HP Premium Autofocus Webcam User Manual

HP Webcam User’s Guide

Version 1.0

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.

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Table of Contents

Welcome ................................................................................................ 1

Overview ............................................................................................................. 1

Using Your HP Webcam .......................................................................... 3

Recording a Video................................................................................................. 3

Starting a Video Chat ............................................................................................ 4

Using Your Webcam as a Video Monitor ................................................................. 5

Editing a Video ..................................................................................................... 6

Editing a Video in ArcSoft WebCam Companion ................................................. 6

Editing a Video in ArcSoft VideoImpression ......................................................... 6

Taking a Picture .................................................................................................... 7

Editing a Picture .................................................................................................... 7

Adjusting Settings ................................................................................... 9

Adjusting Brightness and Control............................................................................. 9

Creating a Personal Profile ................................................................................... 10

Adjusting Capture Settings.................................................................................... 11

Adjusting Webcam Settings.................................................................................. 12

Troubleshooting .................................................................................... 13

Table of Contents iii

iv HP Webcam User’s Guide

Overview

Welcome

Congratulations on purchasing one of the following products:

 HP Deluxe Webcam

 HP Premium Autofocus Webcam

This guide shows you how to use your new webcam to record videos, start video chats, use your webcam as a security cam, take pictures, and adjust the webcam settings.

1 Video Record button

2 HP Instant Chat button

3 Snapshot button

4 Integrated microphone

5 USB connector

6 Adjustable clip

7 Status LED

8 Camera lens

HP Webcam User’s Guide 1

2 HP Webcam User’s Guide

Recording a Video

1 Press the Video Record button on your webcam to open ArcSoft WebCam

Companion™.

2 If prompted, select a folder to store your videos.

3 Press the Video Record button or click Record Video to begin recording.

4 Press the Video Record button again or click Stop Recording to stop

recording.

5 Select one of the following buttons:

 Send by email: Enables you to send the video as an email attachment.

 Save to disk: Enables you to save the video on your computer.

 VideoImpression: Opens the video for editing in ArcSoft VideoImpression

To learn more about using ArcSoft WebCam Companion, click the Help menu.

Using Your HP Webcam

HP Webcam User’s Guide 3

Starting a Video Chat

You can add live video to the most popular instant messaging (IM) applications (ISP connection required):

 AOL

 Windows Live

 Yahoo!

 Skype

1 Press the HP Instant Chat

2 Select the instant messaging (IM)

3 If prompted, follow the onscreen

4 Follow the video chat steps in the

NOTE: The HP Instant Chat Button Setup

options appear only during initial setup. The next time you press the HP Instant Chat button, the selected IM application opens automatically.

Instant Messenger™ (AIM®)

™

Messenger

button on your webcam.

application you want to use.

instructions to install and set up the IM application.

IM application’s documentation.

To select a different IM application after you complete initial setup, click

Start > All Programs > ArcSoft Magic-i 3 > HP Instant Chat Button Setup.

Now you’re ready to enhance your video chats with special effects and to broadcast videos from your PC hard drive. To learn more about using ArcSoft Magic-i the Help ? icon in the upper-right corner of the Magic-i 3 window.

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™

3, click

Using Your Webcam as a Video Monitor

1 Double-click the WebCam Companion icon on the Windows® desktop.

2 Click Monitor .

3 Click Start Monitor to begin monitoring.

4 Click Stop Monitor to finish monitoring and save the video to your PC.

If you want to send a video snapshot by e-mail, upload the video to your FTP site, or change the location of your media folder, ArcSoft WebCam Companion can do all that and more. To learn more about using ArcSoft WebCam Companion, click the Help menu.

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Editing a Video

You can edit your videos in ArcSoft WebCam Companion or in ArcSoft VideoImpression. For basic editing functions, use ArcSoft WebCam Companion, for advanced editing functions use ArcSoft VideoImpression.

Editing a Video in ArcSoft WebCam Companion

1 Double-click the WebCam Companion icon on the Windows desktop.

2 Click Edit .

3 Highlight the video you want to edit, and then click Edit Video.

To learn about specific editing functions, click the Help menu.

Editing a Video in ArcSoft VideoImpression

1 Double-click the ArcSoft VideoImpression icon on the Windows desktop.

2 Click Open an Existing Project.

3 Select the video you want to edit.

To learn about using ArcSoft VideoImpression, click the Help menu.

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Taking a Picture

1 Press the Snapshot button on your webcam to open ArcSoft WebCam

Companion.

2 Press the Snapshot button again or click Capture to take the picture.

To learn more about taking pictures with ArcSoft WebCam Companion, click the

Help menu.

Editing a Picture

1 Double-click the HP Photosmart Essential icon on the Windows desktop.

2 Click the Help ? icon in the upper-right corner of the Photosmart Essential window to

learn more about editing, printing, and sharing pictures with HP Photosmart Essential.

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8 HP Webcam User’s Guide

Adjusting Settings

This chapter shows you how to adjust settings in ArcSoft Magic-i 3 and ArcSoft WebCam Companion.

Adjusting Brightness and Control

1 Double-click the Magic-i 3 icon on the

Windows desktop.

2 Click the Generic Settings icon.

3 Remove the check mark from the

Auto Enhance box.

