A guide to webcams on Dell notebook and desktop PCs with Ubuntu operating systems

No symptom information.

No cause information.

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Identify your Webcam
3. Install your Webcam Driver
4. Ubuntu Software/Applications for use with your Webcam

Introduction

There are two basic types of webcam that is used with Dell PCs:

External Add on Webcams:

These are webcam that connect to the PC for use. Usually by the use of a USB cable.

Integrated Webcams:

These are built in to all our Notebook and AIO (All in One) PCs. They are always connected, and the cables are internal to the systems bezel.

Ubuntu linux being open source does not use windows drivers. However the developers have made every effort to build in "out of the box" or "plug and play" support for a wide range of UVC (Universal Video Class) webcams into their operating systems and they have been getting better results with each revision since 7.10. This includes the integrated Webcams in use on Dell PCs.

Back to Top

Identify your Webcam

Webcams often share similar or identical major components, even when they look quite different externally. This means that generic drivers may work for a variety of different makes and models. As stated above the idea is that once you have installed one of the more recent versions of Ubuntu - your webcam should just work.

However if your webcam does not Just Work, then being able to identify the device and check if it requires a specific driver comes in handy.

To identify your webcam properly, you must know:

1. The Make, Model Name or Number.

2. Any Version or Revision information.

This kind of information is often printed on the device or its packaging. (Such as Logitech, Lifecam or Creative Live and REV 01 or VER. 01.1.)

To get this kind of information from the system itself, we are going to use the Terminal utility: (CTRL + ALT + T)

1. Record the output of the lsusb command:

   lsusb -v

   This command prints information about all the devices that are connected to the USB bus. The information about your webcam is on that list.

2. There is a second use of the same lsusb command to get additional information:

   lsusb -n

   This version of the command lists the device's USB ID. This gives you a unique number to identify your device.

Back to Top

Install your Webcam Driver

Linux Ubuntu Webcam drivers are provided by several different projects. Although the UVC project covers many devices, support for others is provided elsewhere.

This section aims to help you install your webcam's drivers if they have not been automatically installed by Ubuntu.

1. Get the linux Headers:

   sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-'uname -r'

   You need these so you can compile the drivers when they are downloaded.

2. Get the modules for your particular webcam:

   wget <driver link address>

   You must enter the link address for the particular driver download you have identified for your particular device. (Usually you can get this from a web search or by requesting help from the Ubuntu Community forums.)

3. Move to the drivers directory and extract the source files from the tar files:

   tar -xvf <driver name>.tar.gz

   and change directory to where your sources are:

   cd <driver name>

   Where <driver name> is the name of the driver you are installing.

4. Prepare the installation files:

   make

5. Compile the modules:

   sudo make install

6. And install them:

   sudo depmod -A

   sudo modprobe <driver name>

Back to Top

Ubuntu Software/Applications for use with your Webcam

Since Ubuntu Version 10.10, there has been a number of programs or applications which work with or use your webcam. I will give a quick list below with a quick description of what each program does:

Cheese

This program is often used to test Webcam functionality. The program captures video and stills from the webcam and can also apply some special effects.

• Cheese supports up to 480P resolution. If your webcam's resolution is higher than 480P we suggest testing the webcam using Skype/Teams to ensure the resolution is correct.

Empathy

This program was a long time default application which dealt with VoIP/Video Chat.

VLC

This program is an open-source Movie player, but also has functions that allow you to choose a "capture device", to record from that device or stream the feed.

FFmpeg

This is an audio/video recording and conversion and streaming application, that is cross-platform.

MPlayer

This application can display a webcam video stream.

MEncoder

This companion application to MPlayer which can record from a webcam to video files.

Skype

Skype is a dedicated VoIP/Video Chat program, that Microsoft has made an open-source version which it updates.

Streamer

This is a package which provides a picture taking facility using the Terminal command-line interface.

Back to Top

Further Information:

Back to Top