Media

Everything on this page needs permission before it works, and asking is your job. A camera call with no permission does not throw: it fails quietly, or the system dialog appears once and never again after the user says no.

Ask first

Each capability has a matching pair of methods.

Capability	Check	Ask
Camera	Ti.Media.hasCameraPermissions()	requestCameraPermissions()
Photo library	hasPhotoGalleryPermissions()	requestPhotoGalleryPermissions()
Microphone	hasAudioRecorderPermissions()	requestAudioRecorderPermissions()
Music library	hasMusicLibraryPermissions()	requestMusicLibraryPermissions()

function withCamera(done) {
  if (Ti.Media.hasCameraPermissions()) {
    done();
    return;
  }
  Ti.Media.requestCameraPermissions((e) => {
    if (e.success) {
      done();
    } else {
      Ti.API.warn('camera denied');
    }
  });
}

iOS also needs a usage string in tiapp.xml, or the app is rejected at review and the dialog never appears:

<ios>
  <plist>
    <dict>
      <key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
      <string>Attach a photo to a note.</string>
      <key>NSPhotoLibraryUsageDescription</key>
      <string>Choose a photo to attach to a note.</string>
      <key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
      <string>Record a voice note.</string>
    </dict>
  </plist>
</ios>

Write the real reason. "Required by the app" is the string reviewers reject.

The camera

Ti.Media.showCamera({
  mediaTypes: [Ti.Media.MEDIA_TYPE_PHOTO],
  saveToPhotoGallery: false,
  success(e) {
    const image = Ti.UI.createImageView({ image: e.media, width: 200, height: 200 });
    win.add(image);
  },
  cancel() {},
  error(e) {
    Ti.API.error(e.error);
  }
});

e.media is a Blob. Assign it straight to an ImageView, or write it to a file with Ti.Filesystem.

saveToPhotoGallery defaults to false, so a photo your app took exists only in that blob until you save it somewhere. Write it to applicationDataDirectory if it needs to outlive the screen.

Close the camera with Ti.Media.hideCamera() when you dismiss it yourself.

The photo library

Ti.Media.openPhotoGallery({
  mediaTypes: [Ti.Media.MEDIA_TYPE_PHOTO],
  allowMultiple: false,
  success(e) {
    Ti.API.info(`picked ${e.media.length || 1} item`);
  },
  cancel() {}
});

With allowMultiple: true the success event carries an images array instead of a single media, which is the shape change to handle rather than assume.

Audio

Three objects, for three jobs.

Object	For
Ti.Media.Sound	Short effects, held in memory
Ti.Media.AudioPlayer	Long files and streams
Ti.Media.AudioRecorder	Recording

const sound = Ti.Media.createSound({ url: '/audio/tap.wav' });
sound.play();

const player = Ti.Media.createAudioPlayer({ url: 'https://example.com/talk.mp3' });
player.addEventListener('change', (e) => Ti.API.info(e.description));
player.start();

Sound loads the whole file, so it is for something short. AudioPlayer buffers, which is what you want for anything longer than a notification chime.

For audio that continues when the app is backgrounded, set Ti.Media.audioSessionCategory and declare background audio in tiapp.xml. Both are required; either alone stops the audio at the home gesture.

Video

const video = Ti.Media.createVideoPlayer({
  url: 'https://example.com/clip.mp4',
  width: Ti.UI.FILL,
  height: 240,
  autoplay: true
});
win.add(video);

A VideoPlayer is a view, so it lays out like any other and defaults to filling its parent. Release it when the window closes: it holds a decoder, and leaving it alive costs memory that the platform will eventually take back by killing the app.

Next

Location and maps covers the other capability that needs asking first.