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Notice: This page contains information for the legacy Phidget21 Library. Phidget21 is out of support. Bugfixes may be considered on a case by case basis. Phidget21 does not support VINT Phidgets, or new USB Phidgets released after 2020. We maintain a selection of legacy devices for sale that are supported in Phidget21. We recommend that new projects be developed against the Phidget22 Library.
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USB Webcam Primer
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Introduction
Webcams come in many forms, but the USB ones usually come a UVC (USB Video Class) devices. This primer gives a very brief overview of what they are and how to use them.
Advantages
Their advantage is their cross-platform compatibility, especially within the various flavours of Linux.
- Wikpedia gives a good overview of their levels of compatibility
- Many devices other than the Phidget webcam use the same protocol, please refer to a compatibility list
Use
A UVC device should be truly plug and play. Even on the Phidget Single Board Computer, the drivers are already installed. You can almost immediately begin using video capture programs on your operating system to record video or pictures.
Examples include:
- Capture from Windows media players and creators
- Use iMovie on Mac OS X
- Cheese on Linux (
sudo apt-get install cheese)
However, these programs are usually graphical programs which don't help if you want to use the webcam in code.
Phidget SBC
Any UVC webcam device should work interchangeably with any other UVC webcam device, So you don't have to use the Phidget one, you can find one that fits your needs.