4 Drag the sliders to adjust these settings:

Brightness

Contrast

5 Click OK.

NOTE: To restore all the factory settings, click Default.

HP Webcam User’s Guide 9

Creating a Personal Profile

1 Double-click the Magic-i 3 icon on the Windows desktop.

2 Click the Profiles tab. (If this tab is not visible, click the Expand tab to

expand the screen.)

3 Drag the sliders to adjust these settings:

Brightness Contrast Gamma Saturation Sharpness

4 Click Save Profile.

5 Enter a name for the profile.

6 Click OK.

NOTE:

 To restore the factory settings, click

Default.

 To apply a previously saved profile, select

the profile name from the Current Profile list.

 To delete a profile, select the profile name

from the Current Profile list, and then click the Delete icon.

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Adjusting Capture Settings

1 Double-click the WebCam Companion

icon on the Windows desktop.

2 Click Capture .

3 Click the Settings icon.

4 Adjust any of these settings:

 Image Format sets the default file

format for still image captures.

 Image Quality sets the default

resolution for still image captures.

 Video Format sets the default file

format for videos you record.

 Video Quality sets the default resolution for videos you record.

 Number of photos in burst sets the number of images captured in

burst mode.

 With Audio turns the webcam’s microphone on and off.

5 Click OK.

NOTE: To restore all the factory settings, click Refresh device.

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Adjusting Webcam Settings

1 Do one of the following:

 Double-click the WebCam

Companion icon on the

Windows desktop, click Capture , and then click the WebCam Settings

icon.

 Double-click the Magic-i 3 icon

on the Windows desktop, and then click the Settings icon.

2 Do any of the following:

 Drag the sliders to adjust the

individual settings.

 (HP Premium Autofocus

Webcam only) Manually adjust the

focus by removing the check from the Auto Focus check box and then dragging the Focus slider.

3 (Magic-i 3 only) Do any of the following:

 Manually adjust the exposure by removing the check from the Auto Exposure

check box and then dragging the Exposure slider.

 Turn off the LED by removing the check from the LED On check box.

 Turn off the video input by inserting a check in the Video Off check box.

When the video is turned off, you cannot be seen, but you can still be heard.

4 Click OK.

NOTE: To restore the factory settings, click Default.

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Troubleshooting

Problem Solution

The image is fuzzy Make sure that you removed the protective film from the webcam lens.

(HP Premium Autofocus Webcam only) Turn off the autofocus feature

and use the software settings to manually adjust the focus. See Adjusting

Webcam Settin g s for details.

I don’t want to use Magic-i 3 with my IM application

I closed Magic-i 3 during a chat, and now my webcam isn’t connected to my IM application

I want to turn off the autofocus feature (HP Premium

Autofocus Webcam only)

Magic-i 3 closes when I press the Snapshot button

Open your IM application and use the preference settings to select a different video device. See the documentation for your IM application for details.

Reopen Magic-i 3 by double-clicking the Magic-i 3 icon on your computer desktop, or select a different video device in your IM application. See your IM documentation for details.

1 Do one of the following:

 Double-click the WebCam Companion icon on the Windows

desktop, and then click the WebCam Settings icon.

 Double-click the Magic-i 3 icon on the Windows desktop, and

then click the Settings icon.

2 Remove the check from Auto Focus check box.

3 Drag the Focus slider to manually adjust the focus.

4 Click OK or Apply.

Only one application can use your webcam at a time. If the video stream has disappeared from your IM application, close the IM application and then press

the HP Instant Chat button again to open both Magic-i 3 and your IM application.

ArcSoft WebCam Companion closes when I press the HP Instant Chat button

Only one application can use your webcam at a time. To reopen ArcSoft WebCam Companion, press the Snapshot button.

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Problem (Continued) Solution

The webcam buttons are not working properly

I hear an echo or feedback in the speakers

Look in the Windows System Tray for the HP Button Manager icon. If you don’t see the HP Button Manager icon, then open My Computer,

navigate to the Program Files\HP\Button Manager folder, and double-click the BM.EXE file to restart it.

On Windows XP computers (Classic view):

1 Click Start > Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices.

2 Click the Audio tab.

3 Under Sound playback, click Volume, and drag the Master Volume

slider to adjust the speaker volume.

4 Under Sound recording, click Volume, and drag the Microphone slider

to adjust the microphone volume.

On Windows Vista

computers (Classic view):

1 Click Windows Vista start button™ > Control Panel > Sound.

2 Click the Playback tab.

3 Select the Speaker you are using and then click Properties.

4 Click the Levels tab and drag the sliders to adjust the output level.

5 Click the Recording tab.

6 Select the Microphone you are using and then click Properties.

7 Click the Levels tab and drag the sliders to adjust the input level.

The webcam audio is not synchronized with the webcam video

From the Video Capture screen, select the Resolution list, and set the video resolution to 640x480 to synchronize the video and audio. After synchronizing the audio and video, try increasing the resolution to the next level. If the problem recurs, go back to the previous resolution setting.

Still need help? Please refer to the warranty that came with your webcam for support phone numbers and Web site information.

14 HP Webcam User’s Guide

Part number: 5992-4251