Problem to load flv video in webview

Question

I want to load .flv video in webview.

I have taken help from this link, but the problem is I'm not able to view video in emulator.

This is my code:

package com.FlvTester;

import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.webkit.WebView;
import android.widget.FrameLayout;

public class FlvTester extends Activity {

WebView webView;
String htmlPre = "<!DOCTYPE html><html lang=\"en\"><head><meta charset=\"utf-8\"></head><body style='margin:0; pading:0; background-color: black;'>";  
String htmlCode = 
        " <embed style='width:100%; height:100%'  src='http://www.platipus.nl/flvplayer/download/1.0/FLVPlayer.swf?fullscreen=true&video=@VIDEO@' " +
        "  autoplay='true' " +
        "  quality='high' bgcolor='#000000' " +
        "  name='VideoPlayer' align='middle'" + // width='640' height='480' 
        "  allowScriptAccess='*' allowFullScreen='true'" +
        "  type='application/x-shockwave-flash' " +
        "  pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' />" +
        "";
String htmlPost = "</body></html>";

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main); 

    webView = (WebView)findViewById(R.id.webview);

    webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
    webView.getSettings().setAllowFileAccess(true);
    webView.getSettings().setPluginsEnabled(true);


    htmlCode = htmlCode.replaceAll("@VIDEO@",  "file:///android_asset/expression_sad.flv");
    webView.loadDataWithBaseURL("file:///android_asset/expression_sad.flv",  htmlPre+htmlCode+htmlPost, "text/html", "UTF-8", null);  
}




@Override
protected void onPause(){
    super.onPause();

    callHiddenWebViewMethod("onPause");

    webView.pauseTimers();
    if(isFinishing()){
        webView.loadUrl("about:blank");
        setContentView(new FrameLayout(this));
    }
}

@Override
protected void onResume(){
    super.onResume();

    callHiddenWebViewMethod("onResume");

    webView.resumeTimers();
}

private void callHiddenWebViewMethod(String name){
    // credits: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3431351/how-do-i-pause-flash- content-in-an-android-webview-when-my-activity-isnt-visible
    if( webView != null ){
        try {
            Method method = WebView.class.getMethod(name);
            method.invoke(webView);
        } catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
            //Lo.g("No such method: " + name + e);
        } catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
            //Lo.g("Illegal Access: " + name + e);
        } catch (InvocationTargetException e) {
            //Lo.g("Invocation Target Exception: " + name + e);
        }
    }
  }

}

I got this error in log cat

 07-06 12:00:48.567: WARN/dalvikvm(381): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught     exception (group=0x4001d800)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to  start activity ComponentInfo{com.FlvTester/com.FlvTester.FlvTester}:   java.lang.ClassCastException: android.widget.VideoView
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at    android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2663)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2679)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.app.ActivityThread.access$2300(ActivityThread.java:125)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:2033)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:4627)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:521)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:868)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:626)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381): Caused by: java.lang.ClassCastException: android.widget.VideoView
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at com.FlvTester.FlvTester.onCreate(FlvTester.java:31)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1047)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:2627)
 07-06 12:00:48.597: ERROR/AndroidRuntime(381):     ... 11 more

Main.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout android:layout_width="fill_parent"  android:layout_height="fill_parent"   xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

<WebView android:layout_width="match_parent" android:id="@+id/webview"  android:layout_height="match_parent"></WebView> 
</LinearLayout>

Update

this is new image

This is very odd. The XML specifies a WebView, you cast to a WebView, and the system complains because it claims the view is a VideoView. Are you _absolutely certain_ that this is the `main.xml` layout file that is being loaded? Perhaps you have a `layout-portrait` or similar resource folder with a different `main.xml`? — Ted Hopp, Jul 12 '11 at 14:23
I suggest confirming that the wrong class of object is being loaded. Replace this line: `webView = (WebView)findViewById(R.id.webview);` with: `View view = findViewById(R.id.webview); webView = (WebView)view;`. Then put a breakpoint just after `view` is assigned and look at the actual class of `view`. If it's a `VideoView` (as the log seems to indicate), then we can talk about the next step, which would be to inspect the entire view structure being loaded and determine why it isn't in accord with the XML. — Ted Hopp, Jul 13 '11 at 05:10
Your update provides no useful information- it just shows a screenshot of a bunch of garbled text. You _must_ explain in detail what steps you have taken and what the results are if you expect others to take time to help you. — Nathan Fig, Jul 22 '11 at 15:13
have you tried running this on a device? the android emulator is so slow i'm surprised it runs anything at all. — Chunky Chunk, Jul 25 '11 at 01:34
Well, Don't try to play flv or flash on emulators. They would never be able to play those formats. If you have got a device which supports flash, try your example on it. It should work. — Kumar Bibek, Jul 06 '11 at 12:42

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 28 '11 at 07:47

You don't state clearly what your Android version, however I can confirm that the flash plugin does load and the movie player does intilaize with the swirly shape graphic. I can engage it into fullscreen mode. I am also able to play online video but not from the application's assets folder, however I do have a workaround.

