Is there a way to get the audio portion of the video record from a different source than the devices standard microphone? When I record a session, the audio records the clicking noises from inside the steering column (from the turn signal mechanicals.) I have a bluetooth earpiece, and I can hear the engine and other interesting things, like track personnel, and it would be much more interesting than what the standard microphone will get.
I am trying to figure this out as well. I made a post a few weeks ago and no response yet. I searched everywhere on the internet and nothing. I have an Android phone. If I plug in an external microphone it will not record from the attached microphone and continues to record from the phone's microphone. I tested the microphone with an app and it works.
Also, If I try to use the microphone app while using Track Addict it says: "Video Recording appears to have failed!", and won't record a video.
So my question is, how does one get an external microphone that is plugged into the phone to record audio from the external microphone using TrackAddict on an Android phone? Is this possible?
I'll take a guess, but TA uses the standard video recording, which gets its audio from the internal microphone, so it would take a bit of programming to get the OS to sample the audio from a different source. So it ought to be possible, although I haven't looked into the code needed to do it. My Android skills aren't that far along.
That makes sense, and thank you for the response. Weston: Can you confirm this? Is there no way to record the audio from an attached microphone using TrackAddict?
I see guys running external mics to the outside of their car, to the rear, to eliminate wind noise and capture the exhaust sound. How are they doing this? Do you need to use a GoPro or separate camera for this?
Do you really need the exhaust recording to figure lap times & performance?
No, of course not. Still just trying to find out the answer.
Last edited by Mordeth; 03-23-2017 at 06:34 AM.
I've been researching this, and while Android does give us several audio options when recording a video, some are a bit vague and it does not designate any of them as being from a bluetooth headset or a wired microphone via the headphone jack. I believe our best shot at this would be with a wired microphone via the headphone jack, although some phones have their jacks wired differently than others, and the results would likely vary between phone models in general.
I'll try to find some time to experiment with these a bit on Friday using a couple different phones, and will update with my findings...
Good news: The TrackAddict 3.4.6 update for Android will add an option on the "More Options" screen, so that you can choose the preferred audio source for your video recordings. It should be available from the Google Play Store within the next 24 hours...
The default option remains as it has always been, and will use the system-determined most optimal microphone for shooting video. On many phones, this may already automatically use an external microphone whenever one is plugged in via the headphone jack, but that behavior apparently varies between phone models. So, we're adding an "AUX Input" option to help handle those cases... That should use the audio from an external microphone if one is plugged in via the headphone jack, otherwise it will automatically fall back to using an internal microphone, however this option might not use the most optimal internal microphone available in that case. So that's why this is implemented as a user option, rather than simply changing the code for everyone.
For users of the iOS version of TrackAddict, there is no change and no new user option for this, because it should automatically use the audio from an external microphone when plugged in via the headphone jack. iOS tends to give us less direct control over this stuff and just chooses the optimal audio source automatically.
As for Bluetooth audio input, that's more of an unknown at this point, as it hasn't been tested or specifically developed here, and I would expect some different behavior between different phone models. For best results, I would use a wired microphone that's compatible with your phone's headphone jack.
Thanks!
It worked with my BT earpiece. Then I tried the BT speaker, and it worked with that too. That's good, because my tablet only has a headphone jack. I hope it was much of a bother to code it.
As usual, you are the best.
I just downloaded the new version and tested it using my external mic. Works flawlessly!!!! Thank you very much for this update, I really appreciate it. All I did was plug the mic in, select the AUX input next to Audio and voila!! Works perfect now.
Thanks again!!
I'm just wondering, but is there a way to turn up the gain on a BT earpiece? In a quiet room the audio recorded from my earpiece (and BT speaker) was not all that loud, so if you could make the audio from the microphone louder, you could hear the sound, say in a bar or restaurant, after a session. If you turn up the volume on an earpiece, does that also make the recorded audio louder?
Last edited by guitarZ; 03-30-2017 at 08:10 PM.
So now I'm thinking of using the earpiece as a remote microphone to listen in on things. Is there a way to use the earpiece like a bug to listen in on the baby's room?
He gave us exactly what we asked for. No idea what you are talking about regarding bugging your babies room. Turn up the volume using the volume button. The recording I took was plenty loud for me using my plugged in mic.
Unfortunately, I'm not seeing a direct way to set the audio recording volume on Android... It would seem to be up to the hardware and/or system, as we are only given limited control over the audio source, and apparently not any parameters within that.
I did some searching, into applications and system settings, to see if there is a way to increase the gain of the audio from a bluetooth microphone, and there isn't a way to do that. Maybe some android phones have some kind of gain setting, but a tablet doesn't, which is obvious (tablet manufacturers don't expect you to use an earpiece with a tablet.) I even looked into small bluetooth microphones, like a lapel microphone, and they either don't exist, or are extremely expensive (over $100.)
So if you are interested in recording sound from the auxiliary source, the best thing to use would be some kind of bluetooth earpiece or sports headphone. Even then it's not really designed to receive sound in a good way, since it has a tiny microphone hole.
Weston,Originally Posted by Weston@HPTuners
Hi. Marco here. you and i have spoken via email a few times. i had reached out to you a few weeks ago regarding adding "external mic" as an option and referenced this post. i just had a chance to check and see that you have added that feature. i must say that i am extremely impressed with your method of being hands-on with all of us and working on our specific issues. thank you so much for this. this was the last bit i needed to have my "setup" for my car.
I've been trying out some bluetooth headsets to see how the sound comes over. Te AUX input for audio works fine. Apparently, the microphones on Bluetooth headsets are not very good, or they all have a noise-cancelling feature built-in. So what you will hear on the tablet, (or even on good PC speakers) is more like a drone than the engine, even if you locate the microphone behind the vehicle, like people do when they video the exhaust pipe.
So I would ask everyone, if there is a decent bluetooth microphone available, at not too much a cost, that has a wide frequency range and without noise-canceling. Because of the popularity of the bluetooth headsets for smartphones, I presumed that you could get a collar-clip-on type of microphone, like the kind you use on TV sets.
"Devices such as Bluetooth headsets emit wireless microwave radiation. Microwave signals have shorter wavelengths and a rapid rate of oscillation which enables them to carry information over long distances without wires. Their short wavelength and rapid oscillation also helps them to penetrate living tissues down to the cellular level. Soviet Russia used this characteristic of microwave signals against U.S. when it developed dangerous weapons in 1950s. These weapons caused leukemia in people. This indicates that even microwave radiations used in wireless communication can cause severe health damages. Microwave radiations from Bluetooth devices cause biological changes in body. These biological changes take place at cellular level and can transmit to offspring via DNA and RNA."
What is your point? Bluetooth devices should be prohibited or not used near the body? What about carrying your cell phone in your pants-pocket or shirt-pocket? Will people using a bluetooth earpiece develop brain cancer?
In this case, we are using bluetooth as a way to receive sound from an auxiliary source- a microphone of some kind.
I'm spreading awareness about the dangers of bluetooth here, since a bunch of posts were about using bluetooth devices (including one of yours about keeping it near a baby)..
Most people don't know about it (the radiation/danger) or are ignorant about it.. like smokers who think they won't get lung cancer or those constantly using tanning beds thinking they'll never get skin cancer...
It's even worse in cars btw ("Faraday cage effect").
Do you have a problem with that / me trying to keep you and your family healthy? If so, why?
Oh yeah and keeping your phone on you is also bad.. and speaking of babies, it lowers your sperm count/quality.
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