Android APIs
public final class

MediaRouter

extends Object
java.lang.Object
   ↳ android.support.v7.media.MediaRouter

Class Overview

MediaRouter allows applications to control the routing of media channels and streams from the current device to external speakers and destination devices.

A MediaRouter instance is retrieved through getInstance(Context). Applications can query the media router about the currently selected route and its capabilities to determine how to send content to the route's destination. Applications can also send control requests to the route to ask the route's destination to perform certain remote control functions such as playing media.

See also MediaRouteProvider for information on how an application can publish new media routes to the media router.

The media router API is not thread-safe; all interactions with it must be done from the main thread of the process.

Summary

Nested Classes
class MediaRouter.Callback Interface for receiving events about media routing changes. 
class MediaRouter.ControlRequestCallback Callback which is invoked with the result of a media control request. 
class MediaRouter.ProviderInfo Provides information about a media route provider. 
class MediaRouter.RouteInfo Provides information about a media route. 
Constants
int AVAILABILITY_FLAG_IGNORE_DEFAULT_ROUTE Flag for isRouteAvailable(MediaRouteSelector, int): Ignore the default route.
int CALLBACK_FLAG_PERFORM_ACTIVE_SCAN Flag for addCallback(MediaRouteSelector, MediaRouter.Callback): Actively scan for routes while this callback is registered.
int CALLBACK_FLAG_REQUEST_DISCOVERY Flag for addCallback(MediaRouteSelector, MediaRouter.Callback): Request that route discovery be performed while this callback is registered.
int CALLBACK_FLAG_UNFILTERED_EVENTS Flag for addCallback(MediaRouteSelector, MediaRouter.Callback): Do not filter route events.
Public Methods
void addCallback(MediaRouteSelector selector, MediaRouter.Callback callback, int flags)
Registers a callback to discover routes that match the selector and to receive events when they change.
void addCallback(MediaRouteSelector selector, MediaRouter.Callback callback)
Registers a callback to discover routes that match the selector and to receive events when they change.
void addProvider(MediaRouteProvider providerInstance)
Registers a media route provider within this application process.
void addRemoteControlClient(Object remoteControlClient)
Adds a remote control client to enable remote control of the volume of the selected route.
MediaRouter.RouteInfo getDefaultRoute()
Gets the default route for playing media content on the system.
static MediaRouter getInstance(Context context)
Gets an instance of the media router service associated with the context.
List<MediaRouter.ProviderInfo> getProviders()
Gets information about the route providers currently known to this media router.
List<MediaRouter.RouteInfo> getRoutes()
Gets information about the routes currently known to this media router.
MediaRouter.RouteInfo getSelectedRoute()
Gets the currently selected route.
boolean isRouteAvailable(MediaRouteSelector selector, int flags)
Returns true if there is a route that matches the specified selector.
void removeCallback(MediaRouter.Callback callback)
Removes the specified callback.
void removeProvider(MediaRouteProvider providerInstance)
Unregisters a media route provider within this application process.
void removeRemoteControlClient(Object remoteControlClient)
Removes a remote control client.
void selectRoute(MediaRouter.RouteInfo route)
Selects the specified route.
MediaRouter.RouteInfo updateSelectedRoute(MediaRouteSelector selector)
Returns the selected route if it matches the specified selector, otherwise selects the default route and returns it.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object

Constants

public static final int AVAILABILITY_FLAG_IGNORE_DEFAULT_ROUTE

Flag for isRouteAvailable(MediaRouteSelector, int): Ignore the default route.

This flag is used to determine whether a matching non-default route is available. This constraint may be used to decide whether to offer the route chooser dialog to the user. There is no point offering the chooser if there are no non-default choices.

Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)

public static final int CALLBACK_FLAG_PERFORM_ACTIVE_SCAN

Flag for addCallback(MediaRouteSelector, MediaRouter.Callback): Actively scan for routes while this callback is registered.

When this flag is specified, the media router will actively scan for new routes. Certain routes, such as wifi display routes, may not be discoverable except when actively scanning. This flag is typically used when the route picker dialog has been opened by the user to ensure that the route information is up to date.

