Re: USB Web Cam w/built in mic on XP Home/SP3

Terry Davidson wrote:
For sure it is usb - the issue is I can't use the usb mic because the sound card or system doesn't recognize the microphone...camera works fine and add-on mic work fine - would rather do without the added mic and use the mic supplied in camera.

Southbridge --- HDAudio --- CODEC --- Microphone
--- Line_In
--- Line_Out

Southbridge --- USB --- Composite_Device_Webcam ---- USB_Video_Class
---- USB_Audio_Class

The two input sources (your "sound card" or your webcam), are separate paths.
The USB webcam is not getting any support or comfort, from the HDAudio hardware
in the computer. The USB path must be self supporting. The USB path uses
its own software.

In the diagram I've drawn, I show a driverless webcam. The webcam happens
to support two standard USB classes, for which WinXP has a built-in driver.
It is possible for a webcam to be supported by system drivers.

In some cases, due to the special features (face tracking, auto focus),
a driver is needed to augment the USB Video class. So that is a reason
you might benefit from a driver. For example, on my webcam, the
highest resolution the camera offers, is only available via the
manufacturer's driver. That resolution is missing if I use the built-in
driver.

For audio, I'm not convinced the webcam software is doing anything. I think
it is just a standard USB audio device.

In the Control Panels in WinXP, is a control for Sound. In it, you can select
inputs to come from your HDaudio, or from your USB webcam. For playback, a
different pulldown entry, allows control of the output device. You can
check the Sound control panel, to see which device(s) have been selected.

When I want to record audio only from the webcam, I just use the Sound
control panel, to select the USB audio as the input source. Then I use
an audio recording application, to make a recording. Audacity, for
example, can make recordings and do simple editing.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

If you enable the microphone monitoring function, you can tell right
away whether something is electrically connected to Audacity. If
the level meter doesn't budge at all, then you haven't selected
a valid input. If the level meter is registering "noise", and the level
indicated is not zero, then you know something electrical has been
connected. Between the Sound control panel, and the Audacity microphone
monitor pulldown menu (upside-down triangle), you should be able to figure
it all out.

Paul
.

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