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[Q] Poor Sound Quality When Using Camcorder

Does anybody know if HTC has acknowledged the problem with poor sound quality when recording video on the Sensation? As in -- it's super loud and distorted even when recording in a relatively quiet environment? This has been the single most disappointing thing about this phone for me.
I have seen a couple of threads started about this but there is not much info out there that I've been able to dig up.
Does anybody have more information about the problem or know of anything that can be done to alleviate it? Even if there's a different video recording app someone can recommend, I'd be happy. (From what I've read it sounds like a software issue -- something with the default codec or volume level being borked. Hopefully it doesn't actually have anything to do with the mic itself.)

Best Voodoo configuration to record concerts?

Hey, I just installed Ardat v1.7b2 kernel and the Voodoo control app and I'm wondering what's the best configuration to record a concert, I suppose that i should chose the loud environment recording preset, but should I activate another option?
I make this question because I just have recorded different videos in my bedroom with loud music and different recording presets and I couldn't notice any change. So maybe I did something wrong or I'm not configuring it correctly, because I'm a complete noob.
Thanks in advance!

pudup said:
I don't understand any of the stuff either
I just switched everything on and told myself that it sounds better.
I'd like to know the best settings for listening to music in general as well and maybe if someone could somehow post a video about sound quality before and after applying the patch, that would be great.
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This is something like the before and after.
Before (a concert I recorded some months ago):
After (in my bedroom with loud music and the microphone just in front of the speaker):
The situation isn't the same, I hope I can go soon to a concert and record some videos.

Sound on video recording

Hi there,
I noticed that when I'm recording a video in a noisy place, like a concert hall or something like that, the sound is horrible, you can hardly understand what is going on. Is there a way to solve the problem?

Unlikely. Sound recording is a delicate thing. To produce quality recording, huge directed microphones are used, the sound is recorded at a very high rate, and filters are applied. None of those can be done on a phone.

Jack_R1 said:
Unlikely. Sound recording is a delicate thing. To produce quality recording, huge directed microphones are used, the sound is recorded at a very high rate, and filters are applied. None of those can be done on a phone.
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OK, I understand that, I'm working with sound. But I read somewhere that this is happening due to the ARM codec, which compress the sound at a very low biterate. Can this be changed? Or, at least, lowered the recording volume?

Again, no, because - 1) you're limited by the codec HW implementation, 2) the write speed to SD card is limited, and the less you compress the audio - the more bandwidth it takes.
The recording volume can be lowered, I think. Just not sure how - never tried.

[Q] Is there a fix for the microphone(too sensitive) of the sensation XE???

When recording video, the voice quality is very poor and the microphone is too sensitive
is there a fix to lower the gain of the microphone ??
i thought this is a known issue but i cant find any fix for this after i google..
Anyone can help ? thanks

lsc723 said:
When recording video, the voice quality is very poor and the microphone is too sensitive
is there a fix to lower the gain of the microphone ??
i thought this is a known issue but i cant find any fix for this after i google..
Anyone can help ? thanks
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i found many user complain about this problem on google..
so anyone can help??

Many have used lgcamera from the market for this. It records in mono but sound is better, you can set to aac, 320kbs. Also you can select the bitrate for video. This is what I've done, while not a solution it works.
You may also want to try taking a look at the 'tuning system wide volume' thread in the themes and apps section. While the thread is mostly about boosting the overall volume of the phone, there is a mention of lowering the mic gain. If you have success with that, please report back with it.
I have used that thread to actually lower the headphone out gain, to get rid of some of the hiss one hears on music playback with low impedance earbuds.
Hope this helps.
Sent from my Sensation 4G using Tapatalk 2

Stereo Audio Recording?

Can any of the early adopters here confirm whether the Pixel (not XL) is capable of recording stereo audio when capturing videos? All of the example videos I've seen on YouTube seem to be recorded with monaural audio.
This could be the only deal breaker for me. I take my HTC M8 to concerts frequently, and it captures phenomenal stereo audio that doesn't distort or clip in loud venues. As much as I like the Pixel, I would probably have to buy the HTC 10 instead if the audio recording capabilities were overlooked by Google.

bjamerican said:
Can any of the early adopters here confirm whether the Pixel (not XL) is capable of recording stereo audio when capturing videos? All of the example videos I've seen on YouTube seem to be recorded with monaural audio.
This could be the only deal breaker for me. I take my HTC M8 to concerts frequently, and it captures phenomenal stereo audio that doesn't distort or clip in loud venues. As much as I like the Pixel, I would probably have to buy the HTC 10 instead if the audio recording capabilities were overlooked by Google.
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I just did some testing for you. The built in video recorder records in mono. However, the Pixel obviously has the ability to record in stereo because I just tried the "Sony Audio recorder" on Google Play and it records stereo audio. If you just need audio and not video this has the ability to record very high quality stereo recordings.

