Installing a Logitech High Quality Video Camera: The Experience.
The major new feature with the recently released Skype 3.6 for Windows is the High Quality Video ("HQV") which provides 640 x 480 VGA resolution at 30 frames per second ("fps"). (As a reference point, my previous Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Deluxe would only work on video calls at 320 x 240 resolution with <10 fps; even so I had reasonably good quality video especially when using SightSpeed). But this new camera along with Skype's HQV software "changes the picture" (no pun intended) by setting new standards for video calling quality.
A few pointers when installing:
- Requirements: a Logitech HQV camera, Skype 3.6, broadband Internet connection (>384kbps upload) and QuickCam 11.5 software. And with four times the resolution, one needs Intel Duo Core processing power.
- Do not install the Logitech QuickCam software provided on the CD that comes with the webcam. Go to Logitech's website and download the version 11.5 driver for your particular camera.
- Do not attach the webcam to your PC until you have installed the QuickCam software.
- Uninstall all previous Logitech QuickCam software, including the Camera Driver.
- Reboot your PC and ensure you have an Internet (and, if applicable, LAN network) connection. You may find, as I did, after uninstalling the previous version 10.5 software that you no longer have any network connections for your PC. Fortunately I had encountered this issue back in June and reported on it. (Or go directly to the fix.).
- Quit Skype and any Skype Extras and Skype partner products such as call recording, collaboration and archiving applications, etc.
- Install the Logitech QuickCam 11.5 software (and, of course, ensure you have Skype 3.6 installed).Towards the end of the software installation you will be asked to plug in your webcam.
- Check that the webcam is working using the Logitech QuickCam software; for the purpose of Skype video calling check out the picture with 640 x 480 (VGA) resolution. An audio tuning wizard comes up to adjust microphone, speaker and echo cancellation settings (there is a microphone is these cameras).
- Upon launching Skype it will come up with a window announcing that it has found your High Quality Video camera and taking you directly to Skype's Webcam Settings screen. You will also be asked to confirm that you want "Communications_Helper.exe" to link into Skype.
- Using the webcam settings tools, adjust the zoom as well as the pan-and-tilt to obtain a satisfactory range.
- Keep in mind that the Logitech 9000 Pro includes a microphone; installation may change your default audio mic settings (for both Windows and/or Skype).
While the real test will come tomorrow when I connect with some of my Skype contacts (late Sunday evening does not find very many online), some first impressions:
- 640 x 480 vs 320 x 240 comparison; see the images. (Reduced proportionally to fit within the column width of Skype Journal posts). Much more detail at 640 x 480.
- The Carl Zeiss Optics in the HQV cameras has a wide angle lens which provides a significantly wider viewing angle; whereas previous cameras had a much smaller viewing angle such that images that would simply cover head and shoulders at close range, the Logitech 9000 Pro showed a significant portion of my office; now I have to clean up my office.
- It takes a few minutes to "warm up" to the full video potential while making lighting adjustments using the "Right Light Sensing" feature. And the Skype video software, accessed via Tools | Options | Video Settings, appears to soften down harsh reflections (like overhead lights off an uncovered bald head) compared to using the raw QuickCam images.
- When switching to other applications, such as SightSpeed, it does require that you disable video in Skype. Speaking of SightSpeed, it only supports 320 x 240 video with the HQV cameras at this time.
- (Update) I can readily switch between Skype and SightSpeed for video calls; however, since it always uses the webcam when open I must close down SightSpeed when using Skype Video. At this point SightSpeed runs at 320 x 240 resolution with this webcam and my cable Internet service (800 kbps; it only supports 640 x 480 VGA resolution when your upload speed is over 1.5 Mbps; however, I'm sure they're working to reduce this bandwidth demand.
- Colo(u)rs are rich and show every detail across a significant depth of field.
- Putting a business card up to the camera once again shows the versatility of the Carl Zeiss optics: at about a 6 inch (15 cm) distance, one can clearly read the card.
While Skype 3.6, etc. are required to be a "transmitter" of High Quality Video, anyone with earlier versions of Skype (at least for Windows; Mac to be verified) can view an HQV "transmission". I did have a demonstration last week, viewing a remote party with my Skype 3.5 client, during which the video was superb quality.
At this point I simply wanted to share my installation experience. While having had a Skype video call demonstration I want feedback from a wider range of viewers; there will be more to report after doing some Skype video calls with fellow bloggers such as Phone Boy.
One question re the Mac: does the MacBook webcam have the potential to match the Logitech HQV cameras for optical quality and frame rate? HQV is a lot about the hardware optics! And the Pro 9000 requirement is for Windows XP and Windows Vista only.
