I have tried a couple of webcams and not had much luck (other posts relate to this). I am now thinking of buying a new one. Is there anyone out there who has got a webcam working with Skype under Ubuntu Gutsy?

I am trying to work out what works out of the box, I have tried the video hijacker but cant get it working and as I am getting a new webcam it seems sensible to get one that is well supported by Skype on Ubuntu Gutsy. Obviously the exact make and model would be good.

Out of the box would likely be the Philips SPC 900NC.

If you're not running 64-bit, then most gspca and uvc cameras will also work out of the box (more so after our beta update). If you are running 64-bit, then you need to upgrade gspca or uvc unfortunately, as the version in Gutsy is out of date.

Andy.

You might want to check this page:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SkypeWebCams

Hey, uhh.. I havethe Beta 2.0 version for fedora core 6, and I've got perfect incoming visuals and audio, but the other person can't hear me or see me. I checked in my hardware (second option if any of you have fc6) and my computer registered it as a USB device, but I have no earthly clue as to how to get Skype to recognize my webcam. My webcam is an idiot-proof plugin and focus comera from some obscene webcame dealer. I belive it is a Z-Star microelectrics Z303 camera. please help me!


Elmo Says YO!

I got this combination to work:

Skype: 2.0.0.27
Webcam: Bus 002 Device 005: ID 046d:08f0 Logitech, Inc. QuickCam Messenger
Distribution: Ubuntu 7.10
Driver: provided by Ubuntu (quickcam_messenger)
Additional software: gstfakevideo from http://code.google.com/p/gstfakevideo/source

0. Install gstfakevideo
1. Connect webcam to PC
2. mv /dev/video0 /dev/video1 (since gstfakevideo always uses video0)
3. Start skype with the following command: gstfakevideo v4lsrc device=/dev/video1 ! videoscale ! ffmpegcolorspace

For step 2 you could create some udev rule.
For step 3 the follwoing alias might be helpful:
alias skype='gstfakevideo v4lsrc device=/dev/video1 ! videoscale ! ffmpegcolorspace'

A few test reports on a custom Debian and standard Ubuntu with 3 logitech webcams.

A) Debian Etch/Stable
--------------------------------
Debian Stable/Etch
self compiled kernel 2.6.20
FVWM (i.e. no GNome, no KDE) plus a selection of hand picked packages.
1.8 GHz Pentium-M
ATI radeon driver (binary)

0) Overall
Sound/Alsa is touchy. They have this concept of indexes and slots, and sometimes the motherboard sound driver/module does not load. I had to add the following in my /etc/modprobe.d/aliases.local :
-----------------------------------------------------------------
# Fix usb-audio to prevent it to get index 0
options snd-usb-audio index=-2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
By default, the sound input will be the one on your motherboard. If you want to use the microphone on your webcam, you've got to tell Skype about it (in "Options"). If you disconnect/reconnect the webcam, audio input goes back to default, so you may want to check this setting.

1) Logitech PRO 3000
Driver pwc, included in kernel (i.e. out of the box)
Worked in both betas of skype 2.0.
Great image quality

2) Logitech Communicate Deluxe
Driver uvc. I downloaded the latest version from the svn and compiled it manually.
Work fine in the second beta of Skype. Garbled in the first beta.
Great image quality (more pixels that PRO 3000, but lost on Skype).

3) Logitech Communicate STX
Driver gspca. I dowloaded the latest tarball and built it.
Work fine in second beta of Skype. First beta not tested.
Ok image quality (main difference is low light).
The video takes longer to start than with the other two webcams.

4) My own view
Can't see it at all.
My Radeon driver has only a single xv port.

B) Ubuntu 7.10
----------------------
Ubuntu 7.10, everything standard
Packaged kernel 2.6.22
Standard GNome
733 PentiumIII
xorg nv driver (non accelerated)
USB1.1 only, no USB2.0

0) Overall
Note that Ubuntu did screw up the permissions of my second user (this seems a common GNome problem). In particular, this user was not in the group 'video'. You may want to make sure the the content of /etc/group is ok and that all users are in the same groups.
CPU and Graphic card are pretty much stressed out when using video. It seems that with video enabled, the sound quality suffers a bit.
No modprobe trick needed to load usb-audio.
By default, the sound input will be the one on your motherboard. If you want to use the microphone on your webcam, you've got to tell Skype about it (in "Options"). If you disconnect/reconnect the webcam, audio input goes back to default, so you may want to check this setting.

1) Logitech PRO 3000
Driver pwc. A version is provided by Ubuntu, and it recognises the webcam.
Work fine in second beta of Skype. First beta not tested.

2) Logitech Communicate Deluxe
Driver uvc. A version is provided by Ubuntu, and it recognises the webcam.
Work fine in second beta of Skype. First beta not tested.

3) Logitech Communicate STX
Driver uvc. A version is provided by Ubuntu, and it recognises the webcam.
Work fine in second beta of Skype. First beta not tested.

4) My own view
I see a white rectangle.
My nv driver has only a single xv port.


I hope this gives you enough information. Unfortunately, I won't have access to all this hardware after the holidays (those are gifts).
Note : I happen to gravitate towards Logitech webcams. However, I would not recommend all Logitech webcams (early UVC webcams seems problematic, quickcam express seems to have poor image quality), and I'm sure other brands offer good webcams if you are picky.

Have fun...

Jean

I find it somewhat amusing that lsusb returns the webcam as being Messanger. So for the sake of those doing a search I include the following - Logitech QuickCam Messenger

Video tests fine (even with xdtv running video from my tv card)
Test call works
Still to actually try a video call with someone

How did you make skype work with fedora 8? i already tried suspending or even removing pulseaudio without any success.

These are the pulseaudio packages I have installed. What issues are you having that are pulseaudio related?