CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidhtml5-video
Torge
Torge

Reputation: 2284

Android: Can I set another video player to be used by <video> tag?

I want to have a HTML5 app with an embedded video player.

Normally I would simply use the <video> tag where appropriate. But I need to tell android to use a different player than the default one used for this tag. Is there a way to archive that?

Can I for example make it use an self compiled ExoPlayer? Or am I stuck with whatever is hidden behind the <video> tag?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 359

Answers (2)

Georgios
Georgios

Reputation: 5087

Your webview can communicate with your Java/Kotlin code via addJavascriptInterface.

Start by creating a class that you will later set as the WebView's JavaScript interface. Annotate the method(s) you want to expose to JavaScript with @JavascriptInterface. You can also add arguments to these method(s): 

class MyJsInterface() {
    @JavascriptInterface
    fun onShowNativePlayer() {
        // Add your logic to show the native player instead of the HTML5.
    }
}

Create an instance of the above class and pass it to your WebView:

myWebView.addJavascriptInterface(MyJsInterface(), "android_js_interface")

And, finally, this is how you can trigger the exposed Java/Kotlin method(s) from your JavaScript code:

// This value should match the second argument that you passed in addJavascriptInterface. 
var ANDROID_JS_INTERFACE = "android_js_interface"
...
// Call your Java/Kotlin method.
window[ANDROID_JS_INTERFACE].onShowNativePlayer()

Bonus:

You can also achieve the reverse (ie. call JavaScript methods from your Java/Kotlin code):

myWebView.evaluateJavascript("myJsFunc()", null)

Where myJsFunc() is a function you defined in your JavaScript code:

// You can also pass arguments.
window.myJsFunc = function() {
    // Do something here.
}

Upvotes: 1

Torge
Torge

Reputation: 2284

I guess one way would be to bundle my own compiled browser that has the video player replaced. But this would be over the top here.

If nothing else turns up, I will opt for using a video fragment in the background with a transparent HTML5 App in front as a compromise.

Upvotes: 0

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