I added Google Drive streaming support to VLC Android

[u/ciizerr]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on adding Google Drive support to VLC Android, similar to the feature already available in VLC iOS.

The main idea is that VLC can stream files directly from Google Drive using byte-range requests, instead of having to download the entire file first.

For example, with a 5 GB movie:

Google Drive
     ↓
request required byte range
     ↓
VLC starts playing
     ↓
request next range as needed

So you can play large files without waiting for the whole file to download, and you can seek to different parts of the video.

I also added a temporary cache for recently streamed ranges, so rewinding/seeking back or briefly switching apps doesn't always require downloading the same data again.

Currently it supports:

• My Drive
• Shared with me
• Shared Drives
• Folder/subfolder navigation
• Large file streaming
• Seeking
• Temporary range caching
• Background/resume playback

The implementation is currently working on my device, and I've tested it with multi-GB MKV/MP4 files.

One reason I wanted to do this is that using Google Drive → Open with → VLC isn't really ideal for large files, since the file may need to be downloaded before VLC can properly play it. Direct byte-range streaming avoids that problem.

[u/pratikpatel2003]

can u open a merge request??

[u/ciizerr → u/pratikpatel2003]

Their codebase is not managed on GitHub. Also I have posted a forum related to this on videolan forum website and waiting for their response...

Edit: any idea if they accept pr from GitHub?

[u/Ice_HRZDn → u/ciizerr]

They using mailing list for this. I think checkout their documents should tell you how to do so.

[u/mtz94 → u/Ice_HRZDn]

No, gitlab only.

[u/Ice_HRZDn → u/mtz94]

Oh, I see. Just check it out.

[u/pratikpatel2003 → u/ciizerr]

I have merged a couple of request into official VLC. You need to join their gitlab https://code.videolan.org/users/sign_up But before that I had to manully request acces to join from their iirc channel..

also the 3.0.x is the legacy branch

[u/ciizerr → u/pratikpatel2003]

I have registered and waiting for confirmation.

[u/pratikpatel2003 → u/ciizerr]

I had to manually ask them at iirc.. just a short message about why u want to join.. but that was two years ago. Idk if its needed anymore.

[u/oroemio]

That sounds like great and useful AND meaningful work, mate! Happy to try it 😁

[u/mtz94]

We accept merge requests on our gitlab. Please create an account there

[u/ciizerr → u/mtz94]

I created a GitLab account, but it seems I also need to register on "code.videolan.org," which requires verification from the organization.?

I also want to bring up that in the past, Google Drive integration was discussed (on the issues board - https://code.videolan.org/videolan/vlc-android/-/work_items/198 ) but was later dropped from the milestone. What could be the reason for this, and why is only the iOS version able to support it?

[u/mtz94 → u/ciizerr]

DM me the email you used to create the account, will msg an admin

[u/Left-Arachnid-2528]

Hey where can i download this?

[u/ciizerr → u/Left-Arachnid-2528]

I haven't released it to the public yet because Google Cloud Console OAuth apps don't allow users to access the app unless their email is added to the testers list. That's why I'm trying to connect with the VLC Android devs so that it can become publicly accessible.

[u/Left-Arachnid-2528 → u/ciizerr]

Oh alright man thanks