Comparing top video player for Android

VLC for Android

VLC media player is a cross-platform open source multi-media player. VLC for Android supports audio and video playback as well as network streams, DVD ISOs, network shares and drivers. It is similar to the desktop version of VLC.

Rating & Reviews – 4.2, 1.7M reviews

“Excellent app but the only thing that I found bugging me is that in some long videos (~2h-3hr) we can not jump to a certain position and the video automatically stops playing. Even if we play video from the beginning and when it reaches this certain point, it stops playing. I even tried to change h/w acceleration options but it didn’t work. Hope this gets fixed asap.” – Play Store review

MX Player: Video Player & OTT

MX Player supports all popular video formats and offers MX Silver Ad-Lite subscription. MX Player app supports seamless 8K / 4K Ultra HD / HD video playback. Additionally , you get access to a vast collection of free multilingual movies, TV shows, MX Originals, music videos, and much more.

Rating & Reviews – 4, 12.3M reviews

“Best app, Add 1.25 speed on video player” – Play Store review

BSPlayer

BSPlayer is a hardware accelerated video player, suited for older Android devices. It supports multi-core (dual and quad-core) HW decoding and it’s also known for its automatic subtitle finding functionality.

Rating & Reviews – 4, 145K reviews

“Used this app for the past decade but now Too many ads, switched to VLC” – Play Store review

Kodi

Kodi is an open-source software media player for digital media for Home Theatre PCs (HTPCs). It’s ideal for users who want to integrate their video, music, and gaming experiences in one platform.

Rating & Reviews – 3.2, 328k reviews

“Powerful app. Has a lot of features and functionalities and still runs smooth. Can not only convert your phone to a server can also act as an intermediate device to boost functionalities of other devices. Like if your router only has ftp or smb can use this phone as a upnp middle man. Lots of other stuff too.” – Play Store review

KMPlayer – All Video Player

KMPlayer caters to all forms of HD videos, music and subtitle files. Features include bookmark, quick button, chromecast support, and play speed settings.

Rating & Reviews – 3.6, 388K reviews

“Impressive. First app giving all the desired options after over 10 attempts with other players. Flawless. Good songs management, can play in background without blocking the screen, sound amplifier… even cool options like wifi broadcast. Probably the BEST AND MOST USEFUL app on google play.” – Play Store review

XPlayer (Video Player All Format)

XPlayer is a highly popular online video player, supporting all video formats and 4K/Ultra HD video files. The player supports password for your private album and Night Mode, Quick Mute & Playback Speed.

Rating & Reviews – 4.7, 1.56M reviews

“Have been using this video player app for a while now, and it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. On the positive side, all my videos play seamlessly, and the interface is user-friendly. However, I’ve encountered an issue with song detection. Not all my songs are being picked up by the app, which can be frustrating when I want to create playlists including both videos and music. I appreciate the smooth video playback, but I hope the developers can address the song detection issue in future updates.” – Play Store review

Must have features in a custom video player for Android App

Multi-Format Support – support for various video formats (FLV, MKV, MP4 and AVI) and codecs. This ensures video availability and playback on a variety of video files on devices.

Adaptive Streaming – adaptive streaming auto adjusts the video quality as per the viewer’s internet speed, thus ensuring smooth playback. The video player has to support adaptive streaming protocols like DASH and HLS.

User-Friendly Interface – The player must have an easy to navigate and intuitive interface. This improves the viewing experience and accessibility for the viewers.

Responsive and Efficient Playback Controls – Various controls like play, pause, seek must be responsive and smooth, giving the viewer complete control over the video playback.

Subtitle Support – subtitle support makes the content accessible to non-native speakers and people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The player should have support for various subtitle formats.

Hardware Acceleration – This involves utilizing the device hardware tor video decoding, which improves the performance. High-resolution videos have a smooth playback and at the same time, battery life is conserved.

Customizable Playback Speed – Without disturbing the audio quality, the player must have the option to alter playback speed. It is highly useful in education videos or watching videos at preferred speeds.

Aspect Ratio and Zoom Controls – changing aspect ratio and zoom in/out allows viewers to adjust the video display as per their preference or screen size.

Error Handling and Reporting – There will be instances of playback errors and a proper clarification and potential solution should be displayed to the viewer.

Security and DRM Support – VdoCipher custom video player for Android offers the highest level of video security i.e, DRM support to protect copyrighted content and ensure compliance.

Analytics and Reporting – Gathering data on viewer’s viewing behavior and preferences make it easy to improve and personalize their viewing experience.

Integrations – with Native, Flutter, React Native SDK

Offline download & playback – Ability to support offline download and secure playback.

