Question

I am new to android app development so please any answers would be great with code examples.

My problem is this, I have to develop a camera app that streams mjpeg to a server.

Now I have successfully created the app for my Motorola Atrix and that works great. My problem is after I signed and exported that app and installed it on an HTC Thunderbolt for additional device testing, I found that it freezes when I try to call for the camera and the app crashes.

Since then I have tried every example/sample code for camera preview on the web and in these forums especially and I constantly get the same results. I get it to work on my Atrix but not on the thunderbolt.

When the app runs on the thunderbolt I get this:

07-01 16:11:12.643: D/AndroidRuntime(1140): Shutting down VM
07-01 16:11:12.643: W/dalvikvm(1140): threadid=1: thread exiting with uncaught exception (group=0x40015560)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140): java.lang.RuntimeException: Fail to connect to camera service
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.hardware.Camera.native_setup(Native Method)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.hardware.Camera.<init>(Camera.java:258)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.hardware.Camera.open(Camera.java:235)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at vcore.java.MainActivity.surfaceCreated(MainActivity.java:95)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.SurfaceView.updateWindow(SurfaceView.java:543)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.SurfaceView.dispatchDraw(SurfaceView.java:348)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:1644)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:1373)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:1644)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:1373)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.View.draw(View.java:6883)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.widget.FrameLayout.draw(FrameLayout.java:357)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewGroup.drawChild(ViewGroup.java:1646)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewGroup.dispatchDraw(ViewGroup.java:1373)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.View.draw(View.java:6883)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.widget.FrameLayout.draw(FrameLayout.java:357)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at com.android.internal.policy.impl.PhoneWindow$DecorView.draw(PhoneWindow.java:1862)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewRoot.draw(ViewRoot.java:1522)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewRoot.performTraversals(ViewRoot.java:1258)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.view.ViewRoot.handleMessage(ViewRoot.java:1859)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:123)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:3683)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:839)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:597)
07-01 16:11:12.653: E/AndroidRuntime(1140):     at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)

I emailed HTC themselves and they said they couldn’t help me at all so I figured I would try my luck here.

Does anyone know how to properly call the camera (for a camera preview) for an HTC Thunderbolt?

If you could provide code example I would be eternally grateful.

Just some examples of the things I have tried are:

https://stackoverflow.com/a/4798958/1195751

HTC Desire HD not accepts setParameter() with hardware.Camera This also didn’t work

Android: Camera Preview Orientation on HTC EVO (Android 2.1 or 2.2) Neither Did this

I have really tried everything to solve this but haven’t gotten anything to work so please, any solution to this problem would be extremely helpful.

UPDATE I already have the permissions set in my manifest

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="vcore.java"
    android:versionCode="1"
    android:versionName="1.0" >

    <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="8" />

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_MOCK_LOCATION"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS"></uses-permission>
    <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera" />
    <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.autofocus" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FLASHLIGHT"
    android:permissionGroup="android.permission-group.HARDWARE_CONTROLS"
    android:protectionLevel="normal"/>
    <uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.flash" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CHANGE_COMPONENT_ENABLED_STATE"></uses-permission>
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECORD_VIDEO"></uses-permission> 
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WAKE_LOCK" />

    <supports-screens
        android:largeScreens="true"   
        android:normalScreens="true"
        android:smallScreens="true"
        android:anyDensity="true" />

    <application
        android:icon="@drawable/logo"
        android:label="@string/app_name" >
        <activity
            android:label="@string/app_name"
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:screenOrientation="portrait" >
            <intent-filter >

                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />

            </intent-filter>
        </activity>

        <activity android:name=".PushCamera"
                  android:label="@string/app_name">

            <!--   android:screenOrientation="portrait"  -->
        </activity>
         <activity android:name="ImageDisplayActivity"></activity>
    </application>

</manifest>

UPDATE 2

public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
        try {
            if (mCamera != null) {
                try {
                    mCamera.stopPreview();
                } catch (Exception ignore) {
                }
                try {
                    mCamera.release();
                } catch (Exception ignore) {
                }
                mCamera = null;
            }

            mCamera = Camera.open();
            mCamera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            try {
                if (mCamera != null) {
                    try {
                        mCamera.stopPreview();
                    } catch (Exception ignore) {
                    }
                    try {
                        mCamera.release();
                    } catch (Exception ignore) {
                    }
                    mCamera = null;
                }
            } catch (Exception ignore) {

