SystemCrash86 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I recently made the switch from windows to full time linux. Everything is going well except when i want to use my webcam for recording a video. I have used serveral including cheese which crashes when i hit the record button and guvcview which shows a black screen. Any other options that might help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Instead of assuming the software is shit, maybe you should verify that your webcam gets properly detected by the kernel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SystemCrash86 Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 I never said the software was shit. And my webcam does get picked up by the kernel as i've tested it with skype and cheese but cheese only crashes when i try to record and the same goes when i use kamoso. Guvcview might not be picking up my camera as when i load it there is just a black screen but my webcam light goes on. I can also use my webcam to take picures using tools such as camorama, so my webcam is working with the kernel it's just when i try to record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoknight88 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 (edited) I'm not familiar with cheese or guvcview, but have you tried using VLC? It can record video in addition to showing it. The full thread on the ubuntu forums can be found at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=143732 if needed. Here's the most relevant part. You can change the encoding as needed. Open VLC File--> OPen capture device Go to Video4Linux tab Specify your video device name (mine was /dev/video0) (My webcam audio doesn't work, so I left audio device as it is) Norm: Automatic Check "stream output" box Click settings Specify a filename (make sure you have write permissions there - usually a file on desktop or home directory is the best bet) Unselect "dump raw input" (it must reamain empty) Encapsulation method: MPEG1 Video codec: mp1v Audio codec: mpga "select all elementary streams" should remain empty. Press OK Press OK Now press PLAY button on VLC. The video should start recording. You can check this while VLC is recording video by right clicking on the recording file and selecting properties (it will show increasing file size). I was able to do this pretty quickly and easily. Hope this helps. Edited June 28, 2015 by neoknight88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SystemCrash86 Posted June 28, 2015 Author Share Posted June 28, 2015 I'm not familiar with cheese or guvcview, but have you tried using VLC? It can record video in addition to showing it. The full thread on the ubuntu forums can be found at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=143732 if needed. Here's the most relevant part. You can change the encoding as needed. Open VLC File--> OPen capture device Go to Video4Linux tab Specify your video device name (mine was /dev/video0) (My webcam audio doesn't work, so I left audio device as it is) Norm: Automatic Check "stream output" box Click settings Specify a filename (make sure you have write permissions there - usually a file on desktop or home directory is the best bet) Unselect "dump raw input" (it must reamain empty) Encapsulation method: MPEG1 Video codec: mp1v Audio codec: mpga "select all elementary streams" should remain empty. Press OK Press OK Now press PLAY button on VLC. The video should start recording. You can check this while VLC is recording video by right clicking on the recording file and selecting properties (it will show increasing file size). I was able to do this pretty quickly and easily. Hope this helps. Hi, thanks for your input its always appreciated but not quite what i'm looking for. I can already record my desktop but what i really need is a program that i can use my webcam to record. On a side note thanks for the tip about vlc i use it alot now i made the switch to linux and didn't know about that so thank you it might come in handy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digip Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I'm by no means a linux guru, but lets at least start at the beginning with a few questions that may help some of the others who use linux regularly maybe point you in the right direction. For starters, what distro are you using, is it 32 or 64 bit, what desktop interface(Gnome, kde, xfce, etc) as some of these may come into play. From there I would then start looking at your flavor of linux and any support forums for your specific versions there in as well as, what is the brand of laptop/camera hardware or device info you can give on the camera, since we'll want to see if there is anything we can find on the camera itself. Came across this, which may be an alternative if you want to try an external/usb cameras instead of a built in camera(I'm assuming you're on a laptop with built in camera, but if using an external one, try the link) - http://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/faq/ Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neoknight88 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Hi, thanks for your input its always appreciated but not quite what i'm looking for. I can already record my desktop but what i really need is a program that i can use my webcam to record. On a side note thanks for the tip about vlc i use it alot now i made the switch to linux and didn't know about that so thank you it might come in handy. Not a problem. If you look at it, this isn't to record desktop. What I posted allows you to use the webcam if you select /dev/video0. At least, I was able to access my webcam from it. The name of the thread is Use VLC to capture video from your webcam to a file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wh1t3 and n3rdy Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 guvcview is popular with most of the linux youtube channels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QtLinux Posted November 4, 2015 Share Posted November 4, 2015 You could use Qtcam for recording videos on Linux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.