Connectix QuickCam Version 2.1
Windows 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows NT (Grayscale Only)
This README.TXT file contains the following sections:
1. Important Notes
2. Parallel Port Modes
3. Getting the Best Picture and Frame Rate from QuickCam
4. Known Issues
5. Windows NT Notes
6. Installing both QuickCam and Color QuickCam with Windows 95
7. How to Contact Connectix
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1. Important Notes
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We strongly recommend that you turn your computer off anytime you connect
or disconnect the QuickCam from either the parallel port or the keyboard port.
If you are a Windows 95 user, your computer may crash if you try to run both
QuickPICT and QuickMovie at the same time.
Be sure your monitor is displaying at least 16 bit (high) color. (See Control
Panels:Display:Settings in Windows 95 or consult your manual for Windows
3.1-based computers.)
Do not plug the keyboard power adapter into one computer and the parallel
port connector into a different computer. Doing this will void your warranty.
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2. Parallel Port Modes
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To experience QuickCam's true performance, it is important that your parallel
port be set to Bi-directional or faster. To get the fastest frame rates
for preview, video capture and still capture, your parallel port must be set
to Bi-directional or faster.
There are three types of communications modes that your computer's parallel
port can use to talk to QuickCam:
· · Nibble (or Compatible), the slowest mode;
· · Bit (or Bi-directional), medium speed mode; and
· · ECP, the fastest mode.
All Pentium class machines are capable of bi-directional communications;
however, they are usually set up for the slowest mode. To set your computer
to bidirectional or faster, you must change your BIOS Setup. Please refer to
your computer's technical reference manual for instructions on changing the
BIOS setup on your computer or refer to your computer manufacturer's or your
BIOS manufacturer's website for support.
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3. Getting the Best Picture and Frame Rate from QuickCam
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To get the best image from your QuickCam, first make sure that you have
adequate lighting. All of the other image adjustments depend on the presence
of an adequate amount of light. As a rule of thumb, if the lighting is such
that you would use a flash with a normal 35mm camera, you need to add more
light for your QuickCam. This is probably true in most home environments where
illumination is provided by a single light source.
One of the most important factors in getting the highest possible frame rate
is having enough illumination. The less light there is, the longer the shutter
will have to stay open to capture each frame, which results in lower frame rate.
Simply by increasing the light level, you can decrease the necessary shutter
speed (the Brightness setting) and increase the frame rate.
If you are using a Color QuickCam, make sure that your monitor is set to
display the same number of colors or grays as the QuickCam is capturing. For
example, if you capture video at thousands of colors, make sure your video
display adapter is set to display thousands of colors. If the QuickCam has to
dither the image to match your display, frame rates will decrease.
If you are using a Color QuickCam, use the Thousands (VIDEC) setting (the
default setting). In this mode, Color QuickCam implements VIDEC, which will
increase frame rates.
If you are using a Color QuickCam and there is enough light, you may get
increased frame rates if you turn off the Low-Light Image Filter checkbox in
the Camera Adjustments dialog.
If you are using a Color QuickCam and do not need the maximum amount of
detail in each frame, choose a reduced Sharpness level. If you choose the
middle or the lowest value for Sharpness, you will get higher frame rates than
if you choose the highest Sharpness value.
To increase your frame rates, choose a smaller image size. Capturing a smaller
image size results in faster frame rates.
Make sure you're running only QuickMovie. Close any other application that
may take processing time away from QuickMovie.
When recording a movie your on-screen frame rate will appear to drop. This is
because QuickMovie is making sure that you get the full rate saved to disk
first; screen updates are secondary to captured frame rates. When you play
back your saved movie, you will see the full frame rate captured by QuickMovie.
To playback a movie recorded using VIDEC compression on a different
computer, you will need to install the VIDEC decompression software
(VIDEC.DLL). This software is available on the Connectix Web page and
Connectix online service forums. See How to Contact Connectix Corporation.
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4. Known Issues
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On HP Omnibook 800 models, connecting the QuickCam into the parallel port may
cause the application to fail. If you cannot get a picture, try plugging
into the parallel port on the docking port instead of the parallel port on
the Omnibook itself.
Do not attempt to use the Full Screen mode in QuickPICT, QuickMovie or the
QuickCam Screen Saver in low memory configurations (12 megabytes or less).
