My video software supports many video sources, but Apple’s abandonment of QuickTime has made compatibility more of a problem. I’ll try to update this as often as I can, but feel free to contact me with corrections.
Cameras
Device | Compatibility Notes |
Apple built-in Facetime Cameras
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Supported, but exposure & white balance are automatic. You may be able to enable manual controls via Macteris’s Webcam Settings ($) from the Mac App Store. NOTE: The FaceTime HD camera in modern Mac laptops (2013 and newer) lacks a QuickTime driver. (Thanks Apple!) Some of my older software won’t work with these cameras. In the meantime you may be able to access your camera using syphon-camera and send the feed to my software using Syphon. (Some of my apps support Syphon, some don’t.) |
USB Webcams
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Supported. Most inexpensive webcams are “UVC compliant” and require no driver software. Even if the cam says it’s Windows-only, plug it in and it will probably work.
Exposure & white balance are automatic. You may be able to enable manual controls via Macteris’s Webcam Settings ($) from the Mac App Store. If you have a Logitech webcam you can unlock some manual controls with their free Logitech Camera Settings app. |
HD camcorders
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The HDMI feed can be captured by external hardware. See “HDMI Capture Devices” below. |
Digital SLRs & Mirrorless Cameras
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The HDMI feed can be captured by external hardware. See “HDMI Capture Devices” below.
The Live-View signal might be accessible via USB if you’re willing to jump through some hoops: Some of my applications support Syphon. Try Canon2Syphon or Camera Live to convert the live USB feed from your Canon DSLR into an almost-HD Syphon stream, which will show up in any Syphon-compatible app! |
Compact Still Cameras |
Not supported. Most compact “point and shoot” still cameras do not work with my software. I don’t know of any that stream an HD video signal over HDMI (see the DSLR section). The HDMI ports on compact cameras seem to only work in playback mode, not record mode. |
HD Surveillance Cameras
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These cameras are generally reliable, manually configurable, and pretty cheap. Most have C-mount manual lenses. They aren’t as sharp as the machine vision cameras below, but most use common coaxial cable so it’s really easy to run long camera lines for ceiling mounting, etc.
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Machine Vision Cameras |
These cameras are intended for industrial uses, so they’re reliable, manually configurable, and rather expensive. Most have C-mount manual lenses. There are several common interfaces:
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Old DV tape cameras |
Supported, sort of. (The camera and computer must have a Firewire port, which is obsolete. Apple sells a Firewire adapter for modern computers.) |
Networked “IP Cameras” |
IP cameras are surveillance cameras with wifi or ethernet jacks that broadcast their video data over a network. They are not directly supported but you can try the IPCAM2SYPHON app to convert their data to Syphon streams. Some of my software is Syphon compatible and thus it should work. |
HDMI (and HD-SDI) Capture Devices
Blackmagic capture devices |
Blackmagic Design makes devices like the UltraStudio Mini Recorder that capture HDMI and HD-SDI video. They work fine with my software. They allow you to stream a realtime HD signal from many cameras directly into your computer. (Requires a Thunderbolt 2 port)
NOTE that BlackMagic’s standard driver might not support all frame-rates and resolutions. The free Black-Syphon utility from the makers of VDMX uses the BlackMagic SDK to efficiently capture all standard formats and convert the feed to a Syphon stream. Some of my apps have Syphon inputs so this is a potentially perfect solution. |
Magewell capture devices |
Magewell makes devices like the USB Capture HDMI Gen 2 that capture HDMI via USB 3. (Other versions available for HD-SDI.)
The wonderful thing about these boxes is that they are UVC compliant, so they require no drivers. This is a big deal because otherwise perfect capture boxes can become suddenly obsolete when the manufacturer discontinues driver support. (I’m looking at you Matrox!) |
Elgato Cam Link |
All previous Elgato capture devices required their proprietary capture software (and are thus incompatible with my applications), but the Cam Link is UVC compliant, so it requires no drivers. This is a big deal because otherwise perfect capture boxes can become suddenly obsolete when the manufacturer discontinues driver support. (I’m looking at you Matrox!)
Note: The Cam Link can’t capture from interlaced sources. Many older cameras output an interlaced HDMI feed, even when the camera is recording a progressive file internally. |