Develop Reference

Detecting if video was taken in portrait/landscape

I would like to confirm that what I am doing is indeed the correct way as some elements behave unexpected.
First, I have a landscape and portrait layout, as I understand, doing this will automatically detect if the phone is in portrait/landscape mode:
- layout
- activity_video_player.xml
- layout-land
- activity_video_player.xml
Then when the user selects a video from the gallery, I check if the video was taking in landscape or portrait, by doing this (inside OnCreate):
int w;
int h;
MediaMetadataRetriever mediaMetadataRetriever = new MediaMetadataRetriever();
mediaMetadataRetriever.setDataSource(this, videoURI);
String height = mediaMetadataRetriever.extractMetadata(MediaMetadataRetriever.METADATA_KEY_VIDEO_HEIGHT);
String width = mediaMetadataRetriever.extractMetadata(MediaMetadataRetriever.METADATA_KEY_VIDEO_WIDTH);
w = Integer.parseInt(width);
h = Integer.parseInt(height);
if (w > h) {
this.setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);
} else {
this.setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT);
}
I have tested this and it works fine, but I noticed some of my xml elements (play button) is placed incorrectly.
So my app flow is:
MainActivity --> SelectvidButton --> Gallery Intent --> VideoPlayActivity
My Question
Is this the correct way of doing this and if it is, is there any reason why some of the xml elements get placed incorrectly?
EDIT 1:
I noticed that this only happens when the activity is launched for the first time, if I press the back button and select the same video again, the layout is perfectly like I want it to be.
EDIT 2:
I have also noticed that this only happens if the previous activity (MainActivity) was in the same orientation than what the selected video is.

Here is what I ended up doing.
Instead of using MediaMetadataRetriever to get the width and height, I first retrieve a Bitmap from the video file and then setting the orientation according to the width and hight of the Bitmap, as shown below:
private void rotateScreen() {
try {
//Create a new instance of MediaMetadataRetriever
MediaMetadataRetriever retriever = new MediaMetadataRetriever();
//Declare the Bitmap
Bitmap bmp;
//Set the video Uri as data source for MediaMetadataRetriever
retriever.setDataSource(this, mVideoUri);
//Get one "frame"/bitmap - * NOTE - no time was set, so the first available frame will be used
bmp = retriever.getFrameAtTime();
//Get the bitmap width and height
videoWidth = bmp.getWidth();
videoHeight = bmp.getHeight();
//If the width is bigger then the height then it means that the video was taken in landscape mode and we should set the orientation to landscape
if (videoWidth > videoHeight) {
//Set orientation to landscape
this.setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);
}
//If the width is smaller then the height then it means that the video was taken in portrait mode and we should set the orientation to portrait
if (videoWidth < videoHeight) {
//Set orientation to portrait
this.setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT);
}
} catch (RuntimeException ex) {
//error occurred
Log.e("MediaMetadataRetriever", "- Failed to rotate the video");
}
}