Play Integrity Integration – To prevent app cloning and prevent hacking attempts. Check out our play integrity apk documentation to know more.

Picture in Picture Option – multi-window mode to shrink a video to a small player so that you can keep using other apps on your smartphone.

Background playback possibility – play videos in background

Creating custom video player for Android

Most developers, while creating a custom video player for Android, rely on two primary options provided by Google, MediaPlayer and ExoPlayer. MediaPlayer is a customizable open source library, part of android SDK and suited for simple playback video requirements. On the other hand, ExoPlayer offers more features and flexibility. Developers use it for advanced features like adaptive streaming.

MediaPlayer

The framework supports various common media type playbacks, allowing easy integration of images, video and audio into your applications. Audio and video media files stored in application’s resources can be played from standalone files or using MediaPlayer APIs to play from a data stream arriving over a network connection. MediaPlayer is easy to integrate, making it a popular choice for developers who do not need extensive customizations.

Following classes are used to play sound and videos in the Android framework:

• MediaPlayer – primary API to play sound and video. It supports various media sources such as Local resources, Internal URIs and External URLs (streaming)
• AudioManager – manages audio sources and audio output on a device

MediaPlayer has limited support for adaptive streaming protocols like HLS or DASH and doesn’t provide as much control over buffering, rendering, and track selection.

Media3 ExoPlayer

Jetpack Media3 has a Player Interface which defines basic functionalities such as pause, play, seek and display track information. The default implementation of this interface in Media3(a powerful media playback library by Google ) is ExoPlayer. Compared to MediaPlayer, it provides support for multi streaming protocols, default media renderers, and components to handle media buffering. ExoPlayer is highly customizable and can be updated via Play Store application updates.

• Add ExoPlayer as a dependency to your project.
• Create an ExoPlayer instance.
• Attach the player to a view (for video output and user input).
• Prepare the player with a MediaItem to play.
• Release the player when done.

Comparison between MediaPlayer and ExoPlayer Framework

VdoCipher Security and DRM in video players for Android

VdoCipher has mastered the art of delivering encrypted video content to Android devices, leveraging the power of ExoPlayer/Media3. Let’s dive into the four key components that make this possible:

• The Client’s Role – At the heart of the process is the client, eagerly attempting to play content. This is where the user’s journey begins.
• VdoCipher’s License Server – This is the brains of the operation. The license server responds to client requests by generating decryption keys, ensuring that only authorized users can access the content.
• Provisioning for Unique Credentials – Some scenarios require unique credentials for specific devices. Here, a provisioning server steps in to ensure that each device gets what it needs for a seamless streaming experience.
• The Content Server – The final piece of the puzzle is the content server, which safely serves the encrypted content to the client.

Now, let’s look at how these components interact at the client-side

• Playing Protected Content – The client attempts to play protected content from the content server. This is done using a DashMediaSource, paired with a DrmSessionManager.
• The Role of DRMSessionManager – The DRMSessionManager, a pivotal element, implements the MediaDRMCallback. It’s further enhanced by the HttpMediaDrmCallback, which adds layers of functionality, such as wrapping/unwrapping license requests and responses, and throwing custom exceptions to pinpoint issues.
• Device Provisioning – If a device needs provisioning, a request is made to the provisioning server. This is seamlessly handled via a callback.
• License Acquisition and Playback – Once the MediaDRM client secures the license, it’s passed to ExoPlayer, kickstarting media playback. This process is a must for each media playback request, especially for non-persistent licenses.
• Handling Persistent Licenses – The application smartly saves and reuses persistent licenses until they expire. Plus, persistent license requests are pre-fetched before video playback begins, using OfflineLicenseHelper. This ensures video initialization is smooth, regardless of the success of the license fetch operation.

FAQs

What is the best video player for Android?

Some of the best-rated video player for Android based on customer reviews are MX Player, VLC for Android, and ExoPlayer.

Is MX Player allowed in India?

Yes, MX Player services are accessible in India.

Is VLC better than MX Player?

Each of these Android video players have their own strengths and weaknesses. Some reddit reviews find MX Player having better customizations and preference for pc, laptop unlike VLC which is recommended by many for smartphones.

Can the interface of Android video players be customizable?

Video players for Android like VdoCipher custom video player offer a high level of customizations like theme and layout change.

Do video player for Android have adaptive streaming?

VdoCipher video player supports adaptive bitrate streaming which means the video quality dynamically adjusts based on the viewer’s internet connection and playback device. The feature is highly useful in times of low internet connectivity or for those living in tier 2,3 cities. Learn more about VdoCipher’s Android video SDK  for adaptive streaming

References:

https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/media/platform/mediaplayer

https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/media/exoplayer

Jyoti

Jyoti began her career as a software engineer in HCL with UNHCR as a client. She started evolving her technical and documentation writing skills to become a full-time Content Marketer at VdoCipher.

