react-native-video
A battle-tested open-source video player component for React Native with DRM, offline playback, and HLS/DASH streaming support.
What is react-native-video?
React Native Video is a video player component for React Native that enables native video playback on iOS and Android. It solves the problem of integrating robust video functionality into cross-platform mobile apps, supporting local files, remote streams, DRM-protected content, and offline viewing. The component provides a unified API for handling complex video requirements in React Native applications.
React Native developers building mobile applications that require video playback, including streaming services, educational apps, media players, and any app incorporating video content.
Developers choose React Native Video because it's the most battle-tested open-source video solution for React Native, offering commercial-grade features like DRM and offline playback without licensing fees. Its active development and modern architecture (v7) ensure compatibility with the latest React Native improvements and better performance.
Overview
A <Video /> component for react-native
Use Cases
Best For
- Building video streaming apps with HLS or DASH support
- Adding DRM-protected video content to React Native apps
- Implementing offline video playback with download capabilities
- Creating educational or training apps with video content
- Developing media player applications for iOS and Android
- Adding Picture-in-Picture functionality to video apps
Not Ideal For
- Projects requiring immediate support for web, TV, or VisionOS platforms – these are explicitly listed as TODOs in the README.
- Teams that cannot tolerate beta software in production – v7 is in active development with breaking changes and missing features.
- Apps with simple, basic video playback needs – the library's complexity and dependencies like react-native-nitro-modules may be overkill.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Supports DRM (Widevine, FairPlay), offline playback, and streaming protocols like HLS and DASH, as verified in the features table, enabling commercial-grade video apps.
v7 introduces full support for the new React Native architecture, promising better performance and consistency, as highlighted in the project status section.
Works with Expo via a dedicated plugin, simplifying setup for Expo users and broadening accessibility.
Described as the most widely-used open-source video player for React Native, with a proven track record in production apps.
Cons
v7 is in active development with expected breaking changes and missing features, as warned in the IMPORTANT note, making it risky for stable deployments.
Requires react-native-nitro-modules and patches for React Native < 0.80, adding installation overhead and potential compatibility issues, per the installation guide.
Basic web, TV, and VisionOS support are marked as TODOs, limiting use to primarily iOS and Android platforms.
Heavy promotion of paid services and SDKs, like the Offline Video SDK, may indicate reduced focus on free, open-source core features.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
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react-native-track-playerThe best audio player ever built for React Native. Built on the New Architecture — Android Auto, caching, preloading, background playback, and more.
react-native-soundReact Native module for playing sound clips
react-native-camera-kitA high performance, easy to use, rock solid camera library for React Native apps.
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