Writing to Photos library with AVAssetWriter - ios

Question

I've written code that successfully loads an AVAsset from the Photos library using AVAssetReader, and then saves it using AVAssetWriter. Aside from a few necessary corrections (e.g., finishWriting is deprecated; replaced with didFinish... completion block), it is the same code provided in the AVFoundation Programming Guide. No additions or revisions.
Although it works without error, I can't figure out how to write to the Photos library. The video comes from the asset-library/assets directory; but, the only directory I can successfully write the output to is the Documents directory of my app. I'm not necessarily opposed to it being written there; but, how do I access the output video file? And, why can't I use the same URL I read the asset from to write it back? (Or, more like how do I do that?)
//
// ExportVideo.m
// ----
//
// Created by James Alan Bush on 2/25/16.
// Copyright © 2016 Apple. All rights reserved.
//
#import "ExportVideo.h"
#import "GLKitView.h"
#implementation ExportVideo
#synthesize url = _url;
#synthesize renderer = _renderer;
- (id)initWithURL:(NSURL *)url usingRenderer:(GLKitView *)renderer {
NSLog(#"ExportVideo");
if (!(self = [super init])) {
return nil;
}
self.url = url;
self.renderer = renderer;
NSString *serializationQueueDescription = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# serialization queue", self];
_mainSerializationQueue = dispatch_queue_create([serializationQueueDescription UTF8String], NULL);
NSString *rwAudioSerializationQueueDescription = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# rw audio serialization queue", self];
_rwAudioSerializationQueue = dispatch_queue_create([rwAudioSerializationQueueDescription UTF8String], NULL);
NSString *rwVideoSerializationQueueDescription = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# rw video serialization queue", self];
_rwVideoSerializationQueue = dispatch_queue_create([rwVideoSerializationQueueDescription UTF8String], NULL);
return self;
}
- (void)startProcessing {
NSDictionary *inputOptions = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithObject:[NSNumber numberWithBool:YES] forKey:AVURLAssetPreferPreciseDurationAndTimingKey];
_asset = [[AVURLAsset alloc] initWithURL:self.url options:inputOptions];
NSLog(#"URL: %#", self.url);
_cancelled = NO;
[_asset loadValuesAsynchronouslyForKeys:[NSArray arrayWithObject:#"tracks"] completionHandler: ^{
dispatch_async(_mainSerializationQueue, ^{
if (_cancelled)
return;
BOOL success = YES;
NSError *localError = nil;
success = ([_asset statusOfValueForKey:#"tracks" error:&localError] == AVKeyValueStatusLoaded);
if (success)
{
NSFileManager *fm = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
NSString *localOutputPath = [self.url path];
if ([fm fileExistsAtPath:localOutputPath])
success = [fm removeItemAtPath:localOutputPath error:&localError];
}
if (success)
success = [self setupAssetReaderAndAssetWriter:&localError];
if (success)
success = [self startAssetReaderAndWriter:&localError];
if (!success)
[self readingAndWritingDidFinishSuccessfully:success withError:localError];
});
}];
}
- (BOOL)setupAssetReaderAndAssetWriter:(NSError **)outError
{
// Create and initialize the asset reader.
_reader = [[AVAssetReader alloc] initWithAsset:_asset error:outError];
BOOL success = (_reader != nil);
if (success)
{
// If the asset reader was successfully initialized, do the same for the asset writer.
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *outputURL = paths[0];
NSFileManager *manager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
[manager createDirectoryAtPath:outputURL withIntermediateDirectories:YES attributes:nil error:nil];
outputURL = [outputURL stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"output.mov"];
[manager removeItemAtPath:outputURL error:nil];
NSURL *outURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:outputURL];
_writer = [[AVAssetWriter alloc] initWithURL:outURL fileType:AVFileTypeQuickTimeMovie error:outError];
success = (_writer != nil);
}
if (success)
{
// If the reader and writer were successfully initialized, grab the audio and video asset tracks that will be used.
