Multiple 3 or more USB Logitech Webcams, how it works?

last spring i've been doing a project for a local opera house which involves 8 webcams. I used firewire cams (unibrain fire-i)instead of usb i had to make long distances and wanted to daisychain them . One problem i've encounterd was the amount of data which goes through one bus. i was using a macpro with 2 fire wire busses which are 4 firewire connectors . on each bus i could use 2 fire wire cams. there are examples on the net where people use 6 firewire cams on one bus . But in my case it didn't worked . I had to add a pci firewire card to the macpro to get two additional busses.

maybe for usb it works the same way .

It's tricky to have more USB webcams streaming at the same time on a Windows machine.

The Firewire standard has a better support of multiple streams of data flowing through a cable (the standard supports daisy chaining up to 63 devices). What is also important it's part of the standard that it lets you control the bandwidth of each camera as well as framerate and resolution.

The USB standard works in a different way, since all USB devices work in one of four sub-protocols: bulk, control, interrupt and isochronous, while a part of the bandwidth is always reserved to the USB protocol itself. Webcams operate in the isochronous protocol. Read more about this on: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-technology,677.html

IMO, if you can't switch to Firewire for your project, be sure to get real 'USB 2.0 webcams' and hope that your camera's driver support multiple streams. This can only be tested through practice. People have good results with the Logitech Quickcam pro for Mac (3 cams at the same time) but i'm not sure whether it will work on Windows.
Secondly, if you have the possibility, I would surely try to install separate PCI-USB-cards to add busses to your system. For 6 cameras, I see this as the only possible option.

MULTICAM IS POSSIBLE :D

FIRST Thank to everyone, who post here.

I have now on my windows7 Notebock 5 Logitech B500 Webcams parrallel in Max/MSP + 1 integred Notebook Cam.

If someone have question about this, contact me everytime musik@pisound.de

How i make this possible?

Important to know: 2 USB Ports, that are near to each other, they are the same as one USB Port.

so i do following:
my Notebook habe 3 USB Ports
2 right and 1 left.
1) i put 2 Webcams in the 2 USB ports right
2) I put the USB HUB in the one USB Port left, this USB HUB can read @ the same time 3 webcams.

So 2 Webcams from the right two ports and 3 Webcams from the USB HUB in the one left USB Port.

Now i stream parallel at the same time 5 Logitech B500 USB Webcams price 20€ and 1 Integred Notebock Webcam

I think that it es possible to have at the same time, 6 Webcams
It should go, if i use 2 USB HUB's one left and one right, so each of them should read 3 Webcams. i try it out, as i buy one USB HUB more

good to know...

Hi, I seen that this posts are old, but: I would like now if konstantin have resolved yhe problem. I must use 6 usb webcam in a single Apple MiniMac (i7 dualcore 8Gb), maybe using two active usb 2. hub (3 cam each), to control 6 interactive channels via jit.qt.grab. I've chek it with teo logitec + the build-in apple webcam, and they work. I don't know if 6 will be too much.

Stefano

Hi Stefano, for me the solution is to use the app: Multiple PS eye and syphon. If you don't need fullhd camera
http://troikatronix.com/troikatronixforum/discussion/275/ps3-eye-ti-syphon-multiple-ps3-eye

I have several answers concerning using multiple usb webcams. For starters, I like to use Streaming on Vaughn Live.tv/ There are several of us that are musicians and groupies that enjoy hand pan, NA type flutes, guitar..and interesting synth projects.

A lot of the members will use Open Broad Cast, and others as myself, will sometimes use OB (old format) but prefer to use ManyCam pro.

Most of the members will just use one camera... But, I enjoy doing a lot of show and tell and the need for multiple cameras for multiple views is needed.

I will start with ManyCam pro. I have been using it for several years now...and it has gone through several nice up grades. Yes the free will let you test it... but it is like opening up a full tool box when you get the pro version.

Like almost everyone on the forum so far...we are pretty much limited to using just 3 web cams. But, you can sacrifice a little and you can use a lot more.

As one fellow said, he had success with dividing up the band width by using some USB ports in back and some on the front of computer.

I had a big crash...so installed a new Gigabyte mother board. it allows me a few ports on the back side...but it has two on board interfaces for 2.0 usb. and two on board interfaces for 3.0. I decided to come off board with all four ports, and put them into 2 ea 2.0 front of computer 4 port inputs, and 2 each 3.0 front of computer (7) input ports.

But......you soon find out....you can plug in all the cameras...even 5 of them....but no matter what....you can only use 3 of them at a time in Many Cam pro.

