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Sound Activated Recorder with Spectrogram in C#

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4.92/5 (54 votes)
27 Jan 2008GPL3 399.6K   32.1K   207   105
Audio event processing with visual display
SoundCatcher

Introduction

This project demonstrates an implementation of the waterfall spectrogram and use of statistical data to trigger events in near real-time. This code is an elaboration of my previous submission (SoundViewer). This demonstration utilizes the Wave classes developed by Ianier Munoz.

Using the Code

Audio is supplied by the default input device which is typically the microphone. Events are triggered when audio amplitude exceeds the desired threshold value, which can be set under Options on the menu bar. To make this more useful, I've added functionality to save the stream to disk which results in a nice sound activated recorder.

Points of Interest

In order to draw the spectrogram fast enough to allow for near real-time operation, I needed to write directly to memory using unsafe code.

C#
// lock image
PixelFormat format = canvas.PixelFormat;
BitmapData data = 
    canvas.LockBits(new Rectangle(0, 0, width, height), ImageLockMode.ReadOnly, format);
int stride = data.Stride;
int offset = stride - width * 4;

// draw image
try
{
  unsafe
  {
    byte* pixel = (byte*)data.Scan0.ToPointer();
    // for each column
    for (int y = 0; y <= height; y++)
    {
      if (y < _fftLeftSpect.Count)
      {
        // for each row
        for (int x = 0; x < width; x++, pixel += 4)
        {
          double amplitude = ((double[])_fftLeftSpect[_fftLeftSpect.Count - y - 1])
                [(int)(((double)(_fftLeft.Length) / (double)(width)) * x)];
          double color = GetColor(min, max, range, amplitude);
          pixel[0] = (byte)0;
          pixel[1] = (byte)color;
          pixel[2] = (byte)0;
          pixel[3] = (byte)255;
        }
        pixel += offset;
      }
    }
  }
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
  Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}

// unlock image
canvas.UnlockBits(data);

I noticed that the results vary wildly depending on the hardware and associated drivers being used.

Some things I'd like to experiment with further when I get the time:

  1. Use of frequency domain to produce "motion" detector equivalent
  2. Use of spectrogram in sound identification
  3. Improving performance/robustness

History

  • 01/16/2008: Created

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The GNU General Public License (GPLv3)


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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralThanks Pin
LeviButler3-Nov-12 13:27
LeviButler3-Nov-12 13:27 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Mr. Ean Soknet22-May-12 0:47
Mr. Ean Soknet22-May-12 0:47 
Questiondraw spectrogram with a wav file. Pin
jackyxinli4-Feb-12 18:27
jackyxinli4-Feb-12 18:27 
QuestionLocking up when closing if there is activity Pin
programmerdon17-Jan-12 5:46
programmerdon17-Jan-12 5:46 
QuestionObject reference not set to an instance of an object Pin
deepak thomas5-Dec-11 4:01
deepak thomas5-Dec-11 4:01 
AnswerRe: Object reference not set to an instance of an object Pin
deepak thomas5-Dec-11 6:57
deepak thomas5-Dec-11 6:57 
GeneralRe: Object reference not set to an instance of an object Pin
Member 1029319526-Sep-13 18:08
Member 1029319526-Sep-13 18:08 
QuestionSound Catcher freezes on Exit in Win 7 32-bit Pin
Member 836994911-Nov-11 11:13
Member 836994911-Nov-11 11:13 
AnswerRe: Sound Catcher freezes on Exit in Win 7 32-bit Pin
Timothy Ayodele14-Jan-12 1:54
Timothy Ayodele14-Jan-12 1:54 
QuestionPlease how can i make the recording every 1 hour Pin
Timothy Ayodele2-Nov-11 7:26
Timothy Ayodele2-Nov-11 7:26 
QuestionVote 5 Pin
serega4675-Aug-11 0:41
serega4675-Aug-11 0:41 
GeneralIn VB.NET Pin
emicroxxx23-May-11 2:55
emicroxxx23-May-11 2:55 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
abdillahi26-Apr-11 22:23
abdillahi26-Apr-11 22:23 
QuestionHow can i save output to .txt ? Pin
stefan_brato27-Nov-10 16:48
stefan_brato27-Nov-10 16:48 
QuestionSpectrogram Disappears Pin
GeoNav12-Jul-10 18:26
GeoNav12-Jul-10 18:26 
QuestionGPLv2 Pin
James D. Weston7-Jul-10 10:00
James D. Weston7-Jul-10 10:00 
QuestionHow to generate wave-form if we have the byte-array with us. Pin
Mark0211-Mar-10 23:06
Mark0211-Mar-10 23:06 
GeneralIntegration Time Pin
GeoNav17-Feb-10 4:17
GeoNav17-Feb-10 4:17 
GeneralSound Equalizer Pin
Sami Jadoon25-Jan-10 19:34
Sami Jadoon25-Jan-10 19:34 
GeneralAmplitude -sound loudness Pin
ginwithlime9-Jan-10 4:10
ginwithlime9-Jan-10 4:10 
GeneralRe: Amplitude -sound loudness Pin
Jeff Morton9-Jan-10 5:36
Jeff Morton9-Jan-10 5:36 
QuestionHow to stop the thread if a invoke methode gets called in the DataArrived Event Pin
Michael Muehllehner7-Dec-09 3:57
Michael Muehllehner7-Dec-09 3:57 
AnswerRe: How to stop the thread if a invoke methode gets called in the DataArrived Event Pin
kelibox6-Aug-15 13:09
kelibox6-Aug-15 13:09 
QuestionHow to make the IFFT? Pin
afmf3-Nov-09 5:33
afmf3-Nov-09 5:33 
I made an high pass filter after the FFT and I wanted to record the result.
For that, I need to do a IFFT.
Can you tell me how do I do it with your code? tks

aF -.-

AnswerRe: How to make the IFFT? Pin
Rahdu23-Sep-10 9:35
Rahdu23-Sep-10 9:35 

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