WebCam for 3.01 That Works?

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edoc
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WebCam for 3.01 That Works?

#1 Post by edoc »

I need a good quality WebCam that works out-of-the-box with Puppy 3.01 (we use the ChurchPup version).

I need it to be one that is available right now (not something no longer sold).

I want to use it for portable recording of sermons and lessons from a distance of 15-20 feet.

I have a telescoping mono-pole (one-legged camera tripod) that I can clamp to a chair. I'd like the WebCam to be able to mount to a standard threaded camera tripod mount -- but that is not required.

I need to know the chipset of the one you have tested - manufacturers change chipsets in the middle of manufacturing and fail to disclose that - I need to be able to check prior to purchase.

I'd love it to include built-in LED lights but that is not critical. (I'd like to be able to shine the light into a computer or piece of sound equipment to ask questions over the Internet. I can use a separate clamp-on LED light if necessary.)

KEYS: Good quality camera, native Linux (Puppy 3.01) compatibility), available right now.

NOTE: I am willing to buy a used one if someone wishes to sell theirs - it must be in good condition and must work with 3.01 and must produce good pictures in the context described above.
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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#2 Post by edoc »

This looks over my head - has anyone tried this VjackCamorama hack with Puppy 3.01?

http://www.piksel.no/pwiki/HOWTOVjackCamorama

It may well help with WebCams if someone can make it into a working .pup
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linuxcbon
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#3 Post by linuxcbon »

I got an old creative webcampro, not good.
I looked in different websites, and this one looks ok : . LOGITECH QUICKCAM PRO FOR NOTEBOOKS (CCD 2 Megapix 1600 x 1200 pix)
It seems to work on linux ? http://www.mail-archive.com/linux-uvc-d ... 01784.html
http://www.quickcamteam.net/hcl/linux/logitech-webcams
I didnt test it...

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#4 Post by edoc »

Thanks for the suggestion and the links!

It sounds as though one would need to add an external light source to the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks as it appears that the driver defaults to Auto and generally needs lots of light.
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webca ... 5&cl=us,en

I read elsewhere that this has been replaced by the $99 QuickCam for Notebooks Pro which lacks a focus ring and is best at 22" -- not as versatile as the original:
http://www.everythingusb.com/logitech_q ... s_pro.html

Have you tried any LED lights that clip to the Logitech QuickCam Pro for Notebooks somehow?
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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srf21c
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#5 Post by srf21c »

I've read that the phillips SPC900NC is supported by just about every linux distro out there.

Looks to be a pretty nice cam too. Currently you can find them for as low as $60 online.

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#6 Post by edoc »

I see here that it is popular for astronomy:
http://www.astrovid.com/prod_details.php?pid=50

I have ordered the camera ($55. shipped) and the telescope adapter ($21. shipped) and will give them a try & report back!
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#7 Post by edoc »

OK, I bought the camera and just plugged it in ...

According to USBview it is an "unknown device".

Help?

Is this likely a result of some embedded USB problem with Puppy 3.01 or are you aware of a driver that I could add to get this working, please?
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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#8 Post by edoc »

I just stumbled upon this site:

Free Philips USB Webcam driver for Linux

http://www.saillard.org/linux/pwc/

http://www.saillard.org/linux/pwc/snapshots/

pwc-v4l2-20080320-042701.tar.bz2 !!! New !!!
Last Updated: Mar 20, 2008
Size: 48.30 KB

It sounds messy to me so I have to pray that someone will make a .PET of it that I may download and run.
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Jesse
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#9 Post by Jesse »

Hi,

The GSPCA web cam driver can work with lots of web cams, and has a hardware compatibility page with image quality indicator, here:
http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html

I hope that helps.

Jesse

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#10 Post by MU »

install attached dotpup, then type in a console:

modprobe pwc
lsmod

That should list:
Module Size Used by
pwc 96256 0
I have a "0" in the end, as I have no webcam.
On your system, it should show a number higher than 0.
If that works, you can run xawtv or mplayer if you have that installed.

Use http://wellminded.com/puppy/pupsearch.html to search for "xawtv webcam" to find dotpups/further info on them:


Mark
Last edited by MU on Thu 20 Mar 2008, 21:29, edited 1 time in total.
[url=http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=173456#173456]my recommended links[/url]

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#11 Post by edoc »

Unfortunately the Phillips SPC900NC is not listed ... yet.
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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#12 Post by edoc »

Thanks for the PUP!

Just tried it and got this error message:

ERROR: Not enough free diskspace,
you have MB, but needed are !


The quantity of MB needed is empty as is that available.

I actually have about 55gigs available so there is no genuine shortage.

What might be causing this error, please?
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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#13 Post by MU »

sorry, made an error while packaging.
Please download again.
Mark
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#14 Post by edoc »

# modprobe pwc
# lsmod
Module Size Used by
pwc 96256 0
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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#15 Post by MU »

maybe it is just unused, because you run no application yet like xawtv.
As it got loaded, you now should try to run xawtv.
Mark
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#16 Post by edoc »

Hooray!

