[400usd] UVLC (Android, ios and windows standalone)

UVLC
​

Link to the store: UVLC

This plugin is aimed to integrate video playback on your game or app both, local and streamed files.

And I really mean integrate... most solutions out there just put video on your game, but it's very hard to get it really integrated into the experience.

With this plugin video becomes as accessible and integrated into unity as your other image and audio files. You can access each frame from your own shaders and you can locate each audio channel on your 3D environment (very important in virtual reality)

As you can guess it is based on libVLC engine, so it is able to play whatever you play using your VLC (including youtube and vimeo if you can get the video url).

It works for windows standalone (32 and 64 bits), android, ios and inside the editor, which I find very useful and it was one of my requirements when I started this development.

It also includes my other popular asset easy threading: https://forum.unity3d.com/threads/20usd-easy-threading-multi-threading-made-easy.262860/ and the custom build system I use in my developments and that allows to deploy and execute all builds with one click (a must have)

I know it is an expensive asset, but trust me, I've tried many other video playback solutions and this is the one you need. And I assure you that developing it by yourself will be much more expensive.

I didn't include the scripts and shaders for stereoscopic and surround (360/180 degree videos) videos but if there is enough demand I will add them (they are quite straightforward to implement, to be honest).

Some video of the plugin working:

 

Asset is live!

 

What's the performance like compared to Unity's build in video player?

 

Hi Lukas,

I didn't make a direct comparison, since they are two different animals, VLC is much more complete solution than the one unity provides. UVLC uses the native version of VLC for each platform, so u can expect its perfomance to be similar to the VLC application.

But I think your request makes sense, so, what kind of comparison would you like? I post the results as soon as possible.

 

Linux supported?

 

Just purchased it but it appears that it doesn't work for UWP 10 (Windows Store). Please help!

 

Hi Play_Edu:
No, linux is not supported.

Hi FinVR:
I think we are already talking over email, right? I will try to get it to work (as said on the description I only tested it for android and 32/64 bits standalone)

 

Hi thanks for replay.

 

It will crash in 32/64 bits standalone.(unity version 5.5.0f3) please check it.

 

@salanc, can you give more details? it works fine for me

 

@salanc, try downloading the latest version (it was approved yesterday)

 

Hi Arklay ..please include 3d stereo panorama 360 video demos to Google CardBoard and Samsung GearVR and i will buy..

 

I download the last version.It can work. thanks.

 

@salanc , great, let me know if u need some help

@norbertots i've just uploaded a new version to the store, I will update the post as soon as it gets approved until them you can download a binary demo of the 360 and stereoscopic implementation here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4342611/UVlc-1.0-x64.zip

The 360 implementation is just a custom shader, so it is quite straightforward. For the stereoscopic 3d there are to main tasks:
- use the uv coordinates to show the left or the right half of the frame
- use layers to show one raw image or the other depending on the eye camera

 

Hi,
Just purchased it but it appears that it doesn't work for Android.

Logcat :

Code (CSharp):

1. Unable to lookup library path for 'libvlc', native render plugin support disabled.
2. Unable to find libvlc
3. DllNotFoundException: libvlc
4.   at (wrapper managed-to-native) U3D.VlcUnity.libvlc:libvlc_media_player_new (intptr)
5.   at U3D.VlcUnity.VlcPlayer.CreateVlcPlayer () [0x000a9] in D:\Projects\RD\uVLC\Assets\Arklay\U3D\VlcUnity\Implementation\VlcPlayer_Setup_Cleanup.cs:44
6.   at U3D.VlcUnity.VlcPlayer.OnEnable () [0x00002] in D:\Projects\RD\uVLC\Assets\Arklay\U3D\VlcUnity\VlcPlayer.cs:27
7.  
8. (Filename: D Line: 0)

PC used for compilation : Windows 7Pro 64bits
Unity 5.5.0 p3

Reproduced with empty projet using only this plugin and the launch scene : Example. Builded with your Build System tool.

 

Yeah artefactodev, sorry about that, there is a bug in the version you are using (I just uploaded a fix, its under review right now)

To fix it, please change the DllImport("libvlc") to DllImport("vlc") that should fix it.

Again, sorry about that

 

Thank you ArkLay.

With this fix, streamed video play correctly on Android. But, how can we play video from streamingAssets folder on this platform ?

 

Hi, for standalone an ios it's very easy, but for android the movie will be compressed into the jar file, so first you would have to uncompress it and store it somewhere (external storage probably).

