macam: application and component
Mac OS X support for many USB webcams

Version 0.8.4, 2005-11-16

Disclaimer

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. It's included in the "License.txt" file in this release.

We tried not to violate any legal rights of anyone else. If we did, please contact us. Contact information is at the very end of this document.

When you decide to use this software, you do it on your own risk. Using this software might cause damage to your software and even to your hardware.

Keep in mind this is a beta version, which means you could encounter problems while using it. It works pretty well

Getting started

Macam consists of two parts that can be used independently: A standalone application ("macam") and a QuickTime driver component that allows you to use your webcam with other applications ("macam.component"). Starting the application is simple: Double-click the application icon. To install the component copy "macam.component" to the "/Library/Quicktime/" folder. 

Important: This text is not a complete usage guide. To see more detailled and complete information on installation, uninstallation and usage, select "macam Help" from the "Help" menu from within the application. You will also find more information on troubleshooting and how to write bug reports there. You can find a list of various cameras and their support status at the macam home page (see the bottom of this text for more details).

Contacting the authors

When you encounter problems or have questions, there are some places to look first before contacting the authors:

	• The application's help facility
	• The macam home page (http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net) - including the FAQ
	• This text

If your problem is not addressed there (or if simply everything works fine) feel free to write about it. We will try to reply to all email requests (except for questions whose answers can easily be found in the sources mentioned above), but this is a hard job: Usually we spend a considerable amount of time replying to emails each day (reducing the available time for further development). So replies might take a while. If we don't reply, please don't take it personally - it's not meant to be impolite. If it's important, just mail again. You can find contact information at the end of this document.

Actually, if you have a camera, please let us know if it works or not, by emailing the following list. Include camera specifics, the name, model, vendor and product IDs (if available), which version of macam you have, and also the Mac OS X version used.

	• webcam-osx-devs@lists.sourceforge.net

What's new?

Here's a list of most changes since macam 0.8.3:

	• Added support for SQ905 based cameras (0x2770:0x9120), although compressed images are not right yet
	• Added rudimentary support for QuickCam VC, image gain issues need to be fixed
	• Added support in the driver and application for downloading movies (without sound) [works with SQ905 cameras]
	• Upgraded the Xcode project to use native targets (necessary for universal binaries)
	• Universal binaries are now produced, although they probably don't work yet, testing reports would be welcome
	• Added the "-lSystem" flag when linking so that hopefully code will work on 10.1 and 10.2, again reports are welcome

Here's a list of most changes since macam 0.8.2:

	• Added changes to save in different formats (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, BMP)
	• Changed Sweda SmartCam to use Sonix driver (same as Vivicam 3350B actually)
	• Added Logitech QuickCam Notebook Pro
	• Added QuickCam Orbit patch, should now be able to pan & tilt the camera!
	• Added a number of missing [super dealloc] possible memory leaks
	• Removed compiler warnings, (after upgrading to gcc 4.0)
	• Added patch to avoid printing unnecessary log messages that central is initialized
	• Added patch to include the number of the dummy camera
	• Added a number of cameras to Timon, Kiara, KiaraFlipped drivers: Philips PCVC720K/40 (ToUCam XS), Logitech QuickCam Zoom (new model), Samsung MPC-C10, Samsung MPC-C30, Creative Labs Webcam Pro Ex, Sotec Afina Eye, AME Co. Afina Eye, Visionite VCS-UM100, Visionite VCS-UC300. Feedback as to whether these do or do not work is always appreciated!

Here's a list of most changes since macam 0.8.1b1:

	• Improved support for the Vivitar ViviCam 3350B camera (delete images from camera)
	• Experimental support for a number of SPCA500A cameras
	• Patch # 862936 - Patch for MySE401Driver (Kensigton stutters)
	• Patch # 738976 - Added support for Logitech QuickCam Zoom USB (046d/08b3)
	• Patch # 849697 - Added support for AIPTEK Pocket DV (0x08ca/0x0103)
	• Patch # 911662 - Added support for Creative Labs Webcam 5 (early model) (0x041e/0x400c)
	• Patch # 966497 - Support for unique quicktime camera IDs, VDGetUniqueIDs() [optional]
	• support for deleteLast in base driver
	• added items to Control menu
	• added delete functionality to MyController

