diff --git a/.github/workflows/android-cicd.yml b/.github/workflows/android-cicd.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index c4b63cd7..00000000
--- a/.github/workflows/android-cicd.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,52 +0,0 @@
-name: Build and Verify 
-# Builds, tests, and publishes dev builds of Android SDKs. The CD destination and CI configuration are handled by your gradle files. You only invoke tasks here
-# ** Building multiple modules? If one depends on another, you'll have to build the dependencies in one step and the rest in another. 
-#      See below for more info 
-# REPOSITORY SECRETS REQUIRED: (see https://docs.github.com/en/actions/security-guides/encrypted-secrets) 
-#   "ARTIFACTORY_EMAIL": an artifactory account email with publish permissions for the destination artifactory
-#   "ARTIFACTORY_PASSWORD": the password for the artifactory account
-
-on:
-  push:
-
-jobs:
-  build-aars:
-    name: Build & Publish Dev Artifacts
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - name: Set up JDK 17
-        uses: actions/setup-java@v3
-        with:
-          java-version: '17'
-          distribution: 'temurin'
-      # This step will build all modules configured for publication and publish them
-      # Does your project publish multiple libraries in a dependency chain? You'll have to add another copy of this step and build the dependency in the first one
-      - name: Build and Publish to Dev Repo
-        uses: gradle/gradle-build-action@v3.1.0
-        with:
-          arguments: artifactoryPublish
-        env:
-          ORG_GRADLE_PROJECT_artifactory_user: ${{ secrets.ARTIFACTORY_EMAIL }}
-          ORG_GRADLE_PROJECT_artifactory_password: ${{ secrets.ARTIFACTORY_PASSWORD }}
-          GH_USER: ${{ github.actor }}
-          TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
-
-  unit-tests:
-    name: Run Unit Tests
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: build-aars
-
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - name: Set up JDK 17
-        uses: actions/setup-java@v3
-        with:
-          java-version: '17'
-          distribution: 'temurin'
-      - name: Unit Tests
-        uses: gradle/gradle-build-action@v3.1.0
-        with:
-          arguments: test
-  
diff --git a/.github/workflows/artifactory-deploy-from-tag.yml b/.github/workflows/artifactory-deploy-from-tag.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index d749da2f..00000000
--- a/.github/workflows/artifactory-deploy-from-tag.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-name: Deploy to Release Repo
-# Builds, tests, and publishes dev builds of Android SDKs. The CD destination and CI configuration are handled by your gradle files. You only invoke tasks here
-# ** Building multiple modules? If one depends on another, you'll have to build the dependencies in one step and the rest in another. 
-#      See below for more info 
-# REPOSITORY SECRETS REQUIRED: (see https://docs.github.com/en/actions/security-guides/encrypted-secrets) 
-#   "ARTIFACTORY_EMAIL": an artifactory account email with publish permissions for the destination artifactory
-#   "ARTIFACTORY_PASSWORD": the password for the artifactory account
-
-on:
-  release:
-    types:
-      - published
-
-jobs:
-  deploy:
-    name: Deploy
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - name: Set up JDK 17
-        uses: actions/setup-java@v3
-        with:
-          java-version: '17'
-          distribution: 'temurin'
