Connecting a camera

Connecting a camera

The first step is connecting a camera feed to you computer. This step is probably the most complex, since you will have to find out what works best for you. Each of the methods has its pros and cons, so try them out and see what works best. If you know of any other option, feel free to use that!

This tutorial only outlines the methods to connect a camera, and their pros and cons. If you have problems related to these, you should refer to their official tutorials. You should get it working before continuing with the tutorial.

Using a USB webcam:

Pros:

• Simple to setup
• High quality cameras will offer good performance(1080p 60fps)

Cons:

• Most cameras have a too low resolution and too much motion blur to use effectively

If you have a USB camera, you should try that first. If tracking is too bad, you can always switch to a phone later. A ps3 eye camera will work, but just barely due to its low resolution.

To ensure the camera is working as well as it can, refer to the Start/Stop camera part.

Tutorial:

Connect the camera to your PC and you are done! If you use a PS3 eye camera, also install the PS3 eye universal driver, not the CL eye one!

Using IP-Webcam wireless:

Pros:

• Fairly simple to setup
• Plenty of video options

Cons:

• Requires a good wifi connection
• Your PC and phone must be connected to the same network
• Only for android phones

If you have your PC and android phone connected to the same router and you have a strong wifi connection on your phone, this is the option you should use.

Tutorial:

Download the app IP Webcam from the play store. Start the app. Under video preferences->video resolution, select the resolution you wish to use. You should try to use a 4:3 aspect ratio with a resolution of around 800x600. Then, go back and click start server. Try to connect to your phone through your browser: click the help icon if you dont know how.

To ensure the camera is working as well as it can, refer to the Start/Stop camera part.

Using IP-Webcam wired:

Pros:

• Plenty of video options

Cons:

• A little harder to setup
• May not work on all phones and computers

If you dont have a good wifi connection, but have a half recent android phone, you should try this option. It may not work, however.

Tutorial:

For this we will use our phones network over USB feature. This is usually used to share the phones network or wifi with a computer, but if we disable wifi and mobile network on our phone, we can also use it as a direct connection between our phone and PC. First disable wifi and mobile network. Then connect your phone to your PC with a USB cable. Now enable the internet over USB option on your phone. Now, you can follow the same instructions as for the wireless one!

NOTE: Make sure that your networks are disabled or this won't work!

Using DroidCam OBS:

Pros:

• Should work on any device, including iphones
• Wired or wireless

Cons:

• Less video options than IP-Webcam
• Higher latency

If previous options dont work for you or you have an iphone, this is the option you should choose. It should work on any device, either wireless or wired.

Tutorial:

First, follow the DroidCam OBS official tutorial to get the phone-OBS connection. Use the 720p video resolution to ensure there is no watermark. Then, follow the OBS VirtualCam plugin tutorial to stream to a virtual camera. The phone will now act as a regular webcam.