# Better Player
The complete, production-grade video player for Flutter.
One unified controller. Native performance. Zero bloated binaries.
Documentation •
Live Demo •
Migrating to 1.x (from 0.0.x / better_player_plus) •
Migrating from video_player •
Migrating from chewie •
Migrating from media_kit •
Example App
---
## Why Better Player?
Stop stitching `video_player`, separate UI packages, abandoned caching plugins, and custom DRM code together. Better Player packs the full video stack into a single, cohesive engine.
| Feature | Better Player | video_player + chewie | media_kit |
|---|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| **App Size Overhead** | **~1-2 MB** (Native OS engines) | ~1-2 MB | **+30MB to 50MB** (Bundled mpv binaries) |
| **Out-of-the-box UI** | Built-in & customizable | Chewie required | Built-in |
| **HLS / DASH** | Full native support | Basic | Native |
| **DRM (Widevine / FairPlay)** | Native support | None | None |
| **Smart Caching** | Built-in offline cache | None (3rd party needed) | None |
| **Subtitles & Closed Captions** | SRT, WebVTT, TTML, CEA-608 / CEA-708 | SRT only | Advanced |
| **Picture in Picture (PiP)** | Built-in | None | Platform-dependent |
| **Playlists** | Built-in | None | Built-in |
| **VAST / VMAP Ads** | Client-side ad engine (VAST 2.0-4.x, VMAP) | None | None |
| **Telemetry & QoE** | Real-time video metrics, offline retention & cloud export | None | None |
| **Watermarking & Screen Shield** | Dynamic forensic overlays & native OS screen capture protection | None | None |
| **Video Feeds & Pooling** | Built-in (`BetterPlayerFeed`, `BetterPlayerPool`) | None | None |
---
## 📱 Visual Showcase
Mobile Overview
|
Native Picture-in-Picture (PiP)
|
Web & Desktop Overview
|
Touch & Fullscreen Controls
|
Adaptive HLS Quality & Track Switching
|
Styled Subtitles (WebVTT, TTML, SRT)
|
---
## 📦 Quick Start
### 1. Install
```bash
flutter pub add better_player
```
### 2. Basic Playback
Play a network video with full controls in three lines:
```dart
import 'package:better_player/better_player.dart';
AspectRatio(
aspectRatio: 16 / 9,
child: BetterPlayer.network(
"https://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/gtv-videos-bucket/sample/BigBuckBunny.mp4",
),
)
```
### 3. Production Playback (Caching, DRM & HLS)
Configure caching, custom headers, or DRM with a single controller:
```dart
final controller = BetterPlayerController(
const PlayerConfiguration(
aspectRatio: 16 / 9,
autoPlay: true,
),
betterPlayerDataSource: PlayerDataSource(
DataSourceType.network,
"https://example.com/stream.m3u8",
// Cache video locally for instant playback:
cacheConfiguration: const CacheConfiguration(useCache: true),
// Or protect content with DRM:
drmConfiguration: DrmConfiguration(
drmType: DrmType.widevine,
licenseUrl: "https://license.example.com",
),
),
);
BetterPlayer(controller: controller);
```
---
## 🌐 Platform Packages
Better Player uses a federated architecture. Each platform runs on its native, hardware-accelerated media engine:
| Platform | Package | Engine | Status |
|---|---|---|:---:|
| **Android** | `better_player_android` | Google Media3 / ExoPlayer | [](https://pub.dev/packages/better_player_android) |
| **iOS** | `better_player_ios` | Apple AVPlayer | [](https://pub.dev/packages/better_player_ios) |
| **macOS** | `better_player_macos` | Apple AVPlayer | [](https://pub.dev/packages/better_player_macos) |
| **Web** | `better_player_web` | Shaka Player / HTML5 | [](https://pub.dev/packages/better_player_web) |
| **Windows** | `better_player_windows` | libmpv | [](https://pub.dev/packages/better_player_windows) |
| **Linux** | `better_player_linux` | libmpv | [](https://pub.dev/packages/better_player_linux) |
---
## 🔄 Migration Guides
Switching from another package? Follow the step-by-step migration guides:
- [Migrating to 1.x.x (from 0.0.84 and better_player_plus)](https://jhomlala.github.io/betterplayer/migration_to_1.x.x): Upgrade from legacy 0.0.84 or community forks (`better_player_plus`, `better_player_enhanced`) using automated `dart fix`.
- [Migrating from video_player](https://jhomlala.github.io/betterplayer/migration_from_video_player): Replace `VideoPlayerController` and remove separate UI packages.
- [Migrating from chewie](https://jhomlala.github.io/betterplayer/migration_from_chewie): Consolidate your player and controls into a single controller.
- [Migrating from media_kit](https://jhomlala.github.io/betterplayer/migration_from_media_kit): Reclaim 30-50 MB of mobile app size and switch to native OS media engines.
---
## 🤖 AI Coding Agents
Better Player supports [Dart package skills](https://dart.dev/ai/package-skills) so tools like Cursor, Claude Code, Gemini, and Copilot understand the API out of the box:
```bash
dart run skills@ get -p better_player
```
---
## 📖 Resources & Docs
- [Official Documentation](https://jhomlala.github.io/betterplayer/): Full guides for caching, DRM, subtitles, VAST ads, and playlists.
- [Example Application](https://github.com/jhomlala/betterplayer/tree/master/packages/better_player_example): Complete working samples covering every feature.
- [API Reference](https://pub.dev/documentation/better_player/latest/): Generated Dart doc reference.
---
## 🤝 Contributing
Found a bug or missing a feature? Open an issue or submit a pull request.
## 💼 Enterprise Support
Need a custom video source adapter, bespoke DRM implementation, or tailored UI controls? I am available for consulting.
[Contact on LinkedIn →](https://pl.linkedin.com/in/jhomlala)