Record Video using surface view android

Question

I have to create an android app in which i am trying to record video and capture image using surface view. Up to now i am able to capture video but facing problem in record video. My code for video recording is -

onCreate(){
      ..
     surfaceHolder = surfaceView.getHolder();
     surfaceHolder.addCallback(this);
     surfaceHolder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);
     startRecording();
     .
     .
}


protected void startRecording() throws IOException
    {
        if(mCamera==null)
            mCamera = Camera.open();

         String filename;
         String path;

         path= Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory().getAbsolutePath().toString();

         Date date=new Date();
         filename="/rec"+date.toString().replace(" ", "_").replace(":", "_")+".mp4";

         File file=new File(path,filename);

        mrec = new MediaRecorder(); 

        mCamera.lock();
        mCamera.unlock();


        mrec.setCamera(mCamera);    
        mrec.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.CAMERA);
        mrec.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.MIC);     
        mrec.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.MPEG_4);
        mrec.setVideoEncoder(MediaRecorder.VideoEncoder.MPEG_4_SP);
        mrec.setAudioEncoder(MediaRecorder.AudioEncoder.AMR_NB);
        mrec.setPreviewDisplay(surfaceHolder.getSurface());
        mrec.setOutputFile(path+filename);
        mrec.setMaxDuration(10000); 
  }
       @Override
    public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int width,int                height) {      

        Camera.Parameters parameters = mCamera.getParameters();      
        parameters.setPreviewSize(width, height);     
        try {
            mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(surfaceHolder);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            // TODO Auto-generated catch block
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        mCamera.setParameters(parameters);       
        mCamera.startPreview(); 

    }

but app force close when onSurfaceChange method code is called at line - mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(surfaceHolder); with exception java.lang.RuntimeException: setParameters failed

so how can i manage it so i can start video recording. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Check this code, hopefully it works..

import java.io.IOException;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.pm.ActivityInfo;
import android.hardware.Camera;
import android.media.MediaRecorder;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.Surface;
import android.view.SurfaceHolder;
import android.view.SurfaceView;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.ToggleButton;

public class MediaRecorderRecipe extends Activity implements SurfaceHolder.Callback {
private final String VIDEO_PATH_NAME = "/mnt/sdcard/VGA_30fps_512vbrate.mp4";

private MediaRecorder mMediaRecorder;
private Camera mCamera;
private SurfaceView mSurfaceView;
private SurfaceHolder mHolder;
private View mToggleButton;
private boolean mInitSuccesful;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.media_recorder_recipe);

    // we shall take the video in landscape orientation
    setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);

    mSurfaceView = (SurfaceView) findViewById(R.id.surfaceView);
    mHolder = mSurfaceView.getHolder();
    mHolder.addCallback(this);
    mHolder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);

    mToggleButton = (ToggleButton) findViewById(R.id.toggleRecordingButton);
    mToggleButton.setOnClickListener(new OnClickListener() {
        @Override
        // toggle video recording
        public void onClick(View v) {
            if (((ToggleButton)v).isChecked()) {
                mMediaRecorder.start();
                try {
                    Thread.sleep(10 * 1000); // This will recode for 10 seconds, if you don't want then just remove it.
                } catch (Exception e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
                finish();
            }
            else {
                mMediaRecorder.stop();
                mMediaRecorder.reset();
                try {
                    initRecorder(mHolder.getSurface());
                } catch (IOException e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
        }
    });     
}

/* Init the MediaRecorder, the order the methods are called is vital to
 * its correct functioning */
private void initRecorder(Surface surface) throws IOException {
    // It is very important to unlock the camera before doing setCamera
    // or it will results in a black preview
    if(mCamera == null) {
        mCamera = Camera.open();
        mCamera.unlock();
    }

    if(mMediaRecorder == null)  mMediaRecorder = new MediaRecorder();
    mMediaRecorder.setPreviewDisplay(surface);
    mMediaRecorder.setCamera(mCamera);

    mMediaRecorder.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.DEFAULT);
   //       mMediaRecorder.setOutputFormat(8);
    mMediaRecorder.setOutputFormat(MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.MPEG_4);
    mMediaRecorder.setVideoEncoder(MediaRecorder.VideoEncoder.H264);
    mMediaRecorder.setVideoEncodingBitRate(512 * 1000);
    mMediaRecorder.setVideoFrameRate(30);
    mMediaRecorder.setVideoSize(640, 480);
    mMediaRecorder.setOutputFile(VIDEO_PATH_NAME);

    try {
        mMediaRecorder.prepare();
    } catch (IllegalStateException e) {
        // This is thrown if the previous calls are not called with the 
        // proper order
        e.printStackTrace();
    }

    mInitSuccesful = true;
}

@Override
public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
    try {
        if(!mInitSuccesful)
            initRecorder(mHolder.getSurface());
    } catch (IOException e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
}

@Override
public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
    shutdown();
}

@Override
public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int width, int height) {}

private void shutdown() {
    // Release MediaRecorder and especially the Camera as it's a shared
    // object that can be used by other applications
    mMediaRecorder.reset();
    mMediaRecorder.release();
    mCamera.release();

    // once the objects have been released they can't be reused
    mMediaRecorder = null;
    mCamera = null;
}

Permissions

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.autofocus" />

XML FILE

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent">
<ToggleButton
 android:id="@+id/toggleRecordingButton"
 android:layout_width="fill_parent"
 android:textOff="Start Recording" 
 android:textOn="Stop Recording"
 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
/>
<FrameLayout
 android:layout_width="fill_parent"
 android:layout_height="fill_parent">
 <SurfaceView android:id="@+id/surfaceView" 
    android:layout_width="fill_parent" 
    android:layout_height="fill_parent"></SurfaceView>

</FrameLayout>
</LinearLayout>

Create a File for saving an image or video

private static File getOutputMediaFile(int type){
    // To be safe, you should check that the SDCard is mounted
    // using Environment.getExternalStorageState() before doing this.

    File mediaStorageDir = new File(Environment.getExternalStoragePublicDirectory(
              Environment.DIRECTORY_PICTURES), "MyCameraApp");
    // This location works best if you want the created images to be shared
    // between applications and persist after your app has been uninstalled.

    // Create the storage directory if it does not exist
    if (! mediaStorageDir.exists()){
        if (! mediaStorageDir.mkdirs()){
            Log.d("MyCameraApp", "failed to create directory");
            return null;
        }
    }

    // Create a media file name
    String timeStamp = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMdd_HHmmss").format(new Date());
    File mediaFile;
    if (type == MEDIA_TYPE_IMAGE){
        mediaFile = new File(mediaStorageDir.getPath() + File.separator +
        "IMG_"+ timeStamp + ".jpg");
    } else if(type == MEDIA_TYPE_VIDEO) {
        mediaFile = new File(mediaStorageDir.getPath() + File.separator +
        "VID_"+ timeStamp + ".mp4");
    } else {
        return null;
    }

    return mediaFile;
}