AVAssetTrack *assetAudioTrack = nil, *assetVideoTrack = nil;
NSArray *audioTracks = [_asset tracksWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeAudio];
if ([audioTracks count] > 0)
assetAudioTrack = [audioTracks objectAtIndex:0];
NSArray *videoTracks = [_asset tracksWithMediaType:AVMediaTypeVideo];
if ([videoTracks count] > 0)
assetVideoTrack = [videoTracks objectAtIndex:0];
if (assetAudioTrack)
{
// If there is an audio track to read, set the decompression settings to Linear PCM and create the asset reader output.
NSDictionary *decompressionAudioSettings = #{ AVFormatIDKey : [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:kAudioFormatLinearPCM] };
_readerAudioOutput = [AVAssetReaderTrackOutput assetReaderTrackOutputWithTrack:assetAudioTrack outputSettings:decompressionAudioSettings];
[_reader addOutput:_readerAudioOutput];
// Then, set the compression settings to 128kbps AAC and create the asset writer input.
AudioChannelLayout stereoChannelLayout = {
.mChannelLayoutTag = kAudioChannelLayoutTag_Stereo,
.mChannelBitmap = 0,
.mNumberChannelDescriptions = 0
};
NSData *channelLayoutAsData = [NSData dataWithBytes:&stereoChannelLayout length:offsetof(AudioChannelLayout, mChannelDescriptions)];
NSDictionary *compressionAudioSettings = #{
AVFormatIDKey : [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:kAudioFormatMPEG4AAC],
AVEncoderBitRateKey : [NSNumber numberWithInteger:128000],
AVSampleRateKey : [NSNumber numberWithInteger:44100],
AVChannelLayoutKey : channelLayoutAsData,
AVNumberOfChannelsKey : [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInteger:2]
};
_writerAudioInput = [AVAssetWriterInput assetWriterInputWithMediaType:[assetAudioTrack mediaType] outputSettings:compressionAudioSettings];
[_writer addInput:_writerAudioInput];
}
if (assetVideoTrack)
{
// If there is a video track to read, set the decompression settings for YUV and create the asset reader output.
NSDictionary *decompressionVideoSettings = #{
(id)kCVPixelBufferPixelFormatTypeKey : [NSNumber numberWithUnsignedInt:kCVPixelFormatType_420YpCbCr8BiPlanarVideoRange],
(id)kCVPixelBufferIOSurfacePropertiesKey : [NSDictionary dictionary]
};
_readerVideoOutput = [AVAssetReaderTrackOutput assetReaderTrackOutputWithTrack:assetVideoTrack outputSettings:decompressionVideoSettings];
[_reader addOutput:_readerVideoOutput];
CMFormatDescriptionRef formatDescription = NULL;
// Grab the video format descriptions from the video track and grab the first one if it exists.
NSArray *formatDescriptions = [assetVideoTrack formatDescriptions];
if ([formatDescriptions count] > 0)
formatDescription = (__bridge CMFormatDescriptionRef)[formatDescriptions objectAtIndex:0];
CGSize trackDimensions = {
.width = 0.0,
.height = 0.0,
};
// If the video track had a format description, grab the track dimensions from there. Otherwise, grab them direcly from the track itself.
if (formatDescription)
trackDimensions = CMVideoFormatDescriptionGetPresentationDimensions(formatDescription, false, false);
else
trackDimensions = [assetVideoTrack naturalSize];
NSDictionary *compressionSettings = nil;
// If the video track had a format description, attempt to grab the clean aperture settings and pixel aspect ratio used by the video.