The post Best Video Player for Android Comparison 2024 appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.

Why Video DRM, Encryption & Security are needed

In recent years, there has been a boom in the number of e-learning video platforms and OTT mediums. These platforms rely on their premium content to generate revenue. With the rise in piracy, this content becomes freely available over the web. Anyone can access the resources without spending a penny. This results in organizations losing billions of dollars. Here arises the need for video encryption. In simple words, video encryption means the file or message is encoded in a way that an encryption key is required to access the content. This restricts unauthorized video views or downloads.

Mainly, Video encryption technologies are classified on the basis of video being live or pre-recorded. For example:

Available Video Encryption Technologies for Pre-recorded videos,

• HLS-E – HLS with AES-128
• AES- 128 Encryption
• DRM encryption (recommended)

Available Video Encryption Technologies for Live videos,

• HTML5 DRM standard
• RTMFP and RTMP(E)

How to avail Advanced Video Security options like DRM

To avail DRM security you need to first know about the available types of DRM/CDM providers. These providers are mostly tech giants like Google & Apple as they have integrations and dependencies in almost all video viewing devices and softwares. Also, Google & Apple keep releasing regular security updates as soon as they find a video security breach.

Types of CDM or Content Decryption Module respective DRM technology providers:

• Google Widevine used in Chrome, Firefox, Opera
• Apple FairPlay for Safari in Mac OS
• Adobe Primetime CDM
• Microsoft PlayReady used Edge & IE11

Now comes the part where you need to apply this technology to safeguard your videos. These tech giants provide you only will basic documentation about their APIs and implementing DRM with CDM specific dependencies can be difficult. Usually, companies like Netflix have their in-house DRM solution specific tech teams. A team is required as it is not only the DRM protection part you need to handle but also other features like adaptive bitrate and CDN distribution.

A good part here is that some media tech brands like Vdocipher provide you with a complete package of all these advanced video security features. The complete package lets you safeguard your video on all devices supported by inbuilt Google Widevine or Apple Fairplay. These packages also include Amazon AWS Server hosting with CDN distribution, Adaptive bitrate streaming for various bandwidths and multi-device support.

What is Google Widevine CDM or Content Decryption Module?

Owned by Google, Widevine is an encryption framework offering DRM solutions to secure high-quality videos and audio. With being royalty-free, Widevine delivers protected premium content at the highest possible quality. Having over 800 partners and serving 5 billion devices, Widevine is trusted by OTT networks like Netflix, HBO, Prime Videos, Hulu and more. Widevine ensures secure content delivery by preventing unauthorized downloading or copying of licensed media. It’s designed to prevent video piracy and combines encryption, license key exchange and other streaming quality features. It comes pre-installed in many browser android devices and chromium-based devices. To play DRM protected media and HTML5 videos, the browser needs the Widevine module enabled.

How does Widevine CDM handle video encryption and security?

The whole process of safe playback of encrypted content hinges on two vital components: the Content Decryption Module (CDM) and the OEMCrypto Module.

A Content Decryption Module (CDM) is installed on every device designed to play encrypted content, the CDM is unique to the type of device. Its core responsibilities include:

• Detecting encrypted content during playback. Using information such as the MPD and PSSH (Protection System Specific Header), the CDM determines the DRM system to employ.
• Creating an encrypted license request. This request is initially sent to the player, which in turn communicates it to the Widevine license server.
• Handling the encrypted license information from the License Server. This information is crucial for content decryption. The CDM collaborates with the OEMCrypto Module to decrypt the content.

OEMCrypto Module is situated in the Trusted Layer of the device and integrated with the device’s hardware, this module manages the decryption process. It harnesses the encrypted license data to decrypt the media, preparing it for playback on the video stack.

Widevine CDM decrypts the video stream and links to the Widevine DRM license server. However, before the decryption and content display, a CDM file containing proprietary code requests the licenses from the Widevine license server. Let us see how this happens.

When a user sends a content stream request, the Widevine CDM receives the header request from the respective content provider. Next, the CDM utilizes the encryption method information to generate a license request to the Widevine license server. In turn, the license server sends back the license containing the content keys. The CDM then uses these content keys for content decryption, following which the user views the content.

The below table from Widevine provides the list of valid browser CDMs.

