Android 8.1 and Camera HDR+ Enhanced

[TraderGary]

Anyone noticing the speed increase for HDR+ Enhanced? Google says that 8.1 turns on the new Visual Core processing chip to make HDR+ processing up to 5 times faster. I have HDR+ Enhanced turned on for my Pixel 2 XL 128 and I find that the speed increase is indeed very noticeable!

I'll be very much interested to see if the new speed helps for moving subjects. I'm hoping it also increases the speed at which the individual HDR images are taken.

 

[Mike Dee]

Anyone noticing the speed increase for HDR+ Enhanced? Google says that 8.1 turns on the new Visual Core processing chip to make HDR+ processing up to 5 times faster. I have HDR+ Enhanced turned on for my Pixel 2 XL 128 and I find that the speed increase is indeed very noticeable!

I'll be very much interested to see if the new speed helps for moving subjects. I'm hoping it also increases the speed at which the individual HDR images are taken.

You have to go into developer mode turn it on.

 

[TraderGary]

You have to go into developer mode turn it on.

If you have done the 8.1 update, you only need to open the camera, go to Settings and then choose Advanced.

 

[sixty_four]

If you have done the 8.1 update, you only need to open the camera, go to Settings and then choose Advanced.

That particular "Advanced" setting in the Camera app was present in 8.0.

There is a new developer mode option called "Camera HAL HDR+" that, IIRC, is used to enable the Visual Core. I haven't tried it yet so unfortunately can't report any results of enabling this option.

 

[Mike Dee]

If you have done the 8.1 update, you only need to open the camera, go to Settings and then choose Advanced.

To my knowledge that only allows you to change HDR settings and those settings were there before the update. See the attached which requires enabling manually.
I will be happy to be proven wrong but I was told that HAL has to be enabled and device restarted.

 

[Mike Dee]

That particular "Advanced" setting in the Camera app was present in 8.0.

There is a new developer mode option called "Camera HAL HDR+" that, IIRC, is used to enable the Visual Core. I haven't tried it yet so unfortunately can't report any results of enabling this option.

My experience is that it was faster in the 8.1 beta once enabled and I believe it is doing a lot more processing.

 

[TraderGary]

My experience is that it was faster in the 8.1 beta once enabled and I believe it is doing a lot more processing.

I don't run beta software so my first experience with Google's having enabled the Visual Core chip is with the 8.1 release that I installed yesterday.

 

[Mike Dee]

I don't run beta software so my first experience with Google's having enabled the Visual Core chip is with the 8.1 release that I installed yesterday.

That's OK but to clarify It's not enabled by installing 8.1.....you have to go into DEV mode and toggle HAL to ON.

 

[Mike Dee]

How to enable Pixel Visual Core on Pixel 2.

The instructions apply to Preview 2 build and official OTA release 8.1


https://www.androidcentral.com/how-enable-pixel-visual-core-hdr-plus-android-81-google-pixel-2

 

[vansmack]

I've noticed that with Visual Core turned on in the Dev settings, Portrait Mode photos are processed much more quickly. That's about the only thing I've noticed thus far without any scientific review.

 

[Mike Dee]

I've noticed that with Visual Core turned on in the Dev settings, Portrait Mode photos are processed much more quickly. That's about the only thing I've noticed thus far without any scientific review.

Could be.... I found that it varies with the conditions of the subject matter and Lighting

 

[Jeremy8000]

I've noticed that with Visual Core turned on in the Dev settings, Portrait Mode photos are processed much more quickly. That's about the only thing I've noticed thus far without any scientific review.

Are AR stickers enabled with the PVC?

 

[Mike Dee]

Are AR stickers enabled with the PVC?

I believe that comes later

 

[TraderGary]

To my knowledge that only allows you to change HDR settings and those settings were there before the update. See the attached which requires enabling manually.
I will be happy to be proven wrong but I was told that HAL has to be enabled and device restarted.

When I first got my Pixel 2 XL I turned on Developer Mode and I had made that setting along with a few others. Thanks for pointing that out. I wonder why "ON" isn't the default?

 

[Almeuit]

When I first got my Pixel 2 XL I turned on Developer Mode and I had made that setting along with a few others. Thanks for pointing that out. I wonder why "ON" isn't the default?

Most likely it isn't fully baked just yet.

 

[Mike Dee]

When I first got my Pixel 2 XL I turned on Developer Mode and I had made that setting along with a few others. Thanks for pointing that out. I wonder why "ON" isn't the default?

Thats odd because that setting was rolled out with 8.1 preview 2

 

[TraderGary]

Most likely it isn't fully baked just yet.

Of course! Developer Mode! That makes sense!

 

[Ca_lvn]

Just enabled in developer mode this is going to be interesting

 

[TraderGary]

Thats odd because that setting was rolled out with 8.1 preview 2

It would appear that setting is not only available in the preview, but it is also available in the release.

I downloaded and installed 8.1 OTA yesterday. Having read the same article you quoted, I turned on Camera HAL HDR+. BTW, what does HAL stand for?

 

[Ca_lvn]

It would appear that setting is not only available in the preview, but it is also available in the release.

I downloaded and installed 8.1 OTA yesterday. Having read the same article you quoted, I turned on Camera HAL HDR+. BTW, what does HAL stand for?

Hardware abstraction layer, other than that I can't tell you what it does??