iPhone Native Application

This document describes an application we created using the Brightcove App SDK for iOS. If you'd like to learn more about the SDK, including the documentation package for you to download and use to start building iPhone apps, please read our Getting Started with the Brightcove App SDK for iOS article here.

You may already be familiar with the One Planet portal application described in an earlier article. This article is about a parallel application that is native to the iPhone and iPod Touch, as opposed to a web-based application launched through the Safari mobile browser. For simplicity's sake, we'll refer to the One Planet Native Sample Application as "One Planet".

You can also check out these other documents about the Brightcove App SDK for iOS:

• Getting Started with the Brightcove App SDK for iOS. An introduction to the SDK.
• This episode on DevTV is a video introduction to the Brightcove iPhone SDK.
• Brightcove App SDK for iOS. Links to the zip files that includes the latest versions of the SDK classes, reference docs, and sample code for the OnePlanet iPhone native app.
• Brightcove App SDK for iOS Reference. An on-line reference for the Brightcove App SDK for iOS.
• Best Practices for Developing Brightcove Apps for iOS. Tips, tricks, and important points to remember as you develop your Brightcove app for iOS.
• Known Issues for the Brightcove App SDK for iOS

Here is a look at One Planet:

We developed One Planet using the Brightcove App SDK for iOS and the Brightcove Media Read APIs. This SDK, which is currently in development, provides a framework that you will be able to use to create your own native iOS application to deliver Brightcove video to the iPhone, iPad, and other iOS devices. Read more about installing and using the Brightcove App SDK for iOS.

Installing, Building and Starting One Planet

There are two ways you can get started with One Planet on your device:

• Using Xcode
• Using the Apple Store and iTunes

Using Xcode

Before you can install One Planet on your device through Xcode, you will need to request and receive a development certificate and provisioning profile. To do this, visit the iPhone Developer Program at the Apple Developer Connection.

Installation through Xcode assumes that you already have Xcode and the Apple iPhone SDK installed on your computer. Download the Brightcove App SDK for iOS, and open the BrightcoveDemo.Xcodeproj file. You can run One Planet either through your device, or through the Xcode iPhone Simulator. If you decide to install and run One Planet on your device, please make sure that the device is connnected to the Internet. Once you've chosen a target for installation, click Build & Go, and One Planet will build, install and start on the target.

Using the Apple Store and iTunes

One Planet is now available through the iTunes Store. After you download and install the application, select it from the screen on your device.

One Planet in Action

The best way to describe the behavior of One Planet is through a series of user scenarios, starting with application startup.

Startup and Menu views

When One Planet starts, the default view you will see is the Channels view. This view is populated by a call to PlaylistTableViewController.fetchAllPlaylists, which returns a BCItemCollection of Playlists to the screen, with a limit of 10 playlists.

When a channel is selected, a new VideoTableViewController is allocated and added to the navigation controller. To load the channel's videos, the VideoTableViewController makes a call to loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForPlaylist. 

- (void)loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForPlaylist {

// show a 'loading' indicator and then tear down

BrightcoveDemoAppDelegate *delegate = (BrightcoveDemoAppDelegate *)[[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];

BCMediaAPI *bc = delegate.bcServices;

NSError *err;

BCPlaylist *playlist = [bc findPlaylistById:self.playlistId videoFields:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"id", @"FLVURL", @"thumbnailURL", @"name", @"shortDescription", @"renditions", nil] playlistFields:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"name", @"videos", nil] customFields:nil error:&err];

if (!playlist) {
[ErrorHandlerService logMediaAPIError:err];
}

self.videos = playlist.videos;
self.title = playlist.name;
[self.tableView reloadData];
}

Contained in the BCPlaylist object is the list of videos.

Newest View

When a viewer selects the Newest Videos view, a VideoTableViewController is allocated and added to the navigation controller. The VideoTableViewController makes a call to initWithNibAndType, with the listType specified as RECENT_VIDEOS. In the initWithNibAndType method, a call is made to loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForAllVideos. 

- (void)loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForAllVideos {

//[self showLoaderScreen];
BrightcoveDemoAppDelegate *delegate = (BrightcoveDemoAppDelegate *)[[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];
BCMediaAPI *bc = delegate.bcServices;
BCSortOrderType sortOrder;
NSError *err;
BCItemCollection *videoCollection;

if (videoListType == POPULAR) {
sortOrder = BCSortByTypePlaysTrailingWeek;
}

else {
sortOrder = BCSortByTypeModifiedDate;
}

videoCollection = [bc findAllVideos:10 pageNumber:0 sortBy:sortOrder sortOrder:BCSortOrderTypeDESC getItemCount:NO videoFields:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"id", @"FLVURL", @"thumbnailURL", @"name", @"shortDescription", @"renditions", nil] customFields:nil error:&err];

if (!videoCollection) {
[ErrorHandlerService logMediaAPIError:err];
}

self.videos = videoCollection.items;
[self.tableView reloadData];
}

In loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForAllVideos, the sortBy parameter is set to BCSortByTypeModifiedDate, the sortOrder is set to DESC, and a call is made to BCMediaAPI.findAllVideos with these parameters. A BCItemCollection of videos is returned, with a limit of 10 videos.

Popular View

When you select the Popular Videos view, a VideoTableViewController is allocated and added to the navigation controller. The VideoTableViewController makes a call to initWithNibAndType, with the listType specified as POPULAR. In the initWithNibAndType method, a call is made to loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForAllVideos. In loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForAllVideos, the sortBy parameter is set to BCSortByTypePlaysTrailingWeek, the sortOrder is set to DESC, and a call is made to BCMediaAPI.findAllVideos with these parameters. A BCItemCollection of videos is returned, with a limit of 10 videos.

- (void)loadTableDataFromBrightcoveForAllVideos {

//[self showLoaderScreen];

BrightcoveDemoAppDelegate *delegate = (BrightcoveDemoAppDelegate *)
  [[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate];
BCMediaAPI *bc = delegate.bcServices;
BCSortOrderType sortOrder;
NSError *err;
BCItemCollection *videoCollection;

if (videoListType == POPULAR) {
sortOrder = BCSortByTypePlaysTrailingWeek;
}

else {
sortOrder = BCSortByTypeModifiedDate;
}

videoCollection = [bc findAllVideos:10 pageNumber:0 sortBy:sortOrder
  sortOrder:BCSortOrderTypeDESC getItemCount:NO
  videoFields:[NSArray arrayWithObjects:@"id", @"FLVURL", @"thumbnailURL", @"name",
     @"shortDescription", @"renditions", nil] customFields:nil error:&err];

if (!videoCollection) {
[ErrorHandlerService logMediaAPIError:err];
}

self.videos = videoCollection.items;
[self.tableView reloadData];
}

- (id)initWithType:(videoList) pListType {
      [super init];
      listType = pListType;
      
      return self;
  }

If you need help or have a question, please visit our forums. You can also follow the Brightcove iPhone SDK on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bciphonesdk.