I can't persuade LinuxMint Olivia/Cinammon to relate to Logitech webcam C270
 

I have recently installed LinuxMint 15 Cinammon partitioned on a Dell Inspiron 530s computer with Windows Vista. I have downloaded Skype but have been unable to run it with the Logitach C270 webcam that serves me when run with Windows.

On LinuxMint it is not a complete failure as I have managed to establish sound through the C270 but there is no sign of vision. The video option just doesn't show up on Skype.

I should stress that I am a complete idiot when it comes to understanding the technicalities of all things relating to computers.

What I have done is to run the command dmesg | less as advised on one of the articles I have uncomprehendingly read on the subject. This produced a long screed at the end of which was the followint which may be relevant.

3402.370999] Linux video capture interface: v2.00
[ 3403.488272] 4:3:3: cannot set freq 32000 to ep 0x86
[ 3403.628511] usbcore: registered new interface driver snd-usb-audio
[ 3403.629084] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device <unnamed> (046d:0825)
[ 3403.645397] input: UVC Camera (046d:0825) as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb2/2-1/2-1:1.0/input/input14
[ 3403.645683] usbcore: registered new interface driver uvcvideo
[ 3403.645687] USB Video Class driver (1.1.1)
[ 3849.228055] cheese[3402]: segfault at c ip b7785a72 sp bfc03630 error 4 in libcheese.so.7.0.3[b777e000+f000]
[ 3928.280652] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=132 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=26964 PROTO=UDP SPT=34374 DPT=6083 LEN=112
[ 3930.325146] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=132 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=26965 PROTO=UDP SPT=34374 DPT=6083 LEN=112
[ 3934.340653] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=132 TOS=0x00 PREC=0xA0 TTL=115 ID=26966 PROTO=UDP SPT=34374 DPT=6083 LEN=112
[ 3979.392507] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:5a:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=192.168.1.253 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=198 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=138 DPT=138 LEN=178
[ 3997.090051] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=133 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=31900 PROTO=UDP SPT=10178 DPT=6083 LEN=113
[ 3999.157870] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=133 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=31902 PROTO=UDP SPT=10178 DPT=6083 LEN=113
[ 4003.178251] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=133 TOS=0x00 PREC=0xA0 TTL=115 ID=31903 PROTO=UDP SPT=10178 DPT=6083 LEN=113
[ 4486.453897] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=132 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=27313 PROTO=UDP SPT=11626 DPT=6083 LEN=112
[ 4488.467746] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=132 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=27326 PROTO=UDP SPT=11626 DPT=6083 LEN=112
[ 4492.483019] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=132 TOS=0x00 PREC=0xA0 TTL=115 ID=27331 PROTO=UDP SPT=11626 DPT=6083 LEN=112
[ 4615.606401] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=133 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=32307 PROTO=UDP SPT=10178 DPT=6083 LEN=113
[ 4617.592387] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=133 TOS=0x00 PREC=0x80 TTL=115 ID=32315 PROTO=UDP SPT=10178 DPT=6083 LEN=113
[ 4621.618183] Inbound IN=wlan0 OUT= MAC=b0:48:7a:e6:41:b3:58:98:35:5e:81:60:08:00 SRC=79.74.111.7 DST=192.168.1.64 LEN=133 TOS=0x00 PREC=0xA0 TTL=115 ID=32318 PROTO=UDP SPT=10178 DPT=6083 LEN=113
(END)


Can any one help me please?

