How do you loop AVPlayer in Swift?

Question

Simple question I can't seem to find an answer to for some reason.

How do you loop AVPlayer in Swift?

numberOfLoops = -1 only works for AVAudioPlayer

I do need it to loop without any delay / black flash etc. That's why I'm not using MPMoviePlayerViewController.

Thanks for any help.

Code:

    let url_1 = NSURL.fileURLWithPath(outputFilePath_1)

    let asset_1 = AVAsset.assetWithURL(url_1) as? AVAsset
    let playerItem_1 = AVPlayerItem(asset: asset_1)

    let player_1 = AVPlayer(playerItem: self.playerItem_1)

    let playerLayer_1 = AVPlayerLayer(player: self.player_1)

    playerLayer_1!.frame = self.view.frame

    self.view.layer.addSublayer(self.playerLayer_1)

    player_1!.play()

Answer 1

Swift 5 (iOS 10.0+)

var playerLooper: AVPlayerLooper! // should be defined in class
var queuePlayer: AVQueuePlayer!
...

let asset: AVAsset = ... // AVAsset with its 'duration' property value loaded
let playerItem = AVPlayerItem(asset: asset)
self.queuePlayer = AVQueuePlayer(playerItem: playerItem)

// Create a new player looper with the queue player and template item
self.playerLooper = AVPlayerLooper(player: queuePlayer, templateItem: playerItem)

< iOS 10.0

All below works in any iOS version. But, for < iOS 10.0 it's the only solution.

Swift 4

var player: AVPlayer!

...

NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(forName: .AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime, object: self.player.currentItem, queue: .main) { [weak self] _ in
    self?.player?.seek(to: CMTime.zero)
    self?.player?.play()
}

Swift 3

NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(forName: .AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime, object: self.player.currentItem, queue: .main) { [weak self] _ in
    self?.player?.seek(to: kCMTimeZero)
    self?.player?.play()
}

Swift 2

After AVPlayerItem is configured and player is created:

var player: AVPlayer!

...

// Invoke after player is created and AVPlayerItem is specified
NSNotificationCenter.defaultCenter().addObserver(self,
    selector: "playerItemDidReachEnd:",
    name: AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTimeNotification,
    object: self.player.currentItem)

...
 
func playerItemDidReachEnd(notification: NSNotification) {
    self.player.seekToTime(kCMTimeZero)
    self.player.play()
}

Don't forget to import AVFoundation

Answer 2

Starting from iOS 10, there's no need to use notifications to loop a video, simply use a AVPlayerLooper, just like this:

let asset = AVAsset(url: videoURL)
let item = AVPlayerItem(asset: asset)
let player = AVQueuePlayer(playerItem: item)
videoLooper = AVPlayerLooper(player: player, templateItem: item)

make sure this looper is created outside of a function scope, in case it stops when function returns.

Answer 3

@Christopher Pickslay's answer updated for Swift 4:

func loopVideo(videoPlayer: AVPlayer) {
    NotificationCenter.default.addObserver(forName: NSNotification.Name.AVPlayerItemDidPlayToEndTime, object: nil, queue: nil) { notification in
        videoPlayer.seek(to: CMTime.zero)
        videoPlayer.play()
    }
}

But, as I mentioned below his answer, be sure to specify the object as the AVPlayer's player item if you have multiple players.