Stream Player · Android · Deep link demo

One link. The browser hands it to Android.
The app resolves it and plays it.

The player below streams from a public URL. The Open in app button does the same thing using a deep link — and the panels underneath show every step the Android system performs on the way.

01

Try it

Play in the browser, then send the exact same stream to the Android app.

https://test-streams.mux.dev/x36xhzz/x36xhzz.m3u8

Open in Stream Player

If the app is not installed, Android reports that nothing can open the link. On a desktop browser the click is simply ignored.

Link that will be sent streamplayer://play?url=…
Intent action
android.intent.action.VIEW
Intent data
—
Handled by
—
Plays
—

Open it on your phone

Scan with the camera app. The code contains the custom-scheme link, so the phone opens the app directly — no web server, no network round trip. Your phone just needs Stream Player installed.

The QR updates whenever you switch streams.

02

What happens when you tap it

Six steps from a web page to a playing video, and the code behind each one.

  1. 1

    Link clicked

    The page points at a URL with a custom scheme. Android does not treat it as a web address.

    <a href="streamplayer://play?url=…" >
  2. 2

    Browser hands over

    The browser cannot render the scheme, so it asks the system for an app that can.

    startActivity(Intent(ACTION_VIEW, data))
  3. 3

    Manifest match

    Android matches the intent filter and picks the app. The filter declares the scheme.

    <data android:scheme="streamplayer" />
  4. 4

    Activity receives

    The launcher activity gets the URI. singleTask means a second tap reuses it.

    intent.data → MainActivity
  5. 5

    URL is resolved

    The resolver pulls the real stream URL out of the link, plus any extra headers.

    DeepLinkResolver.resolve(uri)
  6. 6

    Player starts

    Media3 picks the source type from the extension and starts buffering.

    PlayerActivity → ExoPlayer
03

Inside the app

The real app, on a real phone. Three screens and the moment the link lands.

Stream screen with the stream URL field
Stream — paste a link, or open a video from your device
Full screen player with the stream playing
The player — picture-in-picture, media keys, subtitles
Files screen with a device video added
Files — no storage permission, nothing is copied
Ten second countdown before the advertisement
Ad break — a ten second countdown, then the video plays again
The link opened the app and the video is playing
The link opened the app and the stream is playing
Settings screen in the dark theme
Settings — light and dark, following the system by default
04

How the advertising fits in

The app is supported by ads. Here is exactly where they appear.

Banner

On the Stream screen

An adaptive banner sits under the recent list. It stays hidden while it has no fill, so there is never an empty grey strip.

Interstitial

When a linked stream ends

A stream opened through a deep link shows a ten second countdown. When it reaches zero the “Stream Now” button becomes available and the advertisement plays — then the video plays again.

App open

On a normal cold start

Opening the app from the launcher can show an app open ad. A deep link is never interrupted by one, because the user asked for a specific stream.

Live ad units

Changed from the cloud

The ad unit ids live in a Firebase Realtime Database, so a new ad unit can be switched on for every installed app without releasing a new version.

Every ad in this build uses Google's official test ad units, so nothing is served to real users and no impressions are recorded. The app always asks AdMob — Google Ad Exchange inventory is reached through AdMob mediation, so there is no source to pick.

05

Build it & inspect it

The builder generates links; the inspector runs the app's own parsing rules on anything you paste.

Build a deep link

Pick a shape. The stream above is used automatically.

Generated link —
Open in app

Inspect any link

This runs the same rules as DeepLinkResolver.kt.

Scheme
—
Query
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Candidate
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Stream URL
—
Headers
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06

Every supported link shape

The custom scheme works immediately. App Links need a domain you control.

ShapeExampleNotes
streamplayer://play?url=… streamplayer://play?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhost%2Fx.m3u8 URL-encoded parameter
streamplayer://play/… streamplayer://play/https://host/x.m3u8 Stream URL inside the path
streamplayer://… streamplayer://https://host/x.m3u8 Raw, no key needed
streammode://… streammode://play?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhost%2Fx.m3u8 Same shapes, matching the package name
https://host/?url=… https://player.yourdomain.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhost%2Fx.m3u8 App Link — needs assetlinks.json
https://host/play/… https://player.yourdomain.com/play/https%3A%2F%2Fhost%2Fx.m3u8 App Link, path form
https://host/x.m3u8 https://player.yourdomain.com/media/x.m3u8 Direct media link, no parameter
&header=Name:Value …&header=Referer:https://example.com Extra HTTP request header, repeatable

Stream formats

Media3 selects the parser from the file extension.

  • HLS.m3u8 — live and VOD
  • DASH.mpd — adaptive bitrate
  • SmoothStreaming.ism / .mp4
  • MP4 / WebMprogressive download

Testing from a computer

Fire a deep link at a connected device.

custom scheme adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW \
  -d "streamplayer://play?url=https%3A%2F%2Fhost%2Fx.m3u8" \
  com.streammode.app
App Link adb shell am start -a android.intent.action.VIEW \
  -d "https://player.yourdomain.com/play/…" \
  com.streammode.app