feat(android): make buffering strategy dynamic (#3756)

* chore: rework bufferConfig to make it more generic and reduce ReactExoplayerView code size
* feat: expose bufferingStrategy to app and change default behavior
rename disableBuffering undocumented prop to bufferingStrategy and document it.
before this change, default was 'dependingOnMemory'. It can trigger some unnecessary gc() call on android.

android/src/main/java/com/brentvatne/common/api/BufferingStrategy.kt

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package com.brentvatne.common.api
+
+import com.brentvatne.common.toolbox.DebugLog
+
+/**
+ * Define how exoplayer with load data and parsing helper
+ */
+
+class BufferingStrategy {
+
+    /**
+     * Define how exoplayer with load data
+     */
+    enum class BufferingStrategyEnum {
+        /**
+         * default exoplayer strategy
+         */
+        Default,
+
+        /**
+         * never load more than needed
+         */
+        DisableBuffering,
+
+        /**
+         * use default strategy but pause loading when available memory is low
+         */
+        DependingOnMemory
+    }
+
+    companion object {
+        private const val TAG = "BufferingStrategy"
+
+        /**
+         * companion function to transform input string to enum
+         */
+        fun parse(src: String?): BufferingStrategyEnum {
+            if (src == null) return BufferingStrategyEnum.Default
+            return try {
+                BufferingStrategyEnum.valueOf(src)
+            } catch (e: Exception) {
+                DebugLog.e(TAG, "cannot parse buffering strategy " + src)
+                BufferingStrategyEnum.Default
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}

android/src/main/java/com/brentvatne/exoplayer/ReactExoplayerView.java

@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import android.widget.ImageButton;
 
 import androidx.activity.OnBackPressedCallback;
 import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
-import androidx.annotation.Nullable;
 import androidx.annotation.WorkerThread;
 import androidx.core.view.WindowCompat;
 import androidx.core.view.WindowInsetsCompat;
@@ -105,6 +104,7 @@ import androidx.media3.session.MediaSessionService;
 import androidx.media3.ui.LegacyPlayerControlView;
 
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.BufferConfig;
+import com.brentvatne.common.api.BufferingStrategy;
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.ResizeMode;
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.SideLoadedTextTrack;
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.SideLoadedTextTrackList;
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ public class ReactExoplayerView extends FrameLayout implements
     private SideLoadedTextTrackList textTracks;
     private boolean disableFocus;
     private boolean focusable = true;
-    private boolean disableBuffering;
+    private BufferingStrategy.BufferingStrategyEnum bufferingStrategy;
     private long contentStartTime = -1L;
     private boolean disableDisconnectError;
     private boolean preventsDisplaySleepDuringVideoPlayback = true;
@@ -541,9 +541,11 @@ public class ReactExoplayerView extends FrameLayout implements
 
         @Override
         public boolean shouldContinueLoading(long playbackPositionUs, long bufferedDurationUs, float playbackSpeed) {
-            if (ReactExoplayerView.this.disableBuffering) {
+            if (bufferingStrategy == BufferingStrategy.BufferingStrategyEnum.DisableBuffering) {
                 return false;
-            }
+            } else if (bufferingStrategy == BufferingStrategy.BufferingStrategyEnum.DependingOnMemory) {
+                // The goal of this algorithm is to pause video loading (increasing the buffer)
+                // when available memory on device become low.
                 int loadedBytes = getAllocator().getTotalBytesAllocated();
                 boolean isHeapReached = availableHeapInBytes > 0 && loadedBytes >= availableHeapInBytes;
                 if (isHeapReached) {
@@ -561,10 +563,12 @@ public class ReactExoplayerView extends FrameLayout implements
                     return false;
                 }
                 if (runtime.freeMemory() == 0) {
-                DebugLog.w("ExoPlayer Warning", "Free memory reached 0, forcing garbage collection");
+                    DebugLog.w(TAG, "Free memory reached 0, forcing garbage collection");
                     runtime.gc();
                     return false;
                 }
+            }
+            // "default" case or normal case for "DependingOnMemory"
             return super.shouldContinueLoading(playbackPositionUs, bufferedDurationUs, playbackSpeed);
         }
     }
@@ -2077,8 +2081,8 @@ public class ReactExoplayerView extends FrameLayout implements
         }
     }
 
-    public void setDisableBuffering(boolean disableBuffering) {
+    public void setBufferingStrategy(BufferingStrategy.BufferingStrategyEnum _bufferingStrategy) {
-        this.disableBuffering = disableBuffering;
+        bufferingStrategy = _bufferingStrategy;
     }
 
     public boolean getPreventsDisplaySleepDuringVideoPlayback() {

android/src/main/java/com/brentvatne/exoplayer/ReactExoplayerViewManager.java

@@ -10,9 +10,9 @@ import androidx.annotation.NonNull;
 import androidx.media3.common.MediaMetadata;
 import androidx.media3.common.util.Util;
 import androidx.media3.datasource.RawResourceDataSource;
-import androidx.media3.exoplayer.DefaultLoadControl;
 
