User’s Guide
User’s Guide &UHDWLYH 9LGHR %ODVWHU :HE&DP *R Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Creative Technology Ltd. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the written permission of Creative Technology Ltd.
C reat iv e E nd -U se r S oft wa re L ice ns e A gree m en t Ve rs ion 2. 0 , Ju ne 19 98 PLEASE READ THIS DOCUMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THE SOFTWARE. BY USING THE SOFTWARE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THE AGREEMENT, DO NOT OPEN THE SEALED DISK PACKAGE, INSTALL OR USE THE SOFTWARE. PROMPTLY RETURN, WITHIN 15 DAYS, THE SOFTWARE, ALL RELATED DOCUMENTATION AND ACCOMPANYING ITEMS TO THE PLACE OF ACQUISITION FOR A FULL REFUND.
Further, Creative shall not be liable for the accuracy of any information provided by Creative or third party technical support personnel, or any damages caused, either directly or indirectly, by acts taken or omissions made by you as a result of such technical support. You assume full responsibility for the selection of the Software to achieve your intended results, and for the installation, use and results obtained from the Software.
6DIHW\ 5HJXODWRU\ ,QIRUPDWLRQ 7KH IROORZLQJ VHFWLRQV FRQWDLQ QRWLFHV IRU YDULRXV FRXQWULHV CAUTION: This device is intended to be installed by the user in a CSA/TUV/UL certified/listed IBM AT or compatible personal computers in the manufacturer’s defined operator access area. Check the equipment operating/installation manual and/or with the equipment manufacturer to verify/confirm if your equipment is suitable for user-installed application cards.
Contents ,QWURGXFWLRQ About the Applications.............................................................................................................x Creative WebCam Go Control .....................................................................................x Creative WebCam Monitor ..........................................................................................x Creative MediaRing Talk 99.....................................................................................................
8VLQJ :HE&DP *R &RQWURO Starting WebCam Go Control...............................................................................................2-1 Using WebCam Go Control..................................................................................................2-2 To set the view into focus..........................................................................................2-2 To select the video capture device............................................................................
' 7HFKQLFDO 6XSSRUW If You Have a Problem......................................................................................................... D-2 Returning a product for repair................................................................................. D-4 Limited Warranty .................................................................................................................
Introduction Creative Video Blaster WebCam Go is a digital video camera that allows you to take pictures in 24-bit, 16.7 million colours and record smooth video clips in full-colour. Want to chat face-to-face with someone over the Internet? WebCam Go is what you need. Used together with Microsoft NetMeeting, you can now have real-time videoconferencing with virtually anybody over the Internet! Worried that someone will use your computer without your knowledge? Fret not.
About the Applications Creative WebCam Go Control This simple but powerful application lets you take control of your camera with a click on the taskbar icon. Take pictures or record video clips and store them in albums. Use this application to download pictures you have taken when the camera was disconnected from the computer. You can also export these pictures or video clips to other programs, or send them directly to your e-mail program.
In addition, if you are a Sound Blaster Live! user, you have at your disposal Creative VoicePersonas, a feature incorporated into MediaRing Talk 99 that allows you to disguise or distort your voice. Creative VoicePersonas leverages upon Sound Blaster Live! powerful audio processing technology to provide you with a range of VoicePersonas such as Chipmunk, Male to Female, or Female to Male.
❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Available USB port or self-powered USB hub Microsoft Windows® 98 (Windows 95 and Windows NT are not supported) Display adapter that supports16-bit colour at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels CD-ROM drive installed Sound Blaster® or other Windows-compatible sound card Modem or LAN access to the Internet at 28.
Table i: This Document conventions Represents This notepad icon indicates information that is of particular importance and should be considered before continuing. This alarm clock icon indicates that failure to adhere to directions may result in loss of data or damage to your system. The warning sign indicates that failure to adhere to directions may result in bodily harm or life-threatening situations.
