Improving Cam Video Quality on MFC

[bill234]

Hi,

Trying to help a Model/Friend improve her video quality. No matter the cam it doesn't seem to get any better. She has the Logitech C920, now also has C930e. Video quality is even worse on the C930e due to its variable frame rates and video "vsync" issues etc...

I'm wondering if the PC (windows 8 x64 btw) has anything to do with the picture quality? Also tried the MFC broadcasting software same quality.

I've seen models with much sharper video quality, and I there really isn't any settings that I can find to improve the picture quality. It's just no that sharp compared to some other models cams.

She has 20mbit upload speed and 300+mbit download speed so its not a bandwidth thing...

Oh and the vsync issue I'm referring to is in the video you will see a line where the top half of the video is slightly out of sync with the bottom half of the video. The only way to get it to go away is to crank up the brightness/gamma which makes it disappear. If anyone knows another way to fix this please let me know!

Anyone have any advice?

 

[nzhere]

What graphics hardware is she using ? Is she using onboard video? how many USB devices does she have plugged in?

Is she using the official Logitech driver? or the default windows one.

 

[bill234]

What graphics hardware is she using ? Is she using onboard video? how many USB devices does she have plugged in?

Is she using the official Logitech driver? or the default windows one.

Her video card is AMD Radeon HD 8550G

Using the default windows 8 one since there is no other driver anyway. She has a usb mouse plugged in, possibly a usb keyboard too.

 

[Teagan]

Checking her CPU while not broad casting and broadcasting may help. Youd be surprised the amount of stuff that just runs when it's not needing to be. Running other stuff like music and such can slow down things too effecting video quality.

 

[TacoBelle]

I'm just gonna throw this out here, even though it might not be her problem. Every single time that I try to broadcast with "mobile feed" allowed, it slows my frame rate to next to nothing. But when I turn it off, I'm back to normal.

 

[bill234]

Checking her CPU while not broad casting and broadcasting may help. Youd be surprised the amount of stuff that just runs when it's not needing to be. Running other stuff like music and such can slow down things too effecting video quality.

Thanks, I did check that tried to keep as much stuff closed, but doesn't seem to have any effect on the picture quality and the "vsync" issue.

I did however uninstall all Logitech software from the old cam, cleaned out old settings etc. Reinstalled the logitech web cam settings app, and it finally recognized the c930e fully when bringing up the settings. I'll see if it looks any better next time.

I should note that the picture quality is not bad, its just I've seen much sharper/clearer video from other model's cams, and I know these cams can produce pretty high quality video.

I guess even though the latest video card drivers are installed I'll see if switching it to an older/different version helps any.

Thanks

 

[bill234]

I'm just gonna throw this out here, even though it might not be her problem. Every single time that I try to broadcast with "mobile feed" allowed, it slows my frame rate to next to nothing. But when I turn it off, I'm back to normal.

Thanks, I have noticed issues with mobile feed too especially when she was having disconnection issues in the past... Where the cam would just randomly flick on/off or just turn off. When that was happening disabling mobile feed seemed to stop it from happening.

Maybe a different video card driver will help with this too.

Thanks again

 

[nzhere]

She's using a laptop right?

The 8550G has no dedicated graphics memory and shares the main memory with the CPU cores. Not really ideal as low memory will have a big effect on performance.

She should run at least 4 GB of ram minimum and the less task the better. Or better still get a dekstop

Also Note the Logitech 930E has a firmware upgrade available
see link here.
http://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/10715

 

[bill234]

She's using a laptop right?

The 8550G has no dedicated graphics memory and shares the main memory with the CPU cores. Not really ideal as low memory will have a big effect on performance.

She should run at least 4 GB of ram minimum and the less task the better. Or better still get a dekstop

Also Note the Logitech 930E has a firmware upgrade available
see link here.
http://support.logitech.com/en_us/product/10715

She's got 4gb ram, doesn't seem to full when camming but I'll check again. Unfortunately I'm unable to update the firmware on the c930e. When I run the firmware updater it just says unable to determine firmware version or something to that effect, and the update button is greyed out...

A desktop of course would work better, but it's just not ideal for moving around her place which happens often.

