How to solve artifact issue with front camera video recording on some Android devices?

Question

I am trying to programmatically record video from the front camera of an Android device. While most test devices I have, including the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, and the Samsung Galaxy S4, record the video correctly, some do not.

For example, here's a screenshot of a segment of video recorded by a Samsung Galaxy S3:

There are weird artifacts and colors, and the video does not seem to be centered (it is pointed at a person's face, which you can see is just barely visible in the shot).

Here's my code:

//
// starting code
//

CAMERA = Camera.open(Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT);
Camera.Parameters cameraParameters = CAMERA.getParameters();
if (cameraParameters.isZoomSupported()) {
    cameraParameters.setZoom(0);
}
CAMERA.setParameters(cameraParameters);
CAMERA.setDisplayOrientation(90);

CAMERA.setPreviewDisplay(CAMERA_SURFACE_VIEW.getHolder());
CAMERA.startPreview();
CAMERA.unlock();

CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER = new MediaRecorder();
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setCamera(CAMERA);
try {
    CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setOrientationHint(270);
} catch (Exception e) {
    // this is to fix "setParameter failed" b/c of unsupported orientation hint
    CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setOrientationHint(90);
}
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.CAMCORDER);
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.CAMERA);

ArrayList<Integer> profileIds = new ArrayList<Integer>();

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.HONEYCOMB) {
    profileIds.add(CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_480P);
    profileIds.add(CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_720P);
}

profileIds.add(CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_HIGH);
profileIds.add(CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_LOW);

CamcorderProfile camcorderProfile = null;

for (int profileId : profileIds) {
    try {
        camcorderProfile = CamcorderProfile.get(Camera.CameraInfo.CAMERA_FACING_FRONT, profileId);
        break; // found our most desired profile, done
    } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
        // profile not found on device... It's okay, the next one might exist.
        continue;
    } catch (RuntimeException e) {
        continue;
    }
}

if (camcorderProfile == null) {
    return false;
}

CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setProfile(camcorderProfile);
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setAudioEncodingBitRate(96000);

int audioSamplingRate = 44100;

for (int rate : new int[] {44100, 32000, 22050, 16000, 11025, 8000}) {
    if (AudioRecord.getMinBufferSize(rate, AudioFormat.CHANNEL_IN_DEFAULT, AudioFormat.ENCODING_PCM_16BIT) > 0) {
        audioSamplingRate = rate;
        break;
    }
}

CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setAudioSamplingRate(audioSamplingRate);
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setVideoEncodingBitRate(700000);

String extension = ".3gpp";

if (camcorderProfile.fileFormat == MediaRecorder.OutputFormat.MPEG_4) {
    extension = ".mp4";
}

File file = new File(Internal.getStoragePath(Internal.CURRENT_ACTIVITY) + "/webcam" + extension);
file.createNewFile();

CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setOutputFile(file.toString());
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.setPreviewDisplay(CAMERA_SURFACE_VIEW.getHolder().getSurface());

CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.prepare();
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.start();

//
// stopping code
//

try {
    CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.stop();
} catch (IllegalStateException e) {
    // do nothing
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
    // do nothing
}

CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.reset();
CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER.release();

CAMERA.lock();
CAMERA.stopPreview();
CAMERA.release();

CAMERA_MEDIA_RECORDER = null;
CAMERA = null;
CAMERA_SURFACE_VIEW = null;

Edit: I should point out that the surfaceView is 1 by 1 px and is outside of the screen's bounds. I do not wish to display a preview.

How do I make sure that the video recording is good on all devices with a front facing camera?

Answer 1

I was finally able to get my hands on a Samsung Galaxy S3 device and run some tests. The issue was caused by the following lines:

CAMERA.setPreviewDisplay(CAMERA_SURFACE_VIEW.getHolder());
CAMERA.startPreview();

The following answer I found on StackOverflow led me to the solution: https://stackoverflow.com/a/14319270/379245

If the SurfaceView preview is shared between Camera and MediaRecorder, it can apparently cause issues such as the one I experienced. Removing the setting of the preview display from the Camera object ultimately fixed the issue.