-      # This step will build all modules configured for publication and publish them
-      # Does your project publish multiple libraries in a dependency chain? You'll have to add another copy of this step and build the dependency in the first one
-      - name: Deploy to Release Repo
-        uses: gradle/gradle-build-action@v3.1.0
-        with:
-          arguments: artifactoryPublish
-        env:
-          ORG_GRADLE_PROJECT_artifactory_user: ${{ secrets.ARTIFACTORY_EMAIL }}
-          ORG_GRADLE_PROJECT_artifactory_password: ${{ secrets.ARTIFACTORY_PASSWORD }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/upload-dokka-docs.yml b/.github/workflows/upload-dokka-docs.yml
deleted file mode 100644
index 3f2c9556..00000000
--- a/.github/workflows/upload-dokka-docs.yml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,60 +0,0 @@
-# Workflow for updating devdocs.mux.com with new documentation every time a new version is released
-#
-# Ths workflow assumes your releases are tagged either "vX.X.X" or "X.X.X", where X is a number of any length
-#
-# REQUIRED SECRETS:
-#   AWS_DOCS_KEY
-#   AWS_DOCS_SECRET
-#   DOCS_REPO_PAT
-# REQUIRED CONFIGURATION:
-#  You have to change 'player-android' to match a URL slug for your docs, like 'upload-android' or 'data-exoplayer'
-#  You have to supply the path to your dokka output. The default is library/build/dokka/html
-#  You may need to change the name of the Gradle task used for generating your Dokka docs
-name: Upload Dokka DevDocs
-
-on:
-  release:
-    types:
-      - published
-  workflow_dispatch:
-
-jobs:
-  devdocs:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    name: Generate and Upload Dokka Docs
-
-    env:
-      AWS_EC2_METADATA_DISABLED: true
-
-    steps:
-      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
-      - name: Set up JDK 17
-        uses: actions/setup-java@v3
-        with:
-          java-version: '17'
-          distribution: 'temurin'
-      - name: Parse the version out of the tag name
-        id: version
-        run: >
-          echo "version_name="$(echo ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }} | sed -E "s/^v//")"" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
-      - name: Configure AWS
-        run: >
-          aws configure set aws_access_key_id ${{ secrets.AWS_DOCS_KEY }};
-          aws configure set aws_secret_access_key ${{ secrets.AWS_DOCS_SECRET }}
-
-      # If you have a multi-module project or monorepo, you'll need to repeat these steps
-      # POSSIBLE CONFIGURATION: make sure the `arguments:` tag matches the correct task(s) for your project
-      - name: Build Dokka Docs
-        uses: gradle/gradle-build-action@v3.1.0
-        with:
-          arguments: ':library:dokkaHtml'
-      # REQUIRED CONFIGURATION: You have to change player-android to a suitable URL slug for your project
-      - name: Update the docs AWS bucket
-        run: |
-          aws s3 rm --recursive "s3://mux-devdocs/player-android/latest/"
-          aws s3 sync library/build/dokka/html s3://mux-devdocs/player-android/${{ steps.version.outputs.version_name }}/
-          aws s3 sync library/build/dokka/html s3://mux-devdocs/player-android/latest/
-      - name: Update the devdocs site
-        run: |
-          echo "${{ secrets.DOCS_REPO_PAT }}" | gh auth login --with-token
-          gh workflow run -R muxinc/devdocs-directory deploy-to-s3
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 02504c7b..8aabd43b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -37,3 +37,4 @@ automatedtests/automated_test_results/**
 