Installing WebCam Go 1 This chapter consists of the following sections: ❑ In Your Package ❑ About WebCam Go ❑ Installing WebCam Go ❑ Installing Software ❑ Verifying the Installation ❑ Changing Batteries for WebCam Go In Your Package Your package contains the following hardware items: ❑ One WebCam Go camera ❑ One USB cable ❑ One microphone Installing WebCam Go 1-1
About WebCam Go Figure 1-1 shows you the front view of the camera. LED light This indicator lights up in green when WebCam Go is switched on. Snapshot button After you have started WebCam Go Control, you can press this button to capture a still image.
Figure 1-2 shows the back view of the camera’s head unit. The viewfinder does not show if objects are in focus. To verify whether objects are in focus, use WebCam Go Control. For details, see “Taking Pictures with WebCam Go” on page 3-1. Camera busy LED indicator When the camera is connected to the system, this indicator will blink when commands are sent from the system to the camera. When the camera is disconnected, this indicator will blink when the camera is adjusting the picture exposure.
Figure 1-3 shows the buttons and LCD display on the camera. Image counter This shows the remaining number of pictures that you can take with the camera undocked. This number decreases every time a picture is taken. When the counter reaches “000”, you cannot take any more pictures until you have cleared the camera’s memory by downloading or removing the existing pictures. • You can only switch on the camera when it is disconnected from the system.
Installing WebCam Go • The USB port(s) on your computer may be found on the front panel instead of the back panel. • You can also attach it to a self-powered USB hub. • You can choose to connect WebCam Go to your computer after you have switched on your computer. • Most audio cards have an external microphone connector. • Consult the documentation for your audio card for more information concerning the use of a microphone and, in particular, how to adjust the volume. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Installing Software Some of the steps in the installation process may not occur in the same sequence as described here. 1. Switch on the computer. 2. When the Add New Hardware Wizard dialog box appears, click the Next button. The dialog box similar to Figure 1-5 appears. 3. Click the Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended) option and then click the Next button. The dialog box similar to Figure 1-6 appears. Figure 1-5: The Add New Hardware Wizard dialog box. 4.
6. Click the Next button. The dialog box similar to Figure 1-7 appears. 7. Click the Next button again. i. If you are prompted to insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM, proceed to step 7ii. Otherwise, skip to step 8. ii. Remove the WebCam Go CD from the CD-ROM drive and insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM into it. iii. In the Insert Disk dialog box, click the OK button. Figure 1-7: Installing drivers for WebCam Go. iv.
9. When the Light Frequency Selection dialog box appears (see Figure 1-8), click the Yes button and then click the option button that represents your power supply frequency if you use fluorescent lighting. Otherwise, click the No button. 10. Click the OK button. i. If you are prompted to insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM, proceed to step 10ii. Otherwise, skip to step 11. ii. Click the OK button. iii. In the Insert Disk dialog box, browse to the Win98 folder and then click the OK button. iv.
Verifying the Installation To verify that the camera has been installed properly: 1. Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop. 2. On the menu that appears, click Properties. 3. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab. 4. Click the plus (+) sign next to the Imaging Device icon. The entry “Video Blaster WebCam Go (WDM)” should appear. Changing Batteries for WebCam Go When you disconnect the camera from the system and use it as a digital camera, it operates on two 1.
7. Insert the new batteries according to the directions shown in the battery compartment. 8. Align the catches on the cover with the respective grooves in the casing and slide the cover until it snaps back into place. Make sure that you insert the batteries in the correct direction. If they are inserted wrongly, they may explode or leak, causing damage to the camera.
2 Using WebCam Go Control This chapter consists of the following sections: ❑ Starting WebCam Go Control ❑ Using WebCam Go Control Starting WebCam Go Control To start WebCam Go Control Click Start -> Programs -> Creative -> Creative WebCam Go -> Creative WebCam Go Control. Or Press the Snapshot button on the camera. If WebCam Go Control does not recognise the camera correctly, see Appendix A, “Troubleshooting”.