if (formatDescription)
{
NSDictionary *cleanAperture = nil;
NSDictionary *pixelAspectRatio = nil;
CFDictionaryRef cleanApertureFromCMFormatDescription = CMFormatDescriptionGetExtension(formatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionExtension_CleanAperture);
if (cleanApertureFromCMFormatDescription)
{
cleanAperture = #{
AVVideoCleanApertureWidthKey : (id)CFDictionaryGetValue(cleanApertureFromCMFormatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionKey_CleanApertureWidth),
AVVideoCleanApertureHeightKey : (id)CFDictionaryGetValue(cleanApertureFromCMFormatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionKey_CleanApertureHeight),
AVVideoCleanApertureHorizontalOffsetKey : (id)CFDictionaryGetValue(cleanApertureFromCMFormatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionKey_CleanApertureHorizontalOffset),
AVVideoCleanApertureVerticalOffsetKey : (id)CFDictionaryGetValue(cleanApertureFromCMFormatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionKey_CleanApertureVerticalOffset)
};
}
CFDictionaryRef pixelAspectRatioFromCMFormatDescription = CMFormatDescriptionGetExtension(formatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionExtension_PixelAspectRatio);
if (pixelAspectRatioFromCMFormatDescription)
{
pixelAspectRatio = #{
AVVideoPixelAspectRatioHorizontalSpacingKey : (id)CFDictionaryGetValue(pixelAspectRatioFromCMFormatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionKey_PixelAspectRatioHorizontalSpacing),
AVVideoPixelAspectRatioVerticalSpacingKey : (id)CFDictionaryGetValue(pixelAspectRatioFromCMFormatDescription, kCMFormatDescriptionKey_PixelAspectRatioVerticalSpacing)
};
}
// Add whichever settings we could grab from the format description to the compression settings dictionary.
if (cleanAperture || pixelAspectRatio)
{
NSMutableDictionary *mutableCompressionSettings = [NSMutableDictionary dictionary];
if (cleanAperture)
[mutableCompressionSettings setObject:cleanAperture forKey:AVVideoCleanApertureKey];
if (pixelAspectRatio)
[mutableCompressionSettings setObject:pixelAspectRatio forKey:AVVideoPixelAspectRatioKey];
compressionSettings = mutableCompressionSettings;
}
}
// Create the video settings dictionary for H.264.
NSMutableDictionary *videoSettings = (NSMutableDictionary *) #{
AVVideoCodecKey : AVVideoCodecH264,
AVVideoWidthKey : [NSNumber numberWithDouble:trackDimensions.width],
AVVideoHeightKey : [NSNumber numberWithDouble:trackDimensions.height]
};
// Put the compression settings into the video settings dictionary if we were able to grab them.
if (compressionSettings)
[videoSettings setObject:compressionSettings forKey:AVVideoCompressionPropertiesKey];
// Create the asset writer input and add it to the asset writer.
_writerVideoInput = [AVAssetWriterInput assetWriterInputWithMediaType:[assetVideoTrack mediaType] outputSettings:videoSettings];
[_writer addInput:_writerVideoInput];
}
}
return success;
}
- (BOOL)startAssetReaderAndWriter:(NSError **)outError
{
BOOL success = YES;
// Attempt to start the asset reader.
success = [_reader startReading];
if (!success) {
*outError = [_reader error];
NSLog(#"Reader error");
}
if (success)
{
// If the reader started successfully, attempt to start the asset writer.
success = [_writer startWriting];
if (!success) {
*outError = [_writer error];
NSLog(#"Writer error");
}
}
if (success)
{
// If the asset reader and writer both started successfully, create the dispatch group where the reencoding will take place and start a sample-writing session.
_dispatchGroup = dispatch_group_create();
[_writer startSessionAtSourceTime:kCMTimeZero];
_audioFinished = NO;
_videoFinished = NO;
if (_writerAudioInput)
{
// If there is audio to reencode, enter the dispatch group before beginning the work.
dispatch_group_enter(_dispatchGroup);
// Specify the block to execute when the asset writer is ready for audio media data, and specify the queue to call it on.
[_writerAudioInput requestMediaDataWhenReadyOnQueue:_rwAudioSerializationQueue usingBlock:^{
// Because the block is called asynchronously, check to see whether its task is complete.
if (_audioFinished)
return;
BOOL completedOrFailed = NO;
// If the task isn't complete yet, make sure that the input is actually ready for more media data.
while ([_writerAudioInput isReadyForMoreMediaData] && !completedOrFailed)
{
// Get the next audio sample buffer, and append it to the output file.
CMSampleBufferRef sampleBuffer = [_readerAudioOutput copyNextSampleBuffer];
if (sampleBuffer != NULL)
{
BOOL success = [_writerAudioInput appendSampleBuffer:sampleBuffer];
CFRelease(sampleBuffer);
sampleBuffer = NULL;
completedOrFailed = !success;
}
else
{
completedOrFailed = YES;
}
}
if (completedOrFailed)
{
// Mark the input as finished, but only if we haven't already done so, and then leave the dispatch group (since the audio work has finished).
