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wordoflife

macrumors 604
Jul 6, 2009
7,564
37
Umm, why don't you tell us here? That website is a bit screwed up and is very long to read.

Sounds like you are trying to advertise your product here.
 

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101
I also quote the section strictly dedicated to the Cydia package. The other parts (I know they're long but are still good to know) "only" explain how the utility should be used.

My setter program

Now that you know when to use the wide angle mode and when to decrease the data rate (and when avoid them at any rate), let me present my application that does all this. First, I present you with a user-level overview and, then, also explain to fellow iOS (would-be) programmers how it works.

First and foremost, you need to jailbreak your iPhone 4. This is possible with all 4.x iOS versions in untethered mode. (Even with the currently available two iOS5 betas but my program itself won't work under these OS versions because of the reworked camera engine.) Jailbreaking is legal in the States (see THIS, THIS and THIS for more info) and many other countries, e.g., the EU. With 4.x versions, all you'll need to do is downloading THIS (Mac) or THIS (Windows) apps, run it and follow the on-screen instructions. (Note that these are for iOS 4.3.3. In the future, the links may change; if, by the time you read this, there's another 4.x version, please check THIS for updated redsn0w download links.)

During jailbreaking, make sure you install Cydia. After the jailbreak is ready, start Cydia and select any of the three possibilities (Developer will be just fine). Then, add “http://www.winmobiletech.com/cy” or “http://winmobiletech.com/cy” as a Cydia repository source (currently, it's the repository that has my package) and, inside it, select the iPhone 4 camera enhancer:



Install it and start after making sure you've killed the Camera app. If you don't do the latter, the changes won't be visible in the app.

After starting, you'll be greeted by the following screen:



Here, you only have two columns in the picker to (independently) select your field-of-view and data rate. Feel free to make a selection. For example, if you want to set the field-of-view to wide and the data rate to 1/16th of the original, make the following changes:



Now, tap the Go button to commit the changes.

There can be two cases when you're shown an error message right after starting the app: you're trying to run the app under iOS5.x or have changed the default password from “alpine” to something else. In the first case, either downgrade to iOS 4.3.3 (during beta, this can freely be done via iTunes without using any “hacks” like TinyUmbrella); in the second, just change the password back. (After running the app once, you can change the password again – it only needs to set write permissions for the system-level camera plist file once; subsequent write accesses will already be allowed, independent of the actual root password.)

If you want to fine-tune more parameters (not only the data rate and the one-step switch between wide and near field-of-view), you can do this under the second tab, “Advanced view”. In general, I don't think you'll ever need this; however, I still provide you with it, should you really want to play with these parameters. At first run, it presents a default settings list without a checkmark:



Each element of a list corresponds to a given configuration setting. For example, if you want to use (or fine-tune) the parameters of, say, “wide” view angle (corresponding to XGA output video resolution) and quarter data rate, select the “XGA – 1/4 bit rate” option.

In the detailed view, make your changes (if any) and, then, tap the “Save” button in the upper right corner. You'll be shown an acknowledgement dialog telling you the changes are written back to the system:



After this, in the main selection list, the just-edited (or just saved) entry will have a checkmark next to it (after restarting the app too):



Finally, the last tab is just a quick explanation:



EDIT: sorry for the missing thumbnail images; they link to the original-sized ones and I couldn't convert them from plain HTML in one step. Nevertheless, the (Dropbox) image links work.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

walie

macrumors 6502a
Nov 15, 2010
676
2
Try to summarize your tweak in 4-5 sentences at most, otherwise nobody is going to read that wall of text
 

iphoneblogr

macrumors member
Nov 2, 2010
35
0
It's pretty self explanitory, basically it lets you choose different capture modes and framerates to customize the video recording features in order to allow you to adjust to different situations. I don't know why you guys are flaming him, he's offering a FREE tweak to give us more control over our cameras. If you don't want to take the time to see what it does, don't download it, it's that simple.

Thanks for this great tweak, I am using it right now on my iPhone4, we would be happy to write up a review to give you some exposure if you would like. Shoot me a PM if interested!
 

GoKyu

macrumors 65816
Feb 15, 2007
1,169
23
New Orleans
Try to summarize your tweak in 4-5 sentences at most, otherwise nobody is going to read that wall of text

tl;dr

I did, however, read the interesting explanation of how I can get more varied images from a cool tweak, thanks!
 

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101
It's pretty self explanitory, basically it lets you choose different capture modes and framerates to customize the video recording features in order to allow you to adjust to different situations. I don't know why you guys are flaming him, he's offering a FREE tweak to give us more control over our cameras. If you don't want to take the time to see what it does, don't download it, it's that simple.

Thanks for this great tweak, I am using it right now on my iPhone4, we would be happy to write up a review to give you some exposure if you would like. Shoot me a PM if interested!

Thanks! Glad you find it useful. Too bad Apple seems to have removed the entire configuration file in iOS5 (I've scrutinized the file system pretty thoroughly - in vain). They should make the camera similarly tweakable / configurable.

Regading the article, let's wait until the (similar) iPhone 3G S app is released so that you can discuss both tweaks in one article.
 

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101
Why does this app require that I change the root password of my phone back to "alpine" in order to work? :confused:

You don't need to - if you have Xcode and are a registered (paying) developer, you can just change "alpine" in the system() calls to your root password in the app delegate.

Another alternative is manually allowing a+w to the config file and its immediate directory from iFile or OpenSSH + CyberDuck.

BTW, this is also thoroughly explained in the full article.
 

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101
You don't need to - if you have Xcode and are a registered (paying) developer, you can just change "alpine" in the system() calls to your root password in the app delegate.

Another alternative is manually allowing a+w to the config file and its immediate directory from iFile or OpenSSH + CyberDuck.

BTW, this is also thoroughly explained in the full article.

Just posted a full iFile tutorial for both the iPhone4 and 3GS; see prev. post.
 

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101

The Highlander

macrumors 6502
Oct 25, 2009
311
0
Any of the 3 fixes the narrow field of view?
I don't really notice any degradation in the video... Guess i need to do a fast paced video to see the difference.

If I choose any of the settings on the left pane, do I loose framerate and/or bitrate?

Thanks
 

Menneisyys2

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jun 7, 2011
5,997
1,101
Any of the 3 fixes the narrow field of view?
I don't really notice any degradation in the video... Guess i need to do a fast paced video to see the difference.

If I choose any of the settings on the left pane, do I loose framerate and/or bitrate?

Thanks

"Wide - Full sensor" will result in 14-15 fps frame rate. The lower-quality "Wide - 1080p" won't, it records at 30 fps. Both significantly enlarge the field-of-view.
 
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