Using WebCam Go Control To set the view into focus After WebCam Go Control is started, the WebCam Go Control screen similar to Figure 0-1 appears, displaying the view that the camera is capturing currently. Point the lens toward your subject (for example, yourself, seated in front of your monitor) and rotate the ring around the lens clockwise and/or anti-clockwise until the view is in focus. Snap an image button Record a video button Figure 0-1: The WebCam Go Control screen.
To select the video capture device • If you select the VFW driver, some of the settings in the General and Source tab may not be available. If so, go to the General tab and click the Format or Source buttons to change settings. • The VFW driver is compatible only with software that supports Video For Windows. To take a picture 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In WebCam Go Control, click the Settings button. Click the Camera docked settings button. Click the scroll button until you get to the General tab.
To record a video clip 1. In the WebCam Go Control window, click the Live Cam button. The window displays the current view of the camera. 2. To start recording a video clip, click the Record a video button. The button starts blinking to indicate that recording is now in progress. 3. To stop the recording, click the button again. The button stops blinking. The video clip is saved as an AVI file with an automatically generated file name.
Using WebCam Go as a Portable Camera 3 Disconnect WebCam Go from the computer and you can use it as a portable camera.
Step 1: To focus the lens Before taking pictures, you need to focus the lens so that the images you capture will be clear and sharp. To focus the lens quickly Figure 3-1 shows you how to focus the lens quickly using the focus mark on the focus ring. To focus on objects approximately 6 inches/15 cm away To focus the lens accurately, you need to use WebCam Go Control (see “To focus the lens more accurately” on page 3-3) because the viewfinder does not show whether objects are in focus or not.
To focus the lens more accurately 1. Start WebCam Go Control. 2. Adjust the camera’s focus ring until the preview displayed in WebCam Go Control’s window is in focus (clear and sharp). 3. Click the button to close WebCam Go Control. Step 2: To take pictures 1. Unplug the USB cable from the camera. 2. Press the On button on the camera. The camera is switched on and the remaining number of images that you can take is shown by the Image counter. 3.
• When the counter value reaches “000”, you cannot take any more pictures until you have cleared the camera’s memory by deleting existing pictures. • The camera will turn itself off automatically if it’s left idle after a specified amount of time. Downloading Pictures from WebCam Go 4. Aim the camera at the desired object, using the camera’s viewfinder to verify that the object is in the camera’s view. 5. Hold the camera still and press the Snapshot button. 6.
Customising WebCam Go For more information on downloading pictures and customising the camera, refer to the Help file for WebCam Go Control.
Technical Specifications Features and Specifications ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ A Colour VGA (640x480) CMOS image sensor 4 MB of on-board non-volatile memory for image storage LCD counter display to indicate number of pictures left and mode of stills capture Snapshot button LEDs to indicate powered-on state and camera readiness state High-quality, 5-element, scratch-resistant, adjustable focus, glass lens with range of 6 inches to infinity Built-in optical viewfinder Built-in Piezo transducer to provide audio
• Draws power from two AAA batteries (Note: Battery life in this mode depends on the battery type. Two AAA alkaline batteries can last for up to 300 snapshots.
Resolution (for undocked mode) ❑ 640 x 480 ❑ 320 x 240 ❑ 160 x 120 Sensitivity 6 lux Video formats ❑ 24- and 16-bit RGB ❑ 4:2:0 YUV Planar ❑ JPEG Exposure control Automatic (optional manual control with software) Colour balance Automatic (optional manual control with software) Colour matrix Preset and integral to camera Field-of-view 62 degrees (horizontal) Depth-of-field 75 millimeters to infinity Port compatibility Universal Serial Bus port Software compatibility TWAIN, 16-bit Video for
B Troubleshooting Problem Installing Software 7KH VHWXS SURJUDP IRU :HE&DP *R GRHV QRW UXQ DXWRPDWLFDOO\ DIWHU \RX LQVHUW WKH LQVWDOODWLRQ &' LQWR WKH GULYH Cause The AutoPlay feature in your Windows system may not be enabled. Solution To install the software from the CD: 1. Leave the installation CD in the CD-ROM drive. 2. Click Start -> Run. 3. In the Run dialog box, click D:\CTRUN\CTRUN.EXE. 4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
$Q DSSOLFDWLRQ UHSRUWV WKDW WKH YLGHR GULYHU LV DOUHDG\ LQ XVH RU WKDW WKH FDPHUD FDQQRW EH IRXQG Solution Do the following: ❑ The camera is not properly connected. To resolve this problem, ensure the camera’s USB connector is inserted, and that the USB connector is enabled in the BIOS. Refer to your PC’s documentation for information on the BIOS. ❑ Reinstall the video capture drivers and reboot.
