How do I install video4linux2 in Ubuntu 12.10, and do I need to?

Question

I'm still pretty new to Ubuntu so please bear with me.

I am running Ubuntu 12.10 and I am trying to get a couple of old external USB webcams working on my laptops. The built-in laptop webcams work just fine, but sometimes I need an external cam. I can make the cams work in VLC, but my other cam apps like Camorama and Empathy don't "see" the external cams and there is no place in the apps to specify a device path to choose between the default (built-in) or an external cam.

Do I need to install video4linux2 to make these cams work on my other apps?

If so, how do I install it? I downloaded a packed file from the V4L2 website, but they don't seem to have any detailed instructions on how to install it on Ubuntu.

Any help would be most appreciated. Thank you.

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered May 05 '15 at 09:13

8

In a terminal:

sudo apt-get install v4l-utils

http://www.techytalk.info/webcam-settings-control-ubuntu-fedora-linux-operating-system-cli/

answered May 05 '15 at 09:13

David

81

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 14 '13 at 22:09

0

In Terminal,

sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://ubuntu.mirror.cambrium.nl/ubuntu/ `lsb_release -cs` main universe"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gem-plugin-v4l2 libpt-1.10.10-plugins-v4l2 libpt-1.11.2-plugins-v4l2 qv4l2 v4l2loopback-dkms v4l2loopback-source v4l2loopback-utils v4l2ucp

edited Jun 14 '13 at 22:09

Eric Carvalho

55,453

answered Jun 14 '13 at 21:42

How do I install video4linux2 in Ubuntu 12.10, and do I need to?

2 Answers2