I have a Creative VF0 3801 Live! Cam Optia Pro that has worked well on openSuse 11.4, on Skype and Cheese etc. but does not work so well on openSuse 12.1. The webcam is recognised and actually works on kopete but not with Skype or Cheese. In the case of Skype this is perhaps not surprising as a version of Skype for opensuse is only for 11.+ but that does not explain why Cheese does not work. I note that there are some driver module changes 11.4 to 12.1, e.g v4l1_compat seems to have been replaced by v4l2_compat_ioctl32.
john@stour:~> lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 03f0:7711 Hewlett-Packard
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 041e:4065 Creative Technology, Ltd
Bus 002 Device 002: ID 045e:00b9 Microsoft Corp. Wireless Optical Mouse 3.0
also from dmesg
[26686.092459] usb 1-10: USB disconnect, device number 5
[26687.995024] usb 1-10: new high speed USB device number 6 using ehci_hcd
[26688.144802] usb 1-10: New USB device found, idVendor=041e, idProduct=4065
[26688.144806] usb 1-10: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[26688.144808] usb 1-10: Product: VF0380 Live! Cam Optia Pro
[26688.144810] usb 1-10: Manufacturer: Creative Technology Ltd
[26688.144812] usb 1-10: SerialNumber: 071119_A_28435
[26688.145649] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device VF0380 Live! Cam Optia Pro (041e:4065)
[26688.152548] input: VF0380 Live! Cam Optia Pro as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.1/usb1/1-10/1-10:1.0/input/input7
No I was not aware that skype was now available thro’ the build service. I have now tried this version but the result is the same. No video on skype or cheese but it works on kopete.
Just for further information I was updating a laptop from 11.2 to 12.1 when the problem arose. I have now reverted to 11.4 and the webcam works fine on that version in skype, cheese etc. Its definitely a 12.1 problem with those two apps at least.
and typically one goes here for openSUSE webcam information: HCL:Web cameras - openSUSE and your 045e:00b9 is NOT listed as a UVC compatible webcam.
But according to the dmesg:
The webcam is a uvc webcam and it is misidentified ??? as a (041e:4065) webcam.
This looks like more good luck than good measure.
For testing the webcam further, I recommend you install the Packman packager packaged version of guvcview which is far superior to cheese.
Please book mark that search engine. software.opensuse.org: Search Results Please also pay CLOSE attention to the ‘search options’ in that search engine. OFTEN one needs to search members repositories.
reference installing ‘this version but the result is the same’. WHAT VERSION ? There had to be Dozens of hits on that page. Exactly which one did you install ? But thats a mute point now, as you have left 12.1 for 11.4 and 11.4 appears to be working for you now (which is good).
What now ?
If it were me, with your webcam that appears to be working with the UVC driver, I would tell the developers ASAP ! It is important that they confirm the support for the camera is good because it is NOT showing up on their compatibility list, which may mean functionality is a co-incidence and could be dropped in the future. The developers rely on volunteers to help them.
To tell the volunteers, one must join the UVC mailing list: Linux-uvc-devel Info Page One needs to subscribe to the mailing list before posting. Once subscribed, post on the list advising that one has a " uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device VF0380 Live! Cam Optia Pro (041e:4065) " webcam that appears to be working in openSUSE-11.4.
Say that the dmesg suggests the webcam was either misidentified as different webcam (with dmesg noting): " Found UVC 1.00 device VF0380 Live! Cam Optia Pro (041e:4065) " or the same webcam has two different vendors.
And ask what further commands need to be sent to have this camera added to the uvc compatibility list.
Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. With reference to UVC compatibility I think you checked the MS mouse not the camera
Bus 001 Device 004: ID 041e:4065 Creative Technology, Ltd
device 41e:4065 is listed HCL:Web cameras - openSUSE as a compatible device. Therefore I don’t think this “functionally a co-incidence”. So the problem is not the camera but the software in my opinion? I have been using 12.1 on another desktop for some time but don’t use it with a camera so I can still use that box for testing and I am interested in finding a solution to this problem as I will eventually want to upgrade my laptop (with the camera) to 12.xx.
