Envision Peripherals WebCam User Manual

V-CAM

WebCam

User Manual

www.ENVISIONdisplay.com

FCC COMPLIANCE

FCC Compliance and Advisory Statement. This hardware device complies with Part 15 of the FCC

Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and 2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interf erence in a residential installat ion. This equipm ent genera tes, uses, an d can radiate radio frequen cy energy and, if not installed or used in accordance with the inst ructions, may cause harmful interfe rence to radio communication s. Howeve r, there is no gu arantee tha t interf erence wil l not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: 1) reorient or relocate the receiving antenna; 2) increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver; 3) connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected; 4) consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate the equipment. Where shielded interface cables have been provided with the product or specified additional components or accessories elsewhere defined to be used with the in stallation of the product, t hey must be used in order to ensure compliance with FCC regulations.

©2007 Envision Peripherals, Inc. All rights reserved. All specifications are subject to change without notice. Some pictures are simulations and are not actual screen shots. The Envision logo and V-Cam are trademarks of Envision Pe ripherals, Inc. All ot her brands are the trademarks of their respective holders.

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing the Envision V-Cam, a high-performance web camera (webcam). The V-Cam produces high-quality images with smooth frame rates thanks to its 1.3-Megapixel CMOS image sensor and High-Speed USB 2.0 compatibility.

FEA TURES AND SPECIFICA TIONS

• 1.3-Megapixel CMOS image sensor

• Maximum video resolution: 1280 x 1024

• Maximum still image resolution: 2304 x 1728 (software enhanced)

• Video modes: RGB24, I420

• Frame rates: 30fps at 640 x 480, 15fps at 1280 x 1024

• Interface: High-Speed USB 2.0, backwards compatible with USB 1.1

• Signal to noise ratio: >48dB

• Dynamic range: >72dB

• Image focus: 20cm to infinity

• AWB (Automatic Whiteness Balance)

• AE (Automatic Exposure)

• 5-glass element (5G) lens

• Automatic face tracking

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

• Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista

• Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.4GHz or AMD Athlon 1GHz

• Recommended: Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz or faster

• 128MB RAM minimum, at least 256MB recommended

• 200MB free hard drive space

• CD-ROM drive

• 16-bit color display adapter

• Available USB 1.1 or High-Speed USB 2.0 port

• NOTE: Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 with DirectX 9.0 installed or

Windows XP Service Pack 2, and High- Speed USB 2.0 are required for

1.3-Megapizel video and snapshot.

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DRIVER INSTALLATION – Windows 2000 / XP

Do not plug in V-Cam into USB port before installing driver.

If V-Cam is already plugged in, please unplug it and follow the steps below.

Full-size CD can be loaded in all CD-ROM drives. Mini-CD can only be used with typical tray-loading drives.

If you have a mini-CD, do not inse rt it into slot-loading CD-ROM drives; instead, please visit www.ENVISIONdisplay.com

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1. Insert the Driver/Application CD into CD-ROM. The splash screen will appear. Alternatively, open the drive directly and double-click autorun.exe to load the splash screen. From the splash screen select INSTALL DRIVER then select V-CAM.

2. At the installation wizard, click Install and follow the onscreen instructions to install driver and software applications.

NOTE: If a Digital Signature Not Found or Not Passed Windows Logo Testing dialog box appears, please choose the option to continue with

installation.

3. When the installation wizard has completed, click Finish to exit the wizard.

to download the driver.

DRIVER INSTALLATION – Windows 2000/XP – Continued

4. Plug V-Cam into USB port. The system will detect the device and complete the installation automatically. When installation has completed successfully, the Camera Icon in the Taskbar will show “Web Camera is plugged in”.

NOTE: If the Found New Hardware Wizard dialog box appears when V- Cam is plugged into USB port for the first time, first s elect No, not this time when asked whether to connect to Windows Update to search for software. Next, select Install the software automatically (Recommended).

Follow the ons creen instructions . If a Digital Signature Not Found or Not Passed Windows Logo Testing dialog box appears, please choose the option to continue with installation. W hen the wizard has completed, click Finish to exit.

When installation has completed successfully, the Camera Icon in the Taskbar will show “Web Camera is plugged in”.

