only the address of the underlying audio data. Default value: false. 
renderFrameCallbackConfig.mAudioDataAddr = false;
mAliPlayer.setRenderFrameCallbackConfig(renderFrameCallbackConfig);

mAliPlayer.setOnRenderFrameCallback(new IPlayer.OnRenderFrameCallback() {
    @Override
    public boolean onRenderFrame(FrameInfo frameInfo) {
        return false;
    }
});

You can use one of the following methods to obtain the height and width of a video:

• Call the prepare method in the AliPlayer instance. After the AVPEventPrepareDone event is complete, obtain the height and width of AliPlayer. Sample code:

  mAliyunPlayer.setOnPreparedListener(new IPlayer.OnPreparedListener() {
      @Override
      public void onPrepared() {
            mAliyunPlayer.getVideoWidth();
                mAliyunPlayer.getVideoHeight();
      }
  });

• Listen for the callback that is triggered when the video size is changed:

  mAliyunPlayer.setOnVideoSizeChangedListener(new IPlayer.OnVideoSizeChangedListener() {
      @Override
      public void onVideoSizeChanged(int width, int height) {
  
      }
  });

• Configure callbacks to obtain the track information:

  mAliyunPlayer.setOnTrackReadyListener(new IPlayer.OnTrackReadyListener() {
      @Override
      public void onTrackReady(MediaInfo mediaInfo) {
      List<TrackInfo> trackInfos = mediaInfo.getTrackInfos();
          for (TrackInfo trackInfo : trackInfos) {
          if(trackInfo.getType() == TrackInfo.Type.TYPE_VIDEO){
          trackInfo.getVideoWidth();
          trackInfo.getVideoHeight();
          }
      }
      }
  });

After you call mAliPlayer.selectTrack(TrackInfo.AUTO_SELECT_INDEX) to enable the automatic bitrate switching feature, ApsaraVideo Player SDK monitors the network speed. The bitrate of the video is switched between higher and lower bitrates based on the 10-second average network speed. If the 10-second average network speed does not fulfill the conditions, the video bitrate is not switched.

• If the 10-second average network speed meets the conditions for a lower bitrate, the video is switched to a lower bitrate after the playback for cached content is complete.

• If the 10-second average network speed meets the conditions for a higher bitrate, the video is immediately switched to a higher bitrate.

To use the automatic bitrate switching feature, you must transcode a video to an adaptive stream by using the ApsaraVideo VOD console and specify a player to play the adaptive stream. The following sample code provides a VidAuth-based example:

VidAuth vidAuth = new VidAuth();
List<Definition> list = new ArrayList<>();
list.add(Definition.DEFINITION_AUTO);
vidAuth.setDefinition(list);

You can customize the retry logic to receive notifications when retry events occur. Then, you can configure the retry logic. Sample code:

PlayerConfig config = mAliPlayer.getConfig();
// 1. The number of retries. This parameter is set to 0 in the example. 
config.mNetworkRetryCount = 0;
mAliPlayer.setConfig(config);

mAliPlayer.setOnInfoListener(new IPlayer.OnInfoListener() {
    @Override
    public void onInfo(InfoBean infoBean) {
        // 2. Listen to the retry event. 
       if(infoBean.getCode() == InfoCode.NetworkRetry){
            // Configure the retry logic. 
        }
    }
});

Perform the following steps to troubleshoot the issue:

1. Check whether the AliyunPlayer, AlivcArtc, and RTS dependencies are added.

   You must add AliyunPlayer, AlivcArtc, and RTS dependencies before you use ApsaraVideo Player to play RTC streams. For more information, see Native RTS SDK for Android.

2. Check whether the versions of the RTS SDK and ApsaraVideo Player SDK match.

   You must use a version of ApsaraVideo Player SDK that is supported by the RTS SDK. For more information, see Download SDKs.

3. Check whether the versions of AliyunPlayer and AlivcArtc are the same. You must use the same version for AliyunPlayer and AlivcArtc.

4. You must manually load the RTS SDK after you integrate it.

   load RtsSDK:System.loadLibrary("RtsSDK");

5. Optional. If the error persists, set android:extractNativeLibs="true" in the AndroidManifest.xml file or android{} in the app/build.gradle file. Sample code:

   packagingOptions {
       jniLibs {
       useLegacyPackaging true
       }
   }

The following sample code provides an example on how to configure a default resolution:

// Video playback based on VidSts is used in this example.
VidSts vidSts = new VidSts();
// For information about the code used for setting parameters such as vid, AccessKeyId, AccessKeySecret, and token, see the documentation about creating an ApsaraVideo player. 
/*
    Parameter 1: The resolution in which you want to play videos. Valid values: FD, LD, SD, HD, 2K, 4K, and OD. 
    Parameter 2: Specifies whether to forcibly use the specified resolution to play videos. false: ApsaraVideo Player SDK uses the first resolution that is available in the preceding order for video playback. true: Videos are forcibly played in the specified resolution. If a video in the specified resolution is not available, the video is not played. 
*/
vidSts.setQuality("",false);