Develop Reference

byte[] to image using Xamarin.Android

I know, this is an old question, but I've got problems with encoding a byte[] into a bitmap...
Background: I'm writing an Andoid-App which receives picturebytes via UDP, encodes them into a bitmap and displays the picture in an image view.
Since my functions didn't work, I cancelled the UDP-Connection for testing and wrote all the image-bytes in a huge variable. So they're all correct...
The function returns "null".
The function I'm using:
public Bitmap ByteArrayToImage(byte[] imageData)
{
var bmpOutput = BitmapFactory.DecodeByteArray(imageData, 0, imageData.Length);
return bmpOutput;
}
another function I tried out:
public Bitmap ByteArrayToImage2(byte[] imageData)
{
Bitmap bmpReturn;
bmpReturn = (Android.Graphics.Bitmap) Android.Graphics.Bitmap.FromArray<byte>(imageData);
return bmpReturn;
}
A function I found in the internet:
public static Bitmap bytesToUIImage (byte[] bytes)
{
if (bytes == null)
return null;
Bitmap bitmap;
var documentsFolder = Environment.GetFolderPath (Environment.SpecialFolder.Personal);
//Create a folder for the images if not exists
System.IO.Directory.CreateDirectory(System.IO.Path.Combine (documentsFolder, "images"));
string imatge = System.IO.Path.Combine (documents, "images", "image.jpg");
System.IO.File.WriteAllBytes(imatge, bytes.Concat(new Byte[]{(byte)0xD9}).ToArray());
bitmap = BitmapFactory.DecodeFile(imatge);
return bitmap;
}
Most unfortunately, the last function didn't work as well, but here I have do admit, that I was a bit confused about the 'documents' in
string imatge = System.IO.Path.Combine (documents, "images", "image.jpg");
I got an error and changed it into documentsFolder since i guess, that should (or could) be right....
Thank you in advance for your help

it seems, I found the error...
I stored the public Bitmap ByteArrayToImage(byte[] imageData) in another class. I don't know why, but when I decode the Bytearray in the class that also receives the array, all works fine...
If someone knows the reason, feel welcome to let me know, but for now I'm happy ;-)

I did something similar
On sender side:
Camera.Parameters parameters = camera.getParameters();
if (parameters.getPreviewFormat() == ImageFormat.NV21) {
Rect rect = new Rect(0, 0, parameters.getPreviewSize().width, parameters.getPreviewSize().height);
YuvImage yuvimage = new YuvImage(data, ImageFormat.NV21, parameters.getPreviewSize().width, parameters.getPreviewSize().height, null);
ByteArrayOutputStream os = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
yuvimage.compressToJpeg(rect, 75, os);
byte[] videoFrame = os.toByteArray();
//send the video frame to reciever
}
On receiving side:
DataInputStream dIn = new DataInputStream(socket.getInputStream());
int length = 0;
length = dIn.readInt();
if (length > 0) {
byte[] message = new byte[length];
dIn.readFully(message, 0, message.length);
BitmapFactory.Options options = new BitmapFactory.Options();
options.inSampleSize = 4;
final Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(message, 0, message.length, options);
ReceiverActivity.this.runOnUiThread(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
imgPreview.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
}
});

There is a built in method to decode a byte array into a bitmap. The problem comes when we are talking of big images. With small ones you can use:
Bitmap bmp = BitmapFactory.DecodeByteArray (data, 0, data.length);
Be aware. Those bitmaps are not mutable, so you will not be able to use canvases on those. To make them mutable go to: BitmapFactory.decodeResource returns a mutable Bitmap in Android 2.2 and an immutable Bitmap in Android 1.6

Image Size getting Smaller after Converting to Bytes

In my android application i want to convert image into byte array and encode into string so that i can save it on database. But after compressing image it's size becomes too small..i want to keep original size.. please help me..
final Bitmap image=(images.get(position));
ByteArrayOutputStream bytes = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
image.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.PNG, 100, bytes);
byte[] b = bytes.toByteArray();
encodedImageString = Base64.encodeToString(b, Base64.DEFAULT);

You can use the following to store it in the database without compression:
Bitmap bitmap; // obtain bitmap object
int size = bitmap.getRowBytes() * bitmap.getHeight();
ByteBuffer b = ByteBuffer.allocate(size);
bitmap.copyPixelsToBuffer(b);
byte[] bytes = new byte[size];
b.get(bytes, 0, bytes.length);
Then you can store bytes in the database.