The image may freeze or produce unexpected results.
If you take a picture to the clipboard using thousands mode (Windows 3.1
only), you will not be able to view the picture using Microsoft Paint or the
Clipboard Viewer. The image is, however, available to other applications
which support 16 bit images.
If you are a Windows 95 user, your computer may crash if you try to run both
QuickPICT and QuickMovie at the same time.
In the QuickPICT Save dialog box, changing the File Type in the pop-up menu
does not change the extension of the file name. You need to change the
extension manually. If you select Bitmap use .BMP, JPEG use .JPG, TIFF use
.TIF, AOL ART use .ART.
If you have a grayscale QuickCam, the Color Camera installer will disable the
original QuickCam driver. You'll have to reinstall the original software to
use the grayscale camera again.
Do not use the screen saver and auto capture at the same time. There is not
enough processing power available for the same camera to display a full screen
moving image while also saving a still image to disk.
If you've ever added a PC speaker driver (speaker.drv) to your system, it is
possible your computer will crash if you try to use the QuickCam software with
the driver installed. We highly recommend uninstalling the PC speaker driver
before attempting to use the QuickCam.
VIDEC compression is not available in QuickPICT or many other applications
that use the QuickCam to take a still picture. It is designed primarily for
video capture and is available only in QuickMovie.
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5. Windows NT Notes
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The Windows NT driver for the Color QuickCam was not ready in time to be
integrated into this installer. It has been added separately to this CDROM
in the directory called NT. The Grayscale QuickCam Windows NT driver is
integrated into this installation program.
Under Windows NT, the grayscale QuickCam may playback a movie at double
speed. Disabling audio in QuickMovie will correct the problem.
We strongly recomend that Windows NT 4.0 users install Microsoft Service
Pack #3 or later.
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6. Installing both QuickCam and Color QuickCam with Windows 95
(Advanced Users Only)
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NOTE: You only need to read this section if you have a Grayscale QuickCam
and a Color QuickCam AND want to switch between both cameras on the fly.
This installer will disable previous versions of the QuickCam driver that may
have been installed. It is possible to install both Color QuickCam and
Grayscale QuickCam and switch between the two in the Multimedia Control Panel.
1) Run the QuickCam Installer twice, selecting the Grayscale QuickCam first
and Color QuickCam/Color QuickCam2 the second time.
2) Open the Windows\System.ini file and make sure the following lines are in
your [Drivers] section:
MSVIDEO=qccolor.drv
MSVIDEO1=quickcam.drv
(Note, if you have other video input devices you can set them to MSVIDEO2,
MSVIDEO3, etc.)
3) Reboot the computer.
You should now have both cameras entered in the Multimedia Control Panel,
Advanced Tab under Video Capture Devices. To switch between cameras, select
the driver for the current active camera and click properties. Click the
"Do not use this video capture device." and click "OK. Select the camera
you would like to use and click properties. Click the "Use this video capture
device." and click "OK.
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7. How to Contact Connectix Corporation
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If you find problems that occur after QuickCam is installed that did not occur
prior to installation, we want to hear from you. Please be sure to try to
reproduce the problem without any other applications running in the
background.
Connectix Corporation
2955 Campus Drive
San Mateo, CA 94403-2520
(650) 571-5100 Main Phone Number
(970) 304-9533 Technical Support
(800) 571-7558 Faxback System (US and Canada only)
(800) 950-5880 Sales and Administration (US and Canada only)
(650) 571-5195 Fax number for queries
E-MAIL:
Internet: cqcwsupp@connectix.com (Color QuickCam)
Internet: qcwsupp@connectix.com (Grayscale QuickCam)
Internet: qcvcsupp@connectix.com (QuickCam VC)
Internet: qclipsupp@connectix.com (QuickClip)
America Online: CONNECTIX (All Products)
CompuServe: 75300.1546 (All Products)
Connectix maintains forums on many popular on-line services:
America Online: Keyword: Connectix
CompuServe: Type: GO CONNECTIX
Web Page: http://www.connectix.com
FTP Site: ftp://ftp.connectix.com
We're interested in your suggestions and comments. Email
QuickCam@connectix.com.
QuickCam, QuickCam VC, QuickClip, QuickPICT, QuickMovie, VIDEC are trademarks
of Connectix Corporation. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
JPEG support software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG
Group.
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.