Android Thread Controlling Multiple Texture Views Causes Strange Flickering

I am trying to use a single thread to render three separate TextureView's off the UI thread using canvas lock/unlock. The problem observed is the consistent flickering of each of t

Solution 1:

I was able to find a workaround for this. (i dont observe this on android 5.0 and above).

Add a psuedo transparent view like below

            <View
                android:id="@+id/flicker_hack_view"
                android:layout_width="match_parent"
                android:layout_height="match_parent"
                android:layout_alignParentBottom="true"
                android:layout_centerHorizontal="true"
                android:alpha="0.01"
                android:background="@color/black_12" />

which covers the entire activity wherever there is a textureView. the alpha should be set to 0.01 or a smaller value to make it seem invisible.

This workaround was based on my observation that when the two textureviews rendering videos overlap the flicker is not observed.