Widevine security levels, their usage and requirements:

How Encrypted Media Extensions & CDM provides the best Video Security

Encrypted Media Extensions by W3C (The World Wide Web Consortium) offer API to enable interaction of web apps with content protection systems and allow playbacks of encrypted media. Regardless of the underline protection system, EME enables the same apps and encrypted files in any browser. Standardized APIs and Common Encryption do this.

As the name suggests, EME is an extension of HTMLMediaElement specification. Being an extension, browser support is optional. The external components used in EME implementation are Key System, Content Decryption Module (CDM), License (Key) server and Packaging service. EME gets keys from the DRM license server to enable decryption while user identity and authentication is not its part. On the other hand, service providers like Netflix authenticate users and determine identity and privileges within their web apps.

Image source: w3 org

EME & CDM Technical Process Flow

• A web app like Netflix attempts playing audio or video, having one or multiple encryption streams.
• The browser now recognizes the media is encrypted (metadata of the media container file contains this information in ISO BMFF or WebM formats). Therefore, the browser and the metadata (initData) obtained from the media fire an encrypted event.
• The application now handles the encrypted event.
• When no MediaKeys object has been associated with the media element – select an available key system using the navigator.requestMediaKeySystemAccess(). Then create MediaKeys object for an available Key System using the MediaKeySystemAccess object.
• After creating the MediaKeys object, setMediaKeys() associates the MediaKeys object with an HTMLMediaElement, so that its keys can be used during playback or decoding.
• The app calls createSession() on the MediaKeys to create a MediaKeySession, representing the lifetime of a license and its key.
• The application passes the media data obtained in the encrypted handler to the CDM to generate a license request by calling generateRequest() on the MediaKeySession.
• The CDM fires a request message event to acquire a key from a license server.
• The app sends a message to the license server after the MediaKeySession object receives the message event.
• App now passes the media data obtained in the encrypted handler to the CDM to generate a license request. Then, using the update() method of the MediaKeySession, it passes the data to the CDM.
• Using the keys in the DRM license, CDM decrypts the media. A valid key needs to be used from any session within the MediaKeys associated with the media element. Indexed by Key ID, CDM will access the key and policy.
• And finally, Media playback resumes.

CDM Key Exchange Mechanism and Trusted Playback

Central to Widevine’s architecture is the principle that encryption keys never surface directly to the user. A stream’s header, sent to the client, carries minimal information about the encryption method. This data flows to the CDM installed in the user’s client or browser. The CDM, fortified with obfuscation techniques like Arxan, is pivotal for content decryption. Through the CDM, a license request is sent to Widevine’s license server. In return, the server dispatches a license containing content keys to the client, enabling the CDM to decrypt the content for user viewing.

At the heart of this process lies trust. When users access a media file or stream encrypted with a symmetric key (usually an AES-128 variant), they not only need the decryption key but also a trusted environment for playback. Modern browsers encapsulate this environment, thanks to the CDM. But who establishes this trust? The content provider. It’s paramount for content publishers to trust that the user’s system will uphold the set content usage policy, making the content accessible for, say, “48 hours only.”

This trust entails a hardware-backed Trusted Execution Environment or equivalent and a plethora of proprietary software safeguarding techniques. The software and hardware must be fortified against breaches, ensuring the decryption process and its keys are inaccessible to attackers.

Furthermore, the delivery of content keys to users incorporates a cryptographic challenge/response mechanism involving PKI. The device’s identity is verified through key requests, while the key responses are encrypted with the device’s public key. This process ensures that even if a user captures the key file, its distribution to other devices remains improbable due to unique PKI material.

Widevine CDM or Content Decryption Module Errors

There are multiple issues when you get the ‘’Widevine content decryption module’ error. Below is a complied error list with the proper fixes.

Outdated Chrome Components Widevine CDM Update or Content Decryption Module Chromium Update & download

You may face the ‘chrome components Widevine CDM update’ issue due to outdated CDM. To update, follow these steps:

• Into your chrome browser, type ‘chrome://components/.’
• In the list, go to Widevine Content Decryption Module and click ‘Check for update’.
• Refresh the page to check status as ‘Up-to-date’.
• Restart your system and try playing the video.

Widevine CDM lacks permissions – Change Chrome Permissions For Widevine CDM

This error arises when the Widevine CDM crashes or lacks complete permissions. To set the permissions, follow the below steps:

1. Press Windows + R to open Run.
2. In the Run dialogue box, enter ‘%userprofile%/appdata/local’. This will navigate to AppData ->Local folder of the PC.
3. Now navigate to Google > Chrome > User Data
4. Right-click on ‘WidevineCdm’ and go to ‘properties.’
5. Under the Security tab, check whether the login has full access.
6. Uncheck all the boxes under f Deny column.
7. Restart the PC and update the plugin using the first method.
8. Once the CDM is updated, restart the PC again.