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.BufferConfig;
+import com.brentvatne.common.api.BufferingStrategy;
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.ResizeMode;
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.SideLoadedTextTrackList;
 import com.brentvatne.common.api.SubtitleStyle;
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ public class ReactExoplayerViewManager extends ViewGroupManager<ReactExoplayerVi
     private static final String PROP_PLAY_IN_BACKGROUND = "playInBackground";
     private static final String PROP_CONTENT_START_TIME = "contentStartTime";
     private static final String PROP_DISABLE_FOCUS = "disableFocus";
-    private static final String PROP_DISABLE_BUFFERING = "disableBuffering";
+    private static final String PROP_BUFFERING_STRATEGY = "bufferingStrategy";
     private static final String PROP_DISABLE_DISCONNECT_ERROR = "disableDisconnectError";
     private static final String PROP_FOCUSABLE = "focusable";
     private static final String PROP_FULLSCREEN = "fullscreen";
@@ -380,9 +380,10 @@ public class ReactExoplayerViewManager extends ViewGroupManager<ReactExoplayerVi
         videoView.setContentStartTime(contentStartTime);
     }
 
-    @ReactProp(name = PROP_DISABLE_BUFFERING, defaultBoolean = false)
+    @ReactProp(name = PROP_BUFFERING_STRATEGY)
-    public void setDisableBuffering(final ReactExoplayerView videoView, final boolean disableBuffering) {
+    public void setBufferingStrategy(final ReactExoplayerView videoView, final String bufferingStrategy) {
-        videoView.setDisableBuffering(disableBuffering);
+        BufferingStrategy.BufferingStrategyEnum strategy = BufferingStrategy.Companion.parse(bufferingStrategy);
+        videoView.setBufferingStrategy(strategy);
     }
 
     @ReactProp(name = PROP_DISABLE_DISCONNECT_ERROR, defaultBoolean = false)

docs/pages/component/props.mdx

@@ -80,6 +80,16 @@ bufferConfig={{
 
 Please note that the Android cache is a global cache that is shared among all components; individual components can still opt out of caching behavior by setting cacheSizeMB to 0, but multiple components with a positive cacheSizeMB will be sharing the same one, and the cache size will always be the first value set; it will not change during the app's lifecycle.
 
+
+### `bufferingStrategy`
+<PlatformsList types={['Android']} />
+
+Configure buffering / data loading strategy.
+
+ - **Default (default)**: use exoplayer default loading strategy
+ - **DisableBuffering**: never try to buffer more than needed. Be carefull using this value will stop playback. To be used with care.
+ - **DependingOnMemory**: use exoplayer default strategy, but stop buffering and starts gc if available memory is low |
+
 ### `chapters`
 
 <PlatformsList types={['tvOS']} />

examples/basic/src/VideoPlayer.tsx

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import Video, {
   OnSeekData,
   OnPlaybackStateChangedData,
   OnPlaybackRateChangeData,
+  BufferingStrategyType,
 } from 'react-native-video';
 import ToggleControl from './ToggleControl';
 import MultiValueControl, {
@@ -934,6 +935,7 @@ class VideoPlayer extends Component {
           poster={this.state.poster}
           onPlaybackRateChange={this.onPlaybackRateChange}
           onPlaybackStateChanged={this.onPlaybackStateChanged}
+          bufferingStrategy={BufferingStrategyType.DEFAULT}
         />
       </TouchableOpacity>
     );

src/specs/VideoNativeComponent.ts

@@ -93,6 +93,8 @@ export type Seek = Readonly<{
   tolerance?: Float;
 }>;
 
+type BufferingStrategyType = WithDefault<string, 'Default'>;
+
 type BufferConfig = Readonly<{
   minBufferMs?: Float;
   maxBufferMs?: Float;
@@ -317,6 +319,7 @@ export interface VideoNativeProps extends ViewProps {
   subtitleStyle?: SubtitleStyle; // android
   useTextureView?: boolean; // Android
   useSecureView?: boolean; // Android
+  bufferingStrategy?: BufferingStrategyType; // Android
   onVideoLoad?: DirectEventHandler<OnLoadData>;
   onVideoLoadStart?: DirectEventHandler<OnLoadStartData>;
   onVideoAspectRatio?: DirectEventHandler<OnVideoAspectRatioData>;

src/types/video.ts

@@ -68,6 +68,12 @@ export type Drm = Readonly<{
   /* eslint-enable @typescript-eslint/no-unused-vars */
 }>;
 
+export enum BufferingStrategyType {
+  DEFAULT = 'Default',
+  DISABLE_BUFFERING = 'DisableBuffering',
+  DEPENDING_ON_MEMORY = 'DependingOnMemory',
+}
+
 export type BufferConfig = {
   minBufferMs?: number;
   maxBufferMs?: number;
@@ -195,6 +201,7 @@ export interface ReactVideoProps extends ReactVideoEvents, ViewProps {
   audioOutput?: AudioOutput; // Mobile
   automaticallyWaitsToMinimizeStalling?: boolean; // iOS
   bufferConfig?: BufferConfig; // Android
+  bufferingStrategy?: BufferingStrategyType;
   chapters?: Chapters[]; // iOS
   contentStartTime?: number; // Android
   controls?: boolean;