 # Test data
 *.raw
+.kotlin
diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index 52cde75f..9b5c5440 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
-// Top-level build file where you can add configuration options common to all sub-projects/modules.
 plugins {
-  id("com.android.application") version "8.1.3" apply false
-  id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android") version "1.8.0" apply false
-  id("com.android.library") version "8.1.3" apply false
-  id("com.mux.gradle.android.mux-android-distribution") version "1.1.2" apply false
+  id("com.android.application") version "8.5.2" apply false
+  id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android") version "2.0.10" apply false
+  id("com.android.library") version "8.5.2" apply false
+  id("com.mux.gradle.android.mux-android-distribution") version "1.2.1" apply false
 }
 
 allprojects {
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index e708b1c0..e6441136 100644
Binary files a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index 3ae88cf7..a4413138 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-#Tue Sep 12 14:17:10 PDT 2023
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.0-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.8-bin.zip
+networkTimeout=10000
+validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
diff --git a/gradlew b/gradlew
index 4f906e0c..b740cf13 100755
--- a/gradlew
+++ b/gradlew
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env sh
+#!/bin/sh
 
 #
-# Copyright 2015 the original author or authors.
+# Copyright © 2015-2021 the original authors.
 #
 # Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 # you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -17,67 +17,99 @@
 #
 
 ##############################################################################
-##
-##  Gradle start up script for UN*X
-##
+#
+#   Gradle start up script for POSIX generated by Gradle.
+#
+#   Important for running:
+#
+#   (1) You need a POSIX-compliant shell to run this script. If your /bin/sh is
+#       noncompliant, but you have some other compliant shell such as ksh or
+#       bash, then to run this script, type that shell name before the whole
+#       command line, like:
+#
+#           ksh Gradle
+#
+#       Busybox and similar reduced shells will NOT work, because this script
+#       requires all of these POSIX shell features:
+#         * functions;
+#         * expansions «$var», «${var}», «${var:-default}», «${var+SET}»,
+#           «${var#prefix}», «${var%suffix}», and «$( cmd )»;
+#         * compound commands having a testable exit status, especially «case»;
+#         * various built-in commands including «command», «set», and «ulimit».
+#
+#   Important for patching:
+#
+#   (2) This script targets any POSIX shell, so it avoids extensions provided
+#       by Bash, Ksh, etc; in particular arrays are avoided.
+#
+#       The "traditional" practice of packing multiple parameters into a
+#       space-separated string is a well documented source of bugs and security
+#       problems, so this is (mostly) avoided, by progressively accumulating
+#       options in "$@", and eventually passing that to Java.
+#
+#       Where the inherited environment variables (DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, JAVA_OPTS,
+#       and GRADLE_OPTS) rely on word-splitting, this is performed explicitly;
+#       see the in-line comments for details.
+#
+#       There are tweaks for specific operating systems such as AIX, CygWin,
+#       Darwin, MinGW, and NonStop.
+#
+#   (3) This script is generated from the Groovy template
+#       https://github.com/gradle/gradle/blob/HEAD/platforms/jvm/plugins-application/src/main/resources/org/gradle/api/internal/plugins/unixStartScript.txt
+#       within the Gradle project.
+#
+#       You can find Gradle at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/.
+#
 ##############################################################################
 
 # Attempt to set APP_HOME
+
 # Resolve links: $0 may be a link
-PRG="$0"
-# Need this for relative symlinks.
-while [ -h "$PRG" ] ; do
-    ls=`ls -ld "$PRG"`
-    link=`expr "$ls" : '.*-> \(.*\)$'`
-    if expr "$link" : '/.*' > /dev/null; then
-        PRG="$link"
-    else
-        PRG=`dirname "$PRG"`"/$link"
-    fi
+app_path=$0
+
+# Need this for daisy-chained symlinks.
+while
+    APP_HOME=${app_path%"${app_path##*/}"}  # leaves a trailing /; empty if no leading path
+    [ -h "$app_path" ]
+do
+    ls=$( ls -ld "$app_path" )
+    link=${ls#*' -> '}
+    case $link in             #(
+      /*)   app_path=$link ;; #(
+      *)    app_path=$APP_HOME$link ;;
+    esac
 done
-SAVED="`pwd`"
-cd "`dirname \"$PRG\"`/" >/dev/null
-APP_HOME="`pwd -P`"
-cd "$SAVED" >/dev/null
 
-APP_NAME="Gradle"
-APP_BASE_NAME=`basename "$0"`
-
-# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
-DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+# This is normally unused
+# shellcheck disable=SC2034
+APP_BASE_NAME=${0##*/}
+# Discard cd standard output in case $CDPATH is set (https://github.com/gradle/gradle/issues/25036)
+APP_HOME=$( cd "${APP_HOME:-./}" > /dev/null && pwd -P ) || exit
 