gadgetgaz said:
I just did some testing for you. The built in video recorder records in mono. However, the Pixel obviously has the ability to record in stereo because I just tried the "Sony Audio recorder" on Google Play and it records stereo audio. If you just need audio and not video this has the ability to record very high quality stereo recordings.
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Wow thanks for looking into this!
I'm really disappointed to learn that the "best phone camera ever" doesn't record videos in stereo! Google really needs to address this in an app update quickly.
Good to know that the hardware is capable, at least. The Pixel also seems to do well in very high sound pressure levels too, based on concert clips I've seen posted on Youtube (this is something HTC has always excelled at).

bjamerican said:
Wow thanks for looking into this!
I'm really disappointed to learn that the "best phone camera ever" doesn't record videos in stereo! Google really needs to address this in an app update quickly.
Good to know that the hardware is capable, at least. The Pixel also seems to do well in very high sound pressure levels too, based on concert clips I've seen posted on Youtube (this is something HTC has always excelled at).
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Okay.... It is not very meaningful as "stereo" it is not an XY or A-B studio recording physical pattern.
It is more useful for most people as a mono recording, less noise that is heavy left or right from handling phone to record a "home video" (of a meowing cat or cute baby etc)
That said I am an audio engineer and musician, and I can see a usefulness in having two sources, in case one is better. Mixing them might be better with some of each side panned to the other.
I just consider it two channel recording. Stereo is about perceiving a binaural field L+R, not just two paired signals. The analogy isn't moot. A single mic close to a sound source in a studio and one mic in a distant point that provides "room noise" or "reverb" is 2 channels, not a stereo.
So I think it better to know that there are many options and considerations to make when you do use an app to record with both mics as to how to mix the sources knowing they aren't intrinsically just stereo. That's why I prefer the built in camera app to just stick to mono which is overall better sound for most people. 2 channels only sound good if you do some "audio mixing" in a DAW....
Sent from my sailfish using XDA Labs

nednednerb said:
Okay.... It is not very meaningful as "stereo" it is not an XY or A-B studio recording physical pattern.
It is more useful for most people as a mono recording, less noise that is heavy left or right from handling phone to record a "home video" (of a meowing cat or cute baby etc)
That said I am an audio engineer and musician, and I can see a usefulness in having two sources, in case one is better. Mixing them might be better with some of each side panned to the other.
I just consider it two channel recording. Stereo is about perceiving a binaural field L+R, not just two paired signals. The analogy isn't moot. A single mic close to a sound source in a studio and one mic in a distant point that provides "room noise" or "reverb" is 2 channels, not a stereo.
So I think it better to know that there are many options and considerations to make when you do use an app to record with both mics as to how to mix the sources knowing they aren't intrinsically just stereo. That's why I prefer the built in camera app to just stick to mono which is overall better sound for most people. 2 channels only sound good if you do some "audio mixing" in a DAW....
Sent from my sailfish using XDA Labs
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Great information and very useful

gadgetgaz said:
I just did some testing for you. The built in video recorder records in mono. However, the Pixel obviously has the ability to record in stereo because I just tried the "Sony Audio recorder" on Google Play and it records stereo audio. If you just need audio and not video this has the ability to record very high quality stereo recordings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your tests, did you compare the waveform of both channels to see if differences exist? How do you know the Sony app didn't just take the mono input and record it to both left and right channels?

Hi I didn't compare the waveforms I just listened to the audio. If you record a single sound source and rotate the phone while recording you can hear the sound going from one ear to the other on playback. If it was a mono recording you wouldn't be able to tell that the phone was being rotated at the time the recording was made.

So which mic is left, and which one is right?

Solutions Etcetera said:
In your tests, did you compare the waveform of both channels to see if differences exist? How do you know the Sony app didn't just take the mono input and record it to both left and right channels?
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You can easily tell immediately if a video was recorded with 1 or 2 channels of audio, especially when wearing headphones. Here is a clip I recorded with my HTC M8... Notice how the sound pans when I turn the camera away from the stage!
https://youtu.be/-yqL9uD2oxY
2 channels is simply more lifelike... We have two ears, so the Pixel should be using two mics for the most realistic audio.

Device: Pixel (sailfish) running Android 7.1 Nougat
One of our users (we are developers of an audio recorder app on Google Play) is reporting that the top microphone on the Pixel has a slight hiss (when he records stereo audio).
Is this an exception (maybe just a bad device) ? Or are other Pixel users seeing this as a general behavior on Pixels ?
This is confirmed when he records mono audio as well, by using the top microphone (aka "Camcorder" microphone). In our app, the user can choose the "Audio Source for Mono" and set it to Camcorder for the top microphone. For stereo, the user can modify the "Audio Source for Stereo" to find a setting that works best. Even the best setting there had a hiss when recording audio. Hiss was less obvious in certain environments.
Hiss in the top microphone on Android phones can be due to interference from the antenna. One can test if this is the cause, by turning on the Airplane Mode (which shuts off the antenna). Usually the hiss will disappear.
However, in his case the top microphone persisted in having that slight hiss (even with Airplane Mode set to On).
Thanks.
EDIT:
To test this with our app, you can search "mp3 recorder" on Google Play - our app is the "Amazing MP3 Recorder Pro" app there.
EDIT 2:
I have heard back from one person who is suggesting the problem is NOT universal to Pixel - and may just be a problem with that user's device (thus warranting a RMA - Return Merchandise authorization i.e. a return candidate).