BOOL oldFinished = _audioFinished;
_audioFinished = YES;
if (oldFinished == NO)
{
[_writerAudioInput markAsFinished];
}
dispatch_group_leave(_dispatchGroup);
}
}];
}
if (_writerVideoInput)
{
// If we had video to reencode, enter the dispatch group before beginning the work.
dispatch_group_enter(_dispatchGroup);
// Specify the block to execute when the asset writer is ready for video media data, and specify the queue to call it on.
[_writerVideoInput requestMediaDataWhenReadyOnQueue:_rwVideoSerializationQueue usingBlock:^{
// Because the block is called asynchronously, check to see whether its task is complete.
if (_videoFinished)
return;
BOOL completedOrFailed = NO;
// If the task isn't complete yet, make sure that the input is actually ready for more media data.
while ([_writerVideoInput isReadyForMoreMediaData] && !completedOrFailed)
{
// Get the next video sample buffer, and append it to the output file.
CMSampleBufferRef sampleBuffer = [_readerVideoOutput copyNextSampleBuffer];
if (sampleBuffer != NULL)
{
BOOL success = [_writerVideoInput appendSampleBuffer:sampleBuffer];
CFRelease(sampleBuffer);
sampleBuffer = NULL;
completedOrFailed = !success;
}
else
{
completedOrFailed = YES;
}
}
if (completedOrFailed)
{
// Mark the input as finished, but only if we haven't already done so, and then leave the dispatch group (since the video work has finished).
BOOL oldFinished = _videoFinished;
_videoFinished = YES;
if (oldFinished == NO)
{
[_writerVideoInput markAsFinished];
}
dispatch_group_leave(_dispatchGroup);
}
}];
}
// Set up the notification that the dispatch group will send when the audio and video work have both finished. (This is one part I corrected)
dispatch_group_notify(_dispatchGroup, _mainSerializationQueue, ^{
BOOL finalSuccess = YES;
NSError *finalError = nil;
// Check to see if the work has finished due to cancellation.
if (_cancelled)
{
// If so, cancel the reader and writer.
[_reader cancelReading];
[_writer cancelWriting];
}
else
{
// If cancellation didn't occur, first make sure that the asset reader didn't fail.
if ([_reader status] == AVAssetReaderStatusFailed)
{
finalSuccess = NO;
finalError = [_reader error];
NSLog(#"_reader finalError: %#", finalError);
}
// If the asset reader didn't fail, attempt to stop the asset writer and check for any errors.
[_writer finishWritingWithCompletionHandler:^{
[self readingAndWritingDidFinishSuccessfully:finalSuccess withError:[_writer error]];
}];
}
// Call the method to handle completion, and pass in the appropriate parameters to indicate whether reencoding was successful.
});
}
// Return success here to indicate whether the asset reader and writer were started successfully.
return success;
}
- (void)readingAndWritingDidFinishSuccessfully:(BOOL)success withError:(NSError *)error
{
if (!success)
{
// If the reencoding process failed, we need to cancel the asset reader and writer.
[_reader cancelReading];
[_writer cancelWriting];
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
// Handle any UI tasks here related to failure.
});
}
else
{
// Reencoding was successful, reset booleans.
_cancelled = NO;
_videoFinished = NO;
_audioFinished = NO;
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
// Handle any UI tasks here related to success.
});
}
NSLog(#"readingAndWritingDidFinishSuccessfully success = %# : Error = %#", (success == 0) ? #"NO" : #"YES", error);
}
FYI: If you take a stab at this, please don't just suggest the use of another object or suggest an entirely different approach altogether. I need this one to work as advertised, somehow.
Thanks!

Answer 1

To answer my own question:
The solution was to add this line to the finishWritingWithCompletionHandler to move the video from my app's Documents directory to the Photos library:
UISaveVideoAtPathToSavedPhotosAlbum(_outputURL, nil, nil, nil);