How do I capture microphone input using TargetDataLine?

To capture microphone audio input using the TargetDataLine class in Java, you can use the javax.sound.sampled package. Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how you can achieve this:

Steps to Capture Microphone Input

  1. Prepare the Audio Format: Define an AudioFormat object, specifying the audio sample rate, sample size, number of channels, etc.
  2. Get the TargetDataLine: Use AudioSystem to obtain and open a TargetDataLine.
  3. Start Capturing Audio: Begin capturing audio from the TargetDataLine.
  4. Read Data from the Line: Continuously read data from the TargetDataLine into a byte buffer.
  5. (Optional) Save the Data: Write the captured audio data to a file or process it as needed.

Example Code

Below is a complete example of how to capture microphone input using TargetDataLine:

package org.kodejava.sound;

import javax.sound.sampled.*;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;

public class MicrophoneCapture {

    // Volatile flag for ensuring proper thread shutdown
    private volatile boolean running;

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new MicrophoneCapture().start();
    }

    public void start() {
        // Define the audio format
        AudioFormat audioFormat = new AudioFormat(
                AudioFormat.Encoding.PCM_SIGNED, // Encoding
                44100.0f, // Sample rate (44.1kHz)
                16,       // Sample size in bits
                2,        // Channels (stereo)
                4,        // Frame size (frame size = 16 bits/sample * 2 channels = 4 bytes)
                44100.0f, // Frame rate (matches sample rate for PCM)
                false     // Big-endian (false = little-endian)
        );

        // Get and configure the TargetDataLine
        TargetDataLine microphone;
        try {
            microphone = AudioSystem.getTargetDataLine(audioFormat);
            microphone.open(audioFormat);

            // Start capturing audio
            microphone.start();
            System.out.println("Recording started... Press Ctrl+C or stop to terminate.");

            // Register a shutdown hook for graceful termination
            Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(new Thread(() -> {
                stop(microphone);
                System.out.println("Recording stopped.");
            }));

            // Start capturing in another thread
            captureMicrophoneAudio(microphone);

        } catch (LineUnavailableException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    private void captureMicrophoneAudio(TargetDataLine microphone) {
        byte[] buffer = new byte[4096];
        ByteArrayOutputStream outputStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();

        running = true;

        // Capture audio in a loop
        try (microphone) {
            while (running) {
                int bytesRead = microphone.read(buffer, 0, buffer.length);
                if (bytesRead > 0) {
                    outputStream.write(buffer, 0, bytesRead);
                }
            }

            // Save captured audio to a raw file
            saveAudioToFile(outputStream.toByteArray(), "D:/Sound/output.raw");

        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    private void saveAudioToFile(byte[] audioData, String fileName) {
        try (FileOutputStream fileOutputStream = new FileOutputStream(new File(fileName))) {
            fileOutputStream.write(audioData);
            System.out.println("Audio saved to " + fileName);
        } catch (IOException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    public void stop(TargetDataLine microphone) {
        running = false; // Stop the loop
        if (microphone != null && microphone.isOpen()) {
            microphone.flush();
            microphone.stop();
            microphone.close();
        }
    }
}

Explanation

  1. Audio Format: The AudioFormat object defines the format of the captured audio (e.g., PCM encoding, 44.1 kHz sample rate, 16-bit sample size, stereo channels).
  2. TargetDataLine Setup: TargetDataLine is the primary interface to access audio input lines, such as the microphone. The open() method ensures it’s properly configured with the specified format.
  3. Reading Audio Data: Data from the microphone is captured into a byte[] buffer using the read() method.
  4. Saving the Audio: The audio data can be saved to a file (e.g., .raw for raw PCM data).

Points to Note

  • Permissions: Ensure your application has permission to access the microphone, particularly when running on platforms like macOS or Windows.
  • Audio Processing: If you need further audio processing (e.g., writing to a WAV file), you’ll need to add additional logic to wrap the raw PCM data in a WAV file format header.
  • Thread Safety: For a real-time application, consider running the audio capture logic in a separate thread.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.