MPMoviePlayerViewController -- how to eliminate black flash when video loads? - ios

Question

I'm using MPMoviePlayerViewController to show a video in my app. It works! Only problem is that there's a black flash just before the movie plays.
How can I get rid of the black flash? I've seen other threads, but they don't seem to have an explanation that works with MPMoviePlayerViewController and is sufficiently specific/detailed for a novice like me (most are for MPMoviePlayerController).
Would really appreciate any help!
NSString *filepath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"aiw_intro_video" ofType:#"mp4"];
NSURL *fileURL = [NSURL fileURLWithPath:filepath];
MPMoviePlayerViewController *mpvc = [[MPMoviePlayerViewController alloc] init];
mpvc.moviePlayer.movieSourceType = MPMovieSourceTypeFile;
mpvc.moviePlayer.controlStyle = MPMovieControlStyleNone;
[mpvc.moviePlayer setContentURL:fileURL];
[mpvc.moviePlayer play];
[self presentViewController:mpvc animated:NO completion:NULL];
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:#selector(moviePlayBackDidFinish:) name:MPMoviePlayerPlaybackDidFinishNotification object:mpvc.moviePlayer];

Answer 1

After endlessly iterating and tweaking, I stumbled my way into a solution using MPMoviePlayerController.
Don't forget to declare the property in the .h file, e.g.
#property (strong, nonatomic) MPMoviePlayerController *moviePlayer;
Then
// Add default image to smooth transition
UIImage *myImage = [UIImage imageNamed:#"aiw_launch1136_black.png"];
self.videoStartFrame.image = myImage;
// Play the intro video
self.moviePlayer = [[MPMoviePlayerController alloc] initWithContentURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"aiw_intro_video" ofType:#"mp4"]]];
self.moviePlayer.movieSourceType = MPMovieSourceTypeFile;
self.moviePlayer.controlStyle = MPMovieControlStyleNone;
[self.moviePlayer prepareToPlay];
[self.moviePlayer play];
[self.moviePlayer.view setFrame:self.view.bounds];
[self.view addSubview:self.moviePlayer.view];
self.moviePlayer.view.hidden = YES;
[[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:#selector(isMovieReady:) name:MPMoviePlayerLoadStateDidChangeNotification object:self.moviePlayer];
// Detect that the video is ready and unhide the view
-(void)isMovieReady:(NSNotification *)notification {
MPMoviePlayerController *moviePlayer = [notification object];
if(moviePlayer.loadState & (MPMovieLoadStatePlayable | MPMovieLoadStatePlaythroughOK))
{
self.moviePlayer.view.hidden = NO;
}
}