WebView is a powerful tool for displaying web content on Android devices. It allows developers to embed web pages into their apps, providing users with an immersive and interactive experience. However, one common challenge faced by Android Studio developers is how to enable fullscreen mode for videos played within WebView.

Getting Started

Before we begin, it’s important to understand the basics of how WebView works. When a user clicks on a link or button that opens a web page within WebView, the page is loaded and displayed on the screen. By default, the web page will be displayed in a smaller window within the app, allowing users to continue using other features of the app while viewing the content.

However, for videos played within WebView, developers want to enable fullscreen mode to provide an immersive experience that fills the entire screen with the video content. To achieve this, we will use the Android <h2>MediaSession API</h2> and the ExoPlayer library.

MediaSession API

The Android <h2>MediaSession API</h2> is a powerful tool for managing media playback across multiple components of an app. It allows developers to create a single media controller that can be used to control playback of music, videos, and other audio and video content. In this tutorial, we will use the <h2>MediaSession API</h2> to enable fullscreen mode for videos played within WebView.

First, let’s create a new MediaSession object:

java

MediaSession mediaSession new MediaSession(context, “MyVideoPlayer”);

In this example, we are creating a MediaSession object with the name “MyVideoPlayer”. This will be used to identify the media controller for our video content.

Next, let’s create a new ExoPlayer instance:

java

ExoPlayer exoPlayer new ExoPlayer(context);

ExoPlayer is an open-source library that provides a powerful and flexible API for playing audio and video content on Android devices. In this tutorial, we will use ExoPlayer to play our video content.

Now, let’s create a new MediaController:

java

MediaController mediaController new MediaController(context);

The MediaController object is used to manage the playback of media content within an app. We will use it to control the playback of our video content.

Finally, let’s create a new Player:

java

Player player exoPlayer.player();

The Player object represents the actual playback of media content. In this tutorial, we will use it to play our video content.

Enabling Fullscreen Mode

Now that we have created our MediaSession, ExoPlayer, MediaController, and Player objects, let’s enable fullscreen mode for our video content. To do this, we need to set the <code>isFullscreenEnabled</code> property of the MediaController to true:

java

mediaController.setIsFullscreenEnabled(true);

This will cause the media controller to enter fullscreen mode and fill the entire screen with the video content.

Playing Video Content

With our media controller set up, let’s play some video content using ExoPlayer. First, we need to create a new MediaSource object that represents the URL of the video content:

java

MediaSource mediaSource MediaSource.Builder()

.setDataSource(“https://www.example.com/video.mp4”)

.build();

Next, we need to create a new MediaItem object that represents the individual pieces of media content within the video:

java

MediaItem mediaItem MediaItem.Builder()

.setUri(mediaSource.getUri())

.build();

FAQs

Q: How do I enable fullscreen mode for videos played within WebView using Android Studio?

A: To enable fullscreen mode for videos played within WebView, you need to use the Android <h2>MediaSession API</h2> and the ExoPlayer library. First, create a new MediaSession object and a new ExoPlayer instance. Next, create a new MediaController and Player objects. Then, set the <code>isFullscreenEnabled</code> property of the MediaController to true and create a new MediaSource and MediaItem objects. Finally, add the media item to the media controller and start playback using ExoPlayer.

Q: What is the Android

MediaSession API

?

A: The Android <h2>MediaSession API</h2> is a powerful tool for managing media playback across multiple components of an app. It allows developers to create a single media controller that can be used to control playback of music, videos, and other audio and video content.

Q: What is the ExoPlayer library?

A: The ExoPlayer library is an open-source library that provides a powerful and flexible API for playing audio and video content on Android devices. It supports a wide range of media formats, including MP4, WebM, and MKV.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we explored how to enable fullscreen mode for videos played within WebView using Android Studio. We used the Android <h2>MediaSession API</h2> and the ExoPlayer library to create a powerful and flexible media controller that allowed us to control playback of our video content. By following these steps, you can provide your users with an immersive and engaging experience when playing videos within your app.