Is there a way to make a video repeat in swift? - ios

Question

I added a video to my viewController() as a background and I want to loop it or in other words make it repeat itself forever.
Here is all the code:
import UIKit
import AVKit
import AVFoundation
class ViewController: UIViewController {
override func viewDidLoad() {
super.viewDidLoad()
// Do any additional setup after loading the view.
}
override func viewDidAppear(_ animated: Bool) {
super.viewDidAppear(true)
let player = AVPlayer(url: URL(fileURLWithPath: Bundle.main.path(forResource: "background", ofType: "mp4")!))
let layer = AVPlayerLayer(player: player)
layer.frame = view.bounds
layer.videoGravity = .resizeAspectFill
layer.repeatCount = .greatestFiniteMagnitude
layer.repeatDuration = .greatestFiniteMagnitude
view.layer.addSublayer(layer)
player.play()
}
}
When I run the app It only plays once and never repeats itself.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

Answer 1

One solution is to observe AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime and then simply restart the video.
NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(
forName: .AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime,
object: player.currentItem,
queue: .main
) { [weak player] _ in
player?.seek(to: .zero)
player?.play()
}
Don't forget to detach this observer whenever it's no longer necessary.

Answer 2

Use an AVPlayerLooper. Its name tells you that this is exactly what it's for.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/avplayerlooper

Answer 3

A couple comments.
According to AVPlayerLayer doc: Set one or the other. Not both.
If both repeatDuration and repeatCount are specified the behavior is
undefined.
In general, I've struggled with getting AVPlayerLayer to repeat mp4's using the repeatCount or repeatDuration way. Instead I use AVQueuePlayer with a AVPlayerLooper. Credit to: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/658909
import AVFoundation
var playerQueue: AVQueuePlayer!
var playerLayer: AVPlayerLayer!
var playerLooper: AVPlayerLooper!
private func configLooper(file: String, ext: String) {
guard let videoURL = Bundle.main.url(forResource: file, withExtension: ext) else { return }
playerQueue = AVQueuePlayer()
playerLayer = AVPlayerLayer(player: playerQueue)
let playerItem = AVPlayerItem(url: videoURL)
playerLooper = AVPlayerLooper(player: playerQueue, templateItem: playerItem)
playerLayer.frame = view.bounds
playerLayer.videoGravity = AVLayerVideoGravity.resizeAspectFill
view.layer.insertSublayer(playerLayer, below: someOtherView.layer)
playerQueue.play()
}