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Namida provides comprehensive video playback capabilities for both local videos and YouTube content, with intuitive gesture controls and seamless integration with your music library.

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Overview

Video functionality in Namida includes:
  • Local Video Library: Full indexing and playback of local video files
  • Music Video Matching: Automatic matching of videos to audio tracks
  • YouTube Integration: Stream and play YouTube videos
  • Gesture Controls: Intuitive touch controls for playback
  • Fullscreen Mode: Immersive viewing experience
Since v4.0.0, Namida supports full video library indexing and independent video playback, not just as accompaniment to audio tracks.

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Local Video Playback

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Video Library

Namida indexes video files from your specified folders:
1

Automatic Indexing

Videos in music folders are automatically detected and indexed
2

Dedicated Video View

Browse videos independently in the Videos tab
3

Folder Organization

Videos organized by folder with thumbnail previews
4

Seamless Playback

Play videos directly or as background to audio tracks

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Video Format Support

Namida supports common video formats:
  • MP4 (H.264, H.265/HEVC)
  • MKV (Matroska)
  • WebM (VP8, VP9, AV1)
  • AVI
  • MOV
  • 3GP
  • FLV
Video codec support depends on your device’s hardware and Android version. Most modern devices support H.264 and VP9.

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Music Video Matching

Namida can automatically find and play videos related to audio tracks:

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Local Video Matching

For tracks in your local library, Namida looks for matching videos:
Namida searches for videos in your library that match the currently playing track:
  1. Exact filename match: Video file contains the audio filename
  2. Title + Artist match: Video filename contains track title and first artist
  3. YouTube ID match: Video contains YouTube ID from track’s comment tag or filename
Note: Symbols and whitespace are ignored during matching for better results

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Matching Examples

# Audio file:
Alan Walker - Faded.m4a

# These video files will match:
video alan WaLkER - faDed (480p).mp4  # Case insensitive, symbols ignored
Alan Walker - Faded [Official Video].mp4
v=dQw4w9WgXcQ.mp4  # If track has this YouTube ID in tags

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YouTube Video Matching

For tracks with YouTube metadata:
1

Check Track Tags

Namida looks for YouTube URL in the track’s comment tag or filename
2

Download Video

If found, the video is downloaded and cached automatically
3

Play When Ready

Video plays once buffered sufficiently
Supported URL formats in tags:
  • Full URLs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
  • Parameter format in filename: v=VIDEO_ID or id=VIDEO_ID
This format is commonly used by yt-dlp when downloading.

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Video Player Controls

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Touch Gestures

Namida features a comprehensive gesture control system for video playback:

Seeking

Horizontal Swipe: Seek forward/backwardDouble Tap Left: Quick seek backward (-10s)Double Tap Right: Quick seek forward (+10s)

Volume Control

Swipe Up/Down (Right Side): Adjust volumeShows visual feedback with volume percentage

Brightness

Swipe Up/Down (Left Side): Adjust screen brightnessShows visual feedback with brightness percentage

Playback Speed

Long Press: Enable 2x playback speedRelease to return to normal speed

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Fullscreen Controls

1

Enter Fullscreen

  • Swipe up on video
  • Pinch outward (zoom in beyond threshold)
  • Tap fullscreen button
2

Exit Fullscreen

  • Swipe down on video
  • Pinch inward (zoom out)
  • Tap minimize button
  • Press back button
  • Auto-rotation: Automatically rotate to landscape/portrait
  • Hide UI: System bars hidden for immersive viewing
  • Enhanced controls: Optimized touch targets in fullscreen
  • Gesture navigation: All gestures work seamlessly

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Zoom & Aspect Ratio

Customize how videos are displayed:
  • Pinch to Zoom: Zoom in/out on video content
  • Aspect Ratio Modes:
    • Fit: Video fits within screen, no cropping (default)
    • Fill: Video fills screen, may crop edges
    • Stretch: Video stretched to fill screen (may distort)
Zooming in significantly (>1.1x scale) while not in fullscreen will automatically trigger fullscreen mode.