Android Camera Parameter setPictureSize causes streaked picture

I am trying to take a picture using the Android camera. I have a requirement to capture a 1600 (w) x 1200 (h) image (3rd party vendor requirement). My code seems to work fine for many phone cameras but the setPictureSize causes a crash on some phones (Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy Note) and causes a streaked picture on others (Nexus 7 Tablet). On at least the Nexus the size I desire is showing up in the getSupportPictureSizes list.
I have tried specifying the orientation but it didn't help. Taking the picture with the default picture size works fine.
Here is an example of the streaking:
For my image capture I have a requirement of 1600x1200, jpg, 30% compression, so I am capturing a JPG file.
I think I have three choices:
1) Figure out how to capture the 1600x1200 size without a crash or streaking, or
2) Figure out how to change the size of the default picture size to a JPG that is 1600x1200.
3) Something else that is currently unknown to me.
I have found some other postings that have similar issues but not quite the same. I am in my 2nd day of trying things but am not finding a solution. Here is one posting that got close:
Camera picture to Bitmap results in messed up image (none of the suggestions helped me)
Here is the section of my code that worked fine for until I ran into the S4/Note/Nexus 7. I have added a bit of debugging code for now:
Camera.Parameters parameters = mCamera.getParameters();
Camera.Size size = getBestPreviewSize(width, height, parameters);
if (size != null) {
int pictureWidth = 1600;
int pictureHeight = 1200;
// testing
Camera.Size test = parameters.getPictureSize();
List<Camera.Size> testSizes = parameters.getSupportedPictureSizes();
for ( int i = 0; i < testSizes.size(); i++ ) {
test = testSizes.get(i);
}
test = testSizes.get(3);
// get(3) is 1600 x 1200
pictureWidth = test.width;
pictureHeight = test.height;
parameters.setPictureFormat(ImageFormat.JPEG);
parameters.setPictureSize(pictureWidth, pictureHeight);
parameters.setJpegQuality(30);
parameters.setPreviewSize(size.width, size.height);
// catch any exception
try {
// make sure the preview is stopped
mCamera.stopPreview();
mCamera.setParameters(parameters);
didConfig = true;
catch(Exception e) {
// some error presentation was removed for brevity
// since didConfig not set to TRUE it will fail gracefully
}
}
Here is the section of my code that saves the JPG file:
PictureCallback jpegCallback = new PictureCallback() {
public void onPictureTaken(byte[] data, Camera camera) {
if ( data.length > 0 ) {
String fileName = "image.jpg";
File file = new File(getFilesDir(), fileName);
String filePath = file.getAbsolutePath();
boolean goodWrite = false;
try {
OutputStream os = new FileOutputStream(file);
os.write(data);
os.close();
goodWrite = true;
} catch (IOException e) {
goodWrite = false;
}
if ( goodWrite ) {
// go on to the Preview
} else {
// TODO return an error to the calling activity
}
}
Log.d(TAG, "onPictureTaken - jpeg");
}
};
Any suggestions on how to correctly set up the camera parameters for taking photos or how to crop or resize the resulting photo would be great. Especially if it will work with older cameras (API level 8 or later)! Based on needing the full width of the picture I can only crop off the top.
Thanks!
EDIT: Here is what I ended up doing:
I started by processing the Camera.Parameters getSupportedPictureSizes to use the first one that had the height and width both greater than my desired size, AND the same width:height ratio. I set the Camera parameters to that picture size.
Then once the picture was taken:
BitmapFactory.Options options = new BitmapFactory.Options();;
options.inPurgeable = true;
// convert the byte array to a bitmap, taking care to allow for garbage collection
Bitmap original = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(input , 0, input.length, options);
// resize the bitmap to my desired scale
Bitmap resized = Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(original, 1600, 1200, true);
// create a new byte array and output the bitmap to a compressed JPG
ByteArrayOutputStream blob = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
resized.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.JPEG, 30, blob);
// recycle the memory since bitmaps seem to have slightly different garbage collection
original.recycle();
resized.recycle();
byte[] desired = blob.toByteArray();
Then I write out the desired jpg to a file for upload.

test = testSizes.get(3);
// get(3) is 1600 x 1200
There is no requirement that the array have 4+ elements, let alone that the fourth element be 1600x1200.
1) Figure out how to capture the 1600x1200 size without a crash or streaking
There is no guarantee that every device is capable of taking a picture with that exact resolution. You cannot specify arbitrary values for the resolution -- it must be one of the supported picture sizes. Some devices support arbitrary values, while other devices will give you corrupted output (as is the case here) or will flat-out crash.
2) Figure out how to change the size of the default picture size to a JPG that is 1600x1200
I am not aware that there is a "default picture size", and, beyond that, such a size will be immutable, since it is the default. Changing the picture size is your option #1 above.
3) Something else that is currently unknown to me.
For devices that support a resolution that is bigger on both axes, take a picture in that resolution, then crop to 1600x1200.
For all other devices, where one or both axes are smaller than desired, take a picture in whatever resolution suits you (largest, closest match to 4:3 aspect ratio, etc.), and then stretch/crop to get to 1600x1200.

Image appearing 90 degree tilt when downloaded from server in Android?