Active scanning may consume a significant amount of power and may have intrusive effects on wireless connectivity. Therefore it is important that active scanning only be requested when it is actually needed to satisfy a user request to discover and select a new route.

This flag implies CALLBACK_FLAG_REQUEST_DISCOVERY but performing active scans is much more expensive than a normal discovery request.

Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)

public static final int CALLBACK_FLAG_REQUEST_DISCOVERY

Flag for addCallback(MediaRouteSelector, MediaRouter.Callback): Request that route discovery be performed while this callback is registered.

When this flag is specified, the media router will try to discover routes. Although route discovery is intended to be efficient, checking for new routes may result in some network activity and could slowly drain the battery. Therefore applications should only specify CALLBACK_FLAG_REQUEST_DISCOVERY when they are running in the foreground and would like to provide the user with the option of connecting to new routes.

Applications should typically add a callback using this flag in the activity's onStart method and remove it in the onStop method. The MediaRouteDiscoveryFragment fragment may also be used for this purpose.

Constant Value: 4 (0x00000004)

public static final int CALLBACK_FLAG_UNFILTERED_EVENTS

Flag for addCallback(MediaRouteSelector, MediaRouter.Callback): Do not filter route events.

When this flag is specified, the callback will be invoked for events that affect any route even if they do not match the callback's filter.

Constant Value: 2 (0x00000002)

Public Methods

public void addCallback (MediaRouteSelector selector, MediaRouter.Callback callback, int flags)

Registers a callback to discover routes that match the selector and to receive events when they change.

The selector describes the kinds of routes that the application wants to discover. For example, if the application wants to use live audio routes then it should include the live audio media control intent category in its selector when it adds a callback to the media router. The selector may include any number of categories.

If the callback has already been registered, then the selector is added to the set of selectors being monitored by the callback.

By default, the callback will only be invoked for events that affect routes that match the specified selector. Event filtering may be disabled by specifying the CALLBACK_FLAG_UNFILTERED_EVENTS flag when the callback is registered.

Example

 public class MyActivity extends Activity {
     private MediaRouter mRouter;
     private MediaRouter.Callback mCallback;
     private MediaRouteSelector mSelector;

     protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
         super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

         mRouter = Mediarouter.getInstance(this);
         mCallback = new MyCallback();
         mSelector = new MediaRouteSelector.Builder()
                 .addControlCategory(MediaControlIntent.CATEGORY_LIVE_AUDIO)
                 .addControlCategory(MediaControlIntent.CATEGORY_REMOTE_PLAYBACK)
                 .build();
     }

     // Add the callback on start to tell the media router what kinds of routes
     // the application is interested in so that it can try to discover suitable ones.
     public void onStart() {
         super.onStart();

         mediaRouter.addCallback(mSelector, mCallback,
                 MediaRouter.CALLBACK_FLAG_REQUEST_DISCOVERY);

         MediaRouter.RouteInfo route = mediaRouter.updateSelectedRoute(mSelector);
         // do something with the route...
     }

     // Remove the selector on stop to tell the media router that it no longer
     // needs to invest effort trying to discover routes of these kinds for now.
     public void onStop() {
         super.onStop();

         mediaRouter.removeCallback(mCallback);
     }

     private final class MyCallback extends MediaRouter.Callback {
         // Implement callback methods as needed.
     }
 }
 

Parameters
selector A route selector that indicates the kinds of routes that the callback would like to discover.
callback The callback to add.
flags Flags to control the behavior of the callback. May be zero or a combination of CALLBACK_FLAG_PERFORM_ACTIVE_SCAN and CALLBACK_FLAG_UNFILTERED_EVENTS.

public void addCallback (MediaRouteSelector selector, MediaRouter.Callback callback)

Registers a callback to discover routes that match the selector and to receive events when they change.

This is a convenience method that has the same effect as calling addCallback(MediaRouteSelector, Callback, int) without flags.

Parameters
selector A route selector that indicates the kinds of routes that the callback would like to discover.
callback The callback to add.

public void addProvider (MediaRouteProvider providerInstance)

Registers a media route provider within this application process.

The provider will be added to the list of providers that all MediaRouter instances within this process can use to discover routes.

