Sunday, January 24, 2010

WebCam on Slug

Hi all,
I just added an old webcam on my slug and wanted to share in here. First of all if you want to add webcam to your system go ahead and upgrade your system as explained in the previous post.

Anyway, I upgraded my system and plugged in the webcam to one of the empty slots. Surprisingly the green webcam light was on which means it if successfully loaded. I checked lsusb
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 0ac8:301b Z-Star Microelectronics Corp. ZC0301 WebCam

then video port by typing ls /dev/video* and I had /dev/video0 in there. But when I tried to get some pictures it failed...

It was automatically loading zc0301 module (check with lsmod) but I soon realized that this module bad. I had to prevent that module loading. To do so,
nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist
and add
blacklist zc0301


We need another module at this point, gspca.To load this module debian has an easy and beatiful application module-assistant. Go ahead and install it

apt-get install module-assistant


then to install gspca module

m-a auto-install gspca


That is it. Your webcam should be ready now. To test

apt-get install streamer

then
streamer -t 10 -r 2 -o foobar00.jpeg


should capture ten frames, two per second.

To setup a system that captures images and put them to your webserver you can use webcam software. To install write

apt-get install webcam


After that you should put your config file to /root/.webcamrc.
nano /root/.webcamrc


paste the lines below


[grab]
device = /dev/video0
text = "NSLU2 webcam %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S (EST)"
# infofile =
fg_red = 255
fg_green = 255
fg_blue = 255
width = 640
height = 480
# delay = number of seconds between snapshots
delay = 30
wait = 1
input = ZC301-2
# norm = webcam
rotate = 0
top = 0
left = 0
bottom = -1
right = -1
quality = 100
trigger = 0
once = 0
# archive =
[ftp]
host = 127.0.0.1
user = root
pass = xxxx
dir = /var/www/webcam
file = webcam.jpeg
tmp = uploading.jpeg
passive = 1
debug = 0
auto = 0
# local = 1 means just use the local directory specified above, do not use ftp or ssh
local = 1
ssh = 0



now if you type
webcam


it should start capturing images and put them to the folder you specified. There is something to mention though
input = ZC301-2

this line is catchy. I guess it differs at different webcams. To learn the correct input name of your device first install v4l-conf
apt-get install v4l-conf

Then,
v4l-info | grep name

should give you the correct name. In my case I got
ioctl VIDIOCGTUNER: Invalid argument
ioctl VIDIOCGAUDIO: Invalid argument
name : "Z-star Vimicro zc0301p"
name : "ZC301-2"


and I used ZC301-2 as the input.Try and see what is yours.
After the setup if you want it to work automatically after restart you can set up a crontab:


crontab -e
@reboot /usr/bin/webcam

I hope this helps someone...

22 comments:

  1. Hey,

    Sorry but your Tutorial didnt worked for me... :( my debian gets the /dev/video0 but if i try to make a pic with streamer it returns:
    setformat: 12 bit YUV 4:2:0 (planar) (320x240): failed

    followed by 3 nearly same error Messages

    The cam works fine under Ubuntu 9.10 without installing components

    i would be happy about getting an email from you

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi,
    Maybe we can find a way to make it work.
    What do you get after this command

    v4l-info | grep name

    and what do you see after lsusb?

    ReplyDelete
  3. v4l-info <-- command not found
    lsusb:
    Bus 001 Device 002: ID 18ec:3288 Arkmicro Technologies Inc.

    Iam am not able to copy something out of Putty XD

    ReplyDelete
  4. First read the whole post, then do this

    apt-get install v4l-conf

    You should be able to copy from putty though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I red the text up to the installation of streamer. Maybe my english isnt perfect and so i was not able to understand something correctly.

    Thank you for help

    And here is the Output of v4l-conf:


    ### v4l2 device info [/dev/video0] ###
    general info
    VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
    driver : "uvcvideo"
    card : "USB2.0 PC CAMERA"
    bus_info : "0000:00:01.2"
    version : 0.1.0
    capabilities : 0x4000001 [VIDEO_CAPTURE,STREAMING]

    standards

    inputs
    VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT(0)
    index : 0
    name : "Camera 1"
    type : CAMERA
    audioset : 0
    tuner : 0
    std : 0x0 []
    status : 0x0 []

