loud environment video recording audio quality

[lvlonkey]

All previous generations of the galaxy phones I have had have terrible audio recording performance in loud environments like at a concert. I know the iphones are great at recording at concerts etc because it will actually adjust audio gain automatically. Has samsung finally fixed this? I currently have an s4 and I'm wondering if I want to get the s5.

 

[aooga]

All previous generations of the galaxy phones I have had have terrible audio recording performance in loud environments like at a concert. I know the iphones are great at recording at concerts etc because it will actually adjust audio gain automatically. Has samsung finally fixed this? I currently have an s4 and I'm wondering if I want to get the s5.

My phone doesn't record any sounds more than about 2 feet away. It's insanely annoying. I have no idea if this is a hardware problem or not, but I really don't feel like doing a warranty exchange for a refurb. To answer your question, the only phones that i've found to be really good in recording video are the HTC one (both m7 and m8) and Nokia Lumias. Nothing else comes close IMO.

 

[lvlonkey]

That is very unfortunate. I was hoping this issue would be resolved by now. I've had a Galaxy phone since the second one and they all have been terrible for recording in loud environments. My girlfriend's iphone does great and I think I've seen someone mention that the G3 doesn't have this issue either. I've been on the fence about a G3 or the S5. Hopefully some other users can chime in with their experience with the S5.

 

[aooga]

That is very unfortunate. I was hoping this issue would be resolved by now. I've had a Galaxy phone since the second one and they all have been terrible for recording in loud environments. My girlfriend's iphone does great and I think I've seen someone mention that the G3 doesn't have this issue either. I've been on the fence about a G3 or the S5. Hopefully some other users can chime in with their experience with the S5.

Don't just go by my phone. As I said, it's probably a hardware problem, but I don't want to exchange it since I'll be jumping soon anyway and don't want to deal with refurbs.

 

[fffft]

All previous generations of the galaxy phones I have had have terrible audio recording performance in loud environments like at a concert.

It wasn't clear whether you were looking for an audio app or a video app that has good audio performance as well. I'm sure that both exist, but I'll concentrate on the S5 audio since I rarely use the S5 for video myself.

Most android audio recording apps aim for ease of use. And as you've observed with decidedly mediocre performance. But the S5 is capable of results every bit the equal of IOS if you are careful in your selection of apps. The native UI still doesn't provide for auto gain, but you can add this capability with a recording app such as RecForge Pro.

The S5 has a secondary, noise canceling mic that can be set to operate in a directional pattern with good results. Better still would be using a higher quality, external directional mic, typically connected through the TRRS jack.

For the overachieving recording engineer, the ultimate approach is to use an outboard USB interface e.g. a Focusrite Forte or 2i2, with outboard ADC and preamps. This is a vast improvement over the dismal S5 ADC. The Forte for example has 192 Khz, 24 bit ADC conversion as well as decent mic preamps and XLR as well as TRS inputs.

An app like Audio Evolution Pro supports the USB interface and offers comprehensive soundboard controls e.g. level /EQ /mixing, et cetera as well as a non destructive, non linear editing suite.

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[aooga]

It wasn't clear whether you were looking for an audio app or a video app that has good audio performance as well. I'm sure that both exist, but I'll concentrate on the S5 audio since I rarely use the S5 for video myself.

Most android audio recording apps aim for ease of use. And as you've observed with decidedly mediocre performance. But the S5 is capable of results every bit the equal of IOS if you are careful in your selection of apps. The native UI still doesn't provide for auto gain, but you can add this capability with a recording app such as RecForge Pro.

The S5 has a secondary, noise canceling mic that can be set to operate in a directional pattern with good results. Better still would be using a higher quality, external directional mic, typically connected through the TRRS jack.

For the overachieving recording engineer, the ultimate approach is to use an outboard USB interface e.g. a Focusrite Forte or 2i2, with outboard ADC and preamps. This is a vast improvement over the dismal S5 ADC. The Forte for example has 192 Khz, 24 bit ADC conversion as well as decent mic preamps and XLR as well as TRS inputs.

An app like Audio Evolution Pro supports the USB interface and offers comprehensive soundboard controls e.g. level /EQ /mixing, et cetera as well as a non destructive, non linear editing suite.

.

The fact that you can do this is great, but I'm sure the OP just wanted to use the phone to record...no external mics or anything. For that the S5 is pretty poor IMO.

 

[fffft]

The fact that you can do this is great, but I'm sure the OP just wanted to use the phone to record...no external mics or anything. For that the S5 is pretty poor IMO.

No doubt. The key point to the OP is probably the confirmation that the S5 can equal an iPhone with the internal mics and a good app. You may not think that a high level, but he cited Apple and it was a relevant comparison for him.

The rest was added incentive if he happened to be an audiophile. Or alternately may be of interest to others who read the thread.

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[lvlonkey]

It wasn't clear whether you were looking for an audio app or a video app that has good audio performance as well. I'm sure that both exist, but I'll concentrate on the S5 audio since I rarely use the S5 for video myself.

Most android audio recording apps aim for ease of use. And as you've observed with decidedly mediocre performance. But the S5 is capable of results every bit the equal of IOS if you are careful in your selection of apps. The native UI still doesn't provide for auto gain, but you can add this capability with a recording app such as RecForge Pro.

The S5 has a secondary, noise canceling mic that can be set to operate in a directional pattern with good results. Better still would be using a higher quality, external directional mic, typically connected through the TRRS jack.

For the overachieving recording engineer, the ultimate approach is to use an outboard USB interface e.g. a Focusrite Forte or 2i2, with outboard ADC and preamps. This is a vast improvement over the dismal S5 ADC. The Forte for example has 192 Khz, 24 bit ADC conversion as well as decent mic preamps and XLR as well as TRS inputs.

An app like Audio Evolution Pro supports the USB interface and offers comprehensive soundboard controls e.g. level /EQ /mixing, et cetera as well as a non destructive, non linear editing suite.

.

That is fantastic that is is capable of doing that. However, I am more focused on the video recording aspect and how the audio sounds in videos that are recorded from the S5. I know there are apps capable of controlling audio gain while recording, but I don't think I've found something suitable for controlling audio gain while recording video. Being able to record HD video in a concert is great, but it gets ruined when the audio is terrible. I have been looking for a suitable solution for my S4 but so far the closest thing is manually adjusting the gain values in certain files.

 

[fffft]

I am more focused on the video recording aspect and how the audio sounds in videos that are recorded from the S5.

A search shows a number of threads on the subject. One of the guys doing HQ mods to the stock camera implied that he would do what you want if he knew how. I don't know if there is a flag to toggle, or API to adjust, the audio AGC. Other than the dozen or so people that have posted on the subject, there is little apparent interest in video audio quality.

Note that it isn't that AGC is missing, it's that it is insanely aggressive and doesn't cope well with loud environments. We also see a handful of reports to the contrary, saying that the S5 handles concert SPL's just fine e.g. here.

Based on some quick tests, I'm skeptical about that claim. At least with the internal mikes. I set up a 95 dbC source (Magneplanar 1.7 @ 3 m, 95 dbC, slow weighted average) and the S5 didn't cope well at all with the internal mikes.

However it worked fine with external mikes where it appears that the AGC is disabled.

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