The following permissinos are required in your manifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"></uses-permission> <!-- where required -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK"></uses-permission>

Interestingly I discovered I was only able to run the SWF player from the assets folder when the html was statically loaded i.e when I created an html file and loaded that directly from the assets folder using loadUrl(). There seems to be something blocking access to the application directory when html data is loaded using the loadDataBaseUrl method.

To succesfully get video to play from the local device a static html file and the video must be co-located on the sdcard. My only conclusion is that the assets folder is off limits to the embedded plugin for security reasons.

if (!Environment.getExternalStorageState().equals(Environment.MEDIA_MOUNTED)){
    Log.d(TAG, "No SDCARD");
} else {
    webView.loadUrl("file://"+Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory()+"/FLVplayer/index.html");
    }

And here is the html file

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
</head>
<body style="margin:0; pading:0; background-color: black;">
<embed
 style="width:100%; height:100%"
 src="./FLVPlayer.swf?fullscreen=true&video=./expression_sad.flv"
 autoplay="true"
 quality="high"
 bgcolor="#000000"
 name="VideoPlayer"
 align="middle"
 allowScriptAccess="*"
 allowFullScreen="true"
 type="application/x-shockwave-flash"
 pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">
 </embed>
</body>
</html>

This is a 100% working solution but you would have to write your html file to the sdcard before calling loadUrl to dynaamically replace the video file name. In addition you should copy the video from your assets folder into the same path on the sdcard (as you can see from my exaple I created a folder called FLVplayer.

Test performed on Samsung Galaxy Tab running Froyo(2.2)

UPDATE

I am including a complete activity that has been tested and working. This expects a copy of the Flash player, the FLV file and the index.html file to be placed in a folder called "FLVplayer" on the root of your sdcard which you can copy across using the file explorer. You can edit the various utility functions to modify the behaviour to copy the files from your assetes folder

package com.FLVplayer;

import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Environment;
import android.util.Log;
import android.webkit.WebView;
import android.widget.FrameLayout;

public class FLVplayerActivity extends Activity {

private static final String TAG="FLVplayer";
private static WebView webView;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.main); 

    webView = (WebView)findViewById(R.id.webview);

    //WebView webview = new WebView(this); 
    //setContentView(webview);

    webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
    webView.getSettings().setAllowFileAccess(true);
    webView.getSettings().setPluginsEnabled(true);

    if (!Environment.getExternalStorageState().equals(Environment.MEDIA_MOUNTED)){
        Log.d(TAG, "No SDCARD");
    } else {

        //prepare the directory
        File flvDirectory = new File(Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory(),"FLVplayer");

        if(!flvDirectory.exists())
            try {
                flvDirectory.createNewFile();
            } catch (IOException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }

        //specify the html file name to use
        File flvHtml = new File(flvDirectory,"index.html");

        //copy what you need
        copySwfAsset(flvDirectory, "FLVPlayer.swf");
        copyFlvAsset(flvDirectory, "20051210-w50s.flv");

        //render the html
        createVideoHtml(flvHtml, "20051210-w50s.flv");

        //load the content into the webview
        webView.loadUrl(Uri.fromFile(flvHtml).toString());

        //sit back, watch FLV and eat popcorn
    }
}

private void createVideoHtml(File htmlFile, String htmlFileName)
{
    //TODO render your own html file to sdcard
}

private void copySwfAsset(File flvDirectory, String flashFileName)
{
    //TODO copy your own SWF video player file from assets
}

private void copyFlvAsset(File flvDirectory, String videoFileName)
{
    //TODO copy your oown FLV file from asset folder
}

@Override
protected void onPause(){
    super.onPause();

    callHiddenWebViewMethod("onPause");

    webView.pauseTimers();
    if(isFinishing()){
        webView.loadUrl("about:blank");
        setContentView(new FrameLayout(this));
    }
}

@Override
protected void onResume(){
    super.onResume();

    callHiddenWebViewMethod("onResume");

    webView.resumeTimers();
}

private void callHiddenWebViewMethod(String name){
    // credits: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3431351/how-do-i-pause-flash- content-in-an-android-webview-when-my-activity-isnt-visible
    if( webView != null ){
        try {
            Method method = WebView.class.getMethod(name);
            method.invoke(webView);
        } catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
            //Lo.g("No such method: " + name + e);
        } catch (IllegalAccessException e) {
            //Lo.g("Illegal Access: " + name + e);
        } catch (InvocationTargetException e) {
            //Lo.g("Invocation Target Exception: " + name + e);
        }
    }
  }

}

ADENDUM

I believe there may be a way to bypass the security issues by intercepting the URL of the various files and returning the data directly from the assets folder using WebViewClient.shouldInterceptRequest() but that requires API 11 so not suitable as a generic solution.