Delete Outdated Widevine CDM Plugin Folder and Update

• Access Run by pressing Windows + R
• Follow the above steps (1-3). Right-click on ‘WidevineCdm’ and ‘Delete’.
• Open ‘Task Manager’ and select ‘Run as administrator.
• End all chrome tasks by right-clicking on Chrome related items and click ‘End task’.
• Now update the plugin using step one ( Update Widevine Content Decryption Module)
• Restart the PC after updating.

Update Widevine CDM by temporarily disabling antivirus and Firewall

Antivirus and security software like McAfee, Norton prevents plugins to update for safety reasons. So, to update the Widevine CDM, you can temporarily disable security applications and antivirus, Once updates, enable them back.

How to fix Widevine CDM or Content Decryption Module Mozilla Firefox Error

• Open Firefox and go to the right side hamburger menu.
• Select ‘Add-ons’ and go to ‘Plugins’. You will see ‘Widevine Content Decryption Module provided by Google Inc.’ if installed.
• From the three-dotted menu, select ‘Always Activate’.
• Close and open the browser.
• If the plugin is not installed, go to the menu or hamburger icon on the top of firefox and select ‘Settings’.
• Under ‘General’, navigate to ’Digital Rights Management Content’.
• Check on it to enable Firefox to download the Widevine CDM.

Fix Widevine CDM Update Error in Mac OS

• Hold the ‘Option’ key and click on ‘Go’. Then select ‘Library’.
• Now navigate to ‘Application Support’ > ‘Google’ > ‘Chrome’.
• Delete the folder named ‘WidevineCDM’.
• Type and enter ‘chrome://components’ in Chrome browser.
• Under ‘WidevineCdm’, click ‘Check for update’. Refresh the page.

Widevine CDM or Content Decryption Module Netflix Error M7701-1003

While streaming Netflix on your computer, error code M7701-1003 causes hindrance. This means ‘Widevine Content Decryption Module’ in the browser needs an update. Or, some antivirus in the computer is not allowing Widevine to update. Updating the outdated ‘WidevineCdm’ will resolve the issue.

Widevine CDM Libraries errors In Ubuntu

The browsers installed on your Ubuntu system must have installed Widevine libraries. To verify, run the following command.

• $ sudo apt install mlocate
• $ locate libwidevinecdm.so

If the output has ‘libwidevinecdm.so’, it confirms the presence of Widevine libraries.

To fix unrecognized video format errors in Ubuntu due to limited codec support, install full codecs.

• $ sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Widevine CDM Amazon Prime Video Error 7235

The error is more of browser dependent as the app bugs are handled separately via application update via Playstore or App store. To handle the browser issues, do follow the below steps to resolve them.

• Update your Chrome web browser for desktop. Check for available updates through Settings > About Chrome.
• You will get a prompt to download and install any available updates.
• Now, In your Chrome web browser, enter chrome://components in the address bar.
• Click “Check for Update” under Widevine Content Decryption Module and install any available updates.

VdoCipher – Easiest way to get complete Widevine DRM protection

All the above security details around Widevine DRM protection, Updates and Resolutions work synchronously for the protection of your videos. It provides you with the best available protection for videos but implementing a Widevine DRM protection layer on your videos can be tricky.

At this point, media tech brand like Vdocipher takes up all the heavy loaded implementation tasks and provide you with a complete package of all these advanced video DRM security features at your fingertips. Integrations are even supported by a web interface as well as via API for technical and bulk usage. The complete package lets you safeguard your video on all devices supported by inbuilt Google Widevine & Apple Fairplay. Also, you get Amazon AWS Server hosting with CDN distribution, Adaptive bitrate for various bandwidths and multi-device support.

FAQs

How does the Widevine Content Decryption Module work?

The Widevine Content Decryption Module works by decrypting DRM-protected content so that it can be viewed in your browser.

What content has a higher value than the cost incurred to create?

Sensitive documents and Premium Video Footage.

What is the risk of unwanted access to your Video library?

Multimedia content is often illegally reused, remixed, and later republished.

Which piracy protection technology is used by distributors and asset owners?

DRM or Digital Rights Management through VdoCipher.

Vishal Sharma

My expertise focuses on DRM encryption, CDN technologies, and streamlining marketing campaigns to drive engagement and growth. At VdoCipher, I’ve significantly enhanced digital experiences and contributed to in-depth technical discussions in the eLearning, Media, and Security sectors, showcasing a commitment to innovation and excellence in the digital landscape.

The post Widevine Content Decryption Module or CDM DRM & its browser components appeared first on VdoCipher Blog.