Android comprehensive failproof music service across multiple activities

Question

I know this question has been asked many times before and might seem to be a conglomeration of several questions, but I feel that it is relevant and important to many developers; I need to create a background music Service that can run across multiple activities for my Android game that ends when the application is terminated and pauses in all of the following circumstances:

1. A certain Activity that has its own music is started. (Resume when this Activity finishes. This happens to be an AndEngine activity.)
2. The home screen is pressed and the app is backgrounded, or the application is terminated. Resumes when the app returns to the foreground. Requires use of onUserLeaveHint(). Another helpful link.
3. The phone receives a call and interrupts the app. Resumes when the call has been dealt with. Requires use of TelephonyManager similar to this.
4. The screen is locked. (Resumes after screen has been unlocked.) Requires use of ACTION_USER_PRESENT, which seems to be very problematic.
5. Basically the music pauses whenever the app is not being shown or when the special activity from #1 is being shown to the user.

Above is all of what I need and the information I have pieced together. My current code basically resembles this.

I find it curious that AndEngine manages to have none of these issues with their music, so maybe looking in the source code would help someone looking for an answer. I'm using the last functional GLES1 version from Google Code.

I have taken a look at the following links as well on creating a good music Service:

• Stopping Background Service Music
• http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/258176/Adding-Background-Music-to-Android-App
• Android background music service
• Playing BG Music Across Activities in Android
• http://www.rbgrn.net/content/307-light-racer-20-days-61-64-completion

I would like the solution Service to:

• Minimize the use of BroadcastReceivers and Android Manifest additions/permissions if possible
• Self contained and error checking

Other Notes

• Currently all the activities that require the background music all extend a common special class.
• The music needs to loop but only runs a single track.

Thanks to everyone ahead of time! Best of luck!

Edit - Here are code snippets, feel free to improve or ignore:

Media Player Wrapper

import android.content.SharedPreferences;
import android.media.MediaPlayer;
import android.preference.PreferenceManager;
import android.util.Log;

public class CarefulMediaPlayer {
    final SharedPreferences sp;
    final MediaPlayer mp;
    private boolean isPlaying = false;

    public CarefulMediaPlayer(final MediaPlayer mp, final MusicService ms) {
        sp = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(ms.getApplicationContext());
        this.mp = mp;
    }

    public void start() {
        if (sp.getBoolean("com.embed.candy.music", true) && !isPlaying) {
            mp.start();
            isPlaying = true;
        }
    }

    public void pause() {
        if (isPlaying) {
            mp.pause();
            isPlaying = false;
        }
    }

    public void stop() {
        isPlaying = false;
        try {
            mp.stop();
            mp.release();
        } catch (final Exception e) {}
    }
}

Music Service

import android.app.Service;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.media.MediaPlayer;
import android.os.IBinder;

public class MusicService extends Service {
    static CarefulMediaPlayer mPlayer = null;

    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(final Intent arg0) {
        return null;
    }

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        super.onCreate();
        final MediaPlayer mp = MediaPlayer.create(this, R.raw.title_music);
        mp.setLooping(true);
        mPlayer = new CarefulMediaPlayer(mp,this);
    }

    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(final Intent intent, final int flags, final int startId) {
        mPlayer.start();
        return 1;
    }

    @Override
    public void onStart(final Intent intent, final int startId) {

    }

    public IBinder onUnBind(final Intent arg0) {
        return null;
    }

    public static void onStop() {
        mPlayer.stop();
    }

    public static void onPause() {
        if (mPlayer!=null) {
            mPlayer.pause();
        }
    }

    public static void onResume() {
        if (mPlayer!=null) {
            mPlayer.start();
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy() {
        mPlayer.stop();
        mPlayer = null;
    }

    @Override
    public void onLowMemory() {

    }
}

Improved Base Activity Class

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.PowerManager;
import android.telephony.TelephonyManager;
import android.view.KeyEvent;
import android.view.LayoutInflater;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.ViewGroup;
import android.view.ViewGroup.LayoutParams;
import android.widget.ImageView;

public abstract class BetterActivity extends Activity {

    private boolean isHome = true;

    @Override
    protected void onResume() {
        System.gc();
        super.onResume();
        MusicService.onResume();
        isHome = true;
    }

    @Override
    protected void onPause() {
        if (((TelephonyManager)getSystemService(TELEPHONY_SERVICE)).getCallState()==TelephonyManager.CALL_STATE_RINGING
                || !((PowerManager)getSystemService(POWER_SERVICE)).isScreenOn()) {
            MusicService.onPause();
        }
        super.onPause();
        System.gc();
    }

    @Override
    public boolean onKeyDown (final int keyCode, final KeyEvent ke) {
        switch (keyCode) {
        case KeyEvent.KEYCODE_BACK:
            isHome = false;
        default:
            return super.onKeyDown(keyCode, ke);
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void startActivity(final Intent i) {
        isHome = false;
        super.startActivity(i);
    }

