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If you have a mirrorless or DSLR camera lying around, try this first: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25870161 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2587016

If you have a mirrorless or DSLR camera lying around, try this first: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25870161 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25870161. It might end up saving you money!

mnw21cam 6y ago
I bought a HDMI->USB video capture card, and tried to use it with my DSLR camera. It works fine in Teams, but not in Zoom. And that's because Teams selects a reasonable capture resolution that matches the 16:9 aspect ratio image produced by my camera's HDMI output at 1080p. Zoom selects the lowest possible resolution, which is 640x480, which makes me look squished. There is no setting in the Zoom interface that lets me change this.
- jrickert 6y ago
  If you haven't, try going into your video settings on Zoom and selecting "Enable HD". This solution has fixed the aspect ratio problem you're describing for my company's customers in almost every case.
  - mnw21cam 6y ago
    No, "Enable HD" does absolutely nothing.
    - sebmellen 6y ago
      If you're on a Mac you may be able to pipe it through CamTwist. I can add more info if you're interested but would take some work to dig up.
      - mnw21cam 6y ago
        No, Linux. I think I have found out how to use gphoto2 and a direct usb link instead of the capture card, which may fix it, but that'll have to run on my main computer, not my slow laptop. I'd love to be able to tell the v4l driver for the usb capture card to just not offer the 640*480 resolution. That would fix it in a better way. Anyone have any ideas how to do that?
        sebmellen 6y ago
        Are you sure you need a USB capture card? I'm using an EOS M50 and I followed along with this guide: https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-use-your-dslr-as-a-webcam-in-linux/ https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-use-your-dslr-as-a-webc.... Works pretty well, all FOSS stuff and avoids needing a capture card.
        mnw21cam 6y ago
        That's ... exactly what I just said. However, the transcoding burden would be a little too much for the Atom in my laptop, so I'd have to do it on my main computer instead. Regarding the capture card. The aspect ratio mess-up is entirely its fault.
rossjudson 6y ago
I use a Nikon D610 through a camlink 4k, and then a movo um700 for audio. The camlink 4k firmware has a bug (it reports modes it does not support), so I have a small workaround in place on Linux for that. Overall quality of everything is very high. Does it save money? I guess I already had the camera. Is it a good idea to broadcast myself at that level of quality? Probably not ;)

If you have a mirrorless or DSLR camera lying around, try this first: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25870161 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25870161. It might end up saving you money!

mnw21cam 6y ago

I bought a HDMI->USB video capture card, and tried to use it with my DSLR camera. It works fine in Teams, but not in Zoom. And that's because Teams selects a reasonable capture resolution that matches the 16:9 aspect ratio image produced by my camera's HDMI output at 1080p. Zoom selects the lowest possible resolution, which is 640x480, which makes me look squished. There is no setting in the Zoom interface that lets me change this.

jrickert 6y ago
If you haven't, try going into your video settings on Zoom and selecting "Enable HD". This solution has fixed the aspect ratio problem you're describing for my company's customers in almost every case.
- mnw21cam 6y ago
  No, "Enable HD" does absolutely nothing.
  - sebmellen 6y ago
    If you're on a Mac you may be able to pipe it through CamTwist. I can add more info if you're interested but would take some work to dig up.
    - mnw21cam 6y ago
      No, Linux. I think I have found out how to use gphoto2 and a direct usb link instead of the capture card, which may fix it, but that'll have to run on my main computer, not my slow laptop. I'd love to be able to tell the v4l driver for the usb capture card to just not offer the 640*480 resolution. That would fix it in a better way. Anyone have any ideas how to do that?
      - sebmellen 6y ago
        Are you sure you need a USB capture card? I'm using an EOS M50 and I followed along with this guide: https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-use-your-dslr-as-a-webcam-in-linux/ https://www.crackedthecode.co/how-to-use-your-dslr-as-a-webc.... Works pretty well, all FOSS stuff and avoids needing a capture card.
        mnw21cam 6y ago
        That's ... exactly what I just said. However, the transcoding burden would be a little too much for the Atom in my laptop, so I'd have to do it on my main computer instead. Regarding the capture card. The aspect ratio mess-up is entirely its fault.

rossjudson 6y ago

I use a Nikon D610 through a camlink 4k, and then a movo um700 for audio. The camlink 4k firmware has a bug (it reports modes it does not support), so I have a small workaround in place on Linux for that. Overall quality of everything is very high. Does it save money? I guess I already had the camera. Is it a good idea to broadcast myself at that level of quality? Probably not ;)