# modprobe pwc
# lsmod
Module Size Used by
pwc 96256 1

I did activate xawtv and got that result.

So we have some exciting progress!

Now xawtv opened a small window and I right-clicked for the control panel and played with some settings but still only saw a black display and ??? at the top.
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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#17 Post by edoc »

BTW: I read that one might also choose to use MPlayer.

I don't see any way in MPlayer to view a webcam.
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#18 Post by MU »

Ok, to reproduce it, I attached my old Genius VideoCAM Trek again.
I had used that over a year ago for Muppywebcam, but it just could display 4 colours :x

Now I compiled the required Kernelmodule again for Puppy 301.
It is called gspca (what for you is pwc).

I loaded it (what you did with pwc):
modprobe gspca
lsmod

Then I ran xawtv.
For a moment, I could see a picture - buggy again with 4 colors.
Interrupted, started again.
Now I also just get a welcome-screen from xawtv, and the xawtv is black and has "???" in the title.
I'm not able to get the picture again.

Then I tried:
gmplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l:width=352:height=288:device=/dev/video0
I had to detach the cable first!

And WOW...
I have a CORRECT picture now!
Just a bit dark, but with all colours (and it actually is quite dark in my room)!
I hope in daylight it will have natural colours.
You can see at my hand, that I enlightened using a small LED-lamp, that there are "correct" colours.

So there seems to be a problem with xawtv in Puppy 3.
Please also try mplayer :)

But it eats lot of CPU, other applications become extremely slow.
Also, if you stop mplayer, I once had to detach the camera-cable and plug it in again, before I could start mplayer again.

This message helped me:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=21464

Hmm.. now also this works for me:
xawtv -noxv

Mark
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#19 Post by edoc »

OK , I entered the gmplayer string (of course forgetting to disconnect the USB cable) and fired it off - got an error.

Unplugged and re-plugged the USB cable and pressed the play icon in gmplayer and got the rxvt error (below) along with a brief flashing version of it in a pop-up and two tones of green in the gmplayer window.

# gmplayer tv:// -tv driver=v4l:width=352:height=288:device=/dev/video0
MPlayer 1.0pre8-3.3.4 (C) 2000-2006 MPlayer Team
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1500MHz (Family: 6, Model: 9, Stepp ing: 5)
CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1
Compiled with runtime CPU detection.

Xlib: extension "XFree86-VidModeExtension" missing on display ":0.0".
Xlib: extension "XFree86-VidModeExtension" missing on display ":0.0".

Playing tv://.
Selected driver: v4l
name: Video 4 Linux input
author: Alex Beregszaszi
comment: under development
=================================================================
WARNING: YOU ARE USING V4L DEMUXER WITH V4L2 DRIVERS!!!
As the V4L1 compatibility layer is broken, this may not work.
If you encounter any problems, use driver=v4l2 instead.
Bugreports on driver=v4l with v4l2 drivers will be ignored.
=================================================================
Selected device: Philips SPC 900NC webcam
Capabilites: capture
Device type: 1
Supported sizes: 160x120 => 640x480
Inputs: 1
0: Webcam: (tuner:0, norm:pal)
Using input 'Webcam'
Selected input hasn't got a tuner!
==========================================================================
Opening video decoder: [raw] RAW Uncompressed Video
VDec: vo config request - 352 x 288 (preferred colorspace: Planar YV12)
VDec: using Planar YV12 as output csp (no 0)
Movie-Aspect is undefined - no prescaling applied.
VO: [x11] 352x288 => 352x288 Planar YV12
SwScaler: using unscaled Planar YV12 -> BGRA special converter
Selected video codec: [rawyv12] vfm: raw (RAW YV12)
==========================================================================
Audio: no sound
Starting playback...

ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range

ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range

ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.0 1/ 1 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.0 2/ 2 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.1 3/ 3 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.1 4/ 4 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.2 5/ 5 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.2 6/ 6 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.2 7/ 7 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.3 8/ 8 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.3 9/ 9 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.4 10/ 10 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.4 11/ 11 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
V: 0.4 12/ 12 ??% ??% ??,?% 0 0
ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range

ioctl mcapture failed: Numerical result out of range
MJP: returning!

Exiting... (Quit)
[b]Thanks! David[/b]
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#20 Post by MU »

hm, I don't know what this means.
I would try this:

first check, if mplayer can play videos (.avi, or .mpg or .wmv).
So that you can be shure, that a correct videodriver is used (that can be changed via right-click -> options).

Then:
detach cable, and type:
rmmod pwc
modprobe pwc

Then plugin cable again, and start gmplayer again with the long tv option.
That should "reset" everything from the former experiments.
Mark
[url=http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=173456#173456]my recommended links[/url]

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