            }
        }
    }

    public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
        try {
            if (mCamera != null) {
                try {
                    mCamera.stopPreview();
                } catch (Exception ignore) {
                }
                try {
                    mCamera.release();
                } catch (Exception ignore) {
                }
                mCamera = null;
            }
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int w, int h) {
    Log.e(TAG, "surfaceChanged");
    try {
        Camera.Parameters parameters = mCamera.getParameters();
        try {
            List<Camera.Size> supportedSizes = null;
            //On older devices (<1.6) the following will fail
            //the camera will work nevertheless
            supportedSizes = parameters.getSupportedPreviewSizes();

            //preview form factor
            float ff = (float)w/h;
            Log.d("Mixare", "Screen res: w:"+ w + " h:" + h + " aspect ratio:" + ff);

            //holder for the best form factor and size
            float bff = 0;
            int bestw = 0;
            int besth = 0;
            Iterator<Camera.Size> itr = supportedSizes.iterator();

            //we look for the best preview size, it has to be the closest to the
            //screen form factor, and be less wide than the screen itself
            //the latter requirement is because the HTC Hero with update 2.1 will
            //report camera preview sizes larger than the screen, and it will fail
            //to initialize the camera
            //other devices could work with previews larger than the screen though
            while(itr.hasNext()) {
                Camera.Size element = itr.next();
                //current form factor
                float cff = (float)element.width/element.height;
                //check if the current element is a candidate to replace the best match so far
                //current form factor should be closer to the bff
                //preview width should be less than screen width
                //preview width should be more than current bestw
                //this combination will ensure that the highest resolution will win
                Log.d("Mixare", "Candidate camera element: w:"+ element.width + " h:" + element.height + " aspect ratio:" + cff);
                if ((ff-cff <= ff-bff) && (element.width <= w) && (element.width >= bestw)) {
                    bff=cff;
                    bestw = element.width;
                    besth = element.height;
                }
            } 
            Log.d("Mixare", "Chosen camera element: w:"+ bestw + " h:" + besth + " aspect ratio:" + bff);
            //Some Samsung phones will end up with bestw and besth = 0 because their minimum preview size is bigger then the screen size.
            //In this case, we use the default values: 480x320
            if ((bestw == 0) || (besth == 0)){
                Log.d("Mixare", "Using default camera parameters!");
                bestw = 480;
                besth = 320;
            }
            parameters.setPreviewSize(bestw, besth);
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            parameters.setPreviewSize(480 , 320);
        }

        mCamera.setParameters(parameters);
        mCamera.startPreview();
    } catch (Exception ex) {
        ex.printStackTrace();
    }

}

Answer 1

public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int w, int h) {



    if (isPreviewRunning) {
        camera.stopPreview();
    }
    try{
    Camera.Parameters p = camera.getParameters();
    if(p!=null){
    List<Size> sizes = p.getSupportedPreviewSizes();
    Size optimalSize = getOptimalPreviewSize(sizes, w, h);
    p.setPreviewSize(optimalSize.width, optimalSize.height);
    camera.setParameters(p);

    camera.setPreviewDisplay(holder);;
    camera.startPreview();

    }
    } catch (IOException e) {
        // TODO Auto-generated catch block


        e.printStackTrace();
    }

    isPreviewRunning = true;
}
private Size getOptimalPreviewSize(List<Size> sizes, int w, int h) {
    // TODO Auto-generated method stub
    final double ASPECT_TOLERANCE = 0.05;
    double targetRatio = (double) w / h;
    if (sizes == null) return null;

    Size optimalSize = null;
    double minDiff = Double.MAX_VALUE;

    int targetHeight = h;

    // Try to find an size match aspect ratio and size
    for (Size size : sizes) {
    double ratio = (double) size.width / size.height;
    if (Math.abs(ratio - targetRatio) > ASPECT_TOLERANCE) continue;
    if (Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight) < minDiff) {
    optimalSize = size;
    minDiff = Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight);
    }
    }

    // Cannot find the one match the aspect ratio, ignore the requirement
    if (optimalSize == null) {
    minDiff = Double.MAX_VALUE;
    for (Size size : sizes) {
    if (Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight) < minDiff) {
    optimalSize = size;
    minDiff = Math.abs(size.height - targetHeight);
    }
    }
    }
    return optimalSize;
}

Put this code in your surfaceChanged().
getOptimalPreviewSize() is used to set preview parameters according to device resolution.
So it will not crash when camera preview is opened.
Try this.
This works good for me in different devices.