How to convert Image into Byte Array in Android

I am facing one real issue. I need to convert image into byte array format, so that I can upload the byte array into web server. I have tried a lot however its not working. I am also getting negative values for byte array. I am not sure what i am doing wrong to take byte values in array.
Below is my code. Please help me what i am doing wrong?
Bitmap bmp = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(), R.drawable.home_menu_icon);
ByteArrayOutputStream bos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
bmp.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.JPEG, 100, bos);
byte[] data = bos.toByteArray();

Here i show code for both if your image is from GALLERY and CAMERA
if (requestCode == IMAGE_PICKER_REQUEST && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
fileName = getRealPathFromURI(data.getData());
try {
if (bitmap != null) {
bitmap.recycle();
}
InputStream stream = getContentResolver().openInputStream(
data.getData());
bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeStream(stream);
stream.close();
image.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
//picNameText.setText("Selected: en"
// + getStringNameFromRealPath(fileName));
ByteArrayOutputStream stream1 = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
bitmap.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.PNG, 100, stream1);
imageInByte = stream1.toByteArray();
}catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
if (requestCode == IMAGE_TAKER_REQUEST && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
Bitmap photo = (Bitmap) data.getExtras().get("data");
image.setImageBitmap(photo);
ByteArrayOutputStream stream2 = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
photo.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.PNG, 100, stream2);
imageInByte = stream2.toByteArray();
}
enjoy it work for me.....

Try following code.
int bytes = bitmap.getByteCount();
//Create a new buffer
ByteBuffer buffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(bytes);
//Move the byte data to the buffer
b.copyPixelsToBuffer(buffer);
byte[] array = buffer.array();

A 32-bit Bitmap use a int32 to save a ARGB color, and we can use a
int array to represent a bitmap. Using Bitmap.getPixels() and
Bitmap.setPixels() to convert a Bitmap to int array and vise
verse. And a int array can be easily convert to byte array.
#Chintan Rathod also show a good solution by using Bitmap.copyPixelsToBuffer(), nearly the same with the first one.
Since your goal is to upload the bitmap to server, send a compressed
file is the best solution. Your code is just doing the right thing.
You said that you are getting negative values in byte array, which
is not an error. Just upload the byte array to server and save it as
a jpeg file.

A 32-bit Bitmap use a int32 to save a ARGB color, and we can use a int array to represent a bitmap. Using Bitmap.getPixels() and Bitmap.setPixels() to convert a Bitmap to int array and vise verse. And a int array can be easily convert to byte array.

Decode large base64 string

I have created a base64 string from a picture on the SD card using this(below) code, and it works but when I try to decode it (even further below) I get a java.lang.outOfMemoryException, presumably because I am not splitting the string into a reasonable size before I decode it as I am before I encode it.
byte fileContent[] = new byte[3000];
StringBuilder b = new StringBuilder();
try{
FileInputStream fin = new FileInputStream(sel);
while(fin.read(fileContent) >= 0) {
b.append(Base64.encodeToString(fileContent, Base64.DEFAULT));
}
}catch(IOException e){
}
The above code works well, but the problem comes when I try to decode the image with the following code;
byte[] imageAsBytes = Base64.decode(img.getBytes(), Base64.DEFAULT);
ImageView image = (ImageView)this.findViewById(R.id.ImageView);
image.setImageBitmap(
BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(imageAsBytes, 0, imageAsBytes.length)
);
I have tried this way too
byte[] b = Base64.decode(img, Base64.DEFAULT);
Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(b, 0, b.length);
image.setImageBitmap(bitmap);
Now I assume that I need to split the string up into sections like my image encoding code, but I have no clue how to go about doing it.

You need decode the image in Background thread like AsyncTask
or
you need reduce your image quality using BitmapFactory .
Example:
BitmapFactory.Options options = new BitmapFactory.Options();
options.inSampleSize = 2;
options.inPurgeable=true;
Bitmap bm = BitmapFactory.decodeFile("Your image exact loaction",options);
ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
bm.compress(Bitmap.CompressFormat.JPEG, 100, baos); //bm is the bitmap object
byte[] b = baos.toByteArray();
String encodedImage = Base64.encodeToString(b, Base64.DEFAULT);

You have two problem
base64 encoding requires much more space. 3 bytes convert to 4 chars (Factor 8/3)
you read the whole file at once
in same way your first approach solved this issues. So just use that version
By that way, why are you using decodeByteArray and not decodeFile

You might try to decode to a temporary file and create image from that file.
As to base64, it is 6 bits per character, or 6x4=24 bits=3 bytes per 4 characters.
So if you take 4 characters of base64, you will not break the corresponding 3 bytes.
That is, you may split the base64-encoded data at character indices that are a multiple of 4.

