Add audio/video toggle for HLS streams by leandroalonso · Pull Request #4686 · Automattic/pocket-casts-ios

leandroalonso · 2026-07-06T16:24:13Z

Fixes PCIOS-811

Adds an audio/video toggle to the player shelf for HLS streams that carry video.

When an HLS stream is found to contain video, a new Show/Hide Video action appears on the player shelf. Tapping it switches the Now Playing screen between the video surface and the episode artwork, letting the user listen audio-only. The whole feature is gated behind the existing FeatureFlag.hls flag and only shows for HLS streams found to carry video (not for regular video podcasts).

Notable details

Used same icons as Android
New PlayerAction.videoToggle case, added last in the default actions (so it defaults into the overflow menu; users can reorder it).
PlaybackManager gains videoRenderingEnabled state plus shouldRenderVideo() / canToggleVideoRendering() / toggleVideoRendering(). The state resets per episode.
The toggle is display-only: it swaps the in-app surface but does not change the system now-playing media type or stop video decoding.
Fixed a first-time blank-artwork issue by forcing an artwork reload + layout pass when switching video → audio.

To test

Play an episode that has an HLS stream containing video.
Open the full-screen player; once the video is detected the artwork is replaced by the video surface.
Open the shelf overflow (•••) — a Hide Video action appears (or drag it onto the shelf via Rearrange Actions).
Tap it: the video is replaced by the episode artwork and the icon/label flips to Show Video.
Tap again: the video surface returns.

Checklist

I have considered if this change warrants user-facing release notes and have added them to CHANGELOG.md if necessary.
I have considered adding unit tests for my changes.
I have updated (or requested that someone edit) the Event Horizon schema to reflect any new or changed analytics.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds an in-player audio/video visibility toggle for HLS streams that contain video, letting users switch Now Playing between the video surface and episode artwork while continuing audio playback. The feature is gated by FeatureFlag.hls and only appears when runtime stream inspection detects video tracks.

Changes:

Introduces a new PlayerAction.videoToggle with localized title/icon and shelf + overflow handling.
Adds PlaybackManager state for videoRenderingEnabled and helpers to determine availability and whether the video surface should be rendered.
Updates Now Playing UI to show/hide the floating video surface and force an artwork refresh when switching video → audio.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 15 out of 17 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
podcasts/ShelfLoadState.swift	Extends shelf reload caching to include video toggle availability + rendering state.
podcasts/ShelfActionsViewController+Table.swift	Wires overflow menu tap handling for the new `.videoToggle` action.
podcasts/PlayerZoomAnimator.swift	Uses `shouldRenderVideo()` to decide video vs artwork transition behavior.
podcasts/PlayerImages.xcassets/video_on.imageset/video_on.svg	Adds “video on” shelf icon (SVG).
podcasts/PlayerImages.xcassets/video_on.imageset/Contents.json	Registers `video_on` asset with template rendering.
podcasts/PlayerImages.xcassets/video_off.imageset/video_off.svg	Adds “video off” shelf icon (SVG).
podcasts/PlayerImages.xcassets/video_off.imageset/Contents.json	Registers `video_off` asset with template rendering.
podcasts/PlaybackManager.swift	Adds video rendering state + toggle APIs; resets state per episode.
podcasts/NowPlayingPlayerItemViewController+Update.swift	Updates Now Playing surface switching logic and forces artwork reload when hiding video.
podcasts/NowPlayingPlayerItemViewController+Shelf.swift	Adds shelf button + delegate handling for `.videoToggle`.
podcasts/NowPlayingPlayerItemViewController.swift	Uses `shouldRenderVideo()` when deciding whether to open the full video controller.
podcasts/MiniPlayerToFullPlayerAnimator.swift	Uses `shouldRenderVideo()` for transition decisions.
podcasts/Enumerations.swift	Adds analytics mapping, title/icon, and applicability for `.videoToggle`.
podcasts/en.lproj/Localizable.strings	Adds “Show Video” / “Hide Video” localized strings.
PocketCastsTests/Tests/Utilities/SettingsTests.swift	Updates expected default player action list to include `.videoToggle`.
Modules/Sources/PocketCastsUtils/General/AtomicBool.swift	Adds `AtomicBool` initializer for setting initial value.
Modules/Sources/PocketCastsDataModel/Public/Enums.swift	Adds `PlayerAction.videoToggle` to the shared model enum.

