Skype cannot find my new webcam!

**hendersj** · 10-Jul-2011, 15:37

On Sun, 10 Jul 2011 20:36:03 +0000, oldcpu wrote:

> I would have been VERY surprised had that worked. As I noted above, that
> command is for gspca webcams which yours is NOT. Your webcam is a uvc
> webcam and hence that command is simply not appropriate. So don't be
> surprised there. If it had worked it would have been a major surprise.

Whoops, I should have read closer.

Sorry for the red herring.

Jim

--
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

**jwesleycooper** · 10-Jul-2011, 21:48

Originally Posted by oldcpu

Sorry to read of your frustation, and my apologies, but 'no joy' is not helpful when trying to help you. Did you run skype from a terminal ? And when trying to configure the webcam in the skype menu, did any messages show up in the terminal ?

Did you try to remove any of the skype configuration files so as to start with a clean slate ... ie rename /home/yourusername/.Skype to .Skype-backup and restart and configure Skype.

Ah, my dumb: removing the .Skype folder fixed the video.

Originally Posted by oldcpu

Did you try 'pavucontrol' like I recommended ?

Some openSUSE-11.4 KDE users install the xfce-mixer because they are unhappy with kmix. You can also use the amixer command with the appropriate arguments. Type:

Code:

man amixer

for instructions on how to use amixer.

Is this an integrated webcam ? Or is it an external webcam ?

This is a usb, thus external, webcam. I raised the digital volume to 80% using amixer, then tried recording with

Code:

arecord -vv -f cd test.wav

but all I got was static when I played the file ... so I tried it at 50% with the same result.

Also, I'm still getting the same result from

Code:

arecord -D hw:1,0 -vv -f cd test.wav

... any ideas as to why?

**oldcpu** · 10-Jul-2011, 22:40

Originally Posted by jwesleycooper

This is a usb, thus external, webcam. I raised the digital volume to 80% using amixer, then tried recording with

Code:

arecord -vv -f cd test.wav

but all I got was static when I played the file ... so I tried it at 50% with the same result.

Also, I'm still getting the same result from

Code:

arecord -D hw:1,0 -vv -f cd test.wav

... any ideas as to why?

Well, the error " arecord: set_params:1065: Channels count non available " suggests that the "hw:1,0" is the wrong setting. However according to the script ARECORD section, your webcam is hw:1,0 and that suggested to me that your webcam was not connected when you tried that test. That is why I asked if it was external.

If you send the command:

Code:

arecord -l

you will see which is the card # and which is the device #, so you can figure out "hw:card#,device#".

Did you unmute the digital mic setting yet ? Did you try again in Skype to configure for the external USB mic ? Does Skype have the external USB mic in its drop down configuration list ?

What is the output of the command:

Code:

amixer -D hw:0

and

Code:

amixer -D hw:1

Post it on SUSE Paste and then post here the web address / URL.

Did you try 'pavucontrol' like I suggested ?

**jwesleycooper** · 11-Jul-2011, 15:56

SUSE Paste

Also, the mic is not showing up in Skype, just PulseAudioServer (local), in which the mic is turned all the way up, and showing that sound is being received.

Once again, all I got was static when I un-muted the digital mic, so I muted it again.

**oldcpu** · 11-Jul-2011, 22:42

Originally Posted by jwesleycooper

SUSE Paste

Originally Posted by jwesleycooper

Also, the mic is not showing up in Skype, just PulseAudioServer (local), in which the mic is turned all the way up, and showing that sound is being received.

Once again, all I got was static when I un-muted the digital mic, so I muted it again.

Perhaps my english is not good enough. I can not tell from that quote if you tried my suggestion, which was to install 'pavucontrol' and try it. I'll ask again: did you try 'pavucontrol' like I suggested ? Note when trying 'pavucontrol' you need to run it at the same time you are recording, you need to ensure that in the Input Devices Tab that you have SHOW selected to 'all input devices' and in the Recording Tab you have SHOW seleted to 'all input streams'.

Please, can you try pavucontrol ?

Reference your mic, I note this:

Code:

Simple mixer control 'Capture',1
  Capabilities: cvolume cswitch penum
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 15
  Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB] [off]
  Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [0.00dB] [off]
Simple mixer control 'Digital',0
  Capabilities: cvolume penum
  Capture channels: Front Left - Front Right
  Limits: Capture 0 - 120
  Front Left: Capture 0 [0%] [-30.00dB]
  Front Right: Capture 0 [0%] [-30.00dB]

I don't know how sound is routed through your hardware on your PC, but if it were me I would unmute Capture1 and move its levels up to 80% to test if that is related to the webcam mic. I would also move the Digital capture from 0% up to 80% for testing.

Reference your web cam, is it new ? Does the Mic work in another operating system ?

And how important/ugent is this problem of a webcam mic to solve ? Do you have the nominal anlogue mic working with a headset ? I ask because Skype is important to me (I have a video chat with my 85+ year old mother (who lives in a different continent) almost every day using Skype).

**oldcpu** · 11-Jul-2011, 22:48

Originally Posted by jwesleycooper

SUSE Paste

Further to the above post, I note this:

Code:

:~> amixer -D hw:1
Simple mixer control 'Mic',0
  Capabilities: cvolume cvolume-joined cswitch cswitch-joined penum
  Capture channels: Mono
  Limits: Capture 0 - 6144
  Mono: Capture 6144 [100%] [27.00dB] [on]

That tells me I was correct with hw:1.

Hence this command should work for recording:

Code:

arecord -D hw:1,0 -vv -f cd test.wav

After a reboot and you try that command to record, does it work ?

You could also try:

Code:

arecord -D hw:1,1 -vv -f cd test.wav

but I don't think hw:1,1 is correct. I think the webcam is card#1 and the device is #0 (and the device is not #1).

**jwesleycooper** · 12-Jul-2011, 16:06

Ah, I just wasn't leaving pavucontrol running and I didn't change to the correct input once the recording began ... which has now fixed the issue, thanks and sorry for being difficult.

**oldcpu** · 12-Jul-2011, 22:23

Originally Posted by jwesleycooper

Ah, I just wasn't leaving pavucontrol running and I didn't change to the correct input once the recording began ... which has now fixed the issue,

Well done in your determination to see this through and fix it.

I use Skype on openSUSE GNU/Linux on my PC to have a video chat almost daily with my 85+ year old mother who lives in a different continent (where she also uses openSUSE GNU/Linux). I also have Skype (with openSUSE) setup on my laptop, so when on business trips, if I have Internet in the hotel, I can also have a chat with my mother long distance. Hence having the webcam and Mic working is definitely important. Again, well done!

**deano_ferrari** · 12-Jul-2011, 23:04

Yes, well done! Intensive threads like this one which have successful outcomes can be beneficial to countless others looking for help. Good work too oldcpu!

**batequeixo** · 01-Oct-2011, 12:21

What worked for me (and fixed both microphone and webcam) was:
1) edit skype application launcher:
*right-clicking the Suse icon at the bottom left of KDE desktop
*select 'edit application', the "KDE Menu Editor" launches.
*browse to skype - in my case was under "Internet --> more programs"
2) at the "command" field, enter {{{LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so skype}}} (minus the triple brackets, of course)
3) save at top left
4) launch skype & test it.