Webcam

This article is a stub. Please help out by expanding it - how to get started.

Resources

This article will provide information on setting up and using webcams on Gentoo using v4l-utils.

Installation

Kernel

The following kernel options need to be activated:

KERNEL Needed Kernel options

Device Drivers  --->
    <*> Multimedia support  --->
        [*]   Filter media drivers
        Media device types  --->
            [*] Cameras and video grabbers 
        Video4Linux options  --->
            [*] V4L2 sub-device userspace API
        Media drivers  ---> 
            [*] Media USB Adapters  ---> 
                <M>   USB Video Class (UVC)
                    [*]   UVC input events device support

The matching CONFIG_* for the above options are:

CONFIG_MEDIA_SUPPORT
CONFIG_MEDIA_SUPPORT_FILTER
CONFIG_MEDIA_CAMERA_SUPPORT
CONFIG_VIDEO_V4L2_SUBDEV_API
CONFIG_MEDIA_USB_SUPPORT
CONFIG_USB_VIDEO_CLASS
CONFIG_USB_VIDEO_CLASS_INPUT_EVDEV

USE flags

Recommended USE flags for v4l include: opengl, qt5, and udev - at least qt5 will be needed to follow on with this article.

USE flags for media-tv/v4l-utils Separate utilities ebuild from upstream v4l-utils package

`bpf`	Enables support for IR BPF decoders.
`dvb`	Add support for DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting)
`opengl`	Add support for OpenGL (3D graphics)
`qt5`	Add support for the Qt 5 application and UI framework
`udev`	Enable virtual/udev integration (device discovery, power and storage device support, etc)

Data provided by the Gentoo Package Database · Last update: 2023-01-13 05:29 More information about USE flags

Emerge

Install media-tv/v4l-utils:

root #emerge --ask media-tv/v4l-utils

Configuration

v4l-utils is used here to check/set the camera's preferences.

Configuration GUI and settings test

user $qv4l2

Get settings from video device

user $v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext

Settings example

Some Cheap USB Cameras (like integrated models in thinkpad latops) always use a 640x480 resolution but are able to use 720p, it is possible to set this in v4l2-ctl:

user $v4l2-ctl --set-parm=30 --set-fmt-video=width=1280,height=720,pixelformat=MJPG --device /dev/video0

Explanation

--set-parm = Framerate (integer)

--set-fmt-video = Resolution + Compression

Check settings

user $qvidcap

Make options persistent

Getting device info:

root #lsusb | grep Cam

Bus 003 Device 007: ID 5986:0268 Acer, Inc SunplusIT INC. Integrated Camera

Creating a rule:

FILE /etc/udev/rules.d/99-v4linux.rulesExample udev rule

SUBSYSTEM=="video4linux", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="5986", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0268", PROGRAM="/usr/bin/v4l2-ctl --set-parm=30 --set-fmt-video=width=1280,height=720,pixelformat=MJPG --device /dev/%k"