Smart Webcam 3mp / 3 LED driver / install needed

[rbatina]

I bought this little webcam at Hamvention the other day, but the driver CD that came with it is scratched beyond use. It is interestingly named "Smart Webcam" and is apparently distributed through "Next Products" (There are several of these on eBay as well)

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/7682/212870949.jpg

I plugged it in and it was identified as "USB Video Device" as I expected, however using amcap it only serves video in mjpeg, max available resolution is 320x240, and it will only show a few frames and then freeze for a while, then a few more frames, then freeze, etc.

I uninstalled the device through the device manager, reinstalled it, and then ran the vicam chip identifier app that I found on here - and it said that no vicam device was installed. So at least that (perhaps) narrows it down.


Here are the strings for this camera:
USB\Vid_058f&Pid_3820&Rev_0401&MI_00
USB\Vid_058f&Pid_3820&MI_00


I did what I felt was an exhaustive search based on the 058f and 3820 information, and the only things I found were a few foreign pages with references to the IDs, as well as one that apparently allowed some sort of 3820 download only if you signed up for VIP access or whatever.

I even tried the Alcor 3820 download that was provided here on the site, and even after uninstalling "USB Video Device", running the app, and plugging in this camera when it asked - it still went unrecognized.

Hopefully I didn't skip any steps that would make it easy for this thing to be identified. :-) Any help would be appreciated.

---

Also, I did try the Wellec Cam3820 UVC Webcam driver package, and that didn't work either. When plugged in, the camera is still installed as a generic USB Video device. :-/

[davey6]

the only driver i can find to match that device id string is the wellec AV series v1.0 driver from a jap site.
DOWNLOAD



if windows is loading it as a generic USB device and you get a picture that should be all you need for it to work with the likes of skype, msn , yahoo messenger.
that amcap program really is past it best , its a very old dos based program and has problem with windows xp upwards.
vista and win 7 really don't like to load it at all.

to get the best from any picture run the cam wizard from inside any IM program and that will set the cam up ready for windows.

[pfg23]

Hi there, I just bought a Smart Webcam too. Pretty neat. However the software that comes on the mini-CD is pretty much useless from what I can tell. So having the scratched disk may not be much of a loss.

The CD contains two applications, a Chinese version of Stimon.exe which is an old Win9x still image capture program and something called QVidCap which as its name suggests is a video capture program ala AmCap. There are problems with both of these programs. Stimon doesn't seem to do much and it's not mentioned in the little instruction sheet included in the package. Niether is QVidCap. The problem with QVidCap is that it doesn't work very well. The displayed image is striated with black vertical lines every 5 pixels or so. Useless. I uninstalled the software that came on the CD. AmCap, Windows Live, Dorgem, and all the rest work fine, basically though the standard windows video cam drivers.

My question now is, how do you get the LEDs to light up? Neither QVidCap or Stimon had controls for this. I doubt that the standard video drivers shipped with XP (or Vista or Windows 7) know about the LED lights. Perhaps the drivers installed from the included mini-CD include a UI switch somewhere but it was not evident in either QVidCap or Stimon.

I haven't exhaustively tested the thing yet, but I wonder if the included drivers automatically light the LEDs by discerning low-light conditions through software contrast detection. That would certainly be a reason for installing the included mini-CD software instead of relying on the default Windows drivers.

Have you discovered anything? I've written a videocapture driver before, I worked for 3Com and am a software engineer. I'd write one for this thing but I'd need the hardware specs, which would be a fun find.

Thanks for reading,

Phil

[davey6]

with these cams its like sticking your head out a moving car you get whats coming to you lol lol

nah bad sense of humor aside.
these cams come with a switch, somewhere on the body , or a light photocell that switches them on in low light or in a few cases controled by the driver.
the later being the less common of the lot.

now i have seen cases on here where the switch was not fitted or the photocell not fitted at the factory.
i think its one way to lower the cost if you kind of forget to install something.

the only way to find out is to take the cam to bits and look at its control board just to make sure everything is fitted.

[pfg23]

Yep, sure enough the button controls the LED. Duh! Thanks.

