[VDTRIESTE24] Building a Video Player from Scratch with React Native - Conference by Omar Diop

Building a video player from scratch with React Native: Learn how our team overcame challenges of dependencies, playback, and buffering, and developed a robust and compatible video player solution.

Key takeaways
  • Managing dependencies and versions is hard and time-consuming.
  • React Native Video is a wrapper around the system’s APIs, and requires careful handling of playback and buffering.
  • The application’s native player and audio background feature caused compatibility issues on some devices.
  • Bugs and errors were discovered through user feedback and crash reports.
  • The team learned to use tools like Flashlight to inspect the application’s performances.
  • The solution to issues was to use real users to test the application and detect problems.
  • The team learned to focus on features that are commonly used, and not to implement too many features.
  • The application’s playback experience was impacted by the device’s operating system and processor.
  • Maintaining multiple modules and versions was a challenge.
  • The team used real users to test the application and identify problems.
  • The goal of the project was to offer a complete video playback experience and to align the team on key topics.
  • The team is focused on continues learning and development.
  • React Native Video has a lot of functionalities, but does not provide a good default player.
  • The team has developed a lot of native modules, including React Native Video and React Native Track Player.
  • The application’s player supports many formats, including HLS, MP3, and playlists.
  • The team has released a new stable version of the application.
  • The team has learned to focus on features that are commonly used and to test the application with real users.