Working on an application in which we capture images and upload over server. Application is in Android And I Phone. When we post image from Android, they are of quantity in Kilo Bytes but when we Post image from I Phone they are of MB size.
When we the images posted from IPHONE 5 with URL on browser, they appear good as they supposed to appear but when we download that image in Android device and show in an IMAGE VIEW, they appears 90 deg tilt to the left hand side.
I am not using, any rotation code after downloading the images in Android or in I Phone.
In I Phone the images are appearing fine.
IMages captured from Android are also visible straight. Images of low resolution capture from I Phone are also visible straight in Android.
Image uploaded from Android:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/WeddingApp/Weddingimage/933_6_stan.jpg
Image uploaded from I Phone:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/WeddingApp/Weddingimage/937_6_stan.jpg
public static boolean downloadFile(final String fileURL,File directory,Context CONTEXT){
try{
URL url = new URL(fileURL);
URLConnection ucon = url.openConnection();
ucon.setReadTimeout(35000);
ucon.setConnectTimeout(10000);
InputStream is = ucon.getInputStream();
BufferedInputStream inStream = new BufferedInputStream(is, 1024 * 5);
File file = directory;
if (file.exists())
{
file.delete();
}
file.createNewFile();
FileOutputStream outStream = new FileOutputStream(file);
byte[] buff = new byte[5 * 1024];
int len;
while ((len = inStream.read(buff)) != -1)
{
outStream.write(buff, 0, len);
}
outStream.flush();
outStream.close();
inStream.close();
}
catch (IOException e){ //IF SDCARD NOT EXIST THEN PASS RESPONSE TRUE`
e.printStackTrace();
return false;
}catch(Exception e){
e.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
return true;
}
Please suggest me.

This is because of iPhone's silly new camera implementation. I found below on research (sources given below):
1. The iPhone camera's interpretation of "up" direction is rotated 90 degrees from the actual "up" direction we know. What you and I call "up", is iphone's "left" or "right". The camera's orientation has been changed. This was done so that they could support taking pictures with the volume button.
2. But, being aware that other devices and cameras have normal orientation, and so that those devices and browsers display the images properly, iOS adds EXIF data to the uploaded images. This is added on image upload. EXIF, as mentioned in the link, is a metadata that contains all the information of how the image is actually supposed to look.
3. The target platform on which the image is downloaded is supposed to read the EXIF data, and then show the correct representation of the image. So, if the target platform reads the EXIF, it will realize that the image received is 90 degrees rotated, and that it should rely on EXIF data, and not on what's received. This is why iPhone camera apps can show the image properly.
4 However, not everybody reads EXIF. Apps and browsers that are aware of EXIF, read the EXIF data of the image, and show it properly. But those that are not aware of EXIF, don't read that data, and show the image exactly as received --> 90 degrees rotated
5 People have worked around this problem, by rotating their iPhone 90 degrees, before taking a picture (so that the camera is oriented right, before the picture is taken)
Resources:
1. Source 1
2. Source 2
Others with same problem:
1. SO Post 1
2. SO Post 2

The problem seems to be related to EXIF data found on the images. We must process it before displaying the image. It appears to be that not every camera outputs EXIF data 'cause this issues only happens to me in some android handsets.
Take a look at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Exif#Orientation_.28rotation_and_mirroring.29
EDIT:
We could implement something like:
public Bitmap getBitmap(String path){
Bitmap tmpBitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeFile(path);
Bitmap bitmap = null;
if(path != null){
try {
ExifInterface ei = new ExifInterface(path);
int orientation = ei.getAttributeInt(ExifInterface.TAG_ORIENTATION, ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_NORMAL);
Matrix mtx = new Matrix();
int w = tmpBitmap.getWidth();
int h = tmpBitmap.getHeight();
switch (orientation) {
case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_90:
//rotate CCW
mtx.preRotate(-90);
bitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(tmpBitmap, 0, 0, w, h, mtx, true);
break;
case ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_270:
//rotate CW
mtx.preRotate(90);
bitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(tmpBitmap, 0, 0, w, h, mtx, true);
break;
//CONSIDER OTHER CASES HERE....
default:
bitmap = tmpBitmap;
break;
}
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
return bitmap;
}
Regards.

Android how to keep view orientation constant when the device is rotated

There are several stack overflow questions that deal with keeping the activity in a constant orientation, suggesting either to set android:screenOrientation (or this) or to deal with the configuration changes manually.
However, these answers do not solve the problem if one wants to keep the benefits of automatic layout for most of the views, but to keep one view in a constant orientation. For example I have one main view for the content (a bitmap) and optionally several "toolbars". When the device is rotated from portrait to landscape, I want the toolbars to re-layout automatically. On the other hand, the main content view has a bitmap, and this should rotate with the device. Here is a simple code I use in my onDraw:
protected void onDraw(Canvas canvas) {
super.onDraw(canvas);
Bitmap bm = ... // code to get a bitmap
if (bm != null) {
canvas.drawBitmap(bm,0,0,mPaint);
}
}
This obviously does not work as intended because when the device orientation changes, the view is relayout and its coordinate system rotates in this orientation change by 90 degrees with respect to the physical device. One way to compensate for that would be to use a Matrix-object to draw the bitmap with 90 degrees rotation if the device orientation has changed. However, then also the input coordinates would have to be changed in order to keep the view input points and the point on the bitmap in correspondence.
Therefore my question after this long explanation is: can I keep the view so that its coordinate system with respect to the device is not rotated when the orientation changes.
Here is a picture that expresses what I want and what I currently get (xy coordinate system for the view also illustrated).

