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[LUG] Philips PVCV 840K on Debian Testing

 

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For anyone pondering Webcams on the DCGLUG list.

Okay installed this on a box with a bespoke 2.4.26 kernel (weird disk
hardware) so had to do a bespoke kernel build (kernel-package is a must
for keeping kernel builds sane - how did I manage before it?).

This page was VERY useful in the exercise
- -> http://www.linux-sxs.org/hardware/pwc.html

Thanks to "netllama" !?

Beyond this I needed to know that /var/log/XFree86.0.log revealed that
the xfree86-dga module was being loaded without any direct reference to
it in the XF86Config-4 file.

I never found a "usbcore" module, is that 2.6?

I did a "modprobe pwc size=sqcif fps=30 compression=0" because I was
using the kernel 2.4.26 driver "pwc" and there is no "pcwx" at this
point in kernel history for licensing reasons (a lot of politics here).
Which gets me a perfectly good if slightly small webcam picture, to get
VGA I need to get a later version of the driver which has a "free
software" decompression module.

I've scheduled this for when I upgrade to 2.6, I think anyone else doing
this would be well advised to go to a recent version of the 2.6 kernel
immediately to get the best from the webcam. But I just need some images
for a web page at the moment, so 2.6, and bandwidth hungry images can
wait for me, beside ADSL don't get here till at least July :(

Haven't tested the built-in microphone yet.
Hmm where is the source selection in "Sound Recorder"?

Discovered my bios (it's current config anyway) doesn't warn, but
silently does nothing, if you have non-booting floppy in the drive (it
has been 3 months since the last reboot - a lot of time to forget about
a floppy). Caused a couple of minutes of wondering what was up with the
reboot.

For Debian you must also remember to add the user to group "video" (I
was already in "audio") to get permissions to use the camera. You must
remember to login again after doing this as well <doh - why do I always
forget that>.

Currently "xawtv" gives me a very iffy green picture with odd stripe
effects at the top. Any hints on where to start on that one?
Gnomemeeting says "oh you have a Philips webcam" and works without me
even fiddling with the settings.

$ xawtv
This is xawtv-3.94, running on Linux/i686 (2.4.26)
/dev/video0 [v4l]: no overlay support
v4l-conf had some trouble, trying to continue anyway
Warning: Cannot convert string
"-*-ledfixed-medium-r-*--39-*-*-*-c-*-*-*" to type FontStruct
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=120;width=160;format=5): Invalid
argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=120;width=160;format=4): Invalid
argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=120;width=160;format=1): Invalid
argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=120;width=160;format=7): Invalid
argument
ioctl: VIDIOCMCAPTURE(frame=0;height=120;width=160;format=13): Invalid
argument

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