Understanding AVPlayer and Overcoming the Stream URL Issue on iOS Devices

Understanding AVPlayer and the Issue with Loading Stream URLs

As developers, we often encounter challenges when working with multimedia content, such as videos, in our iOS applications. In this article, we will delve into the world of AVPlayer, a powerful framework provided by Apple for playing video content on iOS devices.

Introduction to AVPlayer

AVPlayer is a part of the AVFoundation framework, which allows developers to play back audio and video files in their iOS apps. It provides an easy-to-use interface for loading media files, playing them back, and controlling playback.

When you create an instance of AVPlayer and pass it a URL, it attempts to load the file from that location. If the file is found successfully, AVPlayer will play it back.

The Problem with Loading Stream URLs

In this article, we’ll be discussing why loading stream URLs in AVPlayer can lead to issues on iOS devices. We’ll examine how browsers handle these streams differently and what changes you need to make to get your app working correctly.

What is a Stream URL?

A stream URL is an address that points directly to the video content itself, rather than a full HTML page with a playable video embedded in it. This can be a bit confusing when developing iOS apps.

// Example of a stream URL
let videoURL = URL(string: "https://tv1.cdn.netbadgers.com")

Why Browsers Can Load Streams but AVPlayer Can’t

When you load a stream URL directly in the browser, it can be played back because the URL contains all the necessary metadata (such as the duration and resolution) required to play the video.

However, when you try to load this same URL in your iOS app using AVPlayer, the problem arises. AVPlayer requires the media file itself, not just a pointer to where it’s stored on the internet.

In the case of the provided code snippet, the stream URL is pointing directly to a HTML page, which contains an embedded video. Unfortunately, this means that when you load the stream in your app using AVPlayer, there isn’t actually any video content at that location for AVPlayer to access.

// Example of a HTML page with a video embed
let videoURL = URL(string: "https://tv1.cdn.netbadgers.com")
let videoHTML = """
<html>
    <body>
        <video width="320" height="240" controls>
            <source src="\(\(videoURL)\)" type="video/mp4">
        </video>
    </body>
</html>
"""

Finding the Direct Link to the Video

To get around this issue, you need to find the direct link to the video itself. This can usually be done by examining the HTML page that contains the embedded video.

For example:

// Example of finding the direct video URL in a webpage's source attribute
func extractVideoURL(html: String) -> URL? {
    let regex = NSRegularExpression(pattern: "src=\"([^\"]*)\"", options: .caseInsensitive, error: nil)
    guard let regexObject = regex else { return nil }
    let range = NSMakeRange(0, html.count)
    if let matches = regexObject.firstMatches(in: html, range: range, options: []) {
        let match = matches.first
        if let url = URL(string: match[1]) {
            return url
        }
    }
    return nil
}

let videoHTML = """
<html>
    <body>
        <video width="320" height="240" controls>
            <source src="/video.mp4" type="video/mp4">
        </video>
    </body>
</html>
"""
if let directVideoURL = extractVideoURL(html: videoHTML) {
    let videoURL = URL(string: directVideoURL)
    // Use this URL to create and play the video in your app
}

Creating a Quick Solution with WKWebView

If you’re short on time or don’t want to deal with finding the direct link to the video, one quick solution is to load the HTML page itself into a WKWebView.

This allows you to embed the video and still play it back in your app:

// Example of using WKWebView to display the webpage and its embedded video
import WebKit

class ViewController: UIViewController {
    override func viewDidLoad() {
        super.viewDidLoad()
        
        let url = URL(string: "https://tv1.cdn.netbadgers.com")
        let htmlString = """
<html>
    <body>
        <video width="320" height="240" controls>
            <source src="\(\(url)\)" type="video/mp4">
        </video>
    </body>
</html>
"""
        
        let configuration = WKWebViewConfiguration()
        let webView = WKWebView(frame: .zero, configuration: configuration)
        webView.loadHTMLString(htmlString, fromURL: url, mixedRealityMode:nil, error:nil)
        
        self.view.addSubview(webView)
    }
}

Conclusion

Loading stream URLs in AVPlayer can be a bit tricky on iOS devices because they don’t directly point to the video content itself. However, with a few simple steps and some knowledge of how browsers handle these streams differently, you can overcome this issue.

If possible, try finding the direct link to the video using tools like web scraping or by manually inspecting the webpage’s source attribute. Otherwise, loading the HTML page into a WKWebView provides a quick solution for displaying the embedded video in your app.

Last modified on 2024-01-11