    @Override
    protected void onUserLeaveHint() {
        if (isHome) {
            MusicService.onPause();
        }
        super.onUserLeaveHint();
    }

}

Plump

I'm in the process of trying to accomplish all your goals myself and saw your question. Any progress? I'll try to let you know how this goes when I am done. – Solitude

@Solitude haven't been on the site in a while, we decided to delay the music and release earlier as a beta. – Plump

ok well I'll let you know how my attempt goes, I should have some answers in a month or so. – Solitude

That's great, I'll be waiting! – Plump

Answer 1

First here is some code. Below I'll give you an explanation.

public class MusicService extends Service {

    // service binder
    private final IBinder mBinder = new LocalBinder();

    // music player controling game music
    private static CarefulMediaPlayer mPlayer = null;

    @Override
    public void onCreate() {
        // load music file and create player
        MediaPlayer mediaPlayer = MediaPlayer.create(this, R.raw.title_music);
        mediaPlayer.setLooping(true);
        mPlayer = new CarefulMediaPlayer(mediaPlayer, this);
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy() {
        super.onDestroy();
    }

    // =========================
    // Player methods
    // =========================
    public void musicStart() {
        mPlayer.start();
    }

    public void musicStop() {
        mPlayer.stop();
    }

    public void musicPause() {
        mPlayer.pause();
    }

    /**
     * Class for clients to access. Because we know this service always runs in
     * the same process as its clients, we don't need to deal with IPC.
     */
    public class LocalBinder extends Binder {
        MusicService getService() {
            return MusicService.this;
        }
    }

    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(Intent arg0) {
        return mBinder;
    }

}

Activity:

public class StartupActivity extends Activity {

// bounded service
private static MusicService mBoundService;

// whetere service is bounded or not
private boolean mIsBound;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.activity_startup);
    doBindService();

    // HOW TO WORK WITH THE SERVICE:
    // call the following methods whenever
    // you want to interact with you 
    // music player
    // ===================================

    // call this e.g. in onPause() of your Activities
    StartupActivity.getService().musicPause();

    // call this e.g. in onStop() of your Activities
    StartupActivity.getService().musicStop();

    // call this e.g. in onResume() of your Activities
    StartupActivity.getService().musicStart();
}

@Override
public void onDestroy() {
    super.onDestroy();
    doUnbindService();
}

private final ServiceConnection mServiceConnection = new ServiceConnection() {

    @Override
    public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName className, IBinder service) {
        setService(((MusicService.LocalBinder) service).getService());
    }

    @Override
    public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName className) {
        setService(null);
    }
};

private void doBindService() {
    Intent service = new Intent(getBaseContext(), MusicService.class);
    // start service and bound it
    startService(service);
    bindService(new Intent(this, MusicService.class), mServiceConnection, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);
    mIsBound = true;
}

private void doUnbindService() {
    if (mIsBound) {
        // Detach existing connection.
        unbindService(mServiceConnection);
        mIsBound = false;
    }
}

public static MusicService getService() {
    return mBoundService;
}

private static void setService(MusicService mBoundService) {
    StartupActivity.mBoundService = mBoundService;
}
}

First of all you got a Service which runs in background. This service creates the mediaPlayer object as you did. With the localBinder you can bind the Service in your Activity(ies) and access it like a normal Java-Object. The Activity I've posted bindes the Service. In it's onCreate() method you can find a way how to interact with your mediaPlayer. You can bind any Activity to your Service.

Another Solution:

public class CarefulMediaPlayer {
final SharedPreferences sp;
final MediaPlayer mp;
private boolean isPlaying = false;
private static CarefulMediaPlayer instance;

public CarefulMediaPlayer(final MediaPlayer mp, final MusicService ms) {
    sp = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(ms.getApplicationContext());
    this.mp = mp;
    instance = this;
}

public static CarefulMediaPlayer getInstance() {
    return instance;
}

public void start() {
    if (sp.getBoolean("com.embed.candy.music", true) && !isPlaying) {
        mp.start();
        isPlaying = true;
    }
}

public void pause() {
    if (isPlaying) {
        mp.pause();
        isPlaying = false;
    }
}

public void stop() {
    isPlaying = false;
    try {
        mp.stop();
        mp.release();
    } catch (final Exception e) {}
}
}

Then you can pause, play and stop the music by calling CarefulMediaPlayer.getInstance().play();

Benzophenone

Implement pausing and resuming the MediaPlayer in every single Activty and you are done. Whenever it gets interrupted the music will pause. You can also create a "abstract"-Activity-Class which implements this feature and all your Activities will extend this one. (this is the more elgant version) – Benzophenone

I am getting a null pointer exception on: StartupActivity.getService().musicStart(); Any ideas why this might be null? – Halimeda

I am also getting null on StartupActivity.getService().musicStart(); anyone have a solution as to why this happens? – Emptor

