Help Audio recording quality is very bad

[stubbaj]

voice recorder and all other 3rd party apps record audio like absolute garbage !! Im very disappointed !! such an awesome camera and camcorder but it sounds like im speaking thru a damn kazoo .. Im dying to know if it's firmware or just cheap hardware .. not to sound bitter but the iphone has a SUPER high quality mic ... being that Incredible just came out i was very surprised at the low quality of the audio recording

 

[AlexNC]

For audio recording, I use Virtual Recorder. It does a great job ... mainly because it has an adjustable 'pre amp' level that allows you to keep the recording from clipping.

 

[askwhy]

voice recorder and all other 3rd party apps record audio like absolute garbage !! Im very disappointed !! such an awesome camera and camcorder but it sounds like im speaking thru a damn kazoo .. Im dying to know if it's firmware or just cheap hardware .. not to sound bitter but the iphone has a SUPER high quality mic ... being that Incredible just came out i was very surprised at the low quality of the audio recording

I agree, the default recording quality is atrocious. It also does not appear to be adjustable (accurate?). After some searching...

Granted, the link below is directed at Nexus One users, but I believe the same problem applies to our Incredibles -- namely that the codec being used by the system for audio recording is just plain rotten:

Why is the audio quality when recording video with the Nexus One so terrible? Especially compared to the iPhone - Android Help

That's right, it suggests default sampling is 4.75kbps, 8kHz!

I can't find any reference to that being adjustable, although it does seem that any given program could in theory be written to use the raw audio input, and save that instead of passing through the 8kHz codec:

Improve Android Audio Recording quality? - Stack Overflow

As a non-developer, I don't know how practical those code references would actually be, but they sounded relevant.

Anyways, if that above info is accurate, and it sure *sounds* like it is -- nonadjustable sampling rate locked in to circa-1990 quality -- then I don't know what to say. Seriously... HTC? Google? Care to explain before my head explodes?

 

[stubbaj]

WOW 8 Hz .. I have a 10 yr old digital recorder keychain that records at that rate.. who can we complain to ?

 

[Haelous]

I agree, the default recording quality is atrocious. It also does not appear to be adjustable (accurate?). After some searching...

Granted, the link below is directed at Nexus One users, but I believe the same problem applies to our Incredibles -- namely that the codec being used by the system for audio recording is just plain rotten:

Why is the audio quality when recording video with the Nexus One so terrible? Especially compared to the iPhone - Android Help

That's right, it suggests default sampling is 4.75kbps, 8kHz!

I can't find any reference to that being adjustable, although it does seem that any given program could in theory be written to use the raw audio input, and save that instead of passing through the 8kHz codec:

Improve Android Audio Recording quality? - Stack Overflow

As a non-developer, I don't know how practical those code references would actually be, but they sounded relevant.

Anyways, if that above info is accurate, and it sure *sounds* like it is -- nonadjustable sampling rate locked in to circa-1990 quality -- then I don't know what to say. Seriously... HTC? Google? Care to explain before my head explodes?

The second link refers to an application called Rehearsal Assistant which is free on the market. This app is great, imo. I set it to uncompressed audio, and the quality was pretty good. I would recommend everyone who has issues with recording to at least give it a chance.

Also, what they're saying isn't that it's locked in, it's that you have to use a different class to be able to record higher quality audio.

 

[askwhy]

The second link refers to an application called Rehearsal Assistant which is free on the market. This app is great, imo. I set it to uncompressed audio, and the quality was pretty good. I would recommend everyone who has issues with recording to at least give it a chance.

Also, what they're saying isn't that it's locked in, it's that you have to use a different class to be able to record higher quality audio.

Roger that.

When I said 'locked-in', I didn't mean it so literally, but more as a reference to all the included apps, and the many common third party apps, which all seem to use this MediaRecorder class that subjects the recording to the lousy AMR codec.

On that note, thanks for the app feedback. It's good to know there is a free market app that uses the AudioRecord class to save higher quality WAV audio.

Now we need to find a camcorder app that turns the same trick.

 

[stubbaj]

Interesting ... I did try rehearsal assistant .. it didnt seem to help the shoddy recording.. it did expand the frequency range a bit (or at least to my ears) but not good enough to record an acoustic guitar idea .. if i remeber correctly, iphone records at 48Hz

 

[joshuaroth]

Interesting ... I did try rehearsal assistant .. it didnt seem to help the shoddy recording.. it did expand the frequency range a bit (or at least to my ears) but not good enough to record an acoustic guitar idea .. if i remeber correctly, iphone records at 48Hz

I currently have a palm pre and really want to switch to an EVO. However, the recording quality of the EVO's microphone is horrible. My need is that I record guitar riffs/sing melodies all the time on my palm pre for recollection purposes, and it does a great job. I was hoping someone could tell me how to improve the microphone recording capability on the evo. Even if I need to purchase an external mic that plugs into the USB, i'm more than willing to do that. Would that work??? Nobody seems to know...

Are there any android applications with a "USB in" ???

Are there any musicians out there??? hello??

 

[mrspeedmaster]

WOW 8 Hz .. I have a 10 yr old digital recorder keychain that records at that rate.. who can we complain to ?

Preach it brutha, preach it...
The spec does state 8khz AMR audio format.

I was going to use my Droid Inc for taking audio notes during meetings and conference calls. Guess NOT.

