MediaMetadataRetriever setDataSource throws IllegalArgumentException

Question

I'm trying to get the size of a remote video using this class and i'm getting IllegalArgumentException if the video is remote.

the video is an mp4 stored in one server...

the video plays correctly if i play it with mediaplayer, but it gives the error if i try to do this:

try {
    MediaMetadataRetriever retriever = new  MediaMetadataRetriever();
    Bitmap bmp = null;      
    retriever.setDataSource(context, uri);
    bmp = retriever.getFrameAtTime();           
    videoHeight = (int) (bmp.getHeight()*((float)getIntWidth()/bmp.getWidth()));
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

the error is thrown in this line:

retriever.setDataSource(context, uri);

and uri contains Uri.parse("http://www.myweb.com/myvideo.mp4");

what is wrong in the code?

12-19 13:38:08.610: W/System.err(13333): java.lang.IllegalArgumentException
12-19 13:38:08.611: W/System.err(13333):    at android.media.MediaMetadataRetriever.setDataSource(MediaMetadataRetriever.java:175)

score 26 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 22 '14 at 05:34

26

Maybe you are running into this bug. If so try:

try {
    MediaMetadataRetriever retriever = new  MediaMetadataRetriever();
    Bitmap bmp = null;      
    retriever.setDataSource("http://www.myweb.com/myvideo.mp4", new HashMap<String, String>());
    bmp = retriever.getFrameAtTime();           
    videoHeight = (int) (bmp.getHeight()*((float)getIntWidth()/bmp.getWidth()));
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

If that doesn't work you can always try FFmpegMediaMetadataRetriever:

FFmpegMediaMetadataRetriever retriever = new  FFmpegMediaMetadataRetriever();

try {
    Bitmap bmp = null;      
    retriever.setDataSource("http://www.myweb.com/myvideo.mp4"));
    bmp = retriever.getFrameAtTime();           
    videoHeight = (int) (bmp.getHeight()*((float)getIntWidth()/bmp.getWidth()));
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

retriever.release();

answered Dec 22 '14 at 05:34

William Seemann

3,440
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The method setDataSource(String) in the type MediaMetadataRetriever is not applicable for the arguments (String, HashMap) – NullPointerException Dec 22 '14 at 08:25
Method signature here: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/media/MediaMetadataRetriever.html#setDataSource%28java.lang.String,%20java.util.Map%3Cjava.lang.String,%20java.lang.String%3E%29 – William Seemann Dec 22 '14 at 16:23
FFmpegMediaMetadataRetriever only needs 5 MB of space. You should be making individual APK's for each architecture when using the NDK. – William Seemann Dec 22 '14 at 16:23
I thought you can add the maven repo and use ffmpegmediametadataretriever, or did i missunderstood the concept? +1 For the possible answer – user1767754 May 03 '15 at 21:09
That's is now the preferred method since Android Studio has replaced Eclipse. – William Seemann May 05 '15 at 06:36
I went thru the bug pointed by @WilliamSeemann and found : `Discovered that exist a new method: setDataSource(link, headers); I solved this problem with this: if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 14) mmr.setDataSource(link, new HashMap()); else mmr.setDataSource(link);` It worked for me – DeltaCap019 Jan 18 '17 at 11:13

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 27 '20 at 17:39

I was getting the same error, I am using android 10.

I solved just putting android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" in Manifest inside application.

See here

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

<application
    android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"
    android:allowBackup="true"
    android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
    android:label="@string/app_name"
    android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
    android:supportsRtl="true"
    android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
    <activity android:name=".MainActivity">
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

            <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
        </intent-filter>
    </activity>
</application>

I have already set the "android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true" but still facing the same error — Tarun Kumar, Dec 15 '20 at 07:36

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 12 '16 at 16:55

In my case, I was creating a simple metadata extraction test app, so I copied a file to my phone using adb, like so:

adb push 350950598.mp4 /sdcard/Movies

but I forgot to add the read external storage directory permission in the app manifest.

Specifically:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="my.cool.package.name">
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
    ...
</manifest>

Adding those permissions fixed it for me, even for the simple file string call:

    MediaMetadataRetriever mediaMetadataRetriever = new MediaMetadataRetriever();
    mediaMetadataRetriever.setDataSource(movie.getPath());

And of course, if you're targeting API 23+ marshmallow then you'll have to dynamically ask for those permissions, as well.

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 24 '20 at 10:05

try {
    MediaMetadataRetriever retriever = new  MediaMetadataRetriever();
    Bitmap bmp = null;      
    retriever.setDataSource(uri.toString(), new HashMap<String, String>());
    bmp = retriever.getFrameAtTime();           
    videoHeight = (int) (bmp.getHeight()*((float)getIntWidth()/bmp.getWidth()));
} catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace();
}

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 08 '21 at 04:35

if you are uses android 10 or above one then you need to mention requestLegacyExternalStorage to true.

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

<application
    android:label="@string/app_name"
    android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
    android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true"
    android:supportsRtl="true"
    android:theme="@style/AppTheme">

Note : if by doing this still you're facing the same issue then you need to reinstall the app. :)

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 24 '19 at 14:03

You need to give runtime permissions if you are using Android Marshmallow or later.

Android Manifest File:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" package="my.cool.package.name">
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
...

Then add code for runtime permissions in your activity. After that, run your application and it should work.

Why does it need WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE ? – android developer Sep 12 '20 at 17:51 — android developer, Sep 12 '20 at 17:51

MediaMetadataRetriever setDataSource throws IllegalArgumentException

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