mpvRex/REX-Player v5.2.0

REX Player v5.2.0

on GitHub

REX Player v5.2.0 is here! 🎉
This release introduces yt-dlp stream playback via companion add-on, per-video aspect ratio persistence, disable autoplay mode, full Material 3 Expressive browser redesign, and fuzzy settings search.

🔥 Highlighting: Web Stream Playback via yt-dlp Add-On

Play streams from yt-dlp supported websites directly inside REX Player through a secure companion add-on:

• REX Ytdlp Companion Add-On: Install the companion add-on to resolve and stream media from thousands of yt-dlp supported websites seamlessly.
• Direct Stream Fallback: Play compatible URLs directly without the add-on installed, with flexible URL routing for maximum compatibility.
• Material 3 Expressive Loading Indicator: Buffer percentage overlay with smooth URL load transitions for network streams.

✨ New Features

• Per-Video Aspect Ratio Persistence: Set a default aspect ratio and optionally remember per-video overrides that survive app restarts (#338, #352). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Disable Autoplay on Open: Open media in a paused state to adjust subtitles, audio tracks, or volume before playback begins (#328). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Material 3 Expressive Browser Redesign: Comprehensive visual refresh of media cards, floating selection bar, breadcrumb navigation, top bar with flat bottom dock, and bottom navigation bar with M3 Expressive styling.
• Material 3 Expressive Player Sheets: Upgraded bottom sheets with responsive badges, Mini Player synchronization, and expressive design tokens throughout the player.
• Fuzzy Settings Search with Auto-Scroll Highlight: Instantly find any setting with fuzzy matching and automatic scroll-to-highlight navigation (#329).
• File Explorer Playlist Support: Open playlists directly from third-party file explorers with full track naming and ordering support (#334). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Robust SMB Streaming: Improved network drive streaming with better credential handling, custom port support, IPv6 compatibility, and automatic connection cleanup (#334). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• History Management Controls: Options to auto-remove deleted files from history and exclude externally opened playback from history entries.
• Force Dark Mode for Glass Controls: Player automatically switches to dark theme when glass player controls are enabled.
• Show Next/Previous Buttons Setting: Configurable toggle to show or hide next/previous track buttons in the player layout.
• Shorts Mode Improvements: End-of-feed card indicator, fixed blocked shorts mode reload, and persistent watch position tracking.
• Turkish Translation: Added comprehensive Turkish localization (#373). (Thanks @KerimDemirkaynak!)
• Azerbaijani Translation: Added full Azerbaijani localization (#367). (Thanks @jamal Ali!)
• Persian Translation: Added Persian localization. (Thanks @Saeedbz9!)
• Arabic Translation Updates: Updated Arabic translation strings.

⚡ Performance & Optimizations

• Modular Player Architecture: Redesigned player engine for faster startup and reduced memory usage.
• Chapter Menu Performance: Fixed lag when opening chapter menus with large chapter lists (#337). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Subtitle Loading Fix: Fixed app freezing when loading web subtitles.
• Streamlined Settings: Removed redundant preferences (thumbnail generation strategy, save position on quit, autoplay next video) and reorganized Player Layout into Playback & Controls section.

🐛 Stability & Bug Fixes

• Playback Resume Near End of Video: Fixed saved position being reset to 0 when exiting in the final portion of a video — position now preserved until actual EOF (#342).
• PiP Brightness & Playback: Released window brightness override when entering PiP and prevented accidental pause during PiP transitions (#376).
• Video Flip Fix: Fixed video flip toggle sometimes causing degraded playback performance (#361). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Watch Status & Progress Bar: Completed videos now dim immediately, watch status unsticks on rewatch, and thumbnail progress bars align with watched threshold (#343, #365). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Folder Audio Count Filtering: Folder new/unwatched counts now correctly skip audio files when audio browsing is hidden (#368). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Theme Transition Crash: Fixed a rare crash during theme switching and added reverse theme reveal animation (#353).
• Playlist Thumbnails & Audio Placeholders: Resolved missing playlist thumbnails and added music note icon placeholders for audio tracks (#345).
• Playlist Double Advance: Fixed playlist sometimes skipping ahead by two tracks instead of one.
• Nomedia Folder Filtering: Correctly filter out folders within .nomedia boundaries and flatten single-child folders when including nomedia content.
• Missing Media Detection: Files added outside the app are now detected automatically during folder browsing.
• Jellyfin HTTP Authentication: Allow Jellyfin authentication over plain HTTP without blocking the connection.
• Localized Sort & View Options: Fully localized sort and view option strings and resolved PlayerButtonChip TODOs (#318). (Thanks @asim-sde!)
• Custom Keycode Rendering: Dynamically render custom keycodes in gesture settings preferences.
• Loading Indicator Scope: Restricted loading indicator to network streams only, preventing false buffering indicators on local files.

📦 Note: To use yt-dlp stream playback, you'll need to install the add-on from the REX-Ytdlp add-on repository. You can also access this link from Settings → REX Ytdlp if the add-on isn't installed. Make sure to download and install yt-dlp from there as well.

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