Using a Microsoft Lifecam Studio with BoinxTV

BoinxTV
#1

Recording my experience here for those who may need it.

Take one Lifecam Studio, plug in.

You will notice that most apps recognise it, as it is a UVC webcam. Unfortunately, MS in their infinite wisdom decided to implement focus and exposure (and I think white balance) in software in the Windows driver. Yay.

Never mind - open source, as ever, to the rescue. The guy who built the CamHolder stand for the Lifecam also hacked up a setup app - it’s downloadable from https://github.com/downloads/HBehrens/CamHolderApp/CamHolderApp-0.2.b.zip and allows you to control focus and exposure. I suspect someone with more knowledge of the UVC protocol than me could persuade it to tweak balance as well.

After that, it’s just another webcam - BoinxTV recognises it, and it All Just Works.

#2

As an aside - it looks like the app handles multiple cameras. However the Lifecam is VERY greedy about USB bandwidth, so much like FW cameras, if you ran two (which may well be my next experiment) it’ll need a separate USB bus for each (so a MacBook Pro is fine)

#3

Another note (which I forgot) - be aware that the Lifecam pixels aren’t square, and the ‘Auto’ pixel ratio setting doesn’t pick this up - you’ll need to set it to 16:9.

#4

hey that’s pretty cool. shared with a friend that’s been trying to get this type of sw for his cam. thx!