Russell's Blog

New. Improved. Stays crunchy in milk.

Using Ekiga with an Apple iSight

Posted by Russell on April 21, 2007 at 3:14 a.m.
Now that Apple is integrating little video cameras into most of its products, the venerable Apple iSight has been discontinued. This is very good news if you happen to know a Mac user who likes to buy new things. Chances are pretty good that they have an iSight that they no longer need. Despite being discontinued, the iSight still seems to command its former full retail price on eBay for reasons I do not understand. However you get your hands on one, the iSight can be made to work on a Linux machine without too much difficulty.

The iSight isn't a particularly wonderful video camera, but it is pretty ideal for videoconferencing. So, here is how to get the iSight to work with Gnome's videoconferencing software, Ekiga. I will assume that you know how to find and install software on your computer.

You will need an ieee1394 port, and you will need to load the following kernel modules :
  • ieee1394
  • video1394
  • ohci1394
  • videodev
You will also need to make sure video4linux (V4L2) and the V4L1 compatibility modules is either loaded as a module of compiled into your kernel. The easiest way to get the device working is with the vloopback kernel module, which you will probably have to download and build yourself (I found the Subversion repository to be easiest to use -- the 1.1-rc1 tarball complained of a missing config.h file).

Once you've got the vloopback module loaded, you should be able to get the camera working using Coriander. When you launch Coriander, it will either work, or it will tell you which kernel modules you are missing. If it works, you should see "Apple Computer, Inc." under the "Camera Select" dropdown menu. The Coriander interface is somewhat counterintuitive and a bit heavy on options, but it is very useful. Go to "Services" and select "VIDEO1394" from the "Method" dropdown menu. Then clicking the "Receive" and "Display" buttons (which are actually toggles, despite appearances) should pop open a video preview.

Chances are, the permissions on the necessary devices in /dev will be wrong, so you may have to run Coriander as root. You should make sure the devices are readable and writable by the "video" group (or whatever you or your distribution deems appropriate for the group name), and then add yourself to that group. You will need to the following devices :

crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 0 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video0
crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 1 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video1
...
crw-rw-r-- 1 root video 171, 16 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video1394/0
crw-rw-r-- 1 root video 171, 17 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video1394/1
...
crw-rw---- 1 root video 171, 0 Apr 19 21:38 /dev/raw1394

Evidently, you don't need these:

crw------- 1 root video 10, 204 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video/em8300
crw------- 1 root video 10, 206 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video/em8300_ma
crw------- 1 root video 10, 205 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video/em8300_mv
crw------- 1 root video 10, 207 Apr 20 21:57 /dev/video/em8300_sp

You may want to use your iSight for something other than uploading images to an FTP site (which Coriander will do wonderfully). If you try to use your iSight with Ekiga, you may notice that even with all the right kernel modules loaded, it's still impossible to configure the iSight via the Ekiga configuration druid. If this is the case, you need to install some packages :

  • libpt-1.10.0 - Portable Windows Library
  • libpt-plugins-alsa - Portable Windows Library Audio Plugin for the ALSA Interface
  • libpt-plugins-avc - PWLib Video Plugin for IEEE1394 (FireWire) AVC devices
  • libpt-plugins-dc - PWLib Video Plugin for IEEE1394 (Firewire) DC Devices
  • libpt-plugins-oss - Portable Windows Library Audio Plugins for the OSS Interface
  • libpt-plugins-v4l - Portable Windows Library Video Plugin for Video4Linux
  • libpt-plugins-v4l2 - Portable Windows Library Video Plugin for Video4Linux v2
Quit Ekiga and try the druid again. You should be able to select "1394DC" for the Video plugin, and "/dev/video1394/0" for the Input device. Clicking the little video icon should start the video preview.

Note: If you close the little shutter on the iSight while Ekiga is running, it will crash. Evidently the shutter actually turns off the device.

21 comments, 0 trackbacks (URL) , Tags: ekiga isight apple webcam voip video linux howto
Comments
calvinbrock on May 13, 2013 at 4:16 p.m.

Easily, the article is actually the best topic on this registry related issue. I fit in with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next updates. Just saying thanks Best Small Business Ideas

calvinbrock on May 13, 2013 at 10:07 p.m.

his is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Kee p up the excellent work. affiliate marketing for dummies

calvinbrock on May 14, 2013 at 12:44 p.m.

his is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work. Blue Rooster Chiminea

calvinbrock on May 14, 2013 at 4:57 p.m.

Fantastic blog post. The post affects a lot of urgent challenges of our society. We can not be uninvolved to these challenges. This post gives good ideas and concepts. Very informative and practical. www.trendsport-magazin.de

calvinbrock on May 14, 2013 at 7:07 p.m.