[pjbatch]

the only driver i can find to match that device id string is the wellec AV series v1.0 driver from a jap site.
DOWNLOAD



if windows is loading it as a generic USB device and you get a picture that should be all you need for it to work with the likes of skype, msn , yahoo messenger.
that amcap program really is past it best , its a very old dos based program and has problem with windows xp upwards.
vista and win 7 really don't like to load it at all.

to get the best from any picture run the cam wizard from inside any IM program and that will set the cam up ready for windows.

Dave,
I also purchased this junky camera. I can't get it to work at all. I have Windows 7 and installed the software, however the camera or the software do not work at all. I uninstalled it and installed the driver you had on this thread, however that one says "Please PlugIn UVC CAMERA CAM3820". It appears next to impossible to get a hold of the manufacturer for help, so can you offer anything?

Thanks...

[davey6]

i will give it a shot for you but i need to know a few things.

get your device id string from your cam as they do differ alot, what looks like the same cam can have a different chipset inside.

are you running windows 32 bit or windows 64 bit ?
that does make a difference as well as alot of cams refuse to work on 64bit systems.

if you know who made this cam i might be able to track down their site for you.

its 1.10am here and i must head off to bed but if you post back with the above info i will take a look when i get up and see if i can find anything of use to you.

[pjbatch]

Hey, thanks for the response. I'm pretty sure I'm running Windows 7 and it's 32 bit. This camera is that same "Smart Webcam" by Next Products. It came with the mini cd software installation which doesn't work. If it helps, this camera says the following:

-Definition: 3.0 Megapixels
-CMOS Chip Type: Color CMOS image sensor
-Video Format: 24 bit RGB
-Interface USB
-Video 800x600 Pixels up to 15 frame/sec (VGA)
-Frame Rate: 320x240 up to 30 frame/sec (CIF)
-Sensor size: 4.86x3.64 mm

It lists (in real fine print) the manufacturer as Next Products (USA) (212) 840-1080 in City of Industry, CA

There were some other items listed, but those seemed most relevant. It was a clearance camera and I'm about ready to just throw it in the garbage and go buy a real one, I just thought I'd try and figure out why this camera won't even work right out of the package. Thank you very much for your help.

---

Dave,

I finally was able to get a hold of the company. I'm running through this long list of stuff to download from them, but if it works fine. If it helps you with other people with this same problem, the company sent me this link to download the more current software:

Please open the web site http://www.nextproductltd.com/catalogue/...pport.html
Download the software and follow the instruction.
If you are still having difficulty, please write to the technical team below with your phone number they will address it immediately.
Please note.
E-MAIL: Sales@nextproductltd.com
MSN: nextproduct@hotmail.com
Direct Line: +852-22511440 Fax: +852-23699744

Thanks again and I'll get back with you if this doesn't work.

[davey6]

that don't make sense all those drivers are named the same once unpacked they all install the same cam

might help if they said what driver does what sort of thing.

thanks for the info i will download them as well i think as that don't look like a good site that will stay around too long so best to keep them somewhere i think.

could you still post the device id string of your cam, sometimes people search by that well people such as myself and the answer will show up with that id string in google.

[pjbatch]

Okay, they all did install the same software/driver that doesn't work either. I don't have a clue what to do with this.

I'll be glad to post the string, unfortunately I'm kind of computer dumb! Could you tell me how I find that and I'll gladly tell you what it says.

[davey6]

have a read of this, gives you a basic idea of what to do.

http://www.davesdrivers.com/forum/announ....php?aid=8

[zette3]

Hello. i bought this camera also. but i finally found out ware the driver was. some1 posted this link >> http://www.nextproductltd.com/catalogue/...pport.html << witch had the answer. you just have to save those 5 rar files and select all of them after you saved them to your computer. right click and extract to driver setup. and then there you go thats the driver double click it and your read to roll. hope that helped

[davey6]

I can't see why you used all 5 files when rar parts 1 to 4 are all the same file
the only one that differs is part 5 which is a little less in size but again still installs the same cam as 1 to 4

[wyno2]

O.K. I've read all of the posts and still don't know what to do. Make it simple, what do I download and where do I get it? I'm really not into the technical stuff. I just want the Next Products 3MP USB 2.0 Smart Webcam w/3 LEDs to work.

[davey6]

what windows you trying to get this cam running on ?