mpv-android

Project Overview

mpv-android is a video player for Android built on libmpv, bringing mpv's powerful playback to phones. It supports hardware and software decoding, gesture controls, styled subtitles, and high-quality rendering, and suits local video as well as network streams via "Open URL". It is available on Google Play, F-Droid, and GitHub Releases, and Android TV is supported too.

mpv's playback muscle brought to Android phones and TVs.

Key Features

• Hardware and software decoding: balances performance and compatibility between the two
• Gesture controls: swipe to seek and adjust volume and brightness
• Styled subtitles: libass-based subtitle rendering with styling
• Dual subtitles: a secondary subtitle track to show two languages at once
• High-quality rendering: advanced options such as scalers, debanding, and interpolation
• Network streaming: play network streams through "Open URL"
• Background playback and picture-in-picture: continued playback in the background and a PiP window
• Keyboard input: works with an external keyboard

Target Audience

• Android phone and tablet users
• People who need to play local high-definition video
• Users who want styled subtitles on a phone
• Android TV users (via F-Droid or manual install)

Quick Start

1. Download and install the app from Google Play, F-Droid, or Releases
2. Grant media and storage read permissions on first launch
3. Open a local video from the file browser, or tap "Open URL" to enter a network address
4. During playback swipe to seek and adjust volume and brightness
5. Adjust subtitle style, rendering options, and decoder mode in Settings
6. Enable picture-in-picture for a small window, or background playback to keep listening

Core Advantages

• Powerful core: reuses mpv's decoding and rendering for broad format support
• Comfortable controls: gestures plus keyboard make it work well on phones and TVs
• Subtitle-friendly: libass styled subtitles and dual subtitles meet multilingual needs
• Multiple channels: available from stores, F-Droid, and Releases

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
OS	Android, including Android TV
Dependencies	Storage read permission for local playback; network access for streaming
Distribution	Google Play, F-Droid, GitHub Releases

Notes

• mpv-android is not a library (AAR) for other apps to embed; it is an independent player
• The Android TV build is only available via F-Droid or by installing the APK manually
• High-quality rendering options add GPU load and may drop frames on older devices