I have now tried guvcview and the result is the same as cheese and skype - no video but I say again kopete does not have this problem, it works perfectly on 12.1 on the same box.
I would still recommend you report on the uvc mailing list this lack of compatibility with cheese, skype and guvcview. In particular, it should ‘just work’ wit guvcview.
I have exactly the same camera and problem. After upgrade from 11.4 to 12.1 webcam works with kopete only. No skype video With 11.4 it works perfectly everywhere… So the prolem is definitely in software. Please, let me know, if you find solution.
You are right, it was not a complete solution. It was just recommendation for those people, who have the same problem, and don’t know what to do before this bug is removed in official version.
I tried the link, submitted a bug. I hope, I did everything right. Let’s wait.
On 01/15/2012 12:06 AM, a artemyev wrote:
> submitted a bug.
thank you!
if you would please post the bug number or URL to this thread then those
folks who might Google in on some of the details of the problem can find
the bug and see the status…
thanks again, and in advance…
–
DD
openSUSE®, the “German Engineered Automobiles” of operating systems!
I have noted the following: My camera is a Philips, and has a microphone. If
I set that microphone (a USB device) to be used by skype, the audio works OK
but then the camera does not (switches light on, but does not output any
image).
Kamoso works fine, but of course it does not use audio.
To be able to use the camera in skype I need to connect an external mic on
the soundcard and not use the USB audio device in the webcam. All this used
to work fine in 11.4 (now I am in 12.1 64bit).
And more… Since I updated to KDE 4.8 the soundcard mic input level is
extremely low. I fiddled with kmix, reinstalled the sound drivers, changed
the backend on phonon from xine to gstreamer, disabled pulseaudio and
nothing seems to make a difference.
I can use the external microphone, but I need to talk contacting it. :-/
This is not true for all phillips webcams. My mother lives in North America and I in Europe, and a couple of years back I gave her my old Phillips webcam (as I purchased a newer logitech). My mother talks to me using the mic in that old Phillips at the same time as that old Phillips webcam sends video over Skype.
Her webcam is a
Bus 005 Device 002: ID 0471:0311 Philips PCVC740K ToUcam Pro [pwc]
and its mic is recognized by alsa as the second sound device on her PC and the snd-usb-audio audio driver is loaded for her webcam.
When her PC boots:
<6> 5.096064] pwc: Philips webcam module version 10.0.13 loaded.
<6> 5.096066] pwc: Supports Philips PCA645/646, PCVC675/680/690, PCVC720[40]/730/740/750 & PCVC830/840.
<6> 5.096068] pwc: Also supports the Askey VC010, various Logitech Quickcams, Samsung MPC-C10 and MPC-C30,
<6> 5.096069] pwc: the Creative WebCam 5 & Pro Ex, SOTEC Afina Eye and Visionite VCS-UC300 and VCS-UM100.
<6> 5.096090] pwc: Philips PCVC740K (ToUCam Pro)/PCVC840 (ToUCam II) USB webcam detected.
<6> 5.118150] pwc: Registered as video0.
<6> 5.122090] input: PWC snapshot button as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:13.0/usb5/5-1/input/input6
<6> 5.122159] usbcore: registered new interface driver Philips webcam
<6> 5.124216] HDA Intel 0000:00:14.2: PCI INT A -> GSI 16 (level, low) -> IRQ 16
<6> 5.140068] ohci1394: fw-host0: OHCI-1394 1.1 (PCI): IRQ=[20] MMIO=[febff800-febfffff] Max Packet=[2048] IR/IT contexts=[4/8]
<6> 5.177371] hda_codec: ALC888: BIOS auto-probing.