 # Use the maximum available, or set MAX_FD != -1 to use that value.
-MAX_FD="maximum"
+MAX_FD=maximum
 
 warn () {
     echo "$*"
-}
+} >&2
 
 die () {
     echo
     echo "$*"
     echo
     exit 1
-}
+} >&2
 
 # OS specific support (must be 'true' or 'false').
 cygwin=false
 msys=false
 darwin=false
 nonstop=false
-case "`uname`" in
-  CYGWIN* )
-    cygwin=true
-    ;;
-  Darwin* )
-    darwin=true
-    ;;
-  MINGW* )
-    msys=true
-    ;;
-  NONSTOP* )
-    nonstop=true
-    ;;
+case "$( uname )" in                #(
+  CYGWIN* )         cygwin=true  ;; #(
+  Darwin* )         darwin=true  ;; #(
+  MSYS* | MINGW* )  msys=true    ;; #(
+  NONSTOP* )        nonstop=true ;;
 esac
 
 CLASSPATH=$APP_HOME/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
@@ -87,9 +119,9 @@ CLASSPATH=$APP_HOME/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
 if [ -n "$JAVA_HOME" ] ; then
     if [ -x "$JAVA_HOME/jre/sh/java" ] ; then
         # IBM's JDK on AIX uses strange locations for the executables
-        JAVACMD="$JAVA_HOME/jre/sh/java"
+        JAVACMD=$JAVA_HOME/jre/sh/java
     else
-        JAVACMD="$JAVA_HOME/bin/java"
+        JAVACMD=$JAVA_HOME/bin/java
     fi
     if [ ! -x "$JAVACMD" ] ; then
         die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory: $JAVA_HOME
@@ -98,88 +130,120 @@ Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
 location of your Java installation."
     fi
 else
-    JAVACMD="java"
-    which java >/dev/null 2>&1 || die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
+    JAVACMD=java
+    if ! command -v java >/dev/null 2>&1
+    then
+        die "ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
 
 Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
 location of your Java installation."
+    fi
 fi
 
 # Increase the maximum file descriptors if we can.
-if [ "$cygwin" = "false" -a "$darwin" = "false" -a "$nonstop" = "false" ] ; then
-    MAX_FD_LIMIT=`ulimit -H -n`
-    if [ $? -eq 0 ] ; then
-        if [ "$MAX_FD" = "maximum" -o "$MAX_FD" = "max" ] ; then
-            MAX_FD="$MAX_FD_LIMIT"
-        fi
-        ulimit -n $MAX_FD
-        if [ $? -ne 0 ] ; then
-            warn "Could not set maximum file descriptor limit: $MAX_FD"
-        fi
-    else
-        warn "Could not query maximum file descriptor limit: $MAX_FD_LIMIT"
-    fi
+if ! "$cygwin" && ! "$darwin" && ! "$nonstop" ; then
+    case $MAX_FD in #(
+      max*)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -H is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC2039,SC3045
+        MAX_FD=$( ulimit -H -n ) ||
+            warn "Could not query maximum file descriptor limit"
+    esac
+    case $MAX_FD in  #(
+      '' | soft) :;; #(
+      *)
+        # In POSIX sh, ulimit -n is undefined. That's why the result is checked to see if it worked.
+        # shellcheck disable=SC2039,SC3045
+        ulimit -n "$MAX_FD" ||
+            warn "Could not set maximum file descriptor limit to $MAX_FD"
+    esac
 fi
 
-# For Darwin, add options to specify how the application appears in the dock
-if $darwin; then
-    GRADLE_OPTS="$GRADLE_OPTS \"-Xdock:name=$APP_NAME\" \"-Xdock:icon=$APP_HOME/media/gradle.icns\""
-fi
+# Collect all arguments for the java command, stacking in reverse order:
+#   * args from the command line
+#   * the main class name
+#   * -classpath
+#   * -D...appname settings
+#   * --module-path (only if needed)
+#   * DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, JAVA_OPTS, and GRADLE_OPTS environment variables.
 