Answer 2

I did it this way and I'm pleased with the result:

1st create the service:

public class LocalService extends Service
{
    // This is the object that receives interactions from clients. See RemoteService for a more complete example.
    private final IBinder mBinder = new LocalBinder();
    private MediaPlayer player;

    /**
     * Class for clients to access. Because we know this service always runs in
     * the same process as its clients, we don't need to deal with IPC.
     */
    public class LocalBinder extends Binder
    {
        LocalService getService()
        {
            return LocalService.this;
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void onCreate()
    {

    }

    @Override
    public int onStartCommand(Intent intent, int flags, int startId)
    {
        // We want this service to continue running until it is explicitly stopped, so return sticky.
        return START_STICKY;
    }

    @Override
    public void onDestroy()
    {
        destroy();
    }

    @Override
    public IBinder onBind(Intent intent)
    {
        return mBinder;
    }


    public void play(int res)
    {
        try
        {
            player = MediaPlayer.create(this, res);
            player.setLooping(true);
            player.setVolume(0.1f, 0.1f);
            player.start();
        }
        catch(Exception e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }


    public void pause()
    {
        if(null != player && player.isPlaying())
        {
            player.pause();
            player.seekTo(0);
        }
    }


    public void resume()
    {
        try
        {
            if(null != player && !player.isPlaying())
            {
                player.start();
            }
        }
        catch(Exception e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }


    public void destroy()
    {
        if(null != player)
        {
            if(player.isPlaying())
            {
                player.stop();
            }

            player.release();
            player = null;
        }
    }

}

2nd, create a base activity and extend all your activities in witch you wish to play the background music from it:

public class ActivityBase extends Activity
{
    private Context context = ActivityBase.this;
    private final int [] background_sound = { R.raw.azilum_2, R.raw.bg_sound_5 };
    private LocalService mBoundService;
    private boolean mIsBound = false;

    @Override
    protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState)
    {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        doBindService();
    }

    @Override
    protected void onStart()
    {
        super.onStart();

        try
        {
            if(null != mBoundService)
            {
                Random rand = new Random();
                int what = background_sound[rand.nextInt(background_sound.length)];
                mBoundService.play(what);
            }
        }
        catch(Exception e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    @Override
    protected void onStop()
    {
        super.onStop();
        basePause();
    }



    protected void baseResume()
    {
        try
        {
            if(null != mBoundService)
            {
                mBoundService.resume();
            }
        }
        catch(Exception e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }


    protected void basePause()
    {
        try
        {
            if(null != mBoundService)
            {
                mBoundService.pause();
            }
        }
        catch(Exception e)
        {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }



    private ServiceConnection mConnection = new ServiceConnection()
    {
        public void onServiceConnected(ComponentName className, IBinder service)
        {
            // This is called when the connection with the service has been
            // established, giving us the service object we can use to
            // interact with the service. Because we have bound to a explicit
            // service that we know is running in our own process, we can
            // cast its IBinder to a concrete class and directly access it.
            mBoundService = ((LocalService.LocalBinder) service).getService();

            if(null != mBoundService)
            {
                Random rand = new Random();
                int what = background_sound[rand.nextInt(background_sound.length)];
                mBoundService.play(what);
            }
        }

        public void onServiceDisconnected(ComponentName className)
        {
            // This is called when the connection with the service has been
            // unexpectedly disconnected -- that is, its process crashed.
            // Because it is running in our same process, we should never
            // see this happen.
            mBoundService = null;

            if(null != mBoundService)
            {
                mBoundService.destroy();
            }
        }
    };

    private void doBindService()
    {
        // Establish a connection with the service. We use an explicit
        // class name because we want a specific service implementation that
        // we know will be running in our own process (and thus won't be
        // supporting component replacement by other applications).

        Intent i = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), LocalService.class);
        bindService(i, mConnection, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);
        mIsBound = true;
    }

    private void doUnbindService()
    {
        if (mIsBound)
        {
            // Detach our existing connection.
            unbindService(mConnection);
            mIsBound = false;
        }
    }


    @Override
    protected void onDestroy()
    {
        super.onDestroy();
        doUnbindService();
    }
}

And that's it, now you have background sound in all the activities that are extended from ActivityBase.

You can even control the pause / resume functionality by calling basePause() / baseResume().

Don't forget to declare the service in manifest:

<service android:name="com.gga.screaming.speech.LocalService" />

Puling

This worked for me with a few modifications to suit my code, thank you. – Emptor

Answer 3

In the startup activity we are binding and Starting Service seperately. This is wrong since service will keep running after activity exits as we haven't called stopService() anywhere. So The part ' startService(service) ' should be removed as bind service is already "Auto-Creating" the service too.

Please correct me if anyone got opposite results

startService(service);// remove this part
bindService(new Intent(this, MusicService.class), mServiceConnection, Context.BIND_AUTO_CREATE);

Kary