Android service update #2897

ne0rrmatrix · 2025-10-02T04:52:31Z

Description of Change

Switch from using default service implementation to using the recommended by Google. Player and MediaSession in MediaSessionService with MediaController in Activity. The deprecated API's for notifications have been completely removed and are no longer needed.

No change in features with respect to media notifications. The rich media notifications have been significantly overhauled and following best principles. The issue with notification getting stuck and not being removed when leaving page are fixed. When you stop the player the notifications will be removed automatically. If you navigate away from page the notifications will also be removed. It you force close the app by swiping up it will close the notifications and end playback.

The new changes include using a MediaController as an interface to the MediaSessionService which lives in the Activity and fully replaces the player functionality as far as MediaManager is concerned.

Deprecated API's like PlayerNotifications and custom http handlers to make web requests to get artwork have been removed and replaced with native methods that do the same thing. The Media Notifications are now unified under a single class and none of the API's are deprecated. This has backwards support and is tested from API 26 to 35.

Breaking Changes:

Applies to Android Version!
Should apply to all devices

The downside to this is possible a deal breaker and is a breaking change. Currently MediaElement supports as many concurrent players as you the developers chooses to use. With this change it will not longer support this. It will only support a single instance per app. With how the service model and integration between the player, player view and mediaSession works it is not really possible to have more than one Rich Media Session at the same time. Imagine your notification tray having a new item for every video in your collection?

This is a big issue. It is an ongoing issue for Windows, MacOS and iOS. All 3 of those devices have current and ongoing issues with CollectionViews, Grids, and Carousel Views. I do not believe it should ever have been intended to have this functionality and we should work towards creating sample pages where developers can effectively use those views and have a media element. But we need to keep to a single, reusable instance. Having multiple simultaneous players should not be supported and is not needed if the pages are designed correctly.

Fixes #

PR Checklist

Has a linked Issue, and the Issue has been approved(bug) or Championed (feature/proposal)
Has tests (if omitted, state reason in description)
Has samples (if omitted, state reason in description)
Rebased on top of main at time of PR
Changes adhere to coding standard
Documentation created or updated: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/CommunityToolkit/pulls

Additional information

Refactored `MediaElement` implementation for Android to replace the bound service (`MediaControlsService`) with `MediaSession` and `MediaController`, simplifying the architecture and aligning with modern Android media playback practices. - Removed `BoundServiceBinder` and `BoundServiceConnection` classes. - Updated `MediaControlsService` to use `ExoPlayer` and `MediaSession`. - Simplified notification management with `NotificationCompat`. - Refactored `MediaManager` to remove session and bound service logic. - Added `CreateMediaController` for asynchronous `MediaController` setup. - Updated `MauiMediaElement` to support `MediaController` integration. - Removed legacy code, unused imports, and redundant methods.

…gating a second time to same item and now the image does display in notifications. It did not previously. This affects load times. It is now faster.

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Services/MediaControlsService.android.cs

- Updated `textureview.xml` to use black backgrounds for better consistency. - Replaced `RelativeLayout` with `FrameLayout` in `MauiMediaElement.android.cs` for improved layout management. - Refactored `MediaControlsService.android.cs`: - Replaced `static readonly` fields with `const` for immutability. - Added audio attributes for better playback handling. - Updated track selector to fallback to system language. - Added handling for audio interruptions (e.g., unplugging headphones). - Added `OnTracksChanged` in `MediaManager.android.cs` to manage subtitle button visibility. - Removed unused imports and redundant constants for cleaner code. - Improved buffering strategies for smoother playback.

ne0rrmatrix · 2025-10-02T21:41:22Z

The issue with transparent or white background has been fixed! So this is now ready for review :)

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR modernizes the Android MediaElement implementation by replacing the deprecated service architecture with Google's recommended MediaSessionService approach. The changes migrate from using ExoPlayer directly to using MediaController with MediaSessionService, implementing proper lifecycle management and unified media notifications.

Key changes include:

Replaced ExoPlayer with MediaController as the platform media element
Implemented MediaSessionService pattern for background media playback
Unified media notifications using native Android methods instead of custom implementations

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 9 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
MediaManager.shared.cs	Updated global using alias from IExoPlayer to MediaController
MediaManager.android.cs	Complete overhaul replacing ExoPlayer with MediaController, removed service binding logic
MauiMediaElement.android.cs	Refactored layout from RelativeLayout to FrameLayout, added MediaController integration
MediaControlsService.android.cs	Converted from Service to MediaSessionService with proper notification handling
BoundServiceConnection.android.cs	File deleted - service binding no longer needed
BoundServiceBinder.android.cs	File deleted - service binding no longer needed
textureview.xml	Changed background colors from white/transparent to black
MediaElementHandler.android.cs	Added async MediaController creation and connection logic
AppBuilderExtensions.shared.cs	Removed MediaControlsService dependency injection

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

…oid.cs Good catch Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

…oid.cs Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Updated the CreateMediaController method to include an optional CancellationToken parameter, allowing the operation to be canceled if needed. Modified the WaitAsync call to respect the provided cancellation token, improving the method's flexibility and robustness.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 10 out of 10 changed files in this pull request and generated 13 comments.