 # For Cygwin or MSYS, switch paths to Windows format before running java
-if [ "$cygwin" = "true" -o "$msys" = "true" ] ; then
-    APP_HOME=`cygpath --path --mixed "$APP_HOME"`
-    CLASSPATH=`cygpath --path --mixed "$CLASSPATH"`
-
-    JAVACMD=`cygpath --unix "$JAVACMD"`
-
-    # We build the pattern for arguments to be converted via cygpath
-    ROOTDIRSRAW=`find -L / -maxdepth 1 -mindepth 1 -type d 2>/dev/null`
-    SEP=""
-    for dir in $ROOTDIRSRAW ; do
-        ROOTDIRS="$ROOTDIRS$SEP$dir"
-        SEP="|"
-    done
-    OURCYGPATTERN="(^($ROOTDIRS))"
-    # Add a user-defined pattern to the cygpath arguments
-    if [ "$GRADLE_CYGPATTERN" != "" ] ; then
-        OURCYGPATTERN="$OURCYGPATTERN|($GRADLE_CYGPATTERN)"
-    fi
+if "$cygwin" || "$msys" ; then
+    APP_HOME=$( cygpath --path --mixed "$APP_HOME" )
+    CLASSPATH=$( cygpath --path --mixed "$CLASSPATH" )
+
+    JAVACMD=$( cygpath --unix "$JAVACMD" )
+
     # Now convert the arguments - kludge to limit ourselves to /bin/sh
-    i=0
-    for arg in "$@" ; do
-        CHECK=`echo "$arg"|egrep -c "$OURCYGPATTERN" -`
-        CHECK2=`echo "$arg"|egrep -c "^-"`                                 ### Determine if an option
-
-        if [ $CHECK -ne 0 ] && [ $CHECK2 -eq 0 ] ; then                    ### Added a condition
-            eval `echo args$i`=`cygpath --path --ignore --mixed "$arg"`
-        else
-            eval `echo args$i`="\"$arg\""
+    for arg do
+        if
+            case $arg in                                #(
+              -*)   false ;;                            # don't mess with options #(
+              /?*)  t=${arg#/} t=/${t%%/*}              # looks like a POSIX filepath
+                    [ -e "$t" ] ;;                      #(
+              *)    false ;;
+            esac
+        then
+            arg=$( cygpath --path --ignore --mixed "$arg" )
         fi
-        i=`expr $i + 1`
+        # Roll the args list around exactly as many times as the number of
+        # args, so each arg winds up back in the position where it started, but
+        # possibly modified.
+        #
+        # NB: a `for` loop captures its iteration list before it begins, so
+        # changing the positional parameters here affects neither the number of
+        # iterations, nor the values presented in `arg`.
+        shift                   # remove old arg
+        set -- "$@" "$arg"      # push replacement arg
     done
-    case $i in
-        0) set -- ;;
-        1) set -- "$args0" ;;
-        2) set -- "$args0" "$args1" ;;
-        3) set -- "$args0" "$args1" "$args2" ;;
-        4) set -- "$args0" "$args1" "$args2" "$args3" ;;
-        5) set -- "$args0" "$args1" "$args2" "$args3" "$args4" ;;
-        6) set -- "$args0" "$args1" "$args2" "$args3" "$args4" "$args5" ;;
-        7) set -- "$args0" "$args1" "$args2" "$args3" "$args4" "$args5" "$args6" ;;
-        8) set -- "$args0" "$args1" "$args2" "$args3" "$args4" "$args5" "$args6" "$args7" ;;
-        9) set -- "$args0" "$args1" "$args2" "$args3" "$args4" "$args5" "$args6" "$args7" "$args8" ;;
-    esac
 fi
 
-# Escape application args
-save () {
-    for i do printf %s\\n "$i" | sed "s/'/'\\\\''/g;1s/^/'/;\$s/\$/' \\\\/" ; done
-    echo " "
-}
-APP_ARGS=`save "$@"`
 