Example code (quick and dirty):

Code (CSharp):

1.  
2. public class SetMovie : MonoBehaviourBase
3. {
4.     [System.Diagnostics.Conditional("DEBUG_SetMovie")]
5.     void Log(string fmt, params object[] pars)
6.     {
7.         // Do not add the name of the funtion to avoid problems with multithreading
8.         Debug.LogFormat(GetType() + " - " + fmt, pars);
9.     }
10.  
11.     public VlcPlayer player;
12.     public void SetLocalMovie()
13.     {
14.         StartCoroutine(SetLocalMovieCO());
15.     }
16.     IEnumerator SetLocalMovieCO()
17.     {
18.         string path;
19. #if !UNITY_EDITOR && UNITY_ANDROID
20.         string compressedPath = "jar:file://" + Application.dataPath + "!/assets/GHOST_IN_THE_SHELL.m4v";
21.         path = Application.persistentDataPath + "/temp" + Path.GetExtension(compressedPath);
22.         if (File.Exists(path))
23.             File.Delete(path);
24.         WWW www = new WWW(compressedPath);
25.         yield return www;
26.         File.WriteAllBytes(path, www.bytes);
27.         path = "file://" + path;
28. #else
29.         path = "file:///" + Application.streamingAssetsPath + "/GHOST_IN_THE_SHELL.m4v";
30.         yield return null;
31. #endif
32.         Log("local movie path: " + path);
33.  
34.         player.movieUrl = path;
35.         player.gameObject.SetActive(true);
36.     }
37. }
38.  

Unity's documentation about streaming assets: https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/StreamingAssets.html

 

Thank you : it works !

But, 4K videos are not smooth on Galaxy S7. It's lagging a lot... Did I forget something?

 

It depends not only on the resolution but also on the codec, android will struggle with heavy 4k codecs... also check how the official vlc does with the same video, this asset will not be as good as vlc (android still has to run all the unity frameworks at the same time as it does the video decoding) but it should give you an idea about which videos you should be able to play

 

Hi,

I've tried the same video file with the official VLC app and the video is playing really smoothly.
Hardware accelaration is used with your plugin?

For information, here, the video codec info :

Code (CSharp):

1. Format                                   : MPEG-4
2. Format profile                           : Base Media / Version 2
3. Codec ID                                 : mp42
4. File size                                : 73.7 MiB
5. Duration                                 : 30s 614ms
6. Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
7. Overall bit rate                         : 20.2 Mbps
8. Encoded date                             : UTC 2017-01-13 16:01:55
9. Tagged date                              : UTC 2017-01-13 16:01:55
10. Writing application                      : HandBrake 0.10.3 2016012200
11.  
12. Video
13. ID                                       : 1
14. Format                                   : AVC
15. Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
16. Format profile                           : Main@L4.0
17. Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
18. Format settings, ReFrames                : 1 frame
19. Codec ID                                 : avc1
20. Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
21. Duration                                 : 30s 560ms
22. Bit rate                                 : 20.0 Mbps
23. Width                                    : 3 840 pixels
24. Height                                   : 1 920 pixels
25. Display aspect ratio                     : 2.000
26. Frame rate mode                          : Constant
27. Frame rate                               : 25.000 fps
28. Color space                              : YUV
29. Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
30. Bit depth                                : 8 bits
31. Scan type                                : Progressive
32. Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.109
33. Stream size                              : 73.0 MiB (99%)
34. Writing library                          : x264 core 142 r2479 dd79a61
35. Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=1 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=2 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=24 / lookahead_threads=8 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=0 / weightp=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=10 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=20000 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=20000 / vbv_bufsize=25000 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
36. Encoded date                             : UTC 2017-01-13 16:01:55
37. Tagged date                              : UTC 2017-01-13 16:01:55
38. Color primaries                          : BT.709
39. Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
40. Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709

 

Hi, We have tried another VLC plugin in the past and it crashes when used with another plugin in our app. How can i get an example to add to a unity project for a test. I cant make sure the crash doesn't happen with the exe example.

 

@artefactodev I'm working on it, I will get back to you

@mwaller_RM as you can see people is using the plugin without it crashing (apart from specific errors and problems, of course) you can also check the demo: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4342611/UVlc-1.0-x64.zip but apart from that I don't offer demo versions

 

@artefactodev I just pushed a new version (2.6) of the asset, is currently under review. There are a few bug fixes and initial UWP support (still WIP)

I also added the options that seems to enable hardware decoding on android, please give it a try once unity approves the update, if it still doesnt work send me a private message, and we will look further into it (maybe you can provide the movie for me to test it?)

 

I am doing a local stream with 'tcp/h264://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:5030/' address, plays on VLC. Will it play on your package?

 

Hi @Stumpyt76 it should work, maybe the media creation call should be tweaked... if you have some similar stream accessible over the internet I can give it a try and tell you for sure (contact me on private if you don't want to share it).

 

This looks like a fantastic asset! Thanks for your hard work on it and for making it available to everyone.

The description indicates support for Windows, iOS and Android. So I'm assuming it doesn't support Mac OSX at this stage. Any timeline for OSX support since our app needs to run on this platform too?