Inside your activity in manifest xml use the screen orientation attribut with portrait value
Like
<activity
android:name=".YourActivityName"
android:screenOrientation="portrait" >
</activity>

I am not sure but you should try following
put one xml in layout folder which indicate portrait layout
create one folder named it layout-land
put xml which indicate landscape layout with same name as in layout folder
Android automatically take that layout from land-layout when you will rotate your screen to landscape.
Another way
Activity will be restarted when orientation is changed so make to layout for that activity and you can set layout to your activity as per orientation.
if (getResources().getConfiguration().orientation==Configuration.ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE)
{
setContentView(R.layout.landscape_layout);
}
else
{
setContentView(R.layout.portrait_layout);
}
Hope it will help you.

You can check the orientation and redraw your View after orientation will be changed
if (getResources().getConfiguration().orientation==Configuration.ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE)
{
//...
}
else
{
//...
}

Use this code in your Manifest
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.SET_ORIENTATION"/>
<activity
android:name="com.package.MyActivity"
android:configChanges="keyboardHidden|orientation"
android:screenOrientation="portrait" >
</activity>

Well, first of all, you will not need two layouts.
Create only one xml with an image view and a layout which has property align parent bottom set to true.
Now as per the images you have provided, you want to rotate the image anticlockwise when your device is in landscape. For that , you can use my image rotation code :-
You can always check the rotation of the image using Matrix and rotate it accordingly.
This code goes in onCreate-->
The code below is to rotate the image when taken from camera or gallery. You can modify according to your needs. I have put comments below to simplify understanding.
BitmapFactory.Options bmOptions = new BitmapFactory.Options();
bmOptions.inJustDecodeBounds = false;
bmOptions.inPurgeable = true;
Bitmap cameraBitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeFile(filePath);//You convert your image view image here in a bitmap
ByteArrayOutputStream bos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
cameraBitmap.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.JPEG, 100, bos);
ExifInterface exif = new ExifInterface(filePath);
float rotation = exif.getAttributeInt(ExifInterface.TAG_ORIENTATION, ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_NORMAL);
System.out.println(rotation);
float rotationInDegrees = exifToDegrees(rotation);
System.out.println(rotationInDegrees);
//These three lines below set the rotation.
//Put an if condition here to check device rotation and set the rotation of image view as per the device rotation.
//The line below will help you get device rotation.
//getResources().getConfiguration().orientation==Configuration.ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE
Matrix matrix = new Matrix();
matrix.postRotate(rotationInDegrees);//Here you set the rotation value in which you want your image view to be rotated
//If ends here
Bitmap scaledBitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(cameraBitmap);
Bitmap rotatedBitmap = Bitmap.createBitmap(cameraBitmap , 0, 0, scaledBitmap .getWidth(), scaledBitmap .getHeight(), matrix, true);
FileOutputStream fos=new FileOutputStream(filePath);
rotatedBitmap.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.JPEG, 100, fos);
fos.flush();
fos.close();
//this rotatedbitmap you can set in your image view
//onCreate Code Ends here.
//This function below is used to get rotation:-
private static float exifToDegrees(float exifOrientation) {
if (exifOrientation == ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_90) { return 90; }
else if (exifOrientation == ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_180) { return 180; }
else if (exifOrientation == ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_270) { return 270; }
return 0;
}

Android camera unexplainable rotation on capture for some devices (not in EXIF)

