18 Feb 2002 jono   » (Master)

My new webcam arrived today. I opened it and the shiny thing is all nice. It clips onto my laptop screen fine also.

After some research last week I suspected it used the cpia driver - after some kernel compiling I realised this was not the case. Some posts that my buddy google discoved showed that it was an OmniView ov551 driver that was needed.

I compiled it in after finding the maintainers site and viola - video! Video...yes...good quality...no. It was dark and grainy and not very good.

I read on a little more and realised that my cheap, bargain busting cam needs a bit of special attention and needs the ov551_decomp module. It turns out that these cams are so cheap they need to compress all the data so they save on ram to keep the cost down. I suspected this was the issue - it was actually not...I had misread the instructions and not included some things. :D

Nevertheless I compiled in the ov551_decomp after patching 2.4.17, and I added it to modules.conf. The maintainer admits some parts o fthe driver are a bit shaky, but on the whole it works fine and the development is fast so it should all be fixed soon.

I then set up camserv to stream some video onto a webpage - creating streaming jpg for browsers that understand it, and a javascript enabled page for those who don't. The links to the JonoCam are at the top of the diary.

I had a band practice last night and we all went to the pub as a band for the first time. We had a good laugh and things are going well. We got lots done and we are building ourselves up for beginning gigging on March 22nd.

Right, I am off home for relaxation, rotisserie chicken and the usual dollop of madness.

Seeya later all!

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