    video capture
    VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT(0,VIDEO_CAPTURE)
    index : 0
    type : VIDEO_CAPTURE
    flags : 0
    description : "YUV 4:2:2 (YUYV)"
    pixelformat : 0x56595559 [YUYV]
    VIDIOC_G_FMT(VIDEO_CAPTURE)
    type : VIDEO_CAPTURE
    fmt.pix.width : 640
    fmt.pix.height : 480
    fmt.pix.pixelformat : 0x56595559 [YUYV]
    fmt.pix.field : NONE
    fmt.pix.bytesperline : 1280
    fmt.pix.sizeimage : 614400
    fmt.pix.colorspace : unknown
    fmt.pix.priv : 0

    controls
    VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL(BASE+0)
    id : 9963776
    type : INTEGER
    name : "Brightness"
    minimum : 0
    maximum : 255
    step : 1
    default_value : 100
    flags : 0
    VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL(BASE+1)
    id : 9963777
    type : INTEGER
    name : "Contrast"
    minimum : 0
    maximum : 255
    step : 1
    default_value : 150
    flags : 0
    VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL(BASE+2)
    id : 9963778
    type : INTEGER
    name : "Saturation"
    minimum : 0
    maximum : 255
    step : 1
    default_value : 80
    flags : 0
    VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL(BASE+3)
    id : 9963779
    type : INTEGER
    name : "Hue"
    minimum : -128
    maximum : 127
    step : 1
    default_value : 0
    flags : 0

    ### video4linux device info [/dev/video0] ###
    general info
    VIDIOCGCAP
    name : "USB2.0 PC CAMERA"
    type : 0x1 [CAPTURE]
    channels : 1
    audios : 0
    maxwidth : 0
    maxheight : 0
    minwidth : 48
    minheight : 32

    channels
    ioctl VIDIOCGCHAN: Invalid argument

    tuner
    ioctl VIDIOCGTUNER: Invalid argument

    audio
    ioctl VIDIOCGAUDIO: Invalid argument

    picture
    VIDIOCGPICT
    brightness : 25700
    hue : 32896
    colour : 20560
    contrast : 38550
    whiteness : 30583
    depth : 16
    palette : YUYV

    buffer
    ioctl VIDIOCGFBUF: Invalid argument

    window
    VIDIOCGWIN
    x : 0
    y : 0
    width : 640
    height : 480
    chromakey : 0
    flags : 0


    And the Hole Output of lsusb:

    Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
    Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
    Bus 001 Device 002: ID 18ec:3288 Arkmicro Technologies Inc.
    Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0204:6025 Chipsbank Microelectronics Co., Ltd CBM2080 Flash drive controller

    ReplyDelete
  6. OK,
    Now install this
    # apt-get install webcam

    then do
    # nano /root/.webcamrc

    Copy these lines into that file

    [grab]
    device = /dev/video0
    text = "NSLU2 webcam %Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S (EST)"
    # infofile =
    fg_red = 255
    fg_green = 255
    fg_blue = 255
    width = 640
    height = 480
    # delay = number of seconds between snapshots
    delay = 30
    wait = 1
    input = Camera 1
    # norm = webcam
    rotate = 0
    top = 0
    left = 0
    bottom = -1
    right = -1
    quality = 100
    trigger = 0
    once = 0
    # archive =
    [ftp]
    host = 127.0.0.1
    user = root
    pass = xxxx
    dir = /var/www/webcam
    file = webcam.jpeg
    tmp = uploading.jpeg
    passive = 1
    debug = 0
    auto = 0
    # local = 1 means just use the local directory specified above, do not use ftp or ssh
    local = 1
    ssh = 0

    ReplyDelete
  7. According to that config file you should have a webcam directory at
    # /var/www/webcam
    so either make a directory like that or change the directory path.

    Afterwardds go ahead and run it, write
    # webcam

    You should be able to get the images in that directory
    -Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  8. Input/output error
    can't get rgb24 data


    this is what i got when i was starting webcam

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sorry it wasnt the hole Output:

    ioctl: VIDIOC_S_FMT(type=VIDEO_CAPTURE;fmt.pix.width=640;fmt.pix.height=480;fmt.pix.pixelformat=0x56595559 [YUYV];fmt.pix.field=ANY;fmt.pix.bytesperline=0;fmt.pix.sizeimage=0;fmt.pix.colorspace=unknown;fmt.pix.priv=0): Input/output error
    can't get rgb24 data

    ReplyDelete
  10. sure:

