Building a Smooth Video Streaming Experience with React Native Video

In today’s mobile-centric world, video streaming is a core feature of many applications. Whether it's a video-sharing platform, an educational app, or a multimedia-rich social network, providing a seamless video experience is essential. With React Native, a popular framework for building cross-platform mobile apps, integrating video streaming is made easy with the react-native-video library.

In this blog, we'll walk through the steps to install, configure, and use react-native-video to create a smooth video streaming experience in your React Native applications.

1. Installation

To get started, you need to install the react-native-video library in your React Native project.

Step 1: Install the package

First, install the library using npm or yarn:

npm install react-native-video react-native-video-cache

or

yarn add react-native-video react-native-video-cache

For iOS, you might need to install the necessary pods:

cd ios
pod install
cd ..

Step 2: Additional native setup for iOS/Android

a) Android:

i) android/build.gradle

buildscript {
  ext {
    // Enable IMA (Interactive Media Ads) integration with ExoPlayer
    useExoplayerIMA = true

    // Enable support for RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) with ExoPlayer
    useExoplayerRtsp = true

    // Enable support for Smooth Streaming with ExoPlayer
    useExoplayerSmoothStreaming = true

    // Enable support for DASH (Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP) with ExoPlayer
    useExoplayerDash = true

    // Enable support for HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) with ExoPlayer
    useExoplayerHls = true
  }
}

allprojects {
    repositories {
        mavenLocal()
        google()
        jcenter()
         maven {
            url "$rootDir/../node_modules/react-native-video-cache/android/libs"
        }
    }
}

This configuration enables various streaming protocols (IMA, RTSP, Smooth Streaming, DASH, HLS) in ExoPlayer and sets up repositories to include local, Google, JCenter, and a custom Maven repository for react-native-video-cache.
Each of these features enabled will increase the size of your APK, so only enable the features you need. By default enabled features are: useExoplayerSmoothStreaming, useExoplayerDash, useExoplayerHls

ii) AndroidManifest.xml

The combination ensures that the app has enough memory to handle large datasets (via largeHeap) and can render graphics efficiently (via hardwareAccelerated), leading to a smoother and more stable user experience. However, both should be used with consideration of the app's performance and the specific needs of its functionality.

b) iOS:

i) In ios/your_app/AppDelegate.mm inside didFinishLaunchingWithOptions add:

#import  

- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions
{
  self.moduleName = @"your_app";

  // --- You can add your custom initial props in the dictionary below.
  [[AVAudioSession sharedInstance] setCategory:AVAudioSessionCategoryPlayback error:nil];
  // --- They will be passed down to the ViewController used by React Native.

  self.initialProps = @{};
  return [super application:application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:launchOptions];
}

Ensuring that audio continues to play even when the app is in the background or in silent mode

ii) ios/Podfile:

...
# ENABLE THIS FOR CACHEING THE VIDEOS 
platform :ios, min_ios_version_supported
prepare_react_native_project!
# -- ENABLE THIS FOR CACHEING THE VIDEOS 
$RNVideoUseVideoCaching=true

...

target 'your_app' do

  config = use_native_modules!
  # ENABLE THIS FOR CACHEING THE VIDEOS 
  pod 'SPTPersistentCache', :modular_headers => true;
  pod 'DVAssetLoaderDelegate', :modular_headers => true;

...

This configuration enables video caching in the iOS project by adding specific CocoaPods (SPTPersistentCache and DVAssetLoaderDelegate) that handle caching and asset loading. The flag $RNVideoUseVideoCaching=true signals that the project should use these caching capabilities. This setup improves the performance of video playback by reducing the need to re-fetch video files.

2. Usage:

import Video from 'react-native-video';
import convertToProxyURL from 'react-native-video-cache';

          

3. Tips for Optimization

To ensure smooth video playback:

• Use a CDN: Host your videos on a CDN (Content Delivery Network) for faster loading.
• Adaptive Streaming: Implement adaptive streaming (HLS or DASH) to adjust the video quality based on network conditions.
• Preload Videos: Preload videos to avoid buffering during playback.
• Optimize Video Files: Compress video files without losing quality to reduce load times.

Conclusion

The react-native-video library is a powerful tool for adding video functionality to your React Native applications. With its extensive configuration options and event handling capabilities, you can create a smooth and customized video streaming experience for your users. Whether you need a basic player or a fully customized one, react-native-video has you covered.