-# Collect all arguments for the java command, following the shell quoting and substitution rules
-eval set -- $DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS $JAVA_OPTS $GRADLE_OPTS "\"-Dorg.gradle.appname=$APP_BASE_NAME\"" -classpath "\"$CLASSPATH\"" org.gradle.wrapper.GradleWrapperMain "$APP_ARGS"
+# Add default JVM options here. You can also use JAVA_OPTS and GRADLE_OPTS to pass JVM options to this script.
+DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Xmx64m" "-Xms64m"'
+
+# Collect all arguments for the java command:
+#   * DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS, JAVA_OPTS, JAVA_OPTS, and optsEnvironmentVar are not allowed to contain shell fragments,
+#     and any embedded shellness will be escaped.
+#   * For example: A user cannot expect ${Hostname} to be expanded, as it is an environment variable and will be
+#     treated as '${Hostname}' itself on the command line.
+
+set -- \
+        "-Dorg.gradle.appname=$APP_BASE_NAME" \
+        -classpath "$CLASSPATH" \
+        org.gradle.wrapper.GradleWrapperMain \
+        "$@"
+
+# Stop when "xargs" is not available.
+if ! command -v xargs >/dev/null 2>&1
+then
+    die "xargs is not available"
+fi
+
+# Use "xargs" to parse quoted args.
+#
+# With -n1 it outputs one arg per line, with the quotes and backslashes removed.
+#
+# In Bash we could simply go:
+#
+#   readarray ARGS < <( xargs -n1 <<<"$var" ) &&
+#   set -- "${ARGS[@]}" "$@"
+#
+# but POSIX shell has neither arrays nor command substitution, so instead we
+# post-process each arg (as a line of input to sed) to backslash-escape any
+# character that might be a shell metacharacter, then use eval to reverse
+# that process (while maintaining the separation between arguments), and wrap
+# the whole thing up as a single "set" statement.
+#
+# This will of course break if any of these variables contains a newline or
+# an unmatched quote.
+#
+
+eval "set -- $(
+        printf '%s\n' "$DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS $JAVA_OPTS $GRADLE_OPTS" |
+        xargs -n1 |
+        sed ' s~[^-[:alnum:]+,./:=@_]~\\&~g; ' |
+        tr '\n' ' '
+    )" '"$@"'
 
 exec "$JAVACMD" "$@"
diff --git a/gradlew.bat b/gradlew.bat
index ac1b06f9..7101f8e4 100644
--- a/gradlew.bat
+++ b/gradlew.bat
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
 @rem limitations under the License.
 @rem
 
-@if "%DEBUG%" == "" @echo off
+@if "%DEBUG%"=="" @echo off
 @rem ##########################################################################
 @rem
 @rem  Gradle startup script for Windows
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@
 if "%OS%"=="Windows_NT" setlocal
 
 set DIRNAME=%~dp0
-if "%DIRNAME%" == "" set DIRNAME=.
+if "%DIRNAME%"=="" set DIRNAME=.
+@rem This is normally unused
 set APP_BASE_NAME=%~n0
 set APP_HOME=%DIRNAME%
 
@@ -40,13 +41,13 @@ if defined JAVA_HOME goto findJavaFromJavaHome
 
 set JAVA_EXE=java.exe
 %JAVA_EXE% -version >NUL 2>&1
-if "%ERRORLEVEL%" == "0" goto execute
+if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 goto execute
 
-echo.
-echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.
-echo.
-echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
-echo location of your Java installation.
+echo. 1>&2
+echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH. 1>&2
+echo. 1>&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the 1>&2
+echo location of your Java installation. 1>&2
 
 goto fail
 
@@ -56,11 +57,11 @@ set JAVA_EXE=%JAVA_HOME%/bin/java.exe
 
 if exist "%JAVA_EXE%" goto execute
 
-echo.
-echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory: %JAVA_HOME%
-echo.
-echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
-echo location of your Java installation.
+echo. 1>&2
+echo ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory: %JAVA_HOME% 1>&2
+echo. 1>&2
+echo Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the 1>&2
+echo location of your Java installation. 1>&2
 
 goto fail
 
@@ -75,13 +76,15 @@ set CLASSPATH=%APP_HOME%\gradle\wrapper\gradle-wrapper.jar
 
 :end
 @rem End local scope for the variables with windows NT shell
-if "%ERRORLEVEL%"=="0" goto mainEnd
+if %ERRORLEVEL% equ 0 goto mainEnd
 
