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Warprecord

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 21, 2012
3
0
Hi

Is anyone else hearing a lot of background hissing when they play back video taken with the iPhone 5? The hissing is hardly there when I record and listen back to a voice memo.

Thanks

W
 

abomb11

macrumors newbie
Sep 26, 2012
3
0
Noise Floor

Yes I am noticing this as well.

Just to educate, when you record a voice memo, it only uses the microphone on the bottom grill of the phone. When you are recording a video with the camera it actually utilizes the other microphones as well. I tried comparing the iP5 with my iP4 to test the noise floor difference and noticed the iPhone 4 noise floor a little more quiet then the 5. I need to compare with other units to verify and isolate the issue.
 

MacVault

macrumors 65816
Jun 10, 2002
1,144
59
Planet Earth
I noticed this big time this morning while taking video on iPhone 5 of my kids playing outside. I was always quite impressed with the iPhone 4 audio. Very disappointed with this 5 audio. Any fix for it??
 

adnurahs

macrumors newbie
Jan 6, 2009
7
0
Been through 3 iPhone 5's so far

In my first iPhone 5, the speaker didn't work and people could not hear me on Speaker phone when I used it. When I used the video recording it did not record sound at all only a hissing/static sound, no voice. I wished for a software fix. I did a hard reset, nothing. I did a full restore to factory settings not putting my backup on and the problem persisted. I called Apple and they said I had to take it in to a store to get a new iPhone 5. I found a store and took it in got a new iPhone 5. YAY!?

The second iPhone 5 I received recorded sound with video and the speaker worked but there was a horrible hissing/static sound that was unnerving and I was surprised to hear since I never heard this with any other recordings I made on the iPhone 4 or 4S. The volume sounded very low when playing back a recording as well. I knew this was yet another issue, so I took it in again.

The third iPhone 5 still has the hissing/static sound, but not as loud as the second although still there. The recording volume is better also. I'm still not satisfied with this. I think there should be no background static/hissing like in the older iPhones I have made recordings on.

This hissing/static sound is unacceptable. I don't know what they could do about it for us now since it is a hardware issue. If there was only a software fix for it, that would be great but I don't think that'll happen. I guess the next iPhone will sound better. They'll work out the kinks.

But this has got to be a known issue for Apple. We are not the only ones with this issue.
 

0997853

Suspended
Feb 5, 2011
125
110
Europe
I just bought last night an iPhone 5. I hear the same hissing sound when playing back the recorded video as you describe. I when to the Orange Partner Store from where I bought the device. I tested two devices, the same hissing... I went to the Orange Shop. They tested the iPhone they had, the same thing.

Is it a hardware problem? Please post if you have the same issue. Are there iPhone 5's with no hissing? Should I change my device?
 

John T

macrumors 68020
Mar 18, 2006
2,114
6
UK.
"Hiss", or White Noise heard on video playback is quite normal. It is present on all recordings. It indicates that the level of the sound, when recording the video was too low.

There are two ways to reduce it.

(1) Ensure the audio input is at a reasonable level, without overload. This is very difficult to achieve on a simple video camera on a phone with a built-in microphone. Video cameras have facilities for an external microphone and or a built-in directional one. This explains why a voice memo exhibits less hiss because the microphone is so much closer to the speaker.

(2) Reduce the playback audio volume. If the original video was recorded at a good volume, playback volume does not have to be set at too high a setting, thereby increasing the "signal to noise ratio".

In a nutshell, don't forget the video camera on a phone, like the still camera, is a very simple and basic item so don't expect it to compare with a dedicated video camera. Try to keep the record volume up and the playback volume down.
 

0997853

Suspended
Feb 5, 2011
125
110
Europe
Yeah, it's normal at certain levels, not like I'm hearing on my recording. Anyway, I checked a couple of iPhone 4/4s and the same, the hiss is lower but still notable. I guess nobody cares so much about the movies they make...

I'm beginning to question Apple products quality. You buy a premium priced device, you expect premium quality. :mad:
 

nickchallis92

macrumors 6502a
Mar 4, 2012
906
469
London
Am I right in saying that the iphone only uses 1 microphone when recording video?

where as everyone else in the industry utilises stereo recording?
 

Carolynncooke

macrumors newbie
Mar 18, 2013
1
0
I have a terrible problem with this. Every time I make a video with the inside camera, I hear complete static. I can't even hear my own voice. I cleaned it, removed my case, turned my phone off and on, etc. this has been going on for about a week now. Any advice?
 

elamigosam

macrumors newbie
May 1, 2014
2
0
Mine was working ok, but enventualy it started doing it. I am thinking that maybe it learns, and eventualy it gets to a point where the feature becomes an issue.
Or maybe just a update that apple did.
 
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