It is a good thing to open up computer, (I have Win 7 ultimate) go to top, click system properties, then device manager, then click on imaging devices. Like a lot of you...I have Logitec cams. 2 are C910 and 2 are C920. I added aAF full HD 1080pWeb cam which is an Ausdom , I picked up from E Bay just to have a different camera for experimentation.

Start by plugging in one camera at a time. Use a Logitec. I have not tested it for proof...but plugging in a C910 , then following with a C920 might help. When you plug in the second C910 and the second 920 they will still have the same identical names in DEVICE MANAGER. However.....when installing the cameras into Manycam pro...they will be listed as C910 1 and C910 2 and same with the C920 cams. The other usb cam will have a name assigned to it.

Now comes the hard learning part. You can only use three cameras. AT A TIME. So, learn which camera is where on the desk or room.

On the Many Cam box, right click on the corner and the selection of cameras available will come up. Click on one. you may have to click on another empty box, then come back and click on the cam and box you just chose. Usually, you will see your picture come up. Always wave at the camera.. It is a time saver...as down the road, you will for sure select one too many cams and the whole video capture program will freeze.

Should it freeze...about the only way to get it to work, is to actually hard re boot the computer with holding down the power button, Then wait and hit re start Win normally.

So, you go through the motions and pick two more cams. Wave at them...all wave back...you are ok.

Say you want to select another camera to show. Choose one of the active boxes on Many Cam and right click on it to see selections available. Say you were using one of the C910 cams, and wanted to stop it and use the second C910.....or even that other odd camera.

Choose the C910 that you no longer want to use... right click it....then select the other C910 you were using C910 1 and now want C910 2.

C9102 will come up. Wave at it ...all three working now? So, that is my way of using just three cameras active out of more than 3 available.

Many cam pro has other features built in. You can use other boxes on the selection page for other purposes. You can have ready a media file... such as a video. It will sit until you click on it and then it will be sent to the main screen.

You can use those other boxes for jpg files to be ready to show.

Many Cam pro has its own steaming up loader if needed, but If you want to use it with other programs, it can be seen as many cam pro. It can be seen when using Open Broad Cast. It can be seen with Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2. It can be seen by Corel video studio x9 , but it cannot be seen with Cyberlink Power Director.

Some things to be aware of. If you use Skype....it may not see any of the cameras .......that is if they are being used by Many Cam pro...or used by Open Broadcast. AND....the same goes for any of the other programs if Skype is using a camera....it has highjacked that camera and you will not be able to use it in any other program.

So, when you need any camera on the list on the device manager, make sure it is not being used by another program.

Open Broadcast is a little different. I have found that you can assign a source check box for view to each camera. Even a source box for ManyCam pro.

When streaming with Open Broadcast, you un click all boxes of sources you are not going to use. And, you use only one box at a time.

There are ways to get multiple images on a screen in Open Broadcast...but that is a way different post.

While you are previewing in OB...and you have made selection boxes for each of the sources of cameras...you can pick each camera....one at a time to show on screen. selecting more than one...just confuses the app...and my bomb it.

Some quirks I found. Say you have Many Cam pro up...and three cams selected. You want to open up another program, and you decide to downsize the app off the screen for a moment.

When you re expand the Many Cam to full screen again...all the pics are frozen...If you have not messed with other settings in Many Cam pro...one of the frames will start to move as you wave at the cameras...then in a second or so...the others wake up and wave back at you.

Learn to use the right click in ManyCam pro on certain boxes to find at the bottom of the list CLEAR....that will clear all selections that were made in that portion of the app. The big thing is only actively selecting just three cams. I few weird times I was able to get 4 cams going at once...but will cause more severe selection problems and a lot of computer crashes...and hard reboots.

Hope this helps, especially all the frustrated tinkerers on limited budgets

Win 7 ultimate I7 quad core

Donn

Tejasmed

I have several answers concerning using multiple usb webcams. For starters, I like to use Streaming on Vaughn Live.tv/ There are several of us that are musicians and groupies that enjoy hand pan, NA type flutes, guitar..and interesting synth projects.

A lot of the members will use Open Broad Cast, and others as myself, will sometimes use OB (old format) but prefer to use ManyCam pro.

Most of the members will just use one camera... But, I enjoy doing a lot of show and tell and the need for multiple cameras for multiple views is needed.

I will start with ManyCam pro. I have been using it for several years now...and it has gone through several nice up grades. Yes the free will let you test it... but it is like opening up a full tool box when you get the pro version.

Like almost everyone on the forum so far...we are pretty much limited to using just 3 web cams. But, you can sacrifice a little and you can use a lot more.

part 1

Donn

Tejasmed

I figured out how to use more than 3 web cams on Win 7

Too long to put it here... so attaching a pdf..

hope it goes through.

Donn
Tejasmed