    Module Size Used by
    ipv6 288564 10
    ext2 63752 1
    evdev 8672 0
    snd_usb_audio 78112 0
    snd_pcm_oss 39328 0
    snd_mixer_oss 14912 1 snd_pcm_oss
    snd_pcm 71109 2 snd_usb_audio,snd_pcm_oss
    snd_timer 20836 1 snd_pcm
    snd_page_alloc 8520 1 snd_pcm
    snd_usb_lib 15904 1 snd_usb_audio
    snd_rawmidi 21376 1 snd_usb_lib
    snd_seq_device 7532 1 snd_rawmidi
    snd_hwdep 7140 1 snd_usb_audio
    uvcvideo 53800 0
    compat_ioctl32 1184 1 uvcvideo
    ixp4xx_eth 12280 0
    videodev 29344 1 uvcvideo
    v4l1_compat 15236 2 uvcvideo,videodev
    ixp4xx_npe 8000 2 ixp4xx_eth
    snd 49812 8 snd_usb_audio,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device,snd_hwdep
    firmware_class 7648 1 ixp4xx_npe
    ixp4xx_qmgr 5272 6 ixp4xx_eth
    soundcore 7172 1 snd
    ixp4xx_beeper 2816 0
    ohci_hcd 18276 0
    ext3 123688 1
    jbd 45460 1 ext3
    mbcache 7968 2 ext2,ext3
    sd_mod 22736 4
    ehci_hcd 35212 0
    usb_storage 83559 3
    usbcore 128828 7 snd_usb_audio,snd_usb_lib,uvcvideo,ohci_hcd,ehci_hcd,usb_storage
    scsi_mod 111300 2 sd_mod,usb_storage

    ReplyDelete
  11. Did you do these?

    apt-get install module-assistant

    m-a auto-install gspca

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hmm, I guess either another video module prevents it to install or your webcam driver is not compatible with this.

    So, disconnect the webcam and send me the lsmod again please

    ReplyDelete
  13. Module Size Used by
    ipv6 288564 10
    ext2 63752 1
    evdev 8672 0
    snd_usb_audio 78112 0
    snd_pcm_oss 39328 0
    snd_mixer_oss 14912 1 snd_pcm_oss
    snd_pcm 71109 2 snd_usb_audio,snd_pcm_oss
    snd_timer 20836 1 snd_pcm
    snd_page_alloc 8520 1 snd_pcm
    snd_usb_lib 15904 1 snd_usb_audio
    snd_rawmidi 21376 1 snd_usb_lib
    snd_seq_device 7532 1 snd_rawmidi
    snd_hwdep 7140 1 snd_usb_audio
    uvcvideo 53800 0
    compat_ioctl32 1184 1 uvcvideo
    ixp4xx_eth 12280 0
    videodev 29344 1 uvcvideo
    snd 49812 8 snd_usb_audio,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device,snd_hwdep
    ixp4xx_npe 8000 2 ixp4xx_eth
    v4l1_compat 15236 2 uvcvideo,videodev
    firmware_class 7648 1 ixp4xx_npe
    soundcore 7172 1 snd
    ixp4xx_qmgr 5272 6 ixp4xx_eth
    ixp4xx_beeper 2816 0
    ohci_hcd 18276 0
    ext3 123688 1
    jbd 45460 1 ext3
    mbcache 7968 2 ext2,ext3
    sd_mod 22736 4
    ehci_hcd 35212 0
    usb_storage 83559 3
    usbcore 128828 7 snd_usb_audio,snd_usb_lib,uvcvideo,ohci_hcd,ehci_hcd,usb_storage
    scsi_mod 111300 2 sd_mod,usb_storage

    ReplyDelete
  14. it should be possible to run this webcam on Debian XD because on ubuntu it is running without any additional action... it would be ql to run the webcam on the NSLU2 because i want to use it for an Quadrocopter Project...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well I am trying to do my best. I will try to figure that out when I go home. I will look at my slug and tell you some more but if your webcam again does not work sorry.

    By the way what is the model of the webcam. Did you look online for that model, which module does that use?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for helping me again.

    The webcam is a Digitus Webcam
    http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=23214&agid=127

    if you tell me how i could tell you what driver is used by ubuntu i will tell you

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi,
    Sorry for the delay
    nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist

    and add

    blacklist uvcvideo

    reboot the sytem and try to run webcam after reboot. Tell me how it goes

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hey,

    I am just installing ubuntu 9.04 to try the webcam on this OS. Maybe it would autodetect it like my Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop. If it would not autodetect i will try your tip! Or Ubuntu is maybe to slow for my aims. But we will see.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Excellent blog post. Thanks - just got mine up and running with your help.

    I'm using:

    Creative Technology, Ltd Webcam Live!/Live! Pro

    The images are ok, but I'm still seeing this message from dmesg:

    gspca: [spca5xx_set_light_freq:1932] Sensor currently not support light frequency banding filters

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thank for the pointer regarding v4l-info. This got me working...

    ReplyDelete