New webcam, black screen on Skype, works on Cheese but is very dark, says only Windows compatible on the box

philwhite · 12-04-2019, 09:25 PM

Hello.
Mint Sylvia 64

Code:

lsusb

gives: ID 093a:2460 Pixart Imaging, Inc. Q-TEC WEBCAM 100
Got Cheese to work after running:

Code:

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so fswebcam

but it is very dark. Cheese didn't start out working at all, so... progress?! Not really sure what that did, tbh. Think I needed to upgrade to v4l2 anyhow. Skype still doesn't display anything but black despite finding "CIF Single Chip" for a webcam. Don't really know what's installed and what's been removed as I have tried several fixes.
Quite lost, perpetual newbie here... be gentle. Any help would be inundated with praise and good cheer... and LARGE cash rewards!!! ( <-- Not really.)
Always used my phone to Skype but have lost it (actually, it was stolen - not relevant but GRRRRR anyway) so am trying to do it on my desktop. Never done it here.
ADVthanksANCE!

beachboy2 · 12-05-2019, 02:49 AM

philwhite,

You may need to install the 32bit libv4l-0 package first and then use the LD_PRELOAD command.

You can edit the

Code:

/usr/share/applications/skype.desktop

file to avoid typing this every time you launch Skype.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/5281...rrible-at-best

https://askubuntu.com/questions/3156...ils-with-skype

philwhite · 12-05-2019, 06:57 AM

Thanks, that looks promising but I got this as an output:

Code:

~ $ env LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype
ERROR: ld.so: object '/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l1compat.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (wrong ELF class: ELFCLASS32): ignored.
/usr/local/bin/skype: line 2: /usr/bin/skype: No such file or directory

I don't know what an ELF class is. I'm assuming it has nothing to do with learning magic or archery.

bodqhrohro · 12-05-2019, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachboy2

philwhite,

You may need to install the 32bit libv4l-0 package first and then use the LD_PRELOAD command.

You can edit the

Code:

/usr/share/applications/skype.desktop

file to avoid typing this every time you launch Skype.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/5281...rrible-at-best

https://askubuntu.com/questions/3156...ils-with-skype

This guide applies to the old 32-bit Qt version of Skype. It's officially unsupported for a few years, and even patched builds that mimick newer versions seem to actually stop working this April.

Modern Skype is a 64-bit app, a simple Electron wrapper for web.skype.com.

Electron is based on the engine from Chromium browser configured in a special way, so things that work in plain Chromium may not work in Electron. Try to open web.skype.com in Chromium or other Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi, Yandex.Browser, Falkon, etc.), with and without the hack used for Cheese. web.skype.com also works in Firefox, but requires an add-on that mimicks the user-agent to the one from Chrome.

philwhite · 12-05-2019, 08:02 AM

I have Skype installed on my computer so I need not open it from any browser.
It still finds the camera as "CIF Single Chip".
The camera doesn't work on Cheese anymore, either.

bodqhrohro · 12-05-2019, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philwhite

I have Skype installed on my computer so I need not open it from any browser.

Electron apps already have a built-in browser (that's why they're so large). You just have an option to use this all-in-one solution or a separate general-purpose browser.

The binary of Electron Skype should reside in /usr/share/skypeforlinux/skypeforlinux instead of /usr/bin/skype. Did you try to run LD_PRELOAD=/usr/local/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so /usr/share/skypeforlinux/skypeforlinux?

beachboy2 · 12-05-2019, 08:39 AM

philwhite,

If you have no joy with this, have a look at the supported webcams in the Linux UVC drivers list:
http://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/

I used to have a Logitech E 3500 which worked perfectly in Linux and Skype.

A cheap used one here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Logitech-...4AAOSw1mZd480b

philwhite · 12-05-2019, 08:47 AM

bod,

Quote:

The binary of Electron Skype should reside in /usr/share/skypeforlinux/skypeforlinux instead of /usr/bin/skype

I'm getting an unknown file type in here.

Code:

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/local/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so /usr/share/skypeforlinux/skypeforlinux

gives me

Code:

ERROR: ld.so: object '/usr/local/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so' from LD_PRELOAD cannot be preloaded (cannot open shared object file): ignored.

philwhite · 12-05-2019, 08:52 AM

beach,
Yeah, the thing is that I needed something right away, necessity being the mother of wasted resources. If I can't get a workaround, I will get a refund instead and find something better, but if I can get this sorted and it works, maybe somebody else might benefit.
I'll keep looking for a couple more days, but thanks for the recommendation; I will keep it in mind if all else fails.

beachboy2 · 12-05-2019, 08:55 AM

Some more 3500s here with Buy It Now:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...fLoc=1&_sop=15

Correct link for supported webcams in the Linux UVC drivers list:
http://www.ideasonboard.org/uvc/

In my experience, webcams and USB wifi adapters in Linux are generally a pain in the backside.
If you find one that works, jump for joy.

bodqhrohro · 12-05-2019, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philwhite

/usr/local/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so

Oh, sorry; your path is /usr/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so, right?

philwhite · 12-05-2019, 09:30 AM

I found this list of drivers and my cam appears on it. It recommends I install the spca5xx (experimental) driver:
http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html
I found this page with instructions on how to do it:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Spca5xx
It mentions the gspca which I did install on a previous attempt.
Does anyone think that this could be useful? It seems rather involved and I don't want to mess anything up. I'm also not sure if this applies to my system. Any advice here would be appreciated.
__________________________________________________

bod,
no, libv41 does not appear in my lib directory.

bodqhrohro · 12-05-2019, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philwhite

It recommends I install the spca5xx (experimental) driver:

The spca5xx driver was included in the upstream kernel a long time ago, so you don't need any actions to make it work if you're running a modern distribution. But it's possible that the wrong driver is used instead. What does lspci|grep spca print?

Quote:

Originally Posted by philwhite

no, libv41 does not appear in my lib directory.

Then the libv4l-0 package should be installed first.

philwhite · 12-05-2019, 11:27 AM

lspci|grep spca prints nothing.
Is it possible that I uninstalled spca5xx by installing other drivers, or at least moved it down the priority tree?
I installed gspca at one point.

libv4l-0 first, ok.

bodqhrohro · 12-05-2019, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by philwhite

lspci|grep spca prints nothing.

So the driver is not even loaded automatically. Try sudo modprobe gspca_pac207

Quote:

Originally Posted by philwhite

libv4l-0 first, ok.

Does LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l2convert.so /usr/share/skypeforlinux/skypeforlinux work now?