Webcam Video Help

No webcam video

All Webcams – Some of the newer USB webcams do not need software drivers. Plug the webcam in, wait about 15 seconds for the computer to recognize it, and then open your browser. If the browser was already open when you plugged in the USB webcam you may have to close the browser and reopen it to enable the webcam. Other webcams require software drivers, usually available on a CD. Make sure you have correctly loaded the software drivers that came with your webcam. If you’ve lost the CD you can usually download the drivers from the manufacturer’s website under their product support section.

USB Webcams – If it is an external webcam and you can’t see video, try closing your browser, unplugging the USB cable and then plug it back in. Wait 15 seconds and then launch your browser and try your webcam again.  Note: If you have a Mac and want to use iMovie, Apple apparently only wants to use (internal or external) Apple iSight or firewire cameras. You can try to find it but may not find any USB webcams that will work with IMovie. More info on this page: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1059

Note: Mobile devices, such as the iPhone and iPad, have built-in cameras. You need to use a native app for the device as traditional Flash based camera recorders are not supported. To see an example try mailVU’s iPhone/iPad app. It is free and allows anyone to record and send videos to any email address without worrying about file size, format, or orientation.

Can’t click Allow on Flash sites? See this helpful article from Adobe. Please note that Mac OS updates have been known to negatively impact Flash. See this post on known issues of Flash with OS 10.7 Lion. You may permanently set mailVU.com as an approved website under the Mac System Preferences. This blog post shows you how.

iSight webcam (Macs). If your iSight webcam is not delivering video try these troubleshooting tips from Apple.

Camera Selection – Most programs allow you to manually select and switch between webcams. To select your webcam in mailVU simply choose your device in the drop down list below the recording window. To change webcams in MSN click Tools, Audio & Video set up, Next. It should give you the option to choose which camera you want to use. To change webcams in Skype choose Settings, Camera to change your selection. Every program has a similar means of allowing you to manually select the camera you want. For Mac users you may have to select the USB webcam, even if it is built-in.

Additional webcam video help

Windows 7 – Go to Control Panel, Hardware, Devices and look for your webcam. Go through the tabs to make sure it is Enabled. If you do not see the webcam in the list, click on Add a device. If you still don’t see your webcam then you will need to reload the software drivers, either from disc or the manufacturer’s website. Once you think you have it loaded, reboot your computer.

Vista – Go to Control Panel, Hardware, Devices and look for your webcam. Go through the tabs to make sure it is Enabled. If you do not see the webcam in the list, right click on the white space and select Show disabled devices. If you still don’t see your webcam then you will need to reload the software drivers, either from disc or the manufacturer’s website. Once you think you have it loaded reboot your computer.

XP – Go to Control Panel, Printers and other Hardware, Scanners and Cameras. If you webcam is listed make sure it is enabled. If your webcam isn’t listed click on Add An Imaging Device on the left side and follow the setup.

Clear the browser cache. – After extended use the browser cache can become full, negatively impacting the webcam experience.  It is a good practice to empty the cache every so often and whenever you are getting poor webcam performance.  For instructions on how to empty the browser cache see this article.  Make sure your computer CPU is not working on other tasks (like running anti-virus software).  We recommend that you close other browser windows as well.

My webcam image is upside down. How do I fix it?

Either you chose the effect under your webcam options, or your software driver is corrupted and you will need to reload your software driver. Here are the instructions to reload the driver for Windows 7:

1. download the latest webcam driver from the manufacturer’s web site.

2. save the contents to desktop.

3. click the Windows Start icon. Right-click on Computer and select Properties.

4. select Device Manager.

5. click on Imaging Devices to show the name of the webcam.

6. right-click on the name of the webcam and select Properties.

7. go to the Driver tab. Click on Update Driver and a new window should pop-up.

8. click ‘Browse my computer for driver software’. Select ‘Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer’.

9. on the next window, it’ll give you the current driver. Click ‘Have Disk’. click Browse. Browse to the desktop and select the latest driver that you’ve downloaded. It will then be added to the list of drivers. Select the new driver and click Next. Follow the prompts to install the new driver.

Microphone

No webcam audio

Windows 7 – Click on Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Sound, Recording. You should see your microphone icon with a Green check mark on it. If there is no Green check mark, it means it is disabled. To enable the Microphone Right click on Microphone and click on Enable. If you do not see the Microphone in the list, Right click on the White space and select Show disabled devices. Then you would see the Microphone. However, if you do not see the green check mark on it, Right click on it and click on Enable. And also Select Microphone and click on Set Default (If Set as default button is active).

Now set the microphone Sensitivity level:

1. Select Microphone and click on Properties button.
2. Select Levels, and adjust the slider to the right to 50-100 % of its range.
3. If Mute is on, click the mute button to un-mute the device.
4. If Microphone Boost is available, boost the volume.
5. Click OK to make the changes.

XP – Click Start, Control Panel, Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Select the Task “Adjust System Volume”. Click on the audio tab, go to the middle section for Sound Recording and click on the Volume button. You can now see the microphone levels and can increase the volume level.

Mac

To Start, click the Apple Icon on the top left of your screen and select System Preferences

Then select Sound

Then Select Input and Line In

Other Webcam Help

I can’t click Allow in the Flash pop-up

This can happen on the Mac when using Firefox.  Also be sure to read our Solutions to Mac iSight Camera Problems with Flash Applications post.  Recent upgrades to Mac OS X 10.5.8 and 10.6.5 has caused problems with the iSight webcams on Flash sites.

If Deny is clicked and you are unable to change the Flash setting from Deny to Allow, try the following:

• Go to the Adobe Flash Player settings website (click here)
• Find mailVU in the list of visited websites.
• Highlight mailVU by clicking on it, and then select the “Always allow” option.
• Close the flash settings web page to save, restart your web browser, and try mailVU again.

How can I improve webcam image quality?

There are 3 major factors to your webcam image quality: webcam quality, lighting, and bandwidth. External webcams usually have better specifications than built-in webcams. Be sure to use a webcam that supports 1.3Mp or better real image resolution (not “enhanced”) as well as 30 frames per second (fps). Always have light shining on your face and never behind you. Put a lamp on your table if needed, have your overhead lights on, and make sure any light behind you is muted as much as possible (for example close the curtains if there is a window behind you). The more bandwidth the better. Use a wired connection instead of wireless, and try to be in an area where you are sharing Internet with as few people as possible. Click here for a longer guide to improving your webcam image quality.

How can I improve webcam fps (video/audio out of sync)?

The primary factors impacting fps are 1) computer processor speed, 2)power, and 3) Internet bandwidth. Use the following techniques to maximize the frames per second produced by your webcam:

1. Clear the cache in your browser. For instructions on how to empty the browser cache see this article.
2. Reboot your computer, and router/modem to clear memory.
3. Don’t run other CPU intensive programs while video recording.  Close other application windows.
4. Have good lighting on your face. Never have a light source, such as a window or lamp, behind you. Use a desk lamp if necessary to ensure there is good lighting between the webcam lens and your face.
5. Plug in your computer. A laptop running on batteries may reduce fps to conserve battery life.
6. Connect your computer to your router/modem with an Ethernet cable instead of wireless.
7. Keep movement to a minimum. The less you move the less the video will change between frames, and your webcam will produce a better image.
8. Wear solid color clothing, and avoid stripes which cause the auto-focus lens to constantly adjust.
9. Try to avoid running any other programs at the same time as using your webcam. These programs consume your processor, leaving less for processing the video.

You can check your webcam fps by going to the mailVU.com website, recording a brief video, and then playing it back. The fps result will appear during playback below the image.

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