 

Hi @L0ri3n
Sorry, for now there are no plans for including OSX, there is not much audience there since this asset is used mostly in VR implementations

 

Thanks for your quick reply. It is really helpful. Our main interest is VR but our application needs to also work on non-VR devices too (Windows, OSX and preferably Linux sooner or later). Hence the interest in these other platforms. However, I respect that your time and resources and limited and so you need to prioritise where you see fit. I'd like to vote for OSX support at some stage though for non-VR applications!

 

I will keep it in mind @L0ri3n

 

Hi, I want to use VLC to open sdp file in Universal Windows Platform (Windows Store), which can allow me to receive RTP/H.264 on my UWP app.

Does this package work?

Thanks

 

Hi @halleywang ,

Yeah, it should work, if you have problems just let me know here

 

Thanks for the reply.

But I just saw that someone reported that it can't build in UWP10 on the top (MarkNeville).

Is this true?

 

yes, @halleywang but i made some modifications on the latest version to support it (the main problem was the Threads) and it should work now.

maybe @MarkNeville can confirm this...

 

Thanks for the reply. Sorry about the impolite question...because I just bought another plugins and have this problem.
I will think it through

 

I just bought this package, and set the movie url as "file:///Assets/xxx.sdp"

I check the server before, it can correctly show the video in VLC.exe.

But it didn't show any frame in unity

Do I miss some settings?

Unity: 5.5.0f3
PC: Win10 64

By the way, it can be built in Windows Store correctly !!

 

Hi, I finally can open my sdp file with file path: "file:///Assets/xxx.sdp" in my windows standalone !!

But when I build on the UWP, it still doesn't work.

I think this may because the file path.

I cannot show the mp4 file in this app, too. That's why I think is because of file path.

 

@halleywang don't worry, acttually it didnt feel impolite for me. And if you buy any of my plugins and it end up not working for you just ask me for a refund, if the plugin is of no use for you I will grant it

About your problem. try to use streaming assets folder and load it using:
"file:///" + Application.streamingAssetsPath + "/xxx.sdp";

Maybe UWP compresses the executable? (like android does, check the example script SetMovie.cs)

What kind of errors are you getting?

 

Hi @arklay_corp.
The asset looks very interesting.
Since I never used VLC library before, I am wondering about its performance for 4K video decoding..

Regarding the video decoding in VLC, is it hardware accelerated when I run it on Windows with a high end nvidia card, eg, GTX 1070?

 

Hi,
Yes, the decoding is hardware accelerated on desktop and mobile.
About 4k perfomance, in desktop runs smoothly, in mobile, for low end devices you will have to modify the example to copy the pixel buffer directly and avoid intermediate steps.

 

Hey,
Wanted to check out the demo, but all the dropbox links appear to be dead...

 

Sorry, here it goes: https://www.dropbox.com/s/omi2hhzdtf4omfp/UVlc-1.0-x64.zip?dl=0

 

I was wondering if you could tell me if you use “UnityRenderEvent” calls in your plug in. Those calls conflict and cause a crash with our other plugins as you can see from the example below.

========== OUTPUTING STACK TRACE ==================

0x00007FF911493068 (OtherPlugIn) UnityRenderEvent
0x00000001410AB55B (Unity) PluginsRenderMarker
0x0000000140E95511 (Unity) GfxDeviceWorker::RunCommand
0x0000000140E99FAF (Unity) GfxDeviceWorker::Run
0x0000000140E7A1B0 (Unity) GfxDeviceWorker::RunGfxDeviceWorker
0x00000001415985DC (Unity) Thread::RunThreadWrapper
0x00007FF928608364 (KERNEL32) BaseThreadInitThunk
0x00007FF9287470D1 (ntdll) RtlUserThreadStart

========== END OF STACKTRACE ===========

 

hi, sorry for the delay, i wasnt notified about this question... we share the whole source code so you can rename it if you find conflicts

 

Hi @arklay_corp

Its not a conflict in naming its just that call currently "UnityRenderEvent" i was just curious if you use the same low level call in your plug in to communicate with the lower level code.

 

Hi,

UVlc doesnt use native low level rendering from the plugin (not in the plugin even tho if you want good 4K support for mobile devices it should be implemented using it)

 

Hi @arklay_corp

One last question for you, If i supplied a couple streaming urls would you be willing to tell me if they work with your plugin. we have a couple formats we stream (only on windows) and i need to know if they work or not.

 

sure, send me a PM

 

I just double checked and there is no problem on finding the dll. Please download a free copy of the asset into an empty project and use the custom build pipeline to be sure the dll is being copied

Once you build inside the data/plugins folder you should have a copy of libvlc.dll

 

OK thx It worked, I copied all Dlls from your demo scene as you said from custom build