 :fail
 rem Set variable GRADLE_EXIT_CONSOLE if you need the _script_ return code instead of
 rem the _cmd.exe /c_ return code!
-if  not "" == "%GRADLE_EXIT_CONSOLE%" exit 1
-exit /b 1
+set EXIT_CODE=%ERRORLEVEL%
+if %EXIT_CODE% equ 0 set EXIT_CODE=1
+if not ""=="%GRADLE_EXIT_CONSOLE%" exit %EXIT_CODE%
+exit /b %EXIT_CODE%
 
 :mainEnd
 if "%OS%"=="Windows_NT" endlocal
diff --git a/library/build.gradle b/library/build.gradle
index 3f122064..ebd6649b 100644
--- a/library/build.gradle
+++ b/library/build.gradle
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ android {
 
   defaultConfig {
     minSdk 21
-    targetSdk 34
 
     testInstrumentationRunner "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
     consumerProguardFiles "consumer-rules.pro"
@@ -37,7 +36,7 @@ muxDistribution {
   releaseVersion versionFromTag()
   artifactIds just("android")
   groupIds just("com.mux.player")
-  publicReleaseIf releaseOnTag()
+  publicReleaseIf releaseIfCmdFlag("publicRelease")
 
   // TODO: This is kinda clumsy, packageJavadocs should be a function not a property probably
   packageJavadocs = releaseOnTag().call()
diff --git a/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/MuxPlayer.kt b/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/MuxPlayer.kt
index d32c55e5..a5431cb7 100644
--- a/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/MuxPlayer.kt
+++ b/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/MuxPlayer.kt
@@ -57,13 +57,6 @@ class MuxPlayer private constructor(
     // exoPlayer can handle multiple calls itself, not our deal
     exoPlayer.release()
 
-    // our own cleanup should only happen once
-    if (!released) {
-      if (muxCacheEnabled) {
-        CacheController.onPlayerReleased()
-      }
-    }
-
     released = true
   }
 
diff --git a/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheController.kt b/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheController.kt
index 243fda33..fc1a4c30 100644
--- a/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheController.kt
+++ b/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheController.kt
@@ -119,39 +119,7 @@ internal object CacheController {
    */
   @JvmSynthetic
   internal fun onPlayerCreated() {
-    val totalPlayersBefore = playersWithCache.getAndIncrement()
-    if (totalPlayersBefore == 0) {
-      ioScope.launch { datastore.open() }
-    }
-  }
-
-  /**
-   * Call internally when a MuxPlayer is released if caching was enabled.
-   *
-   * Try to call only once per player, even if caller calls release() multiple times
-   */
-  @JvmSynthetic
-  internal fun onPlayerReleased() {
-    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.N) {
-      closeDatastoreApiN()
-    } else {
-      closeDatastoreLegacy()
-    }
-  }
-
-  @TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.N)
-  private fun closeDatastoreApiN() {
-    val totalPlayersNow = playersWithCache.updateAndGet { if (it > 0) it - 1 else it }
-    if (totalPlayersNow == 0) {
-      ioScope.launch { datastore.close() }
-    }
-  }
-
-  private fun closeDatastoreLegacy() {
-    val totalPlayersNow = playersWithCache.decrementAndGet()
-    if (totalPlayersNow == 0) {
-      ioScope.launch { datastore.close() }
-    }
+    ioScope.launch { datastore.open() }
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheDatastore.kt b/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheDatastore.kt
index 671a7b02..5df6197f 100644
--- a/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheDatastore.kt
+++ b/library/src/main/java/com/mux/player/internal/cache/CacheDatastore.kt
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import android.os.Build
 import android.util.Base64
 import com.mux.player.internal.Constants
 import com.mux.player.oneOf
-import java.io.Closeable
 import java.io.File
 import java.io.IOException
 import java.net.URL
@@ -27,9 +26,10 @@ import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference
 internal class CacheDatastore(
   val context: Context,
   val maxDiskSize: Long = 256 * 1024 * 1024,
-) : Closeable {
+) {
 
   companion object {
+    @Suppress("unused")
     private const val TAG = "CacheDatastore"
     private val openTask: AtomicReference<FutureTask<DbHelper>> = AtomicReference(null)
 
