ExoPlayer is the de facto standard video player on Android, an open-source, application-level player that supports HLS, DASH, SmoothStreaming, ABR, and Widevine DRM, with a flexible architecture that teams customize for their needs. It now ships as part of AndroidX Media3.
Compared to the platform's basic MediaPlayer, ExoPlayer gives streaming teams the control they need - custom ABR logic, fine-grained buffering, advanced DRM handling, and detailed playback events for QoE instrumentation. It is the Android counterpart to AVPlayer on Apple platforms and the open-source web players on the browser, and a core building block of any Android OTT app.
The handbook · 7 volumes
Fora Soft Video Engineering Handbook
ExoPlayer, now part of Media3, is the default video player on Android, and most of its value comes from how a team configures ABR, buffering, and DRM. We wrote seven volumes covering the video stack; for ExoPlayer start with Volume 3 on players, ABR, and Widevine DRM, then Volume 1 on codecs, with HLS and DASH in Volume 2. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
Tuning ExoPlayer for faster start and fewer stalls on Android?
We will review your Android player setup and send a Media3 tuning plan for ABR, buffering, and DRM. 250+ video products shipped since 2005.
