Add video support about alibi

[Myzel394]

I'll definitely add that! I'm currently adding this, but it seems as if background video recording is quite complex. So video recording will come, but it will take some time :/

[Myzel394]

Aaaaaall right guys, finally, after a way too long wait I'm very close to add video support to Alibi! You can already try out a debug build here! (Download the zip, extract it and install app-universal-debug.apk) There are still some bugs here and there, which I want to fix before publishing the update. However, I'm sure I'll be able to resolve them within this year! :)
I'd be very happy if you already try out the debug build and tell me what you like / what you don't like / what bugs you encounter / what's missing etc.

And thanks for all your patience, I'm very happy to finally find a solution to this!

[aha999]

That's great! Having a background video recording would make it the best opensource dashcam app!

[Myzel394]

@ovizii I'm working on adding video support. Unfortunately, this seems to be much harder than expected and I'm quite busy personally, so it'll take some time for me to implement it :/

[ovizii]

The current description is:

Use your phone as a dashcam and save the last 30 minutes when you need it.

How can it act as a dashcam without video recording? Cam is short for camera and not for audiorecorder 😅

[ovizii]

I understand, I was just joking about the "dashcam feature" as I was looking left and right to find the video feature :-)
You'll get to it when you get to it I guess.

[Myzel394]

@Simplenuity thank you very much, this is very kind of you. I was able to read the code, unfortunately, it uses a very old API which shouldn't be used according to the docs :/ However, I might fallback to it as @google offers like no usable docs for their new APIs :(

[ovizii]

I'm not so sure about that, I mean that is the whole point of this app and its in the name “alibi”.

There are cases where your presence must be concealed. Alibi’s role is to document real facts through multimedia evidence.

Alibi does not necessarily have to add more information.

Close your house they deal drugs. You just need to send a video to the nearest police station. Also anonymously. There are hundreds of similar situations, in which the sender must remain anonymous in order not to risk their own safety.

I understand your point. I was simply seeing it from a different perspective: seeing that an alibi is defined as "a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, especially a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place." I thought that without the involved metadata (or having it cleaned out of the file) it wouldn't count as evidence.

Just my 2c, I do not refute the points you are making as the use case you describe is obviously also legit. I guess it's up to the author of the app to decide. :-)

[Simplenuity]

I'd leave it in the responsibility of the user.

If not too much work to implement an ON/OFF option, like many camera apps provide, I'd opt for this.

As mentioned, it's possible to remove the metadata in case it's necessary for security reasons. But having it can add a lot of value and if it's "only" for personal use, i.e. not for legal reasons, like mapping the video to a map.

If someone is not aware of metadata being possibly saved, then it would also apply to other apps (esp. camera) and the general use of GPS. Then this user has a more general problem - and esp. the need to educate himself about the technology he's using. With the decision to use a technology comes the responsibility of knowing (on a user level) how to use it in a safe & secure way. Am aware of that society is heading into a different direction...

[flibble-err]

Android 13 here and it works fine - recording, switching to another app, switching back and i am able to save without issues.

[Jammmmm]

@Jammmmm and @Simplenuity does this only happen on old devicees or did you also face this on new devices?

Unfortunately I only have access to an old device so I couldn't say.

[Simplenuity]

@Myzel394, no prob at all reg. long discussion. It's part of software development, needing persistence and sometimes many steps...

I'll get back to you asap

[Myzel394]

@pabloscloud I created a development version which you can already try out (see https://github.com/Myzel394/Alibi/actions/runs/7378563060/artifacts/1141958786)

[pabloscloud]

All good 😁 love the design already!

[Simplenuity]

@Myzel394, I know it's a different language, but the code might still give you some hints for implementation?
https://github.com/woheller69/timelapsecamera
I haven't tested the app yet, but according to the description it "records time lapse videos in the background with the screen turned off"

[serrq]

No metadata in the output file. So when one has to share a video with strangers no data are provided about the device or geoposition where it has been recorded. Security reason (think politicians or journalist in dangerous countries). This concern the audio recording too.

[ovizii]

No metadata in the output file. So when one has to share a video with strangers no data are provided about the device or geoposition where it has been recorded. Security reason (think politicians or journalist in dangerous countries). This concern the audio recording too.

I'm not so sure about that, I mean that is the whole point of this app and its in the name “alibi”.

[serrq]

I'm not so sure about that, I mean that is the whole point of this app and its in the name “alibi”.

There are cases where your presence must be concealed. Alibi’s role is to document real facts through multimedia evidence.

Alibi does not necessarily have to add more information.

Close your house they deal drugs. You just need to send a video to the nearest police station. Also anonymously. There are hundreds of similar situations, in which the sender must remain anonymous in order not to risk their own safety.

[serrq]

The metadata only adds details about the device that generated the file and possibly the geographical location that this had at the time of registration.

It doesn’t seem like a great advantage for the user and they can be even edited/deleted in post production.

For these reasons you cannot prove with metadata that it was you and that it was someone else, since they are editable.

The proof, however, as such, remains a proof, even if no one knows who generated it and what metadata it brings with it.

[Myzel394]

I thought that without the involved metadata (or having it cleaned out of the file) it wouldn't count as evidence.

I'm not a lawyer but I'd be surprised if it wouldn't. So my assumption is: If the app processes the file in a deterministic way, it shouldn't be a reason to exclude it as evidence. There are also other apps like the builtin Google Camera app that also postprocess an image (for example to use AI to enhance the image), and I've never heard that this is a reason for it being no evidence.