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ internal class CacheDatastore(
       Regex("""^https://[^/]*/v1/chunk/([^/]*)/([^/]*)\.(m4s|ts)""")
   }
 
-
   private val dbHelper: DbHelper get() = awaitDbHelper()
 
   /**
@@ -64,29 +63,6 @@ internal class CacheDatastore(
     }
   }
 
-  /**
-   * Closes the datastore. This will close the index database and revert the datastore to a closed
-   * state. You can reopen it by calling [open] again.
-   */
-  override fun close() {
-    // em - it's definitely all copacetic to call close() to handle errors from open(), or to
-    // close() during opening. if you immediately call open() after close(), your second open() may
-    // fail intermittently. But maybe that's just a theoretical risk, so todo - test cranking this
-    //  (and maybe don't worry about it overly much)
-    val openFuture = openTask.get()
-    try {
-      if (openFuture != null) {
-        val openDbHelper = if (openFuture.isDone) openFuture.get() else null
-        openFuture.cancel(true)
-        openDbHelper?.close()
-      }
-    } catch (_: Exception) {
-    } finally {
-      // calls made to open() start failing after cancel() and keep failing until after this line
-      openTask.compareAndSet(openFuture, null)
-    }
-  }
-
   /**
    * Create a temporary file for downloading purposes. This file will be within a temporary dir,
    * and is guaranteed not to have existed before this method was called. When the download is
@@ -335,10 +311,10 @@ internal class CacheDatastore(
     }
   }
   private fun doReadLeastRecentFiles(db: SQLiteDatabase): List<FileRecord> {
-    if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT <= Build.VERSION_CODES.Q) {
-      return doReadLeastRecentFilesNoWindowFunc(db)
+    return if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT <= Build.VERSION_CODES.Q) {
+      doReadLeastRecentFilesNoWindowFunc(db)
     } else {
-      return doReadLeastRecentFilesWithWindowFunc(db)
+      doReadLeastRecentFilesWithWindowFunc(db)
     }
   }
 
@@ -393,31 +369,33 @@ internal class CacheDatastore(
   // If the db failed to open, this method will throw. Opening can be re-attempted after resolving
   @Throws(IOException::class)
   private fun awaitDbHelper(): DbHelper {
-    fun closeIfInterrupted(dbHelper: DbHelper?) {
+    // inner function closes db if the calling thread was interrupted
+    fun cancelIfInterrupted() {
       if (Thread.interrupted()) {
-        dbHelper?.close()
         throw CancellationException("open interrupted")
       }
     }
 
+    // inner function prepares the database & cache dir + opens the DB
     fun doOpen(): DbHelper {
       // todo - we should also consider getting our cacheQuota here, that will take a long time
       //  so maybe do it async & only consider the cache quota once we have it(..?)
-      closeIfInterrupted(null)
+
+      cancelIfInterrupted()
       clearTempFiles()
-      closeIfInterrupted(null)
+      cancelIfInterrupted()
       ensureDirs()
 
       val helper = DbHelper(context, indexDbDir())
-      closeIfInterrupted(helper)
+      cancelIfInterrupted()
 
       // Do some db maintenance when we start up, in case shutdown wasn't clean
       helper.writableDatabase.use { db ->
         doEvictByLru(db)
       }
 
-      closeIfInterrupted(helper)
-      return helper;
+      cancelIfInterrupted()
+      return helper
     }
 
     val needToStart = openTask.compareAndSet(null, FutureTask { doOpen() })