Here's a list of the most important changes since macam 0.8:

	• Added support for the Vivitar ViviCam 3350B camera (image downloads only)
	• Some improvements to QuickCam Express functionality
	• Some fixes and improvements to the SPCA504 driver (Mustek GSmart MINI, Megapixel Camera)
	• Added controls for B&W and LED for Philips ToUCam (and possibly Vesta as well)
	• Improved image download facility
	• Added some infrastructure for ICA (Image Capture Architecture) compatibility
	• Many behind-the-scenes improvements
	• Improved compatibility with third-party applications
	• Various performance and stability improvements
	• More bug fixes

Here's a list of the most important changes since macam 0.7b2:

	• Added support for some Omnivision OV511/OV511+-based cameras
	• Added support for some Sunplus SPCA500A-based cameras
	• Added support for some Sunplus SPCA504A-based cameras (e.g. Aiptek MiniCam, Aiptek Smart MegaCam)
	• Added support for some Sonix SN9C2028-based cameras (e.g. AEL/MultiCam DC-31UC)
	• Added support for some AOX/Endpoints SE401-based cameras (e.g. Kensington VideoCAM series)
	• Added support for Logitech QuickCam Pro (beige focus ring)
	• Added support for Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000
	• Added video capture feature
	• Added preferences panel for choosing parameters of snapshots and videos
	• Added horizontal mirroring feature for many cameras
	• Reduced video latency for some cameras
	• Fixed a compatibility problem with Jaguar and some Logitech and Philips cameras 
	• Improved compatibility with Classic (reduced occurences of "Camera used by another application")
	• Improved compatibility with Mac OS X (e.g. login screen problems, SecurityServer crashes)
	• Improved compatibility with third-party applications
	• Various performance and stability improvements
	• Zillions of bug fixes

Known problems

There are some known limitations and problems. We are currently trying to find the causes and fix them. If you think you might help solving this and other problems, please tell the author(s).

	• The Vivitar ViviCam 3350B video doesn't work properly
	• SQ905 compressed images are not decoded properly

The following may still be issues as well: 

	• Some QuickCam Express and QuickCam Web show a garbled image
	• VICAM-based cameras (such as the 3Com HomeConnect) show poor image quality in some video modes
	• Sonix SN9C2028-based cameras may show image artefacts
	• Some SPCA504A-based cameras might randomly fail to transfer all stored images (retrying might help)
	• Some SPCA504A-based cameras sometimes fail to recognize stored images (plug in the camera before launching macam to solve this)
	• In some cases, cameras might show brightness oscillation when automatic gain control is enabled
	• Transfer of media other than images is not implemented for most cameras
	• Some cameras still show the video slightly delayed.
	• Transfer of stored images may be slow for some cameras
	• Macam may expose some seconds of unresponsiveness when certain cameras are connected
	• Some cameras may freeze after a longer period of use (unplug the camera to reset - if your camera has batteries, it might also be necessary to re-insert them while the camera is not connected to your Mac)
	• Some QuickTime applications don't show the webcam specific panel in their video input settings. Workaround to set values for these programs: Set them in the macam application and set these as default settings. They are shared among all camera applications. 
	• There are problems when putting your machine to sleep while the camera is being used. Avoid the sleep mode or quit grabbing applications before putting your machine to sleep.
	• Various cosmetic inconsistencies and minor problems  - simply ignore them...
	• Sometimes the Compression panel of the QuickTime Video input dialog shows the uncomressed type twice. At least one of them works.

Contact

http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net - the macam home page. This page should be your first stop for new versions, latest information, camera lists, FAQ and general information.

http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/webcam-osx - macam sourceforge project page. This page gives you an overview about the development project. It includes a list of developers, information about access to the CVS and more.

hxr@users.sourceforge.net - an email contact. You can find more email addresses and information on the developers of the macam project at the macam sourceforge project page, but I will forward emails to the appropriate developer. Before you send an email, please read the section "contacting the authors" in this text.