[Q] [REQUEST] Droid Razr App Testing Request - Scare App

[Bondos]

Hi Guys,

Not 100% sure this is the right place, but can't find anywhere better that this thread fits into.

I have an app that I have recently released, and some users have informed me that something isn't working for the Driod Razr.

The app is called ScareApp and can be found on the Google Play Store here..
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.socwl.scareapp

but as I don't want to sound like I'm advertising here, I though it's only far that I provide you with the Pro version, license free (which you can find here..)
http://www.scareapp.com/android/ScareAppPro.zip

The app is a basic "Scare your friends" app that shows a scary image after a set interval, but additionaly records the prank using the devices front camera.
From what I understand, this works fine, but the Droid Razr is failing to playback the video afterwards.

Could somebody PLEASE help and test the following...
Using any of the "Scare Options" and recording a scare
1) Does a thumbnail show a frame of the video on the screen after the scare (the one which has HAHAHAHA at the top and the play button(s) at the bottom)
2)on the play screen, does anything show? If not, can you click menu and see the options there, and does clicking on the screen cause anything to happen?
2) check if the video plays when looking at it from the "Saved Scares" menu (top left button on the main menu)
3) check if the video exists on the SD card (should be under [SD]/scareapp/videos) and whether it plays from there
4) check if a recorded video plays with different configuration (try turning ON "custom record settings" and changing the resolution and framerate)

Thanks in advance...I appreciate the help!!

Regards,
Mark Bond

 

[TisMyDroid]

Hi Guys,

Could somebody PLEASE help and test the following...
Using any of the "Scare Options" and recording a scare
1) Does a thumbnail show a frame of the video on the screen after the scare (the one which has HAHAHAHA at the top and the play button(s) at the bottom)
2)on the play screen, does anything show? If not, can you click menu and see the options there, and does clicking on the screen cause anything to happen?
2) check if the video plays when looking at it from the "Saved Scares" menu (top left button on the main menu)
3) check if the video exists on the SD card (should be under [SD]/scareapp/videos) and whether it plays from there
4) check if a recorded video plays with different configuration (try turning ON "custom record settings" and changing the resolution and framerate)

Thanks in advance...I appreciate the help!!

Regards,
Mark Bond

1) no thumbnail
2) video does not play from the saved scares (although shows a list of saved scares)
3) no, the video does not play from there (states "file cannot be displayed or played")
4) none of the various custom video settings enable it to work.

although it shows that there is a video file in saved scares, it didn't seem like the app is activating the recording feature.

Fun app, btw!

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

 

[Bondos]

1) no thumbnail
2) video does not play from the saved scares (although shows a list of saved scares)
3) no, the video does not play from there (states "file cannot be displayed or played")
4) none of the various custom video settings enable it to work.

although it shows that there is a video file in saved scares, it didn't seem like the app is activating the recording feature.

Fun app, btw!

Sent from my DROID RAZR Maxx using Droid Forums

Thanks TisMyDroid!!

I've since found out that the issue seems to be with opening the camera for the record (are you also getting a black screen with a red line after you click Start? That's supposed to show your face!)
Still unsure how to fix this, but If i get it working, I will be sure to post an update here

Also, thanks for the positive feedback despite the app not actually working for you

 

[Bondos]

Some good news.
I found that weirdly, my app would work on a rooted ICS rom for the Droid Razr.

Thinking about how and why it would work for one rom and not another, I think I've resolved the issue.

I've uploaded the the latest APK to the same URL..
http://www.scareapp.com/android/ScareAppPro.zip
TisMyDroid (and anyone else)...can you please try the tests again, and let me know how you get on.



And incase anybody else has this issue, here's the problem and solution

The android MediaRecorder allows you to define the Video and Audio Encoder, and according to Google, DEFAULT can be used for each.
However, this refers to the main camera's settings, which is often a far higher spec than the front facing camera.
DEFAULT on the Droid Razr for example, selects an encoding (MPEG_4_SP) that isn't available for the Front facing camera, and this results in an empty (0kb) file being produced (or on some other devices a Camera 100 - start failed error).

My other option was to use the CameraProfile.get method to lookup what the HIGH_QUALITY settings, but again, this by default uses the main camera.
To get around this, you can set the ID of the front facing camera by using
CameraProfile.get(CameraID, CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_HIGH);

My current work around is as follows:

CamcorderProfile profile = CamcorderProfile.get(FrontFacingCameraId, CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_HIGH);
if(profile != null) {
_recorder.setAudioEncoder(profile.audioCodec);
_recorder.setVideoEncoder(profile.videoCodec);
}else {
//default to basic H263 and AMR_NB if profile not found
_recorder.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder.AMR_NB);
_recorder.setVideoEncoder(MediaRecorder.VideoEncoder.H263);
}

Or alternatively, you can skip setting the Encoders, and just use

_recorder.setProfile(profile);

But as my app allows the user to select the resolution, I need to set the encoder's.

Hopefully this will help the next developer who comes across this issue.