tapksa Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Hi everyone, So I decided to get a webcam. Being a bit naïve I simply walked into the nearest store and bought the cheapest, knowing that I could return it if I couldn't make it work. After just plugging it and seeing that - surprisingly - it didn't quite function properly (at all), I thought about asking you for advice. The few last times I had problems and tried fixing them by myself I ended up making threads about my Mandriva Free 2008 not working at all, so this time I'll ask for help beforehand. The question is: what to buy and how to make it work? I only need, if possible, to be able to have webcam discussions via MSN. The people I was going to chat with are using Windows Live Messenger. I'm using Kopete for the time being, but I could try another program. Did someone manage to make such things work? Simply put, any recommendations? Thanks, Tapksa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yossarian Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 I also have a similar problem. Both my ultra-cheap webcams (USB connection) don't work with my IBM X30 laptop, running MDV 2008.1. At least nothing happens when I plug them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kieth Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Make sure you have this file installed: dkms-gspcav1 It's to make webcams work. dkms-gspcav1 - DKMS-ready driver for spca5xx webcams​  This package contains a DKMS-ready driver for spca5xx webcams. Kieth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Often you can get a webcam to work just by installing the appropriate driver package (e.g. dkms-gspcav1 , as mentioned above, but there are others too). The only foolproof way to know what package you need is to check the USB ID of the camera. Please plug it in, run: lsusb at a console as root, and post the result here. Then I can find out easily if your camera is supported and, if so, what driver you need to install. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neddie Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Is there an up-to-date list of well-supported webcams? For those who haven't bought one yet but want to make sure that it is likely to work ok with Mandriva? Is there any particular jargon to look out for, eg I read somewhere about UVC, a kind of universal standard, is that popular / supported / worth looking out for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yossarian Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 (edited) Mine says: Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0c45:612c Microdia And the second one: Bus 002 Device 002: ID 0c45:612c Pixart Imaging, Inc. :unsure: Edited June 23, 2008 by yossarian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2 Posted June 23, 2008 Report Share Posted June 23, 2008 Here's the current listed driver support: Gspca/Spca5xx Linux UVC driver Working Webcams With PWC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tapksa Posted June 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 My camera is Logitech QuickCam Communicate STX, and lsusb gives: Bus 002 Device 002: ID 046d:c045 Logitech, Inc. Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:08d7 Logitech, Inc. Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted June 24, 2008 Report Share Posted June 24, 2008 Yossarian and Tapksa, both your cameras are supported by gspcav1. Try this: urpmi kernel-`uname -r |cut -d- -f2`-devel-latest kernel-`uname -r | cut -d- -f2`-devel-`uname -r | cut -d- -f1` urpmi dkms-gspcav1 then plug in your camera and see if it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yossarian Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 I'm not sure it helped. When I test my two cameras in Skype (one at a time, of course), I see the light turning on, but there is no picture on the screen. Weird. How else can I check if they are working? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg2 Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 How else can I check if they are working? I don't have a web cam, and I'm not sure if I want one. :P Anyway, here's some info on the mandrivaclub.com/xwiki that may help you. It suggest testing them with camstream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tapksa Posted June 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 I guess it's time for me to give up already since neither aMSN, Kopete or Mercury could send my webcam to a contact. I believe I installed the required drivers. So seeing myself works fine but when I try to start a webcam discussion, nothing seems to happen. If someone has any idea what I should do, please help. Thank you all for your help anyway. -Tapksa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 If you're using 3D desktop, it can cause the same problem as with video playback - best to turn it off at least until you're sure everything's working. I'd use Cheese to test the cam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neddie Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 On a related theme - any recommended software to use for the shiny new webcam? In particular video-phoning, and it should be able to connect to a gratis (or preferably free) windows client too. Skype ? Ekiga ? Wengophone ? Anybody got any experience with these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamw Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Skype if your friends use Skype, otherwise Ekiga, which can interoperate with any other SIP client (there are several free ones for Windows). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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