1*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker--- 2*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Workertitle: Pros and cons 3*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker--- 4*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker 5*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard WorkerExoPlayer has a number of advantages over Android's built in MediaPlayer: 6*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker 7*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* Fewer device specific issues and less variation in behavior across different 8*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker devices and versions of Android. 9*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* The ability to update the player along with your application. Because 10*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker ExoPlayer is a library that you include in your application apk, you have 11*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker control over which version you use and you can easily update to a newer 12*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker version as part of a regular application update. 13*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* The ability to [customize and extend the player][] to suit your use case. 14*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker ExoPlayer is designed specifically with this in mind, and allows many 15*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker components to be replaced with custom implementations. 16*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* Support for [playlists][]. 17*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* Support for [DASH][] and [SmoothStreaming][], neither of which are supported 18*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker by MediaPlayer. Many other formats are also supported. See the [Supported 19*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker formats page][] for details. 20*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* Support for advanced [HLS][] features, such as correct handling of 21*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker `#EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY` tags. 22*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* Support for [Widevine common encryption][] on Android 4.4 (API level 19) and 23*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker higher. 24*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* The ability to quickly integrate with a number of additional libraries using 25*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker official extensions. For example the [IMA extension][] makes it easy to 26*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker monetize your content using the [Interactive Media Ads SDK][]. 27*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker 28*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard WorkerIt's important to note that there are also some disadvantages: 29*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker 30*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* For audio only playback on some devices, ExoPlayer may consume significantly 31*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker more battery than MediaPlayer. See the [Battery consumption page][] for 32*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker details. 33*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker* Including ExoPlayer in your app adds a few hundred kilobytes to the APK size. 34*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker This is likely only a concern for extremely lightweight apps. Guidance for 35*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker shrinking ExoPlayer can be found on the [APK shrinking page][]. 36*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker 37*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[Supported formats page]: {{ site.baseurl }}/supported-formats.html 38*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[IMA extension]: {{ site.release_v2 }}/extensions/ima 39*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[Interactive Media Ads SDK]: https://developers.google.com/interactive-media-ads 40*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[Battery consumption page]: {{ site.baseurl }}/battery-consumption.html 41*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[customize and extend the player]: {{ site.baseurl }}/customization.html 42*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[APK shrinking page]: {{ site.baseurl }}/shrinking.html 43*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[playlists]: {{ site.baseurl }}/playlists.html 44*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[DASH]: {{ site.baseurl }}/dash.html 45*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[SmoothStreaming]: {{ site.baseurl }}/smoothstreaming.html 46*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[HLS]: {{ site.baseurl }}/hls.html 47*30877f79SAndroid Build Coastguard Worker[Widevine common encryption]: {{ site.baseurl }}/drm.html 48