[BUG] MediaElement (video) inside Popup on Android has multiple issues

[AdalbertKhoolsaat]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

Did you read the "Reporting a bug" section on Contributing file?

• I have read the "Reporting a bug" section on Contributing file: https://github.com/CommunityToolkit/Maui/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#reporting-a-bug

Current Behavior

I am noticing several issues when trying to have a video open within a Popup (on Android):

1. When opening with its initial size, playback works, but interaction with the playback control (pause/resume) is a bit janky. This will cause the video to stutter and intermittently disappear. This does not happen if MediaElement is directly on a page. (this might be an issue with the emulator, though I'm unsure)

2. When going fullscreen, the Popup is now in front of the MediaElement, as already pointed out in this issue. I assumed this had already been solved, but apparently not.

3. With default Popup-settings and in fullscreen-mode, any attempt to interact with the playback controls will be treated as clicking outside the Popup, causing it to close.

4. If this Popup-behavior is disabled by setting CanBeDismissedByTappingOutsideOfPopup = false, it still does not work. Because now the fullscreen videoplayer can no longer be interacted with. Tapping the screen no longer brings up playback controls. So no way to exit fullscreen-mode either. Without a dedicated close-button (or auto-close on MediaEnded) you're stuck at this point.

Expected Behavior

I consider problem 3) to be expected behavior, 1), 2) and 4) certainly not.

Problem 2) in particular is problematic because the issue was raised before, but now it's closed yet unresolved.

I would expect two controls from the CommunityToolkit to work well together, specifically in an MVVM-setup.
If this particular setup has known limitations, it should be documented somewhere.
If there is a proper workaround (i.e. NOT in code-behind) I would love to hear it!

Steps To Reproduce

1. Open and run the solution from this reproduction repository

2. Default setup can be used to check problems 1, 2 and 4.

By changing the PopupOptions in MainPageVM, one can observe 'problem' 3 where trying to interact with the fullscreen player is treated as tapping outside the popup.

Link to public reproduction project repository

https://github.com/AdalbertKhoolsaat/MauiAndroidMediaElementInPopupIssue

Environment

- .NET MAUI CommunityToolkit: 14.0.1
- .NET MAUI CommunityToolkit MediaElement: 8.0.1
- .NET MAUI: 10.0.100
- OS: Android 15.0 (API 35)

Anything else?

No response

[ne0rrmatrix]

Do you expect the MediaElement in full screen to be on top? i am unsure of what you are trying to accomplish? I will look at the sample but knowing what it is you are trying to do and expect to happen would make it much easier.

[AdalbertKhoolsaat]

Yes, I do expect the MediaElement to be on top, just like how it's on top when going full-screen directly from a page.
More importantly, I should be able to interact with the video once it goes full-screen from a Popup.

Reason for the Popup-approach is that watching a video is a very optional activity in the app I'm working on, so I prefer not to waste space on the actual page, but only have it pop up if the user actually wants it.

[ne0rrmatrix]

The Media Element is on the page. The popup is on top of that. Have you tried putting the mediaElement in the popup? That should put the mediaElement on top. MediaElement should not steal focus from another element layered on top.

[AdalbertKhoolsaat]

The Media Element is on the page. The popup is on top of that.

Not quite:

The sample app has 2 MediaElements to prove a point.
One is on the page to show that it works normally in that position.

But the other one is the offending one, and it's most certainly inside the popup (as can be confirmed from this XAML file).

The MediaElement directly on the page can be removed and the issue still persists.

[ne0rrmatrix]

Thank you. Some how I missed seeing that. I appreciate you pointing that out. I will take a look at it and see what the issue is.