…y docstring/guard Post a distinct videoRenderingToggled notification from toggleVideoRendering() instead of reusing videoPlaybackEngineSwitched, so the user toggle no longer feeds MiniPlayerViewController's auto-open path (only runtime video detection does). The Now Playing screen observes both notifications. Also guard toggleVideoRendering() on canToggleVideoRendering() and correct the docstring: the toggle is display-only and does not stop video decoding. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

leandroalonso · 2026-07-06T16:44:16Z

Review feedback addressed

PlaybackManager.swift (@copilot): toggleVideoRendering() reused videoPlaybackEngineSwitched, which MiniPlayerViewController uses to auto-open the full player — it now posts a dedicated videoRenderingToggled notification so the toggle can't trigger auto-open. Done in 023faab
PlaybackManager.swift (@copilot): Corrected the toggleVideoRendering() docstring (display-only; does not stop decoding or change system media type) and added a canToggleVideoRendering() guard. Done in 023faab

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 16 out of 18 changed files in this pull request and generated 2 comments.

…tors The property now returns shouldRenderVideo(), which reflects whether the video surface is currently shown (false when the user toggles video off), so the old name was misleading. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

leandroalonso · 2026-07-06T16:59:13Z

Review feedback addressed

PlayerZoomAnimator.swift:16 (@copilot): Renamed misleading isVideoPodcast (now backed by shouldRenderVideo()) to isVideoShown and updated its call sites. Done in d82dc26
MiniPlayerToFullPlayerAnimator.swift:44 (@copilot): Same rename to isVideoShown and updated call sites. Done in d82dc26

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 16 out of 18 changed files in this pull request and generated 3 comments.

…endering value.toggle() is a separate read + write and can race. Add an atomic toggle() that flips storageValue on the serial queue, and use it in toggleVideoRendering(). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

update() already reloads the artwork at the end of the method, so the explicit loadImage in the hide branch was a redundant second call. Keep only the layout pass that fixes the first-time blank artwork. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

leandroalonso · 2026-07-06T17:11:20Z

Review feedback addressed

AtomicBool.swift:17 (@copilot): Added an atomic toggle() (queue-synchronized read/modify/write, @discardableResult). Done in 22fbc0c
PlaybackManager.swift:781 (@copilot): toggleVideoRendering() now uses the atomic AtomicBool.toggle() instead of value.toggle(). Done in 22fbc0c
NowPlayingPlayerItemViewController+Update.swift:68 (@copilot): Removed the duplicate loadImage in the hide branch (update() already reloads at the end); kept the layout pass. Done in 45ed7d5

Copilot

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 16 out of 18 changed files in this pull request and generated no new comments.

leandroalonso added 5 commits July 6, 2026 13:20

Add copies

6768e68

Add icons

4076acf

Add video toggle enum

b4bd1e7

Add constructor to AtomicBool

6dc7586

Add video toggle to shelf

cc229bb

leandroalonso added the [Project] HLS label Jul 6, 2026

leandroalonso added this to the 8.16 milestone Jul 6, 2026

leandroalonso requested a review from Copilot July 6, 2026 16:29

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leandroalonso requested a review from Copilot July 6, 2026 16:50

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Copilot started work on behalf of leandroalonso July 6, 2026 16:59 View session

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Comment thread Modules/Sources/PocketCastsUtils/General/AtomicBool.swift

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leandroalonso and others added 2 commits July 6, 2026 14:10

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leandroalonso marked this pull request as ready for review July 6, 2026 17:18

leandroalonso requested a review from a team as a code owner July 6, 2026 17:18

leandroalonso requested review from kean and removed request for a team July 6, 2026 17:18

leandroalonso mentioned this pull request Jul 6, 2026

Cast HLS streams correctly on Chromecast #4687

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leandroalonso modified the milestones: 8.16, 8.17 Jul 6, 2026

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Add audio/video toggle for HLS streams#4686

Add audio/video toggle for HLS streams#4686
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