Android: BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray gives pixelated bitmap

I am working on an Android app that displays photos which are downloaded from Flickr. I obtain a bitmap object from a byte array, which in turn is read from the relevant Flickr URL, as follows:
BitmapFactory.Options opt = new BitmapFactory.Options();
opt.inDither = true;
opt.inPreferredConfig = Bitmap.Config.ARGB_8888;
Bitmap bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(data, 0, data.length, opt);
I then draw the bitmap onto a canvas in the onDraw method of a View object:
Paint paint = new Paint(Paint.ANTI_ALIAS_FLAG | Paint.FILTER_BITMAP_FLAG);
canvas.drawBitmap(bitmap, 0, 0, paint);
The problem is that the resulting picture is pixelated and I can't figure out why; I have tried a number of variations of the opt and paint objects with no luck. The difference between the picture displayed in my app and the picture at the original URL is roughly demonstrated by the following:
Bad image, see pixelation in top left corner http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/s0677975/bad.jpg
Good picture, this is the expected result http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/s0677975/good.jpg
Look e.g. at the clouds in the top-left corner to see the difference.
Note that JPEG pictures which are loaded from the project resources and drawn in a similar way display just fine, i.e. have no pixelation.
Can anybody give me a hint as to why this is happening?
To elaborate a little, the byte array is obtained from Flickr as follows; this is based on code from the Photostream app by Romain Guy:
InputStream in = new BufferedInputStream(url.openStream(), IO_BUFFER_SIZE);
final ByteArrayOutputStream dataStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
out = new BufferedOutputStream(dataStream, IO_BUFFER_SIZE);
copy(in, out);
out.flush();
final byte[] data = dataStream.toByteArray();
PS: I also posted a variant of this question on the android.developer Google group.
Thanks a lot for your suggestion -- now I am really puzzled! I did as you suggested and found that the image resulting directly from the downloaded byte array is indeed pixelated. However, this is downloaded from exactly the same URL which, when accessed on my computer, is NOT pixelated. Here is the corresponding Flickr URL:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2678/4315351421_54e8cdb8e5.jpg
Even stranger, when I run the same app in the simulator rather than on my phone (a HTC Hero), there is no pixelation.
How on earth is this possible?
Below is the code I use for loading a bitmap from a URL -- it is based on the Photostream app by Romain Guy, and it incorporates Will's suggestion to write the raw byte array to file:
Bitmap loadPhotoBitmap(URL url) {
Bitmap bitmap = null;
InputStream in = null;
BufferedOutputStream out = null;
try {
FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream("/sdcard/photo-tmp.jpg");
BufferedOutputStream bfs = new BufferedOutputStream(fos);
in = new BufferedInputStream(url.openStream(),
IO_BUFFER_SIZE);
final ByteArrayOutputStream dataStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
out = new BufferedOutputStream(dataStream, IO_BUFFER_SIZE);
copy(in, out);
out.flush();
final byte[] data = dataStream.toByteArray();
bfs.write(data, 0, data.length);
bfs.flush();
BitmapFactory.Options opt = new BitmapFactory.Options();
bitmap = BitmapFactory.decodeByteArray(data, 0, data.length, opt);
} catch (IOException e) {
android.util.Log.e(LOG_TAG, "Could not load photo: " + this, e);
} finally {
closeStream(in);
closeStream(out)
closeStream(bfs);
}
return bitmap;
}
private static void copy(InputStream in, OutputStream out) throws IOException {
byte[] b = new byte[IO_BUFFER_SIZE];
int read;
while ((read = in.read(b)) != -1) {
out.write(b, 0, read);
}
}
private static void closeStream(Closeable stream) {
if (stream != null) {
try {
stream.close();
} catch (IOException e) {
android.util.Log.e(LOG_TAG, "Could not close stream", e);
}
}
}
Am I going crazy here?
Best,
Michael.

Ok, so I finally get it: it appears that my mobile network does image compression to save bandwidth.
Hence a picture downloaded from my phone is of lower quality than the same picture downloaded from my computer.
That's a bummer for my app, but I don't suppose there is anything I can do about it. Sigh.
Thanks again for your input though!
Best,
Michael.

Write the raw bytes fetched from the URL to /sdcard/tmp.jpg, and view on your PC.
JPEG images are compressed in 8x8 (or 16x16) tiles. The 'pixelation' as you describe it is actually in these tiles, suggesting that the 'bad' image is a JPEG that is more aggressively compressed than the other.
So I'd anticipate that the actual issue is that the image being downloaded is a very low-quality version, e.g. one intended for thumbnailing/preview use-cases.

Some version of Android have a bug in Bitmap class and convert the Bitmap to RGB_565 upon some operations. This would manifest itself in artifacts similar to those on your picture. This would also explain the banding of the blue sky.
Also, have in mind that android attempts to "optimize" image by converting them to rgb_565 upon loading and even compiling in resource files. Take a look at:
http://android.nakatome.net/2010/04/bitmap-basics.html