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Services/MediaControlsService.android.cs

samples/CommunityToolkit.Maui.Sample/Pages/Views/MediaElement/MediaElementPage.xaml.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Services/MediaControlsService.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MauiMediaElement.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

…/MauiOld into AndroidServiceUpdate

ne0rrmatrix · 2025-12-18T01:06:50Z

The only current issue I am working on is Rich Media Notifications are currently only working correctly with a single player. If you have more than one it just does not work. I have never had that working at all ever. I am not sure what I will need to do to get that working. But the issue with many MediaElement's is now fixed! You can have as many as you want working at the same time. With only one Caveat. You can only play one video at a time.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 12 out of 12 changed files in this pull request and generated 21 comments.

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MauiMediaElement.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Services/MediaControlsService.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Services/MediaControlsService.android.cs

ne0rrmatrix · 2025-12-24T08:11:04Z

The project has been updated to add support for multiple media players. The only thing it does not support is more than one item when using rich media notifications. If a user has say a collection of hundreds of videos having 100's of notifications is going to be an issue. So we need to decide how we are going to handle that? Also figuring out how to do that? I know that you can have multiple separate apps that all use rich media notifications does work. But a single app with multiple I am not sure about? That is the last thing to add if we choose to do so. In all previous versions of supporting rich media notifications we have only ever supported one and I have yet to get a single bug report about not supporting it. Mainly because that idea has never worked in the past and no one either noticed or cared.

ne0rrmatrix · 2025-12-24T12:16:31Z

If we choose to continue supporting many video's being able to play simultaneously this PR will be closed as incompatible. I do not see any way to implement that. It is neither intended or recommended that anyone ever have more than one player.

KeithBoynton · 2026-01-05T10:17:35Z

What is the state of play with this guys? Parts of this PR fixes an issue I have with the Android implemention of my app. Right now I'm having to build from the PR when releasing the Android verison of my app and the Nuget version for all other platforms.

What is the hold up to getting this merged in and released?

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 10 out of 10 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T20:08:49Z

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Platforms/Android/Resources/layout/textureview.xml

    android:id="@+id/texture_view_media_element"
    app:surface_type="texture_view"
-    app:shutter_background_color="#FFFFFF"
+    app:shutter_background_color="#000000"


The shutter background color has been changed from white (#FFFFFF) to black (#000000). While this may be intentional for consistency with the black theme used throughout the UI, ensure this change is documented and doesn't negatively impact the user experience, especially during loading states.

Suggested change

app:shutter_background_color="#000000"

app:shutter_background_color="#FFFFFF"

Copilot · 2026-01-08T20:08:50Z

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

+	public void OnTracksChanged(Tracks? tracks)
+	{
+		if (tracks is null || tracks.IsEmpty)
+		{
+			return;
+		}
+		if (tracks.IsTypeSupported(C.TrackTypeText))
 		{
-			MediaElement.Duration = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(Player.Duration < 0 ? 0 : Player.Duration);
-			MediaElement.Position = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(Player.CurrentPosition < 0 ? 0 : Player.CurrentPosition);
+			PlayerView?.SetShowSubtitleButton(true);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			PlayerView?.SetShowSubtitleButton(false);
 		}
 	}


The OnTracksChanged method was moved from being a stub (empty implementation in the interface stub methods) to having actual implementation logic. However, it's listed at line 669 in the removed code as part of interface stub methods. This implementation should have proper documentation explaining when and why it's called, as it's part of the IPlayerListener interface but now has meaningful behavior.

Copilot · 2026-01-08T20:08:50Z

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Services/MediaControlsService.android.cs

+			mediaSession = null;
+			exoPlayer?.Release();


The exoPlayer is disposed in the Dispose method (line 77) but is not stopped or cleared before disposal. According to best practices and the pattern used in MediaManager.android.cs (lines 564-567), you should call exoPlayer.Stop() and exoPlayer.ClearMediaItems() before calling Release() and Dispose() to ensure proper cleanup.