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DRIVER INSTALLATION – Windows Vista

Do not plug in V-Cam into USB port before installing driver.

If V-Cam is already plugged in, please unplug it and follow the steps below.

Full-size CD can be loaded in all CD-ROM drives. Mini-CD can only be used with typical tray-loading drives.

If you have a mini-CD, do not inse rt it into slot-loading CD-ROM drives; instead, please visit www.ENVISIONdisplay.com

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2. At the installation wizard, click Install and follow the onscreen instructions to install driver and software applications.

3. When the installation wizard has completed, click Finish to exit the wizard.

to download the driver.

DRIVER INSTALLATION – Windows Vista – Continued

NOTE: If a dialog box appears asking Would you like to install this device software?, choose Install.

NOTE: If a dialog box appears informing you Windows needs to install driver software for you ENVISION V-VAM, choose Locate and install driver software (recommended). If a Windows needs your permission to continue dialog box appears, choose Continue.

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When driver inst allat ion is compl eted, the Ins talla tion Icon in t he Taskbar will show, “ENVISION V-CAM, Devise driver software installed successfully.”

The Camera Icon in the Taskbar will also show “Web Camera is plugged in”.

VERIFYING INSTALLATION

Windows 2000 / XP

1. Plug in V-Cam into USB port. The Camera Icon in the Taskbar should show “Web Camera is plugged in”.

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2. Right-click on the My Co mp ute r icon in the desktop or Windows Start menu. From the menu that appears, select Properties.

3. In the System Pr operties dialog box, click on the Hardware tab, then click on Device Manager.

4. Click on the (+) sign next to Imaging devices icon, and make sure there is an entry for “ENVISION V-CAM”

Windows Vista

1. Plug in V-Cam into USB port. The Camera Icon in the Taskbar should show “Web Camera is plugged in”.

2. Right-click on the Computer icon in the desk top or Windows Start menu. From the menu that appears, select Properties.

3. In window that appears, look i n the le ft pan e under Tasks and click on Device Manager.

4. Click on the (+) sign next to Imaging devices icon, and make sure there is an entry for “ENVISION V -CAM”

USING THE ENVISION V-CAM

1. Left-double-clic k on the Camera Icon in the Taskbar to laun ch the video playback application. Alternatively:

Windows 2000/XP: click Start → Programs → ENVISION V-CAM → AMCap Windows Vista: click Start → All Pro grams or Programs → ENVISION V- CAM → AMCap

USING THE ENVISION V-CAM – Continued

2. If no video appears, make sure Options → Preview is checked to enable live video playback.

NOTE: If you wish to use V-Cam with internet chat programs such as Yahoo!® Messenger, Windows Live AMCap video playback application by selecting File → Exit. Follow the instructions of your chat application for enabling webcam functions.

or MSN® Messenger, o r SkypeTM, please close the

ADJUSTING FOCUS

The focus of the camera lens can be manually adjusted by turning the silver focus ring clockwise or counter-clockwise. The lens can focus from 8” (20cm) to infinity.

CHANGING VIDEO RESOLUTION

To change the live video resolution, select Options → Video Capture Pin. In the Properties dialog box, select the desi red resolution from the Output Size drop-

down box

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NOTE: Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 with DirectX 9.0 installed or Wind ows XP

Service P ack 2, and High-Speed USB 2.0 are required for resolutions above 640 x 480.

T AKING A PHOTO

1. With the video playback application running, ri ght -clic k o n the Camera Ic on in the Taskbar, select Snapshot, then select the desired snapshot resolution.

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NOTE: The available snapshot resolution depends on the currently

selected video resolution. You can always take a snapshot at the same resolution as the cur rent video resolution. Furthermore, higher snapshot resolutions via soft ware enhancement may be available for c ertain video resolutions.

2. Still Image application opens when a snap shot is taken. To save the image, from the top menu, select File → Save As.

RECORDING A VIDEO

1. Make sure the live video playback application is running. Next, set the file to which the video will be saved. From the top menu, select File → Set Capture File.

2. In the Set Capture File dialog box enter a filename with the extension AVI, for example “samplevideo.avi”, then click Open. In the Set File Size dialog box, enter the amou nt of disk space to set aside for the video capture and then click OK.

