What media player remembers where you left off Android?
Many Android media players have the ability to remember the playback position when you close the app or switch to another audio file. This allows you to easily pick up where you left off in a song, podcast, audiobook or other audio content. Some of the most popular Android media players with this capability include MX Player, VLC, Kodi, BSPlayer, Netflix, Plex, and Infuse.
The playback position memory feature saves time and effort when listening to lengthy audio files or playlists. No longer do you have to manually scrub through to find your spot or start from the beginning again. The app recalls exactly where you stopped and starts playing from that timestamp.
This overview will explore the top Android media apps that can remember playback position. We’ll look at their features, benefits, and how well they resume playback after closing or switching content.
MX Player
MX Player is one of the most popular Android media players and offers a convenient bookmarking feature to save playback positions. Users can tap the bookmark icon during playback to save the current position. MX Player will then remember where you left off if you exit the app or switch to another file.
One of MX Player’s standout features is the ability to sync bookmarks and playback information across devices when you log in with an MX account. This allows you to seamlessly pick up where you left off even when switching from your phone to tablet or TV.
MX Player is available for free from the Google Play Store, or you can upgrade to the paid MX Player Pro version to unlock additional features like gesture controls, kids lock, and more. The free version contains ads, but still includes the core playback position saving functionality.
VLC
VLC media player is an open source, cross-platform media player that can remember playback position across devices. VLC has the option to resume playback from the last position when reopening the app. Users can sync bookmarks and playback position across devices by logging into a VLC account.
VLC is a completely free media player. It is known for supporting a wide variety of video and audio formats. The Android version allows users to resume playback after closing the app, but there are some reported issues with this feature not working properly in the latest versions.
Kodi
Kodi media center can remember playback positions. Kodi is open source home theater software that keeps track of your media library and playback progress [1]. Kodi is available on many platforms including Android. It provides syncing options to keep playback progress updated across devices [2].
With Kodi, when you stop watching a video it will remember where you left off. The next time you open that video, Kodi will resume from that position. This works for both local media files and streaming videos. Kodi’s video library integrates with its playback progress tracking to enable this feature.
Kodi includes configurable settings to control resuming behavior. Users can choose to always resume, prompt before resuming, or never resume videos [3]. With library integration, progress is tracked even after Kodi is closed.
BSPlayer
BSPlayer is a popular cross-platform media player available for Android. One of its key features is the ability to remember playback position [1].
By default, BSPlayer saves the playback position when you pause or stop a video. This allows you to easily resume where you left off next time you play the video [2]. The app offers settings to configure this behavior as needed.
BSPlayer can also sync playback positions across devices, allowing seamless viewing between your Android phone and other platforms. The free version includes playback position sync and other core features, with additional capabilities available via in-app purchases.
Overall, remembering playback position is a key strength of BSPlayer. The app makes it easy to pick up right where you left off, even when switching devices.
Netflix
Netflix remembers playback position by default and syncs it across devices when you are logged into your Netflix account. As a platform for watching Netflix content rather than personal media, it requires an active subscription for access.
According to Netflix’s help site, you can remove individual titles from your Continue Watching row: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/115312. However, by default, Netflix will remember where you left off when watching shows and movies on its platform.
This syncing happens across devices as long as you are logged into your Netflix account. So if you watch part of a show on your phone, you can pick up where you left off on another device like a smart TV or tablet.
It’s worth noting that Netflix is designed for streaming Netflix content specifically. It does not allow you to upload and watch your own personal media files. You need an active Netflix subscription for access.
Plex
Plex media server is a popular option that can track playback progress across devices. According to the Plex support article “Sync Watch State and Ratings”, Plex allows you to optionally sync your watched/played state and personal ratings of movies and episodes with your Plex account online. This enables seamless playback syncing across devices.
Plex creates a centralized media library and manages metadata for your media files. According to a Reddit thread on syncing playback between devices, Plex makes it easy to resume playback from where you left off on a different device.
However, a Plex Pass subscription is required to unlock syncing features. As noted in the Plex settings support article “Settings: Plex for Android (mobile)”, the sync option is only available for Plex Pass members.
Plex provides a user-friendly interface and robust media server capabilities. With a Plex Pass, you can leverage playback sync to pick up where you left off across all your devices.
Infuse
Infuse is a media player designed originally for iOS that also offers an Android version. It provides useful bookmarking features to remember where users left off in a video. With Infuse Pro, users can sync playback progress across devices. According to a Reddit user, “I force quit the app and it stays there for when I come back and that’s the location it resumes at.”
Infuse offers an intuitive interface and gestures for easily controlling media playback. The developer Firecore highlights the app’s ability to “Resume playback of an almost finished video” in their forums (Source). Another post on their forums mentions “This is found in Infuse > Settings > Playback > Resume Playback” (Source).
Overall, Infuse provides robust bookmarking and syncing options to pick up right where users left off watching videos.
Conclusion
In summary, some of the top media players that can remember where you left off on Android include MX Player, VLC, Kodi, and BSPlayer. These apps allow you to seamlessly resume playback across devices by syncing your viewing progress in the cloud.
Of these options, MX Player and VLC stand out as the most full-featured, user-friendly choices that are easy to set up and configure. They provide customizable playback settings, support a wide range of media formats, and make it simple to pick up right where you left off even when switching between your phone, tablet, and television.
The ability to bookmark and resume videos is an incredibly useful feature for on-the-go viewing. Whether you’re a commuter, traveler, or just busy multitasker, it’s great being able to pause what you’re watching and continue days later without losing your place. These top media players empower you to enjoy content at your own pace across all your devices.
VLC
VLC media player is a popular open-source media player available for Android devices. It has the ability to remember playback position, allowing you to pick up right where you left off when re-opening a video file.
This playback resume feature works for both local video files stored on your Android device, as well as network files streamed over SMB or UPnP. When you close a video while it’s playing in VLC, it will remember the timecode. The next time you open that same video file, VLC will resume playback from that position.
The playback resume functionality is enabled by default in VLC for Android. There are no special settings you need to configure. As long as you are playing back video files using the same device, username, and relative file path, VLC will automatically start playback from the last remembered position.
Some key advantages of using VLC for resume playback on Android include:
- Open source and completely free
- No ads or paid “pro” upgrade required
- Supports a wide range of video formats and codecs
- Available for Android TV in addition to mobile
Overall, VLC is a reliable media app for Android that conveniently picks up video playback right where you left off.
