Rocketfish

[yitibit]

Hi There!

Just received my webcam model# RF-HDWEB for my Mac Desktop running 10.6.8. When I first plug it in and open Photo Booth, the green light comes on and I see myself (so yay - I think - success).  Then I want to confirm that audio is being picked up, so I try recording a video using Photo Booth.  When I play it back, there is no sound.  However, not having used Photo Booth before, I wonder if it is set to capture sound.  Anyway - rather than learning all there is to know about that application, I decide to go to where I really need the web cam right away and head to Google+ for a Hangout that I'm to be a part of that night.  Right off the bat it tells me that the Microphone is hardware MUTED (which is also strange because after that pop up warning, Google+ can't even detect a camera at all! - so not sure how the first warning message came through unless it's a default warning for no camera detected).

Anyway - looking to see #1 - will this set up work on a Google+ Hangout, or are there known issues? And #2 - is there something I'm missing in general as far as the microphone not activating?

Thanks,
Daryn

[Josh-INSG]

Hello yitibit,

I am curious if you have installed the drivers for our webcam yet?

Here is the link in case you haven't:

http://www.rocketfishproducts.com/cms/software-updates/RF-HDWEB.zip

Regards,
Josh
Rocketfish™ Support

[yitibit]

Hi Josh,

Thanks for getting back to me.  I'm curious when looking at the folders that link downloads as they all look like PC files and not MAC. The instructions that came with the device were pretty clear on installation requirements for a PC and that MAC would not have all of the bells and whistles that a PC would give it.  I just assumed since it's listed as MAC compatible that it would at least have basic functionality. I actually went to the Rocketfish site when I was having issues and looked under support and found (and downloaded) the same folders your link gets to.  Am I missing something in the folders that are specific to MAC?

Thanks,
Daryn

[Josh-INSG]

Hello yitibit,

You are completely right, it should work right out of the box on a Mac, no drivers needed. So, I have been looking around to find an a solution to this problem. I'm going to ask/suggest some things so I'm hoping something gets it working!

Alright, here goes:

-What kind of Apple computer do you have and which version is it running?

-Which browser are you using? (I assume Chrome)

-If you open Facetime (Apple's built in app, atleast I think it's built in), do the video and sound work?

-Try removing Hangout's (whether it's an extension or something else) and reinstall it, then try again to see if it will detect the camera

-If you are using Chrome: (Stolen from the Apply forum)

Close Chrome entirely.

Open Facetime app and leave it open.

Open Google Chrome

Start your Hangout

You can close Facetime as Hangout should have detected the camera

Regards,
Josh
Rocketfish™ Support

[yitibit]

Hi Josh,

I'm on a MAC 2 x 2.8 Ghz Quad Core (Intel) running 10.6.8.  I am using Chrome. Facetime is not a built in app for me. Maybe it's bundled in the current OS. I do have Photo Booth though, which is what I first used to test. It's a bit weird as I did finally get the hangout working, though not sure if it will always work, or it's some quirk of what I did. I tried a variation of what you suggested. I can't remove hangouts as it isn't an application I am running. It's built into Google Plus. What I did was go to sound preferences and force the mic on my MAC to read from the webcam. Then I opened Photo Booth and tried to record a video. First time I tried, no sound. Then I went to Google Hangouts and started a hangout. First no picture, then I played around with some of the hangout options and for whatever reason, trying to "take a picture" in the hangout caused the camera to pop on. I then went back to Photo Booth (for no real reason) and tried recording a video again and suddenly it captured sound. So - not sure what all that means. I'd worry that if I tried to join another hangout for an interview I'd have to monkey around with it and hope it snapped on.  Beyond that, I have another problem. For whatever reason, the camera image seems fuzzy (a bit of soft focus) no matter what I aim the camera at or playing with how close I am. It was sharp when I first plugged it in and turned on photo booth. So some success, but also other problems.

Daryn

[Josh-INSG]

Hello yitibit,

Well it's good our product works! Just sounds like all your programs hate webcams. Is Hangouts or Google+ an extension in Chrome? If it is, I would remove it then re-add it. That really is the only thing I know to do right now is just remove Google+ and reinstall it and hope and pray. I'm sure there may be a setting within iOS, but I'm not really sure what it may be. You said you you changed the MAC sound to use the webcam mic, is there a setting to tell it to use our webcam as the default webcam?

Regards,
Josh
Rocketfish™ Support