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Video Widget Features

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Miniplayer Mode

Video continues playing in a miniplayer when navigating the app:
  • Picture-in-Picture: Small video overlay while browsing
  • Drag to Position: Move miniplayer anywhere on screen
  • Resize: Adjust miniplayer size
  • Tap to Expand: Return to full player

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Control Visibility

Smart control overlay system:
  • Auto-hide: Controls fade after 3 seconds of inactivity
  • Tap to Show: Single tap shows controls temporarily
  • Always Show: Option to keep controls visible
  • Disable in PiP: Controls hidden in picture-in-picture mode

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Advanced Video Features

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Video Priority System

Namida uses intelligent video source prioritization: 
// Video source priority (from highest to lowest):
// 1. Manually selected video
// 2. Locally matched video file
// 3. YouTube video from track metadata
// 4. YouTube search result for track
When multiple video sources are available:
  1. User selection takes precedence: If you manually select a video, it will be used
  2. Local videos preferred: Local matches used before YouTube
  3. Cached YouTube videos: Already cached videos load faster
  4. Stream if needed: YouTube content streamed if not cached

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Background Playback

Configure video behavior when app is in background:
  • Audio-only: Continue audio playback without video
  • Pause video: Stop video but continue audio
  • Full pause: Pause both video and audio
  • Picture-in-Picture: Continue video in PiP mode (Android 8.0+)

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Video Effects

Enhance video viewing experience:
  • Brightness Override: Temporarily boost brightness for videos
  • Color Filters: Apply color corrections (coming soon)
  • Playback Speed: Adjust from 0.25x to 2x speed
  • Audio Boost: Increase volume beyond system maximum (careful!)

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Performance Optimization

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Hardware Acceleration

Namida uses hardware acceleration for smooth playback:
  • GPU Rendering: Offload video decoding to GPU
  • Efficient Codecs: Prefer hardware-accelerated codecs (H.264, VP9)
  • Adaptive Quality: Automatically reduce quality if performance suffers

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Battery Optimization

Audio-Only Mode

Disable video rendering to save battery when only listening

Lower Resolution

Use 480p or lower for background playback

Disable Gestures

Reduce CPU usage by disabling visual effects

Screen Timeout

Allow screen to dim/sleep during audio playback

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Video Settings

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Playback Preferences

  • Auto-play video: Automatically start video when track plays
  • Prefer local videos: Use local matches before YouTube
  • Cache YouTube videos: Download and cache YouTube videos
  • Video quality: Default quality for YouTube videos
  • Hardware acceleration: Enable GPU decoding

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Display Settings

  • Default aspect ratio: Choose fit/fill/stretch
  • Zoom level: Set default zoom level
  • Rotation lock: Prevent auto-rotation in fullscreen
  • Control timeout: How long controls stay visible

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Gesture Customization

1

Enable/Disable Gestures

Toggle individual gesture controls on/off
2

Adjust Sensitivity

Fine-tune how responsive gestures are
3

Swipe Directions

Customize what each swipe direction does

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Video Queue

Manage video playback order:
  • Video Queue: Separate queue for videos
  • Mixed Queue: Combine audio and video tracks
  • Auto-advance: Continue to next video automatically
  • Shuffle Videos: Random video playback order

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Best Practices

1

Organize Video Files

Keep music videos in the same folders as audio files for automatic matching
2

Use Descriptive Names

Name video files to match audio tracks: “Artist - Title.mp4”
3

Add YouTube IDs

Tag audio files with YouTube IDs for automatic video matching
4

Enable Caching

Cache frequently watched YouTube videos for offline access
5

Adjust Quality

Use lower quality for background playback to save battery

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Troubleshooting

  • Check if video file exists and is not corrupted
  • Verify video filename matches track name or has YouTube ID
  • Ensure video format is supported by your device
  • Try manually selecting the video
  • Refresh video library in settings
  • Enable hardware acceleration in settings
  • Lower video quality/resolution
  • Close other apps to free memory
  • Check if device supports the video codec
  • Try disabling visual effects and gestures
  • Verify gestures are enabled in video settings
  • Check if control overlay is blocking gestures
  • Ensure video is in active playback mode
  • Try recalibrating gesture sensitivity
  • Restart app if gestures become unresponsive
  • Check if rotation lock is enabled on device
  • Verify fullscreen gestures are enabled
  • Try using fullscreen button instead of gestures
  • Check app permissions for system UI control
  • Update to latest version of Namida

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