 

[Axilarry]

I love where this thread is going. I too am looking for a way to hook up a high quality microphone to my Android, in this case an HTC Evo. Some of the accessories out there seem as if they might allow this, but without the correct drivers (and probably app as well on the phone) I am not that confident any would actually work. I think Joshuaroth is on the right track when asking for "USB in."

 

[mrspeedmaster]

I too am looking for a way to hook up a high quality microphone to my Android, in this case an HTC Evo.

Microphone won't do any good. You can have a $500 mic plugged in but the problem will always be the codec - AMR @ 8khz.

They need to re-write the software first before you start thinking about accessories.

 

[spedunkler]

There are multiple apps that can do a better job of audio recording. I just got TapeMachine and it does a fine job of working with my HTC Aria mic. Livo also does (but TapeMachine is better). So why does the camcorder app not do the same thing??? The Hz setting is probably the problem, but you can't change audio settings in the existing Camcorder app.

I don't get it.

 

[Lefort1]

HTC/Google really need to address this. AFAIK, this problem isn't limited to the Incredible but all of Android

 

[MusicSesh]

Yeah Im Glad i finally found out why it sucked SO BAD. I got this phone, for its Camera, and Video.
So i can record interviews, jams, shows, ETC.

This phone mic is AWFUL. disgustingly low quality.
Really ticked me off after getting the phone, realizing, great, now i need to go out and buy another Digital Camcorder.

Even the video Quality is grainy in decent lighting.

Please come up with something. Or i'll find some Root, to take care of the problem.

I was thinking about getting a car headset mic, splicing the cable and putting a preamp with a clip limiter to tell me if I'm clipping.

THESE ARE IMPORTANT!

We need a High Quailty Codec for audio and video, with a peak meter, and adjustable mic pre. Peak meter is important. Maybe a limiter.

Im tired of seeing people upload concerts to youtube, and them sound like distortion.

IM glad i didnt buy that cable, i would have wasted my time, if its only recording at 8KHZ!!

i **** more frequency than that.

And while were at it, why does the IPOD have two cameras for video chat and taking pictures, While, the droid, which is hundreds of dollars more, has one. and no video chat capability?!

THANKS htc.

And you know what? I could deal with that, if it wasnt so glitchy! Its a brand new phone, and all it does is glitch.

And an Image stabilizer for the camera.

Why would you release a Droid phone without any of that?

It seems so basic to me, that it would be included.

If your looking at buying this phone, wait till they fix these problems.

 

[chichilos]

and on my friend's Nexus. Video audio sounds saturated. And it's a fact it's because of the CODECS used. I wonder if it's not on purpose. Because, come, on! how come we get gorgious HD video recording and miserable audio. My wild guess for this is that there's an agreement between the RIAA and Google to avoid pirated concerts and so on. I cannot see another explanation to this situation.
Really if I was an Iphone fanboy that would be my first argument to say android is crappy, and he/she would be right...

 

[KS2 Problema]

I have an LG Optimus. I frequently use the Hi-Q Mp3 Recorder app (free version, limited to 10 minute long tracks) to record guitar and song ideas. It does a very reasonable job of capture, particularly in light of the fact that the highest sample rate it seems to be able to record properly [suspect my CPU is simply underpowered] is 22.05 kHz. I use Box.com and can then directly upload the track to there, where it presents Mp3s in their own very basic player. Great for sharing ideas, showing friends new songs, etc. Playback over a good rig or headphones sounds as really quite decent. More than a couple times in the car I've been caught off guard as one of my own noodles comes up in a playlist of regular canned music and I find myself thinking, Hey, who is this guy, he plays just like me?

That said... like so many others here, it drives me nuts that the native video recorder apparently defaults to 8 kHz sample rate -- and it sounds it, too... it also sounds like it's improperly bandlimited before sampling, the foldover distortion is awful.

That said, I suspect, in the case of my very modest (indeed, 'free') phone, that the CPU probably couldn't handle a higher audio rate and shoot video at the same time -- particularly since I couldn't even get my favorite audio app to record at 44.1 kHz without big signal dropouts [which results in the audio that does get recorded 'running together' where the missing audio should have been].

Frankly, I'd trade lower quality vid [which is decent but droppy] for higher quality audio.

My thinking is that the native video app probably is dumbed down to work with the least powerful Androids but... who knows?

 

[TeflonJon]

I have an LG Optimus T and recording sound at 44khz would result in the skipping you talked about at the stock speed, so I overclocked the phone to 675mhz, then tried again to record at 44khz and it worked fine. Just thought you might like to know if you wanna give it a try

 

[grvthang]

I have an LG Optimus. I frequently use the Hi-Q Mp3 Recorder app (free version, limited to 10 minute long tracks) to record guitar and song ideas. It does a very reasonable job of capture

Yes, for maybe an acoustic guitar it may be adequate, but try recording a live, amplified band. It will be overdriven and saturated.

For the last few years I've been using a Belkin Tunetalk stero mic to record in stereo on my 3rd-gen ipod nano, and the quality is great! When will I be able to do that on an Android phone?

 

[john1923t]

Their is a setting to increase the sound level when recording, but it uses more storage space to keep the recordings ,The wife found the setting hours after verizon offerd to exchange the phone for another incredible 4 ( it was a warranty replacement for a superior incredible 2)