Thanks for your software guys. I have two of the same USB camera connected to my Win7 64-bit notebook; both are Logitech HD webcam C270. Both cameras are listed in the [source] combobox. I add the first source and video from one of the cameras is displayed. I then select the second source, resulting in either the same video or a blank screen. I can never select the other camera, no matter which order I add cameras.
I investigated the source selection process a little more closely. It appears that when I select the first source in the combobox, Netcam actually selects the 2nd source, because when I view the combobox source list after selecting the 1st camera it is the 2nd camera that is actually highlighted. If I select the 2nd camera Netcam does indeed select the 2nd camera, and it is highlighted as selected in the source combobox. So it seems that it is impossible to select the first camera if the 2nd camera has exactly the same name.
I’m wondering if this problem is caused by the fact the Netcam lists the cameras with exactly the same name, and whether perhaps it can be fixed by listing multiple instances of the same camera as eg. C270 (1), C270 (2), etc.?? I tried WebCam XP and had no problem with camera selection.
Thanks in advance for any advice you may have. And please list multiple instances of the same camera such that they can be distinguished from each other.
I’m afraid there is not much that we can do in Netcam Studio for this case. Multiples instances of cameras with the same HW identifiers cannot be distincted in .NET.
Multiples instances of cameras with the same HW identifiers cannot be distincted in .NET
It is strange that Netcam cannot handle two or more of the same camera yet your own software WebCamXP has no such trouble distinguishing the same two cameras. YawCam also has no such trouble. I thus cannot see why you cannot find a solution for NetCam Studio. Is there some reason why you can’t implement WebCamXP’s solution to this problem?
Were it not for this problem I would already have purchased a licence, as I believe NetCam Studio provides a fine webcam streaming solution, especially the fact that the encoder shuts down when there are no stream connections. This enables a fantastic low-power streaming solution when compared to other software that continuously encode. However, the inability to select cameras is a fundamental and disappointing flaw in an otherwise great software application.
Because webcamXP was not developped in .NET but into another programming language that does not have such limitation. Anyway Netcam Studio is mainly targeting Network Cameras as its name suggest unlike webcamXP which was essentially developped with webcams in mind.
With this being said, and Netcam Studio as the successor of webcamXP, I am hoping it would be considered to find solutions. I understand that webcamXP was made in a different language, but I am sure if some time was spent it would be possible? However, if truly not I am sure we will all understand.
Well if somebody has a solution to have this working in a .NET application then forward the information here but without this there’s nothing that we can do and yes i’ve already spend some time searching for alternative ways or solutions. From what I saw, other .NET applications have the same problem/limitation.
I’ve also encountered this problem. It’s a code bug that’s pretty trivial to fix.
[Workaround #1]
You can do a search for the FriendlyName in regedit and change instances to Webcam #1 and Webcam #2, then they become selectable (until they’re uninstalled or you reboot).
[Replication Instructions]
I have these cameras in my Win8.1 x64 system:
Logitech C920 Logitech HD Pro C920
Logitech C920 Logitech HD Pro C920
Add Video Source > Local Source / Webcam >
Select either top or bottom item in the dropdown box first. Item appears in Window Port #1.
Right-click Window Port #1 > Edit video source > shows the bottom item in the drop-down box. Cancel.
Select either the other item in the dropdown box second. Window Port #2 appears blank.
In Skype the webcams come up as
Logitech HD Pro C920 <-- this is the device that is selected by default
Logitech HD Pro C920 (2)
[Code Fix]
I’m guessing that the original code probably doesn’t return the selected item in the dropdown correctly, or does a search for the first entry in an array that matches FriendlyName. You can fix it easily by taking the default enumeration of captured video sources and mapping it as a triple {NetcamDeviceName (e.g. Logitech Cam, Logitech Cam #2), FriendlyName (if still needed), DevicePath}.
[Possible Workaround #2]
Note that I’ve succeeded on my initial run of the application at having all devices available, but it took a few hacks to get there before having to resort to hacking the registry. Is there any way to wipe the settings (XML, registry) so I can see if it’s reproducible?