Parameters
providerInstance The media route provider instance to add.

public void addRemoteControlClient (Object remoteControlClient)

Adds a remote control client to enable remote control of the volume of the selected route.

The remote control client must have previously been registered with the audio manager using the AudioManager.registerRemoteControlClient method.

Parameters
remoteControlClient The RemoteControlClient to register.

public MediaRouter.RouteInfo getDefaultRoute ()

Gets the default route for playing media content on the system.

The system always provides a default route.

Returns
  • The default route, which is guaranteed to never be null.

public static MediaRouter getInstance (Context context)

Gets an instance of the media router service associated with the context.

The application is responsible for holding a strong reference to the returned MediaRouter instance, such as by storing the instance in a field of the Activity, to ensure that the media router remains alive as long as the application is using its features.

In other words, the support library only holds a weak reference to each media router instance. When there are no remaining strong references to the media router instance, all of its callbacks will be removed and route discovery will no longer be performed on its behalf.

Returns
  • The media router instance for the context. The application must hold a strong reference to this object as long as it is in use.

public List<MediaRouter.ProviderInfo> getProviders ()

Gets information about the route providers currently known to this media router.

public List<MediaRouter.RouteInfo> getRoutes ()

Gets information about the routes currently known to this media router.

public MediaRouter.RouteInfo getSelectedRoute ()

Gets the currently selected route.

The application should examine the route's media control intent filters to assess the capabilities of the route before attempting to use it.

Example

 public boolean playMovie() {
     MediaRouter mediaRouter = MediaRouter.getInstance(context);
     MediaRouter.RouteInfo route = mediaRouter.getSelectedRoute();

     // First try using the remote playback interface, if supported.
     if (route.supportsControlCategory(MediaControlIntent.CATEGORY_REMOTE_PLAYBACK)) {
         // The route supports remote playback.
         // Try to send it the Uri of the movie to play.
         Intent intent = new Intent(MediaControlIntent.ACTION_PLAY);
         intent.addCategory(MediaControlIntent.CATEGORY_REMOTE_PLAYBACK);
         intent.setDataAndType("http://example.com/videos/movie.mp4", "video/mp4");
         if (route.supportsControlRequest(intent)) {
             route.sendControlRequest(intent, null);
             return true; // sent the request to play the movie
         }
     }

     // If remote playback was not possible, then play locally.
     if (route.supportsControlCategory(MediaControlIntent.CATEGORY_LIVE_VIDEO)) {
         // The route supports live video streaming.
         // Prepare to play content locally in a window or in a presentation.
         return playMovieInWindow();
     }

     // Neither interface is supported, so we can't play the movie to this route.
     return false;
 }
 

Returns
  • The selected route, which is guaranteed to never be null.

public boolean isRouteAvailable (MediaRouteSelector selector, int flags)

Returns true if there is a route that matches the specified selector.

This method returns true if there are any available routes that match the selector regardless of whether they are enabled or disabled. If the AVAILABILITY_FLAG_IGNORE_DEFAULT_ROUTE flag is specified, then the method will only consider non-default routes.

Parameters
selector The selector to match.
flags Flags to control the determination of whether a route may be available. May be zero or AVAILABILITY_FLAG_IGNORE_DEFAULT_ROUTE.
Returns
  • True if a matching route may be available.

public void removeCallback (MediaRouter.Callback callback)

Removes the specified callback. It will no longer receive events about changes to media routes.

Parameters
callback The callback to remove.

public void removeProvider (MediaRouteProvider providerInstance)

Unregisters a media route provider within this application process.

The provider will be removed from the list of providers that all MediaRouter instances within this process can use to discover routes.

Parameters
providerInstance The media route provider instance to remove.

public void removeRemoteControlClient (Object remoteControlClient)

Removes a remote control client.

Parameters
remoteControlClient The RemoteControlClient to register.

public void selectRoute (MediaRouter.RouteInfo route)

Selects the specified route.

Parameters
route The route to select.

public MediaRouter.RouteInfo updateSelectedRoute (MediaRouteSelector selector)

Returns the selected route if it matches the specified selector, otherwise selects the default route and returns it.

Parameters
selector The selector to match.
Returns
  • The previously selected route if it matched the selector, otherwise the newly selected default route which is guaranteed to never be null.