I won't add extra metadata intentionally because of the reason @serrq said. It would do more harm if we expose someone "accidentally" via metadata than it is to not have enough information available to condemn someone. I also think that the latter scenario is very very unlikely as a person would probably be able to remember at least roughly where they recorded something.

Aaaand lastly, of course I also hope that Alibi never needs to be presented in court and there are no more crimes in the world :)

[serrq]

Why do you don't name your app "black box"? Like the airplane black box.

[Jammmmm]

Just today I thought my phone isn't really doing anything when I drive so it can be used as a dashcam. The only other recent(ish) app I came across was https://github.com/maxneaga/open_dash_cam_android but it has no builds available for download. A quick search later and I came across Alibi and this debug build :)

I gave it a quick try walking around the house and it seems to work really well. Videos are recording and saving. I was able to change the quality and bitrate and confirmed they work by looking at file size.

The only thing I would suggest is maybe a button to turn on/off video display as it's recording so you know you have the camera positioned properly.

But other than that, no complaints here. Thanks for your work, @Myzel394!

[Myzel394]

@Jammmmm hehe I guess we were both at the right place at the right time ^^

The only thing I would suggest is maybe a button to turn on/off video display as it's recording so you know you have the camera positioned properly.

I was thinking about adding this but this turned out to not be that easy to implement so I haven't really looked at it so far; I can take another look at this but it may not be possible. However, you can temporarily look at the preview before beginning the recording by holding down on the "Start Recording" button.

@serrq

Why do you don't name your app "black box"? Like the airplane black box.

Cool name! I'll stick to Alibi now, but I could use Black Box for marketing, thanks for the name! :)

[Jammmmm]

you can temporarily look at the preview before beginning the recording by holding down on the "Start Recording" button.

I just gave it a try and yes, that's good enough for me. Thanks again! :D

[Simplenuity]

Thanks, @Myzel394!

I gave it a test drive on an old Samsung device with Android 7.1.2 installed:

• when recording video and then I select "Save Recording" I get a notification for a split second and then I'm back to the start screen of the app. No dialog (as mentioned in the notification) to actually save the file

• when recording audio and then I select "Save Recording" the app crashes

Not sure whether it's worth looking into it due to the very old Android version...

PS: Just tried to install the current version via f-droid and I get "No version compatible with device". So no need to address above issues.
I'll leave comment here FYI/for reference

[Jammmmm]

• when recording video and then I select "Save Recording" I get a notification for a split second and then I'm back to the start screen of the app. No dialog (as mentioned in the notification) to actually save the file

I came across this too when I was testing. I use Android 9 on an LG device.

I started recording video, then minimized it and used another app that played video (so I could see how audio was being captured). I then stopped the video went back to the app, paused the recording and tried to save. I didn't get a dialog. Not even a toast/notification.

With that said, I haven't been able to reproduce it which is why I didn't report it as a bug. But I guess it is if we both experienced it.

[Myzel394]

@Jammmmm and @Simplenuity does this only happen on old devicees or did you also face this on new devices?

[Simplenuity]

@Jammmmm and @Simplenuity does this only happen on old devicees or did you also face this on new devices?

Sorry, @Myzel394 , am currently not able to test it on a newer device (security policy)

[Myzel394]

@Jammmmm and @Simplenuity are you running a custom rom of Android such as LineageOS, GrapheneOS etc?

[Jammmmm]

@Jammmmm and @Simplenuity are you running a custom rom of Android such as LineageOS, GrapheneOS etc?

Nothing custom on my end. Stock Android, but my device is rooted with Magisk. That might be the only thing that could interfere but it's doubtful.

[Simplenuity]

@Jammmmm and @Simplenuity are you running a custom rom of Android such as LineageOS, GrapheneOS etc?

Yes, LineageOS 14.1

[Myzel394]

Unfortunately, after installing LineageOS 20 on a phone myself, I was still not able to reproduce the issue :( @Simplenuity and @Jammmmm I know it's a long discussion already, but could you record a screen recording of the issue you're facing and upload it here? If you don't feel comfortable sharing the recording here on GitHub, you can also contact me in another way.

[Jammmmm]

@Myzel394 I'm unable to reproduce the problem so I wouldn't be able to give a screen recording. Hopefully @Simplenuity can help in that regard.

[Myzel394]

@Jammmmm and @Simplenuity can you try installing the newest debug build and seeing if the error still persists? You can also try changing the batches folder location in the advanced settings section if it's still not working

[Simplenuity]

@Myzel394, I've sent you an email with logcat outputs and screen recordings.
Unfortunately no improvements. Hopefully it's mainly caused by the completely outdated Android version.

[pabloscloud]

I'm confused. Has video support been added and people are just complaining here cause then I'll close this issue and a new issue should be created as bug. Cause this is a feature-request and not a bug.

[Myzel394]

@pabloscloud Video support is almost available; I opened a PR and created a dev build for people to try out. Unfortunately, some people reported some issues on lower Android versions. I'm currently fixing those last bugs, but then there will be a huge update with video support and other new features as well! :)

[pabloscloud]

how do people have a problem with it if it's not available haha. Well, great it's being worked on :)

[pabloscloud]

ahhhhhhh, now everything makes sense lol

[Simplenuity]

ahhhhhhh, now everything makes sense lol

Even the not ideal situation that your feedback thread has been abused for bug reporting will make sense if you notice that the development version has been offered in this thread in one of the posts above... :)

[pabloscloud]

Yes :)

[Simplenuity]

Great news! Thanks for your persistence and hard work.