:KHQ WKH FDPHUD LV FRQQHFWHG WR WKH V\VWHP SUHVVLQJ WKH 6QDSVKRW EXWWRQ GRHV QRW VWDUW DQ DSSOLFDWLRQ Cause The application to be activated has not been selected. Solution Do the following: 1. Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. 2. In the Control Panel window, double-click the Scanners & Cameras icon. The Scanners & Cameras Properties dialog box appears. 3. On the Devices tabbed page, select the entry Video Blaster WebCam Go (WDM) and then click the Properties button. 4.
:KHQ WKH FDPHUD LV FRQQHFWHG WR WKH V\VWHP SUHVVLQJ WKH 6QDSVKRW EXWWRQ GRHV QRW WDNH D SLFWXUH DIWHU :HE&DP *R &RQWURO LV VWDUWHG If a selected application is already running, pressing the Snapshot button will not start any other applications. Instead, the current running application will be used to take a picture. B-4 Troubleshooting Cause The application for taking pictures has not been selected. Solution Verify that pressing the Snapshot button starts the correct application.
Note on USB Compatibility C In our testing on a wide variety of PC motherboards with integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, we have encountered a small number of motherboards with USB ports that do not meet the USB specification exactly. Unfortunately, WebCam Go may not operate correctly with these systems. When you run the setup program from the WebCam Go installation CD, the setup program automatically checks your motherboard model and revision.
2. Use a PCI host adapter which provides USB connectors. If you are not able to upgrade your motherboard or its BIOS, we recommend this approach. 3. Attach WebCam Go to a powered USB hub. Some USB devices (such as monitors) also operate as powered USB hubs; you can also buy dedicated powered USB hubs which are to be attached to your PC’s USB port. However, in some cases, attaching a powered USB hub to a non-USB-compliant USB motherboard connector will not solve the problem.
Technical Support Please ensure to retain your purchase receipt plus all packaging and contents until such time that all components of the product are functioning to your satisfaction. D We are committed to giving you the best product as well as the best technical support. Please note the following information for reference should you require technical assistance.
Inside Europe For fast and efficient Technical Support solutions, please use the Creative Web Support services in the first instance. If your Creative product was pre-installed in your computer, your primary source of technical support is the Personal Computer supplier who provided the system. The support area on our web site at www.creative.
If You Have a Problem Please retain all contents including packaging and proof of purchase until you are fully satisfied with product. Less than 30 days since date of purchase Should your store receipt indicate that the product is less than 30 days old, you have the option of calling Technical Support for assistance or returning the full product to the dealer/retailer for a replacement or credit (see “European Help Line” section for contact numbers).
Returning a product for repair ❑ Contact Technical Support to receive your authorisation number for repair/replacement of product. ❑ Technical Support will communicate how to return the product in question for repair/replacement. ❑ You should only return the hardware item in question and return it to the address detailed by technical support. Please retain all software, accessories and the original packaging.
Limited Warranty Creative Labs (Ireland) Limited (“Creative”) warrants to you, the original purchaser only, that the hardware product will be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two years after the date of purchase, or such other period as may be expressly specified by Creative or required by applicable law (“Warranty Period”).
Creative European Help Line CREATIVE LABS (IRELAND) LTD., Technical Support Department, Ballycoolin Business Park, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Ireland.
