📹 RaspberryPi-Android-VideoPlayer

A versatile project that bridges a Raspberry Pi and an Android app to enable seamless video capture, playback, and streaming across devices.

🚀 Project Overview

This system empowers users with:

• 🎬 Android App for intuitive video playback
• 🌐 Streaming from Internet and local device storage
• 🎥 Video Capture via USB Webcam using V4L2 on the Raspberry Pi
• 📡 Live Video Streaming from the Pi to the Android device over the network

🔧 Features

🏠 Main Page

   • Centralized navigation hub.
   • Quick access to all major functionalities: Stream from Internet, Stream from Local etc.
   • Provide direct access to the developer’s professional profiles on LinkedIn and GitHub.

1. 📡 Stream from Internet

   • Watch internet-hosted video streams directly from the Android app using ExoPlayer.

      📁 Cureent Implementation
            • Video URLs are hardcoded in the app and tied to each button. Not scalable for future changes.

      🏗️ Future Enhancement
            • Host a JSON file (e.g., on GitHub Pages) containing video metadata.
            • App fetches and parses this JSON to load videos dynamically - enabling easy updates.

2. ▶️ Stream from Local (Phone Storage)

   • Stream video files saved locally on Android phone thougha user-friendly interface.

---

3. 🎥 Capture Video using USB webcam

The Android app allows remote control of video recording on the Raspberry Pi via HTTP triggers. It provides a simple interface to start and stop video capture from a USB webcam connected to the Pi.

   ⎔ Start Recording
        Tapping the Start Recording Video button sends a GET /start-capture HTTP request to the Pi.
            • The Python HTTPServer on the Pi listens for this trigger.
            • Upon receiving the request, it runs the video capture executable using: subprocess.Popen(["./main"]).
            • This starts capturing video using the connected USB webcam via the V4L2 API.
   ⎔ Stop Recording
         Pressing Stop Recording Video sends a GET /stop-capture request.
            • The server intercepts this signal and gracefully stops the ongoing video recording process.

📁 Current Outputs
    • Each captured frame is saved as a raw .yuyv file.
    • Files are named sequentially: frame_0.yuyv, frame_1.yuyv, and so on.

🚧 Future Enhancement
    • The .yuyv frames will be automatically converted to a compressed .mp4 video using FFmpeg.
    • The resulting .mp4 file will be timestamped and named accordingly.
    • The server will return the final filename back to the Android app in the HTTP response.

Folder Structure

pi-video-capture/
├── main.c                   # V4L2-based video capture source code
├── main                     # Compiled binary executed by the server
├── Makefile                 # Build configuration for compiling main.c
├── trigger_server.py        # Lightweight HTTP server for start/stop triggers
└── captured_frames/         # Output directory for captured frames

---

4. 📽️ Stream Live Feed from Pi (Notes on Notion)

The Android app can remotely control live video streaming from the Raspberry Pi using HTTP commands, enabling real-time video access directly from the Pi’s USB webcam.

   ⎔ Start Streaming
        • Tapping Start Live Stream in the app sends a GET /start-live-stream request to the Pi.
        • The Python HTTP server running on the Pi receives this trigger and launches an FFmpeg process
           using subprocess.Popen() to begin live streaming via HLS.
   ⎔ View Live Stream
        • Tapping View Live Stream opens an ExoPlayer instance within the app to play the HLS stream.
        • ⚠️ Note: There is a known startup delay in the stream. If playback is attempted immediately, it crashes
                  the Exoplayer.
            • Future versions will eliminate the separate View Live Stream button in favor of auto-play once the
              stream is confirmed active.
   ⎔ Stop Streaming
        • Tapping Stop Live Stream sends a GET /stop-live-stream request to the Pi.
        • The server intercepts this request and terminates the FFmpeg process, ending the stream cleanly.

Folder Structure

pi-live-stream/
└── trigger_server.py        # Python HTTP server to handle streaming triggers

---

5. Stream Recorded Video from Pi

   ⎔ Coming soon....

---

Android Folder Structure

android-app/
├── app/                      # Base application module
│   ├── AndroidManifest.xml   # App manifest
│   ├── java/
│   │   └── com/example/raspberryplayer/
│   │       ├── MainPageActivity.java           # Home screen with navigation buttons
│   │       ├── StreamInternetActivity.java     # Plays video from a URL
│   │       ├── StreamLocalActivity.java        # Plays video from device storage
│   │       ├── CaptureVideoActivity.java       # Sends HTTP commands to record video via Pi
│   │       ├── LiveFeedPiActivity.java         # Triggers live stream start/stop
│   │       ├── ExoPlayerActivity.java          # Displays live stream using ExoPlayer
│   │       └── StreamVideoPiActivity.java      # Streams recorded videos hosted by the Pi
│   └── res/
│       ├── layout/
│       │   ├── activity_main_page.xml
│       │   ├── activity_stream_internet.xml
│       │   ├── activity_stream_local.xml
│       │   ├── activity_capture_video.xml
│       │   ├── activity_live_feed_pi.xml
│       │   ├── activity_exo_player.xml
│       │   └── activity_stream_video_pi.xml
│       ├── drawable/                           # Icons, backgrounds, etc.
│       └── values/
│           ├── strings.xml                     # UI text content
│           ├── colors.xml
│           └── themes.xml

---

Demo