Today, I'm excited to introduce one of the biggest additions to Unifium yet: Extension Support. This new foundation unlocks powerful new capabilities for the app, and I'm launching it with the first extension, Video Link Resolver, which can transform supported webpage URLs into directly playable video streams.
This new feature dramatically expands the types of video links that can be played in Unifium while keeping the core app lightweight, flexible, and future-proof.
The Problem
Many websites do not expose their videos as direct MP4, HLS, or DASH streams.
Instead, users often have a webpage URL such as:
- A video page on a streaming website
- A video embedded inside a webpage
- A website that requires additional processing before the actual video URL becomes available
While Unifium can already play direct media streams, these webpage URLs are often not directly playable.
As a result, users may have a video URL they want to watch, but Unifium cannot immediately determine the actual stream behind it.
The Solution: Video Link Resolver
Video Link Resolver allow external applications to resolve webpage URLs into playable video streams.
Instead of requiring Unifium to understand every website, the URL extraction logic can now live inside dedicated extensions.
The process is simple:
- You enter a video URL into Unifium.
- Unifium checks for installed and enabled Video Link Resolver.
- The most suitable resolver will be selected and used to extract the actual media stream.
- The resolved video URL is returned to Unifium.
- Playback starts immediately.
The entire process is seamless and transparent to the user.
Built for an Open Ecosystem
Video Link Resolver are implemented as independent Android applications.
This means support for new websites can be added without modifying the Unifium app itself.
Website owners, developers, and community contributors can build their own resolver extensions and distribute them independently.
This creates an ecosystem where support for additional video sources can grow over time without requiring a full Unifium update.
For Developers
To make extension development straightforward, I have released the Unifium Resolver SDK:
https://github.com/andatsoft/unifium-resolver-sdk
The repository provides everything needed to integrate with Unifium. The implementation is intentionally lightweight and can be integrated into an Android application with minimal effort.
Security First
Because resolver extensions can influence playback behavior, Unifium takes a security-first approach.
When a resolver extension is installed, Unifium automatically detects it.
However, all extensions are disabled by default.
To enable an extension:
Settings → Extensions → Manage extensions
From there, you can review and explicitly enable the extensions you trust.
This ensures you remain in control of which extensions are allowed to interact with Unifium.
How It Works in Practice
Once an extension is enabled:
- Open Unifium.
- Enter a supported video URL.
- Unifium automatically delegates URL extraction to the appropriate extension.
- The extension returns a playable stream URL.
- Unifium plays the video normally.
No additional steps are required during playback.
The experience remains smooth and integrated while allowing powerful extension-based capabilities behind the scenes.
Video Link Resolver lay the foundation for a much larger ecosystem around Unifium.
By separating playback from URL extraction, I can continue improving the player experience while allowing developers and website owners to extend support for additional video sources.
Comments
Post a Comment