Date: Sun, 28 Jan 1996 22:20:55 -0500 (EST) From: Chris Wiener <cwiener@crlabs.com> To: freebsd-hackers@freefall.FreeBSD.org Cc: loomer@1000klub.com Subject: XFqcam FreeBSD patches available - Connectix QuickCam Message-ID: <199601290320.WAA26828@crlabs.com>
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FreeBSD patches for XFqcam, an X11-based application to view output from a Connectix QuickCam have been placed on: freebsd.cdrom.com:/pub/FreeBSD/incoming/xfqcam-1.02.diffs. The distribution can be found at the site listed in the release notes below. Many thanks to Paul Chinn and all the others who have worked on the QuickCam reverse engineering project. Information on the project can be found at http://www.crynwr.com/qcpc. This has been tested under FreeBSD-current as of January 24th, 1996. Chris Wiener - FreeBSD-kinda guy CR Labs cwiener@crlabs.com ORIGINAL RELEASE NOTES FOLLOW: XFqcam 1.02 January 25, 1996 by Paul Chinn (loomer@1000klub.com or loomer@svpal.org) What's New ---------- * No more image distortions, nuke flares, load flashes, etc. * UberFPS(tm)- frame rates? you want framerates? Hows about 200fps? Ok, maybe I got that with a 40x30 image and brightness cranked to 0, but still, this version is *fast*. 50 fps for a 6bit 80x60 image is not too shabby. Disclaimer ---------- This program comes with no guarantees. You use it at your own risk and assume all responsibility for any damage that results from its use. ***WARNING*** this program drives the camera as fast as it can. Framerates of 50-200 FPS are achievable on my pentium. I do not know if this is bad for the camera. I doubt it since the protocol is handshake driven, but if you use this program, YOU ASSUME ALL LIABLITY for anything bad that happens. Overview -------- XFqcam gives you a complete GUI interface to a QuickCam under Xwindows in Linux. You can manipulate all camera settings in real time and take snapshots. Installing ---------- A precompiled executable ``xfqcam'' is included. It must be SUID root to run since it needs to access the camera io ports. Or, you can build your own copy as follows: You will need the XForms library. This is a nice GUI kit available from the XForms home page at http://bragg.phys.uwm.edu/xforms. Run ``make depend'' and ``make''. Running ------- Interaction with the camera is straightforward; there are buttons and sliders to control the various functions. The ``Take Picture'' button will take a snapshot and let you save it as a PGM file. Some notes: 1. xfqcam -h will show you command line options 2. starting with this version (1.02) xfqcam will automatically find the first attached camera. This probe is read-only which means that it doesn't send goofy stuff to printers...but it also means it sometimes does not find the camera. This is especially true if the camera has been left in a weird state by a previous program. If this happens you can use the -p option to explicitly specify the port to use. 3. also, the program now detects if you have a bi-directional port or not. You can override this with th -o option if for some reason it isn't working right. If you don't have a bi-dir port the program will hang if you try to turn on the bi-directional button. Bugs & Issues ------------- * Since I don't know how to decode a 4bpp bi-directional image, this mode is currently non functional. Switching to 4bpp will disable bidirectional button. Future Enhancements ------------------- * 4bit bi directional mode * 24 bit X mode- anyone with a 24bit server want to help me with this? * let user rubber-band a rectangle on image to specify exact dimensions * Time lapse/video recording, etc. a la QuickMovie in Windows. Anyone have any input on a good approach for video recording? * image filters: frame averaging, noise removeable, etc. * clean up code more- it definately shows its Frankenstein history of hacking and patching from several sources... Program Info ----------- Please send any questions, suggestions, comments to Paul Chinn <loomer@1000klub.com>. The latest version and other info can be found on www.1000klub.com/~loomer The quickcam protocol code is a mutant combination of Thomas Davis' and Scott Laird's code with a few enhancements and additions of my own. Check out Russ Nelson's www.crynwr.com/qcpc for further info on the Linux QuickCam project. -- Christopher Wiener N2CR CR Labs, Morris Plains, NJ DOMAIN: cwiener@CRLABS.COM "Live music is better ... bumper stickers should be issued." - Neil Young
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