Tags: Skyype, Skype 3.6, High Quality Video, Logitech, Logitech QuickCam 9000 Pro, Carl Zeiss Optics, QuickCam Drivers
Comments
Why has Skype chosen to impose unnecessary restrictions, and remove capabilities that were in the the 3.6 public beta releases? It was previously possible to get higher resolution video with any webcam which was capable of it, and on any PC that could muster the power to handle it. But with the 3.6 production release, ONLY the "anointed" Logitech cameras will work, and only on CoreDuo (or better) PCs. It was proven by many users in the Skype User Forum that various other webcams can produce 640x480 video at frame rates up to and including 30 FPS, and many single-core PCs can handle the load. I personally did it with two different Philips webcams on a Pentium 4 3.0 GHz system, with no problem at all. So it appears that Skype has done the following:
- Users with the "anointed" cameras, and at least a CoreDuo, are happy.
- Users with other cameras are demoted to second-class status, even though many of them saw for themselves that their cameras could produce "better" video
- Users with one of the "anointed" webcams, but not a CoreDuo CPU, are out of luck, and are also second-class citizens of the Skype world. This is apparently true even of users with Multi-Processor PCs, by the way.
- Users with other webcams, and single-core CPUs, who also saw that they could have 640x480 at 15-20 FPS, are also demoted to second-class status.
- Users who need (or MUST) limit data volume are also out of luck, because the same mechanism that Skype took away to activate the higher resolution video was also used to limit the maximum video resolution and/or frame rate, so now they are stuck with High Quality Video whether they need it or not. Corportate networks, and users with volume-based pricing on their internet connections, are not going to be happy about this.
In the Skype forums, the only answers given to these questions are "Look how excellent the video is with these cameras, it is SO MUCH BETTER than with others. I think the others are willing to concede that the new cameras are better, but just because our cameras aren't quite as good, why does it follow that we can't have any improved video at all?
Posted by: J.A. Watson | November 19, 2007 07:51 AM
hope, this will proove to be useful for you, a lot about webcams and MACs link
Posted by: black_foxy | November 20, 2007 11:34 AM
Well I see that Skype have done the dirty on us again. I was under the impression that we all live if a pretty much a free world and can choose what we use and buy etc and how and on what we want to spend our hard earned money on when it comes to the world of PC's and web cams but, if you want to use Skype and HQ video this is not so.
Yes the product is good as it there HQ video but why should a very very large amount of Skype users who want to use Skype and HQ video be forced to buy a Logitech camera and on top of that throw away there nice new PC or Laptop because it is not dual core which both Logitech and Skype insist it should have.
I have done many tests with a Philips PCVC 740K web cam on a bog standard Windows XP Pro SP2 machine running a AMD Athlon64 3000+ at 2 GHz and 1GB of ram and achieve 640x480 at 25FPS using the config.xml hack in the 3.6 beta versions. Now Skype have taken it upon themselves in the 3.6 Gold version to stop this hack from working, even if you do it it will not make a single bit of difference, now that is what I call just pure bloody minded and thinking only of what they want you to have and not what you would like.
If people what to run none Logitech cameras that are capable of 640x480 at 25, 30 or even 60FPS, which the Philips will do as well as others, and have the bandwidth then they should be entitled to do so and not be told by Skype and Logitech what they can and cannot do with the money hard earned money on they have spent.
I think it is time Skype woke up to the fact that they can't tell there paying customers what they can and cannot do and to put the icing on the cake there Customer Service and Payment system is a complete and utter joke.
People now who use Skype and have problems and there are many of them are sick to the stomach of not getting any support or the same old email saying blar blar blar and nothing to do with there problem. IMHO if it were not for the forum and the many helpful people on there Skype would of been down and out long ago.
So come on Skype wake up and look further that the end of your nose there are many other competitors out there why will and are taking you on so if you want to stay in the big wide world with the big boys now is the time to look past the end of your nose.
All I can say to you Meg if you ever read the Skype Journal or the articles on Skype you have bought a pup and we say in the UK and the longer you let it continue the way it is going the harder it and you will fall.
Posted by: Gordon Voller | November 20, 2007 04:06 PM
so does HQV officially EXCLUDE multi-processor systems? Because dual opterons at 2.4ghz are so much slower than a core duo at 1.6ghz? Really? Sigh.
Posted by: jj | December 18, 2007 08:36 PM
bought my 9000 on Wednesday 24th March worked brilliantly till I updated skype to 316 when options -video gave me snap shots not flowing video.Any ideas how to fix this? turn back skype version ?
Posted by: barry cohen | March 22, 2008 10:03 AM
First I want to say thank you to the author for this blog. While any bone-head can throw in a CD and install a camera, when this bonehead (me) did it the Mic function would not work with Skype, just the video. I found this and followed the instructions step by step and it works now. So thank you.
Second thing... regarding people complaining about having to use a logitech camera for high quality video. Stop complaining, Skype is free for internet-internet calls and a lot of development has had to go into the video portion of it. Do you think these guys are working for free? Logitech obviously paid Skype to do this and it is a perfectly logical and reasonable business decision.
Instead of complaining, buy some stock in skype (whatever company owns it... is it publicly traded?) and start thanking them for their smart business decisions.
Posted by: Brendan Clements | April 14, 2008 04:39 AM