Thanks for your answer. I tried your answer and it shows please install adobe flush player plugin. So what i will do — Ramakrishna, Sep 19 '11 at 08:11
i used this http://www.synesthesia.it/playing-flash-flv-videos-in-android-applications link to play flv videos. The flv video was playing in HTC not in samsung Galaxy Ace. So then i tried your code it shows please install adobe flush player plugin. Please tell me what i have to change. — Ramakrishna, Sep 19 '11 at 08:17
you need to install adobe flash player ... I should work on Galaxy Ace without problem — Moog, Sep 19 '11 at 08:32
i found adobe flash player from android market.When click on install it shows adobe flash player was removed from android market. So please give me the link where you are downloaded the adobe flash player — Ramakrishna, Sep 19 '11 at 09:09
okay thank you for giving link but it was not installing in Samsung Galaxy Ace. I don't know what is problem. — Ramakrishna, Sep 19 '11 at 10:34
Sorry that didn't help, perhaps you could try upgrading your phone to latest firmware. If that doesn't work then maybe time to contact Samsung or ask on [Android Enthusiasts](http://android.stackexchange.com/) — Moog, Sep 19 '11 at 11:25
Hi Merlin, in your very good answer you forget to mention that you are usin OP's video player (FLVPlayer.swf), which can be downloaded from http://www.platipus.nl/flvplayer/download/1.0/FLVPlayer.swf Do you know of other video players? Thanks a lot! — Maragues, Apr 24 '12 at 10:39
I was simply attempting to recreate the environment used by the OP, as per the tutorial link in the question. You could also try http://flowplayer.org/ but I haven't tested it. — Moog, Apr 26 '12 at 08:52

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 19 '14 at 07:06

This is worked for me for local sdcard files

 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
  import java.lang.reflect.Method;

 import android.app.Activity;
 import android.net.Uri;
 import android.os.Bundle;
 import android.os.Environment;
 import android.util.Log;
 import android.webkit.WebSettings;
 import android.webkit.WebView;
 import android.widget.FrameLayout;

 public class MainActivity extends Activity {

private static final String TAG = "FLVplayer";
private static WebView webView;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    String file = "/sdcard/FLVplayer/20051210-w50s.flv";
    String htmlPre = "<!DOCTYPE html><html lang=\"en\"><head><meta charset=\"utf-8\"></head><body style='margin:0; pading:0; background-color: black;'>";
    String htmlCode = " <embed style='width:100%; height:100%' src='/sdcard/FLVplayer/FLVPlayer.swf?fullscreen=true&video="
            + file
            + "&autoplay=true' "
            + "  autoplay='true' "
            + "  quality='high' bgcolor='#000000' "
            + "  name='VideoPlayer' align='middle'"
            + // width='640' height='480'
            "  allowScriptAccess='*' allowFullScreen='true'"
            + "  type='application/x-shockwave-flash' "
            + "  pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' />"
            + "";
    String htmlPost = "</body></html>";
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);

    webView = (WebView) findViewById(R.id.webview);

    // WebView webview = new WebView(this);
    // setContentView(webview);

    webView.getSettings().setJavaScriptEnabled(true);
    webView.getSettings().setAllowFileAccess(true);
    webView.getSettings().setPluginState(WebSettings.PluginState.ON);

    if (!Environment.getExternalStorageState().equals(
            Environment.MEDIA_MOUNTED)) {
        Log.d(TAG, "No SDCARD");
    } else {

        // load the content into the webview
        // webView.loadUrl(htmlPre+htmlCode+htmlPost);
        webView.loadDataWithBaseURL("file:///android_asset/FLVPlayer.swf",
                htmlPre + htmlCode + htmlPost, "text/html", "UTF-8", null);
        // sit back, watch FLV and eat popcorn
    }
}

    }

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 26 '11 at 02:48

0

Here is a quick tip for you. I know emulators do not support flash, many of the budget android phones do not support flash either. So when you do the testing, make sure you do that in a phone that supports flash.

answered Jul 26 '11 at 02:48

Ramji

2,536
7
34
54

you are right but i have also test it in phone but cant get success. – Nikunj Patel Jul 26 '11 at 04:11

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 01 '11 at 18:12

0

I ran into this issue before. The problem is URL encoding in the load(). You must encode the ? and = to the URL Encoded equivalent %3F and %3D respectively.

answered Aug 01 '11 at 18:12

Rijvi Rajib

1,080
2
11
27

Problem to load flv video in webview

4 Answers4

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