Suggested change

mediaSession = null;

exoPlayer?.Release();

mediaSession = null;

exoPlayer?.Stop();

exoPlayer?.ClearMediaItems();

exoPlayer?.Release();

exoPlayer?.Dispose();

Copilot · 2026-01-08T20:08:50Z

src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.android.cs

+				// Update duration and position when ready
+				if (Player is not null)
+				{
+					MediaElement.Duration = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(
+						Player.Duration < 0 ? 0 : Player.Duration
+					);
+					MediaElement.Position = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(
+						Player.CurrentPosition < 0 ? 0 : Player.CurrentPosition
+					);
+				}
+				break;
+			case stateIdle:
+				newState = MediaElementState.None;
 				break;
 		}



Duration and Position are updated in both OnPlayerStateChanged (lines 93-98) and OnPlaybackStateChanged (lines 248-253) when the state is stateReady. This creates duplicate logic that needs to be maintained in two places. Consider consolidating this logic to avoid inconsistencies and maintenance burden.

Suggested change

// Update duration and position when ready

if (Player is not null)

{

MediaElement.Duration = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(

Player.Duration < 0 ? 0 : Player.Duration

);

MediaElement.Position = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(

Player.CurrentPosition < 0 ? 0 : Player.CurrentPosition

);

}

break;

case stateIdle:

newState = MediaElementState.None;

break;

}

UpdateDurationAndPosition();

break;

case stateIdle:

newState = MediaElementState.None;

break;

}

void UpdateDurationAndPosition()

{

if (Player is null)

{

return;

}

var durationMilliseconds = Player.Duration < 0 ? 0 : Player.Duration;

var positionMilliseconds = Player.CurrentPosition < 0 ? 0 : Player.CurrentPosition;

MediaElement.Duration = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(durationMilliseconds);

MediaElement.Position = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(positionMilliseconds);

}

ne0rrmatrix added 3 commits October 1, 2025 19:50

Refactor getting artwork to use native methods. Fixes issue with navi…

ea992b3

…gating a second time to same item and now the image does display in notifications. It did not previously. This affects load times. It is now faster.

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

3dfb124

ne0rrmatrix added the needs discussion Discuss it on the next Monthly standup label Oct 2, 2025

TheCodeTraveler reviewed Oct 2, 2025

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src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Services/MediaControlsService.android.cs Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

ne0rrmatrix marked this pull request as ready for review October 2, 2025 21:41

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ne0rrmatrix and others added 7 commits October 2, 2025 14:43

Update src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.andr…

c0c7eb8

…oid.cs Good catch Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Update src/CommunityToolkit.Maui.MediaElement/Views/MediaManager.andr…

efdde5b

…oid.cs Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Fix text selection and add dash sample to sample app

33da943

Fix layout issue

a712311

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

d1f2fc3

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

83cac6c

ne0rrmatrix mentioned this pull request Oct 10, 2025

Add Subtitle Support for MediaElement #1918

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6 tasks

ne0rrmatrix added 5 commits October 14, 2025 17:18

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

d33a686

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

e4fcf8e

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

b95adbb

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

e779753

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

1acf0f0

ne0rrmatrix removed the needs discussion Discuss it on the next Monthly standup label Oct 30, 2025

ne0rrmatrix added 3 commits November 3, 2025 23:19

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

d7dd2ef

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

5dff776

Fix merge

e33100a

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TheCodeTraveler added the needs discussion Discuss it on the next Monthly standup label Dec 6, 2025

ne0rrmatrix added 2 commits December 8, 2025 22:37

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

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Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

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ne0rrmatrix added 2 commits December 17, 2025 17:01

Multiple media players with associated sessions now supported

373086b

Merge branch 'AndroidServiceUpdate' of https://github.com/ne0rrmatrix…

02c7e49

…/MauiOld into AndroidServiceUpdate

Remove function call that was not relevant

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ne0rrmatrix added 4 commits December 17, 2025 18:51

Refactor to simplify code

8c5677b

Fix feature accidently removed

2131c78

Refactor to reduce code

93e22f8

Fix double dispose

29d1290

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Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

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ne0rrmatrix marked this pull request as draft December 24, 2025 08:57

Revert changes to add support for multiple Media Elements

0689336

Merge branch 'main' into AndroidServiceUpdate

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TheCodeTraveler added breaking change This label is used for PRs that include a breaking change and removed needs discussion Discuss it on the next Monthly standup labels Jan 8, 2026

	app:shutter_background_color="#000000"
	app:shutter_background_color="#FFFFFF"

Android service update #2897

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Android service update #2897

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ne0rrmatrix commented Oct 2, 2025

Description of Change

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ne0rrmatrix commented Dec 18, 2025

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ne0rrmatrix commented Dec 24, 2025

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KeithBoynton commented Jan 5, 2026

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