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RECORDING A VIDEO – Contin ued

3. To start recording, select Capture → Start Capture. If a file was not set in Steps 1 and 2 above, enter a file name and set the amount of disk space as described above. Click OK in the Ready to Capture dialog box to st art recording.

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4. Recording will stop when the file has reached the size limit that was set in Step 2.

5. To stop the recording early before the file size limit has been reached, select Capture → Stop Capture.

6. The recorded video can be viewed using Windows Media Player.

7. T o record another video, follow Steps 1 and 2 above to set another file name. Otherwise, the new recording w ill over write t he pr evious ly saved vide o.

NOTE: Recording a video can take up a significant percentage of system resources, including the CPU, memory, and hard disk usage. Selecting a lo wer resolution will help reduce resource usag e and result in a smoother recorded video.

ADVANCED FEATURES

To access the advanced fea tures, se lect Options → Vide o Fil ter Pin

Settings Tab

djust the Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness, etc. to suit your personal preferences

Set the Flicker to 60Hz if in North America and 50Hz if in Europe.

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ADVANCED FEATURES – Settings Tab – Continued

• Image Mirror – Changes into mirror image.

• Image Flip – Turns the image upside down.

• Low Light – Optimizes the image in low-light situations

• In/Out Door – Optimizes the image for indoor or outdoor lighting.

• USB Bandwidth – Decreasing the value will leave more bandwidth for

other USB devic es, but will slow down frame rate. Leaving the Auto box

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checked is recommended.

• Exposure – Adjusts the exposu re time of the ima ge sensor. Increasin g

exposure will slow down frame rate. Leaving the Auto box checked is recommended.

• White Balance – Increase/decrease the amount of Red color and

increase/decrease the amount of Blue color in the image for manual white balance adjustment. Leaving the Auto box checked is recommended.

• Flicker – Helps to reduce image flicker when V-Cam is used under

fluorescent lighting. Select the value that most closely matches your local electrical AC frequency. For North America, choose 60Hz.

• Backlight Comp. – Check this box to enable backlight compensation in

situations where there is strong light in the background, such as when there is a sun-lit window behind you.

• B/W Mode – Check this box to set the image in black and white mode.

• Auto LED Mode – Changing these settings will have no effect since this

particular webcam model does not have LED functions.

• Default – Click on this button to restore all values in the Settings tab to

default factory settings.

• Save – Saves the current settings to the camera. Previously saved settings

will be overwritten.

• Load – Loads the most recently saved settings.

ADVANCED FEATURES –Effects Tab – Continued

Effects Tab

Select special effects and picture distor tions .

Select f rames and graphic overlays to add to the video image.

• Customized Frame – Use a custom graphic overlay on the video image.

Select the Frame File radio button, clic k on (…) to browse for your graphic file, and then click on the Load File button. The graphic file should be a bitmap (BMP) and VGA (640 x 480) or lower in resolution.

• Auto Cha ng e – Automatically cycle through each of the Effect and Frame

selections every few seconds.

• No effect & frame – turns off any selected Effect or Frame.

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ADVANCED FEATURES –Zoom Tab – Continued

Zoom Tab

Enables digital zoom. Use the arrow buttons to pan around the image, and the slider bar to z oom in and out.

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Enables face trac king. The camera w ill detect your face and digitally zoom in and automatically pans the image to keep you face within view.

NOTE: Certain advanced features are not available at higher video resolutions. Effect, Frame, Zoom Control, and Face Tracking are enabled only in resolu tions 640x480 and below. Furthermore, Effect and Frame settings are not available if Zoom Control or Face Tracking is enabled.

ADVANCED FEATURES – Continued

The advanced settings can also be accomplished simply by right -clicking on the Camera Icon in the Taskbar.

CAUTION

• If V-Cam becomes hot after being on for a long period of time, please stop the camera for a short while.

• Avoid touching the len s with your hands or with sha rp or coarse objects. Use a clean soft cloth for cleaning.

• Do not use V-Cam in extremely hot, cold, dusty, or humid environments.

• Avoid dropping V-Cam as much as possible. Severe drops may damage

the lens, cause camera malfunction, or scratch the surface.

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