How can I record a Video in my Android App.?

Question

How can I capture a video recording on Android?

Answer 1

For the benefit of searchers, this example will give you an active preview, with a start/stop button for recording. It was modified from this android blog and seems fairly reliable.

java class (VideoWithSurfaceVw)

package <>;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
import java.util.Date;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.hardware.Camera;
import android.media.CamcorderProfile;
import android.media.MediaRecorder;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.view.SurfaceHolder;
import android.view.SurfaceView;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.FrameLayout;
import android.widget.Toast;

public class VideoWithSurfaceVw extends Activity{

    // Adapted from http://sandyandroidtutorials.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/android-video-capture-tutorial.html


    private Camera myCamera;
    private MyCameraSurfaceView myCameraSurfaceView;
    private MediaRecorder mediaRecorder;

    Button myButton;
    SurfaceHolder surfaceHolder;
    boolean recording;

    /** Called when the activity is first created. */
    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        recording = false;

        setContentView(R.layout.activity_video_with_surface_vw);

        //Get Camera for preview
        myCamera = getCameraInstance();
        if(myCamera == null){
            Toast.makeText(VideoWithSurfaceVw.this,
                    "Fail to get Camera",
                    Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
        }

        myCameraSurfaceView = new MyCameraSurfaceView(this, myCamera);
        FrameLayout myCameraPreview = (FrameLayout)findViewById(R.id.videoview);
        myCameraPreview.addView(myCameraSurfaceView);

        myButton = (Button)findViewById(R.id.mybutton);
        myButton.setOnClickListener(myButtonOnClickListener);
    }

    Button.OnClickListener myButtonOnClickListener
            = new Button.OnClickListener(){

        @Override
        public void onClick(View v) {
            // TODO Auto-generated method stub

            try{
                if(recording){
                    // stop recording and release camera
                    mediaRecorder.stop();  // stop the recording
                    releaseMediaRecorder(); // release the MediaRecorder object

                    //Exit after saved
                    //finish();
                    myButton.setText("REC");
                    recording = false;
                }else{

                    //Release Camera before MediaRecorder start
                    releaseCamera();

                    if(!prepareMediaRecorder()){
                        Toast.makeText(VideoWithSurfaceVw.this,
                                "Fail in prepareMediaRecorder()!\n - Ended -",
                                Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
                        finish();
                    }

                    mediaRecorder.start();
                    recording = true;
                    myButton.setText("STOP");
                }
            }catch (Exception ex){
                ex.printStackTrace();
            }
        }};

    private Camera getCameraInstance(){
        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
        Camera c = null;
        try {
            c = Camera.open(); // attempt to get a Camera instance
        }
        catch (Exception e){
            // Camera is not available (in use or does not exist)
        }
        return c; // returns null if camera is unavailable
    }

    private String getFileName_CustomFormat() {
        SimpleDateFormat sdfDate = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH_mm_ss");
        Date now = new Date();
        String strDate = sdfDate.format(now);
        return strDate;
    }


    private boolean prepareMediaRecorder(){
        myCamera = getCameraInstance();
        mediaRecorder = new MediaRecorder();

        myCamera.unlock();
        mediaRecorder.setCamera(myCamera);

        mediaRecorder.setAudioSource(MediaRecorder.AudioSource.CAMCORDER);
        mediaRecorder.setVideoSource(MediaRecorder.VideoSource.CAMERA);

        mediaRecorder.setProfile(CamcorderProfile.get(CamcorderProfile.QUALITY_HIGH));



        mediaRecorder.setOutputFile("/sdcard/" + getFileName_CustomFormat() + ".mp4");
        //mediaRecorder.setOutputFile("/sdcard/myvideo1.mp4");
        mediaRecorder.setMaxDuration(60000); // Set max duration 60 sec.
        mediaRecorder.setMaxFileSize(50000000); // Set max file size 50M

        mediaRecorder.setPreviewDisplay(myCameraSurfaceView.getHolder().getSurface());

        try {
            mediaRecorder.prepare();
        } catch (IllegalStateException e) {
            releaseMediaRecorder();
            return false;
        } catch (IOException e) {
            releaseMediaRecorder();
            return false;
        }
        return true;

    }

    @Override
    protected void onPause() {
        super.onPause();
        releaseMediaRecorder();       // if you are using MediaRecorder, release it first
        releaseCamera();              // release the camera immediately on pause event
    }

    private void releaseMediaRecorder(){
        if (mediaRecorder != null) {
            mediaRecorder.reset();   // clear recorder configuration
            mediaRecorder.release(); // release the recorder object
            mediaRecorder = new MediaRecorder();
            myCamera.lock();           // lock camera for later use
        }
    }

    private void releaseCamera(){
        if (myCamera != null){
            myCamera.release();        // release the camera for other applications
            myCamera = null;
        }
    }

    public class MyCameraSurfaceView extends SurfaceView implements SurfaceHolder.Callback{

        private SurfaceHolder mHolder;
        private Camera mCamera;

        public MyCameraSurfaceView(Context context, Camera camera) {
            super(context);
            mCamera = camera;

            // Install a SurfaceHolder.Callback so we get notified when the
            // underlying surface is created and destroyed.
            mHolder = getHolder();
            mHolder.addCallback(this);
            // deprecated setting, but required on Android versions prior to 3.0
            mHolder.setType(SurfaceHolder.SURFACE_TYPE_PUSH_BUFFERS);
        }

        @Override
        public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int weight,
                                   int height) {
            // If your preview can change or rotate, take care of those events here.
            // Make sure to stop the preview before resizing or reformatting it.

            if (mHolder.getSurface() == null){
                // preview surface does not exist
                return;
            }

            // stop preview before making changes
            try {
                mCamera.stopPreview();
            } catch (Exception e){
                // ignore: tried to stop a non-existent preview
            }

            // make any resize, rotate or reformatting changes here

            // start preview with new settings
            try {
                mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(mHolder);
                mCamera.startPreview();

            } catch (Exception e){
            }
        }

        @Override
        public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
            // TODO Auto-generated method stub
            // The Surface has been created, now tell the camera where to draw the preview.
            try {
                mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
                mCamera.startPreview();
            } catch (IOException e) {
            }
        }

        @Override
        public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
            // TODO Auto-generated method stub

        }
    }
}

activity (activity_video_with_surface_vw)