Hey – great blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a really nice platform you are using. I’m currently using WordPress for a few of my blogs but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it? Webseite

cement polishing on May 15, 2013 at 5:46 p.m.

Thanks very much for this great article;this is the stuff that keeps me going through out these day.

calvinbrock on May 15, 2013 at 6:56 p.m.

Easily, the article is actually the best topic on this registry related issue. I fit in with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next updates. Just saying thanks will not just be sufficient, for the fantasti c lucidity in your writing. I will instantly grab yo ur rss feed to stay informed of any updates. ?????? ??????

calvinbrock on May 16, 2013 at 9:42 a.m.

his is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work. signs of burnout

asd on May 16, 2013 at 11:55 a.m.

it's really nice and meanful. it's really cool blog. Linking is very useful thing.you have really helped lots of people who visit blog and provide them usefull information.
sell my business

best New York city wedding photographers on May 16, 2013 at 12:10 p.m.

Great, This specific net webpage is seriously thrilling and enjoyment to learn. I’m an enormous fan from the subjects mentioned.

asd on May 16, 2013 at 1:43 p.m.

wow, great, I was wondering how to cure acne naturally. and found your site by google, learned a lot, now i’m a bit clear. I’ve bookmark your site and also add rss. keep us updated.
blank signs

asd on May 16, 2013 at 2:35 p.m.

I would also motivate just about every person to save this web page for any favorite assistance to assist posted the appearance.
should you comment your code

asd on May 16, 2013 at 5:35 p.m.

The first several months of my site there were no comments; just give it time; now they come in like crazy every day! Thanks.
Maryland Hot Tub Repair

asd on May 16, 2013 at 6:12 p.m.

I must say, I thought this was a pretty interesting read when it comes to this topic. Liked the material. . . . .
forex scalping

asd on May 17, 2013 at 9:03 a.m.

I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.
hotspot

calvinbrock on May 17, 2013 at 10:22 a.m.

his is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work. part time work from home

calvinbrock on May 17, 2013 at 9:54 p.m.

Hey – great blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a really nice platform you are using. I’m currently using WordPress for a few of my blogs but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it? come fare soldi

js,,shadf on May 17, 2013 at 9:59 p.m.

Since I found this easy to follow solution, I have helped thousands of people just like you to do the same thing – || 21 day sugar detox pdf || kick their addiction to sugar and carbs and enjoy their lives to the fullest with a simple 3-week sugar detox program.

hammad on May 17, 2013 at 10:39 p.m.

We here at Natural K9 Supplies know that you can always run down to the local supermarket or department store and pick up whatever is there on the shelves for your pooch, but would you use just any type of product on a member of your family that you love so much? Most likely, you would not do that. || ORGANIC DOG FOOD || The all natural dog supplies for your dog that you will find here at Natural K9 Supplies are so much healthier simply due to the fact that chemicals with the potential to harm your dog are never used.

hammad on May 18, 2013 at 4:14 p.m.

A French kiss is a kiss in which one or both participants' tongues touch the partner's lips or tongue, usually entering their mouth. || kissing tips || A French kiss is a slow, passionate kiss which is usually considered intimate, romantic, erotic or sexual.

coach outlet on May 19, 2013 at 9:26 p.m.

A blog is something that can Coach Factory only benefit you and not hurt you, most of Coach Factory Online air max the time that is. Once you establish a presence online via louis vuitton outlet blog you then create more potential followers for you and your business that you didn’t previously have. You see there is much to gain when you create a blog, so read through this article and see how blogging can help you.



Choose a domain name that immediately tells potential readers what your blog is about. coach outlet It’s not likely that you louboutin are going to ralph lauren be able to procure a name like but, your blog is more likely to be about some particular aspect Hogan of your subject. Incorporate that aspect into the domain name along with your louis vuitton Coach Factory Outlet overall focus.



Don’t be afraid to stretch out your louis vuitton hand and ask your reader for a donation. Your loyal readers, in particular, will be likely to donate some to coach outlet your cause. If your blog is valuable enough, people will realize it. They will also realize that, longchamp not Coach Factory louis vuitton outlet Online only does Coach Outlet it cost you money to produce your blog, your time is valuable.



Make sure that you have a blog mailing list started early. The sooner you get this started, the more time you coach outlet will have gucci to make that list larger. Once your blog is more established, this list will be used to bring in money, and you will be thankful that you already took care of this.

Ignore this field:
 optional; will not be displayed
Don't put anything in this field:
 optional
Don't put anything here:
Leave this empty:
URLs auto-link and some tags are allowed: <a><b><i><p>.
Creative Commons License
Russell's Blog by Russell Neches is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.