PDA

View Full Version : webcams



Rich Stewart
11-26-2009, 6:19 PM
I bought a small webcam off Ebay so I can video chat with my son. He has a Mac laptop, I have a 6 year old Compaq laptop. When we were talking today for the first time I see that my cam has a terrible lag. Like, 5 seconds. He said the audio and picture are way out of sync. So, my question is, would a better webcam solve this problem? The one I got was 10 bucks. Just got it to try out and see if it would even work. We were using Skype.

Thanks for your help.

Rich

Jim Becker
11-27-2009, 12:16 PM
It could be the inexpensive cam, the software that came with it or...your older computer/OS. Oh, and your network connection. Can you try the cam with a different computer to start the troubleshooting process?

Dave Lehnert
11-27-2009, 6:19 PM
I have a cheap cam I got for like $10 and it seems to work OK. I think it was a GE brand I picked up at Big-Lots.

Dave Johnson29
11-27-2009, 8:32 PM
So, my question is, would a better webcam solve this problem?

Hi Rich,

Most likely not. There is not a great deal of difference between webcams. The difference will be in the driver software. Go to the manufacturer's website and see if there is a more recent driver for it.

Mike Henderson
11-27-2009, 8:58 PM
That lack of sync between the video and audio is something that afflicted the first generation of video conferencing equipment. The problem was that it took a lot of processing to digitize the video, which delayed it compared to the audio. I suspect you have a similar problem. The web cam output is an analog signal which has to be converted to some digital format (maybe MPEG4, I don't know what's used these days). If your computer is old and doesn't have a lot of processing power, it could be taking a long time to digitize the video.

The audio is much simpler to digitize and could be getting sent out ahead of the corresponding video.

But 5 seconds is a lot.

Mike

paul cottingham
11-27-2009, 9:07 PM
The lag is almost certainly network latency. Latency can be related to our router, your Internet connection, your provider, your neighborhood if you are on cable, and any number of things I've forgotten. It might be your computer, too, but i doubt it.

Rich Stewart
11-28-2009, 2:44 AM
Thanks for the info. Ok, so I go to Best Buy with my wife to buy a better webcam. She is one of those people who say, "If you gonna buy something, buy a good one." She talks me into a 100 dollar webcam. I take it home, download the software from the logitech site. Crappy video. White vertical lines. Fool with it for a while. Take it back to BB, exchange for 20 dollar cam. This one works perfectly. Talked to my son and he said the sync was perfect. By the way, the 10 dollar cam did not have any software or drivers to download. Just plugged in the USB and the mic and it worked on Skype.

Thanks again for the replys.

Rich

Dave Lehnert
11-28-2009, 11:41 PM
Thanks for the info. Ok, so I go to Best Buy with my wife to buy a better webcam. She is one of those people who say, "If you gonna buy something, buy a good one." She talks me into a 100 dollar webcam. I take it home, download the software from the logitech site. Crappy video. White vertical lines. Fool with it for a while. Take it back to BB, exchange for 20 dollar cam. This one works perfectly. Talked to my son and he said the sync was perfect. By the way, the 10 dollar cam did not have any software or drivers to download. Just plugged in the USB and the mic and it worked on Skype.

Thanks again for the replys.

Rich

Thanks for the update. When it comes to electronics I believe in buying cheap. I buy cheap no name DVD players \ recorders. I buy the low end Gateway desktops and Notebooks. Never a problem. In fact I would say they last longer that I expect them to.
Go to Best Buy or the like and buy a printer, DVD plyer etc... and they will give you the "You need a good cable with gold plate fittings" B.S. For $35
I get a cable at the Dollar Tree store and never a problem.

Rich Stewart
11-29-2009, 7:01 AM
Yeah, the old 100 dollar HDMI cable scam. And a 3 dollar one works just as well.