|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 2, 2013 at 8:17 am
Hi,
I have bought the first phone intended to be used for ticket scanning, it is a Samsung Galaxy Fame (S6810). The problem is that the Event Espresso ticketing app, once entered in the ticketing scanning screen, it doesn’t adjust the brightness anymore, so if I start with a low light environment, tickets from the screens of other phones cannot be scanned, due to very much brightness. If I start with a well lit environment, then the paper printed tickets won’t scan.
I ask you very kindly to help me with a solution, as the phone has already cost me money and I intended to buy some more of these.
Thank you very much.
|
|
Josh
|
October 3, 2013 at 8:46 am
Hi Cristi,
You might need to adjust the amount of lighting to get it somewhere in the middle between low light and very bright.
Or you could try a different handset. I have a Galaxy Nexus that has the ticketing app installed and it will scan screens and paper tickets under a variety of lighting conditions. It will scan tickets with no trouble with the ticket right up to a lamp as well when I turn off in my office.
|
|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 3, 2013 at 8:50 am
If I do the same patterns but using the Camera app, then the lightning adjusts dynamically. So, it is related to how the hardware camera is set by Event Espresso.
I already spent more than 100 EUR excluding VAT on this phone, any change of getting a fix? Maybe a paid effort from your side, or some access to a couple of source files as to be checked by some third party expert?
Please advice. Thank you.
|
|
Josh
|
October 3, 2013 at 9:53 am
Hi Cristi,
It may be an incorrect assumption that the hardware camera set by Event Espresso. The lighting adjusts dynamically on the Galaxy Nexus. Can you try rebooting your phone?
|
|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 3, 2013 at 10:17 am
I tried resetting it. This phone is a very new model launched this year. It has Jelly Bean 4.1.2. I insist that the camera works excellent from the default app (dynamic lightning, autofocus, contrast…).
|
|
Josh
|
October 3, 2013 at 10:34 am
My phone runs JellyBean 4.1.2 as well, so I think we can rule out it’s a JellyBean issue.
|
|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 3, 2013 at 1:45 pm
Ok, how can we proceed? In a previous note I mentioned either access to (some) source code or maybe pay you to investigate.
|
|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 3, 2013 at 4:42 pm
I read a couple of things and, for example, one thing that may be called is this:
if (isAutoExposureLockSupported()) then setAutoExposureLock(false)
This would make sure that for phones where the camera starts with autoexposure disabled (autoexposurelock is true), then it should disable it as to allow the camera routine to work automatically regarding auto exposure.
Reference: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/hardware/Camera.Parameters.html#setAutoExposureLock%28boolean%29
P.S.: maybe the manufacture year and the implemented API at hardware level could cause the problem between the Galaxy Fame 2013 and the older Nexus, which could mean that other new phone models could experience the problem too – just a supposition.
|
|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 3, 2013 at 5:01 pm
Another similar situation which gives another hint regarding continuous camera mode:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=54137
|
|
Josh
|
October 4, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Did you see that last part:
“Issue resolved. It was an issue with application camera settings placing the camera into continuous mode. Please close the issue.”
We ran a few more tests today on two S4’s and an Ace and we are not able to reproduce this. Do you have access to any other devices running Android or iOS?
|
|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 7, 2013 at 2:23 am
Conclusions:
I tested with good results on Xperia Ray and Xperia J.
I will take the Galaxy Fame back to the seller…
I just bought an LG Optimus L5 II which works fine.
You don’t seem to have anyone with Android skills in your team and it appears that you outsource the effort, otherwise in 10 minutes you could have given a more suitable reply regarding the 2 line code proposal which I have given.
Extra:
1. Any chance of getting the sources of the Android app? It would be useful for some tweaks (e.g.: disable some functionality, disable focus continuous change driven by EE, as the camera does itself a good continuous focus by itself, which would be much faster at scanning tickets…). Otherwise said, I bought EE for the mobile ticketing solution, so this is really of interest to me, considering that EE does not currently have a standard set of functionality required for classical tickets (non-electronic) to be sent by postal mail.
2. When will Android app use JSON API instead of Espresso Services? I see that the regional manager related features have been implemented there but not in Services (which seems to me it is an old, soon-to-be-unsupported service). From all platforms Android is the cheapest so I will buy devices running this platform for scanning the tickets, so this Android app has to receive the proper attention from your side, not?
|
|
Cristi Constantin
|
October 7, 2013 at 8:17 am
Also, I see that you use an integrated Zxing library, so you have an outdated library as part of your application. Also, you have customized the classed of zxing package so it is even harder for you to update it.
It is really possible that the Galaxy Fame would have worked with the latest Zxing…
For example, the ticket scanning speed is greatly improved on my LG device if PreferencesActivity.KEY_DISABLE_CONTINUOUS_FOCUS is set to true, but your version of the library doesn’t even know about this parameter.
Also, because you integrate instead of rely on Zxing as a separate application, means that I cannot change ANY value which Zxing usually allows me to, as to make it work properly on my devices. Any future change on this approach?
The overall experience with the mobile ticketing app could increase greatly if you would approach it somehow different, considering the above points.
|
|
Josh
|
October 7, 2013 at 9:37 am
Thanks for the feedback. When the Android app gets its next update we’ll be sure to have the developer review your proposed changes.
|
|
Seth Shoultes
|
October 7, 2013 at 10:15 am
Hi Cristi,
Thanks for all of the great feedback. We actually hired a part time, U.S. based Android developer, just last week. We had been looking for a new developer for over a year, but kept getting the run around from India based companies.
The developer will be working on implementing the new JSON API asap. However, I will see if he can look into the current issues when he gets up to speed with our current system.
If you would like to try and fix the problem yourself. I believe you can download the .apk package from the Google Play store, then unzip the files to see the source code. Then you should be able to create a new package and install it on your device.
Hope that helps?
|