<7> 5.177376] ALSA hda_codec.c:4385: autoconfig: line_outs=4 (0x14/0x15/0x16/0x17/0x0)
<7> 5.177380] ALSA hda_codec.c:4389: speaker_outs=0 (0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
<7> 5.177382] ALSA hda_codec.c:4393: hp_outs=1 (0x1b/0x0/0x0/0x0/0x0)
<7> 5.177384] ALSA hda_codec.c:4394: mono: mono_out=0x0
<7> 5.177386] ALSA hda_codec.c:4397: dig-out=0x1e/0x0
<7> 5.177387] ALSA hda_codec.c:4405: inputs: mic=0x18, fmic=0x19, line=0x1c, fline=0x0, cd=0x0, aux=0x0
<7> 5.178658] ALSA patch_realtek.c:1287: realtek: No valid SSID, checking pincfg 0x411111f0 for NID 0x1d
<7> 5.178661] ALSA patch_realtek.c:1370: realtek: Enable default setup for auto mode as fallback
<6> 5.372241] usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio
and as see in the last line in that boot message code the snd-usb-audio driver loaded during boot
As noted, my mother talks to me using the mic in that old Phillips at the same time as that old Phillips sends video over Skype.
Her PC is running a 64-bit openSUSE-11.3 with the basic KDE-4.4.4 that comes with 11.3.
For an old webcam, it runs well with openSUSE-11.3 and its 2.6.34 kernel. I have read on the Fedora forum that their may be regressions with the pwc driver for this webcam in newer kernel versions and so what is true for openSUSE-11.3 may not be true for newer openSUSE versions because of an upstream kernel regression.
> As noted, my mother talks to me using the mic in that old Phillips at
> the same time as that old Phillips sends video over Skype.
>
> Her PC is running a 64-bit openSUSE-11.3 with the basic KDE-4.4.4 that
> comes with 11.3.
Hi oldcpu,
Maybe I was not clear enough, it also worked for me (audio and video) in
skype in all previous versions of opensuse I used (many!) without adding any
special drivers.
But since 12.1 it is either video or audio, not both from the camera in
skype.
And since kde 4.8 even the audio via de soundcard is extremely low in skype.
I do not have pulseaudio installed.
> I have read on the Fedora forum that their may be regressions
> with the pwc driver for this webcam in newer kernel versions and so what
> is true for openSUSE-11.3 may not be true for newer openSUSE versions
> because of an upstream kernel regression.
I see, well, let’s hope somebody will solve this.
Cheers
Reference pulse audio, I am on record for most users NOT to remove pulse audio. OpenSUSE is no longer tested with a removed pulse audio, and hence one is in unsupported territory when they remove pulse audio. I took the time to write a blog entry here: Pulseaudio Basics for openSUSE with pavucontrol - Blogs - openSUSE Forums explaining to pulse audio users one way to configure Skype with pulse audio.
… my long range plan, if I visit Canada in September this year, is to install openSUSE-12.1 and a NEW UVC compatible webcam on my mother’s PC and not rely on the old Phillips webcam any more. My mothers ‘hand-me-down’ Phillips Webcam is simply too old, and even in GNU/Linux we see support stop for old hardware, as the old developers stop supporting (and move to support their new hardware) and the remainder of the users don’t know enough to support, and even if they did know enough to support they won’t support (the older hardware) because they can’t be bothered. And typically the manufacturers don’t support GNU/Linux.
I seem to have stumbled onto a solution to the problem. Having noticed that several apps cheese, luvcview, guvcview etc gave rise to libv4l2 package errors I installed the V4L2 Test Bench app. I clicked on the “open device” (folder icon) and set the v4l compatible device to the only one showing video0 and every thing worked! BUT only as long as the V4L2 Test Bench was open. Can someone tell me how to set the V4L2 to point permanently to video0 without running V4L2 Test Bench??? Thanks in advance.
With 11.4 it works perfectly everywhere… So the prolem is definitely in software. Please, let me know, if you find solution.