ASUS padfone shows black screen when playing Http Live Streaming (m3u8) files using Android VideoView

Question

When I try to play HLS m3u8 file (http://devimages.apple.com/iphone/samples/bipbop/bipbopall.m3u8) on ASUS padfone (http://www.asus.com/Mobile/PadFone/), it shows a black screen with no video nor audio. There is no error report in logcat.

The Operating System installed on ASUS padfone is Android 4.0.3.

The code I'm using can be run perfectly on other Android phones like Sansumg Galaxy S2. Is ASUS padfone missing HLS decoder for decoding the m3u8 streaming ? Other files like 3gp, mp4 works fine. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Code:

package com.videoview;

import android.app.Activity;

import android.net.Uri;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.widget.MediaController;

import android.widget.VideoView;

public class videoview extends Activity {

    /**
     * TODO: Set the path variable to a streaming video URL or a local media
     * file path.
     */
    private String path = "http://devimages.apple.com/iphone/samples/bipbop/bipbopall.m3u8";
//    private String path = "http://www.pocketjourney.com/downloads/pj/video/famous.3gp";
    private VideoView mVideoView;

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle icicle) {
        super.onCreate(icicle);
        try {
            setContentView(R.layout.videoview);
            mVideoView = (VideoView) findViewById(R.id.surface_view);
//          mVideoView.setVideoPath(path);
            mVideoView.setVideoURI(Uri.parse(path));
            mVideoView.setMediaController(new MediaController(this));
            mVideoView.requestFocus();
            mVideoView.start();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            // TODO Auto-generated catch block
            e.printStackTrace();
        }

    }
}

XML layout file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:layout_width="fill_parent"
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"
    >

    <VideoView 
        android:id="@+id/surface_view" 
        android:layout_height="fill_parent" android:layout_width="fill_parent"/>

</LinearLayout>

Answer 1

It's been shown by several reviews that Padfone is missing several codecs. There's no MKV support for instance.

From the instruction manual:

*The audio and video codec supported by your PadFone Station:

Decoder

Audio Codec: AAC LC/LTP, HE-AACv(AAC+), HE-AACv(enhanced AAC+), AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MP, FLAC, MIDI, PCM/WAVE, Vorbis, WAV a-law/mu-law, WAV linear PCM, WMA 0, WMA Lossless, WMA Pro LBR

Encoder Audio Codec: AAC LC/LTP, AMR-NB, AMR-WB Video Codec: H.6, H.64, MPEG-4

Video Codec: H.263, H.264, MPEG-4, VC-/WMV, VP8* 

Have you tried MX player or the latest VLC nightly?