Thanks

 

[JessieWolfe]

My video quality increased GREATLY when I got some professional lighting. It is amazing what some good lighting can do for cam quality.

 

[bill234]

My video quality increased GREATLY when I got some professional lighting. It is amazing what some good lighting can do for cam quality.

Thanks, she's uses some professional lighting already. It definitely helps!

 

[nzhere]

If she is on a laptop, Is she also running on wifi? a wired cable directto the router will make a huge difference.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

Just going to throw this out there. It probably will NOT help, i already know this. But just as a way of routine troubleshooting it's the very first step i would do in this situation.

Uninstall the webcam software and drivers. Restart the computer. Install all of them again. Restart the computer.

Again, this probably won't do anything because you can still get video at all. But quite often after other software is installed it may cause minor conflicts in the drivers. A fresh install rewrites all the drivers the webcam specifically requires.

 

[bill234]

If she is on a laptop, Is she also running on wifi? a wired cable directto the router will make a huge difference.

Thanks, ya tried running Ethernet cable directly to modem didn't improve video quality unfortunately.

 

[bill234]

Just going to throw this out there. It probably will NOT help, i already know this. But just as a way of routine troubleshooting it's the very first step i would do in this situation.

Uninstall the webcam software and drivers. Restart the computer. Install all of them again. Restart the computer.

Again, this probably won't do anything because you can still get video at all. But quite often after other software is installed it may cause minor conflicts in the drivers. A fresh install rewrites all the drivers the webcam specifically requires.

Thanks, also did this didn't improve the video quality either

It's by no means bad I'm just trying to figure out why it can't be better than it is... Since I've seen sharper quality on other models cams.

Maybe I'm just grasping at straws here.... Hopefully when she gets a new laptop down the road it will improve the video quality.

 

[JessieWolfe]

Oh random thought, does she use manycam? If so that will mess with video quality (at least for me it did)

 

[bill234]

Oh random thought, does she use manycam? If so that will mess with video quality (at least for me it did)

Ya she does but I've tested it with it on and off didn't seem to change the quality much. But I'll definitely check it again, thanks!

 

[JessieWolfe]

Oh random thought, does she use manycam? If so that will mess with video quality (at least for me it did)

Ya she does but I've tested it with it on and off didn't seem to change the quality much. But I'll definitely check it again, thanks!

(i havent been on mfc with manycam in forever so correct me if I'm wrong) but i believe there is a place in many cam where you can change the resolution you are streaming in and make it higher or lower?

 

[bill234]

Oh random thought, does she use manycam? If so that will mess with video quality (at least for me it did)

Ya she does but I've tested it with it on and off didn't seem to change the quality much. But I'll definitely check it again, thanks!

(i havent been on mfc with manycam in forever so correct me if I'm wrong) but i believe there is a place in many cam where you can change the resolution you are streaming in and make it higher or lower?

You know what I forget if there is a setting... But i think there was something about the resolution. I'll check it next time i have the chance.

Thanks again!

 

[ronin]

Hey everyone,

Just a quick question... where in the MFC broadcast software do you enable the HD feature?
One of my fav models who only just started can't find it and as I can't look for it myself...

Thanks!

 

[mirvine2387]

Hey everyone,

Just a quick question... where in the MFC broadcast software do you enable the HD feature?
One of my fav models who only just started can't find it and as I can't look for it myself...

Thanks!

If I am not mistaken, this would not be a setting. It will be based on your output. So a HD output should automatically show HD.

 

[ronin]

No I've seen girls log on with reasonable quality and after some complaints they do a log out / log in they are in HD.
So i'm guessing there's an option for it.

 

[mirvine2387]

From the MFC Wiki: http://wiki.myfreecams.com/wiki/Model_W ... eptions

Options
Clicking this button at the bottom will open your "Options and Settings" menu which is the place you can set your preferences regarding your Model Web Broadcaster and your account.
On the initial "Chat" tab you are able to select who you will accept Private Messages (PM's) from. If you feel overwhelmed with too many PM's, you may choose to only receive PM's from friends.
Video Options
Normal / Default Video: The normal video stream, best for older computers or slower internet connections.
HD Video: Our brand new video system for faster computers and connections. Your live feed will get shown on the MyFreeCams Mobile site for iOS and Android devices.