Looks like Cheese segfaults there. Personally I find Cheese rather unreliable. I'm assuming you can actually see the device (/dev/video0) because the driver loads fine. Can you get a picture from the webcam in any other application (i.e. guvcview or VLC)? You may need to install them first.

i think this should work. Fire up a terminal and write:
vlc v4l2:///dev/video0

Thank you displace. I have tried vlc but without result. The reply to the command you suggested is as follows


vlc v4l2:///dev/video0
VLC media player 2.0.8 Twoflower (revision 2.0.8a-0-g68cf50b)
[0x8581908] main libvlc: Running vlc with the default interface. Use 'cvlc' to use vlc without interface.
"sni-qt/2750" WARN 11:49:01.961 void StatusNotifierItemFactory::connectToSnw() Invalid interface to SNW_SERVICE
[0xb5200e98] v4l2 demux error: cannot open device '/dev/video0': No such file or directory
[0xb5203748] v4l2 access error: cannot open device '/dev/video0': No such file or directory
[0xb5000618] main input error: open of `v4l2:///dev/video0' failed



Obviously something isn't working but in my woeful state of ignorance I don't know what. Can it be rectified?

From what you posted, it looks like a UVC webcam.

Try installing guvcview. It should be in the repos.

Hm, strange. Can you go to the /dev folder and see if there are any videoX files in there (X being a number) like /dev/video0, /dev/video1, etc. If you see a file then a webcam has been detected. If not then it is possible that a driver isn't working properly.

Hi displace. I amnot sure how I go to the dev folder. I did type in terminal the prevoius command omitting the videoO part and got

/vlc v412:///dev
bash: /vlc: No such file or directory

Could you tell me how to find the folder please?

Thanks also to frankbell ... I will install guvcview and report back. I am afraid I need to leave the computer now.

As a hurried P.S.

I haveinstalled guvcview and indeed it picks up the image. It does not seem to be able to transfer this to Skype though ... but I have not had time to persevere with this.

incidentally I tried again with vlc and got a message -

Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'v4l2://Logitech C270'. Check the log for details.

I will revert later.

Thanks again to you both

You need to open a terminal emulator to get a command line. Once you're there type in "ls -lh /dev". You should get a list of files and folders. There should be a file called video0 in there - that's your webcam. If you're using a laptop with built-in camera then there should be two files - video0 and video1 in the /dev folder.

Perhaps skype needs to be pointed towards the correct file?
I'm sorry, but I never used skype so I don't know how to configure it.

Hi

I did type in "ls -lh /dev" and was rewarded with the line, amongst others, of "2crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 0 Nov 10 14:03 video0"

Indeed I have now managed to obtain video from Cheese as well as guvcview although VLC still gives me the message that my input can't be opened.

The problem may just be Sktpe. I have googled on this and it does seem that I am not the only one. A promising result seemingly was at http://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial
/view/219 "How to make Webcam compatible with Skype"

I followed the instructions thereon but alas it doesn't work for me. Audio works on Skype but not video.

Forget about the VLC. The thing I wanted to be clear about is whether your webcam even works. Now that you've confirmed you're able to get a picture, we can put the possible hardware and driver issues behind us. Obviously it is a problem with skype like you said. Do you perhaps have another web camera that you could try out? Possibly a different model/manufacturer? I am curious to see whether skype detects it.

EDIT: Okay, I took a look at the tutorial you mentioned. Seems like skype is using the old v4l1 libraries and needs some compatibility layer in between vrl1 and v4l2? Honestly I have no idea, I've never used skype. BTW, can you get skype running by following that tutorial? You can also run skype by typing the "LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so /usr/bin/skype" command in a terminal (make sure you're using the correct one cause I'm not sure what OS you're using - 32bit or 64bit).

Hi displace,

I was unsuccessful the first time I tried the tutorial but I had another go today and finally it worked

I may well have made an error the first time although there was no indication. However I first got a picture on the Skype programme and then actually managed to call, and see, a contact. So I didn't have to use your other suggestion. Byu the way I was a little confused by that in that you stressed the importance of using the correct one - (make sure you're using the correct one cause I'm not sure what OS you're using - 32bit or 64bit).although I ma not sure what the difference should be on the command you gave.

Not that it matters now as it is working but perhaps for future reference you could explain.

Thanks a lot for your help. I am most grateful.