What I'm doing seems like it should be simple, but I'm still lost after I've read every possible Stackoverflow answer I can find and Googled every article I can find.
I'm using a preview SurfaceView and capturing an image from an activity that is set for screenOrientation="landscape" in my AndroidManifest.xml.
I followed the sample Camera app code and thought things were working until I tried my app on a few Motorola devices running 1.5.
I have the OrientationEventListener running OK and I use reflection to see if set the rotation as such:
final int latchedOrientation = roundOrientation(mLastOrientation + 90);
Parameters parameters = preview.camera.getParameters();
JPLog.d("Setting camera rotation = %d", latchedOrientation);
try {
// if >= 2.0
Method method = Camera.Parameters.class.getMethod("setRotation",
int.class);
if(method != null) {
method.invoke(parameters, latchedOrientation);
}
} catch(Throwable t) {
// if < 2.0
parameters.set("rotation", latchedOrientation);
}
preview.camera.setParameters(parameters);
NexusOne (OS 2.2) - Works great. latchedOrientation = 0, picture OK without any rotation in the EXIF header.
T-Mobile G1 (OS 1.6) - Also works great. latchedOrientation = 0, picture OK.
Motorola Backflip (OS 1.5) - Image rotated. latchedOrientation = 0, picture has no EXIF rotation in it.
Motorola CLIQ (OS 1.5) - Image rotated. latchedOrientation = 0, picture has no EXIF rotation in it.
What's going on with these Motorola devices? I thought my problem was the Motorola camera driver wasn't rotating the images, so found the Sanselan EXIF reading classes for Android and was preparing to rotate them myself. Funny thing is, there is EXIF headers but no rotation element.
If I set the rotation manually to 90 degrees, the images come out perfect the Motorola devices, but now the G1 and the NexusOne have images that are rotated 90 degrees (not what I want). There has to be something I'm not getting here.
I'm doubting this is a 1.5 issue, or else someone would've posted info on it?

I had this issue and I used this method to capture the image. (Without creating a custom camera)
final Intent intent = new Intent(MediaStore.ACTION_IMAGE_CAPTURE);
intent.putExtra(MediaStore.EXTRA_OUTPUT, Uri.fromFile(image));
startActivityForResult(intent, 0);
and did the rest in onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {}
But the original image (Actual SD card image) was correct and Bitmap was rotated when I fetched like this.
Bitmap bmp = BitmapFactory.decodeStream(..
The solution:
try {
File f = new File(SD_CARD_IMAGE_PATH);
ExifInterface exif = new ExifInterface(f.getPath());
int orientation = exif.getAttributeInt(ExifInterface.TAG_ORIENTATION, ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_NORMAL);
int angle = 0;
if (orientation == ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_90) {
angle = 90;
}
else if (orientation == ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_180) {
angle = 180;
}
else if (orientation == ExifInterface.ORIENTATION_ROTATE_270) {
angle = 270;
}
Matrix mat = new Matrix();
mat.postRotate(angle);
Bitmap bmp = BitmapFactory.decodeStream(new FileInputStream(f), null, null);
Bitmap correctBmp = Bitmap.createBitmap(bmp, 0, 0, bmp.getWidth(), bmp.getHeight(), mat, true);
}
catch (IOException e) {
Log.w("TAG", "-- Error in setting image");
}
catch(OutOfMemoryError oom) {
Log.w("TAG", "-- OOM Error in setting image");
}

This is actually a device-specific issue that mostly affects Motorola devices. The google devs included a setDisplayOrientation call in API 8 to work around the issue. The main bug is filed here.
For those that can't go to API 8, the two common solutions are:
Override onDraw
Override onDraw in a top-level ViewGroup and rotate the canvas by 90 degrees to compensate for the rotation. Note there is a caveat here as your touch events will also need to be rotated.
Use Landscape Mode
Lock the activity to landscape mode but draw assets as if they are in portrait. This means you do your layout and rotate your image assets to look like you are in portrait mode so that the view looks normal. This unfortunately makes it difficult to use the menu since the menu will open horizontally.
I have also seen people use an animation controller to rotate the view. The drawback here that I wasn't able to overcome is that the rotated view doesn't stretch to fill the screen. See the answer by Georg for a sample implementation.

Here is the code I used onActivityResult() in my activity. The intent returned was for picking an image of the type image/*. Works well for me!
Uri imageUri = intent.getData();
String[] orientationColumn = {MediaStore.Images.Media.ORIENTATION};
Cursor cur = managedQuery(imageUri, orientationColumn, null, null, null);
int orientation = -1;
if (cur != null && cur.moveToFirst()) {
orientation = cur.getInt(cur.getColumnIndex(orientationColumn[0]));
}
Matrix matrix = new Matrix();
matrix.postRotate(orientation);

It looks like the 'use landscape mode' suggestion is the only thing that really works. It seems that it's ok for this to be in either the manifest, or done via a call to setRequestedOrientation(ActivityInfo.SCREEN_ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE) in the activity onCreate.