Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[greengeek]

This post details my (successful) attempt at adding a usb webcam to my Toshiba TE2100 laptop running Slacko 5.3

Step 1

Choose a webcam that is “uvc compliant”. These webcams tend to be the newer ones (up to about 3 or 4 years old?). If you choose a non-uvc webcam it will require a specific driver and although they can often be set up on Linux, it is nowhere near as easy as using a uvc compliant webcam.

(More notes regarding uvc and non-uvc webcams at the end of the post. That info might help you choose or reject a particular webcam)

The webcam I chose cost NZ$14 and is a “cheap chinese generic webcam” from Trademe (the New Zealand version of Ebay...)

In case anyone is interested, my particular webcam has a device ID of eb1a:2571 (The device ID of your webcam becomes important in determining whether or not uvc is capable of connecting to it, and it can also help you google information about any problems you might have with whatever device you are using).


Step 2

Install guvcview.pet (courtesy of rcrsn51) Available here -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=577716#577716
(Ignore the comments about other things you need, there is another .pet I will mention below which covers those...)
(This guvcview pet installs the programme that interfaces with uvc compliant webcams and accepts the video stream via usb from the webcam)

Step 3

Install guvcview-slack-DEP.pet (courtesy of rcrsn51) Available here -
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=577841#577841
(This installs the extra dependencies for guvcview to run on Slacko)

This info highlighted by 01micko at:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=73594&sid=b0f43fa4168dd45b932b258d73f84f87

Step 4

Turn off the computer.
Plug in the webcam.
Reboot
Run guvcview (in Menu, Multimedia)

You should now see an image from your webcam, and a control window that allows you to finetune the image.

If you close down guvcview and run Skype instead, you should be able to choose “options” within the Skype menu and test the webcam. If you experience a problem where guvcview correctly accesses the webcam but Skype does NOT appear to link to the webcam, you may still be able to use the webcam for Skype purposes by running guvcview at the same time as Skype, and using the “share a portion of the screen” function within the Skype options. (As suggested by 666philb at http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=574243#574242)


Other Notes:

If you want to know if your webcam is supported by uvc, you may find this site useful

http://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/

If you want to know the device ID for your webcam, plug it into your usb and then open up a terminal and type dmesg. You should see the messages refer to a number something like the format of eb1a:2571. Each different device has a different number depending on manufacturer and model.



If you are wanting to use a Logitech webcam you may find the chart on this other website useful for identifying what your webcam is actually called: (even though the site is intended for Windows users it has useful Logitech model info)

http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3428/~/webcam-software-and-driver-support-for-windows

Some models (despite having a common name) may work or not work depending on manufacturing date. See the notes on the website.

Other info that may be of interest:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=21464

[tytower]

[linbie]

Works a treat with an old PS 2 eyetoy (nimtel type - i.e black)