Philips PCVC740K99 manual

Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2 2 Preparation .................................................................................................................... 3 3 Camera and software installa tion .......................................[...]

1 Introduction Brilliant images and blazin g colours. That's what you get with the Philips USB PC Camera. Forget about installing grabber ca rds and separate pow er supplie s. You don't need them. Power is supplied direct to the camera throug h the USB cable and the camera return s audio and video straight to your PC! The USB PC Camera ha[...]

2 Preparation This section describes ho w to install the hardware and software and ho w to get started in a few easy steps. 2.1 Getting started in five easy steps The best way to quick re sults is as follows: 1. Unpack th e box. 2. Unplug all your USB devices (except USB keyboard and USB mouse) before you start. 3. Place the Philips installation CD[...]

2.3 Parts of the camera 1. Camera 2. Perch (See below for instruction s) 3. Base 4. Lens ring (turn to focus image) 5. Indicator LED (on, off, flashing) 6. Microphone 7. USB cable 8. Snapshot button 2.4 Use of the camera base and the perch Place the camera on top of the monitor, or on a desk... or suspend the camera fro m your laptop screen! * = St[...]

2.5 Use of the camera pouch If you have purchased the PCVC740K, you w ill find a convenient carrying pouch included with the packaging. This is used as follows: 1. Fold camera base by rotating it along its length. 2. Run USB cable along cam era, then wind cable aro und the camera. 3. Place camera in pouch sideways to ensure be st fit. Using the pou[...]

3 Camera and software installation In order to maximize the video and audio performan ce offered by your camera, we have included a Philips installation program on CD-ROM. Please follo w the directions for t he camera installation exactly, and make sure that you hav e your Windo ws CD-ROM to hand. 1. ! Unplug all your USB devices (excep t USB keybo[...]

VCheck will ask you to connect the cam era to the USB port at the appropriate time. A test will then be performed. This test window confirms correct installation by showing you the first 'live' pictures and audio from your USB PC Camera. Adjust the micropho ne volume by moving the slider. VCheck also gives tips for maximizin g the camera&[...]

4 Using the applications This section gives a brief description of ho w to use the video software packages include d on the CD-ROM. If you have not yet installed these application s, please read 'Camera and software installation' for installation instructions. 4.1 General VLounge is the central application for ea sy access to your Philips[...]

5 Settings The camera properties (audio and vide o) can be changed from wit hin an application, or independently by clicking the VProperty icon which can be found in the right hand part of the Windows taskbar at the bottom of your screen. Mo st application s can show a 'live preview' video image on your monitor. Always use this option to [...]

Control: Full Auto on/off This Full Auto mode provides a very easy way to get the best out of your camera. Or you ca n choose to have maximum manual control over the ca mera settings by switching the Full Auto mode off. Full Auto 'on' is the preferred setting for normal use. Functions activated in Full Auto mode are: - Automatic exposure [...]

5.2 Camera Controls The next tab is marked 'Camera Controls'. White Balance In Auto mode the camera automatically controls the different colour components in the picture to obtain the most natural colour r eproduction. This setting is the pr eferred setting for normal use. The white balance settings cannot be ch anged without first switch[...]

Exposure The exposure setting determines the am ount of light that will fall onto the video sensor chip by controlling the gain and shutter speed. In Auto exposure mode the camera automatically adju sts the gain and shutter speed. The exposure settings can not be changed without first swit ching off Full Auto in the 'Image controls' tab. [...]

5.3 Audio Controls The third tab is marked 'Audio Controls'. Volume slider This slider provides manual control over t he microphone volume. The 'Volum e Wizard' helps you to select the correct sound level setting for the slider control. Balance slider Not implemented since the camera mi crophone itself produces a mono audio sign[...]

Performance icon The Performance text box on the 'Image Controls' tab is used to inform the user about camera settings, problems or special circumstances. Important messages will show a flashing icon. The same icon also appears in the 'Audio Co ntrols' tab to indicate that an important message is being displayed in the Performan[...]

6 TWAIN applications Use the camera's voice control feature (say 'Cheese') to be sure to captu re an image of you smiling. The Philips USB PC Camera is TWAIN-compatible (like a scanner), so you can use the camera as an input device for any appli cation softw are that uses TWAIN as a data source (e.g. photo editing software). IMPORTAN[...]

6.2 Capture settings To the right of the 'Capture' button you will fi nd the 'Adjustments...' button, which is used to change the settings. Clicking the 'Adjustments...' button will bring up the following window. Camera source Usually this setting features only one option when the USB PC Camera is the only video sou rc[...]

Single Image Capture - 'Voice Controlled' snapshot (This option will be disabl ed (greyed out) when Auto Image Capturing i s enabled) The 'Voice Controlled' check box disabl es/enables voice controlled capturi ng. If this function has been enabled the user can start capturing by saying 'Cheese' (or pushi ng the 'C[...]

7 Tips and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 7.1 Tips Installing/uninstalling the camera • Always use the Philips installation CD-ROM to install the correct camera drivers, as described below. Do not connect the camera to a US B port before installing the Philips drivers. If you do this, Windows will try to in stall its own drivers, which might b[...]

USB You can connect the camera to any USB port on y our computer. Th e computer does not have to be switched off. USB ports are 'h ot-swappable', which means that you do not have to restart Windows every time you connect a new USB device. The USB driver will detect the cam era as new hardware. It can be used within a few second s, without[...]

7.2 FAQs Q: I can't control the volume of the camera audio device. There is no v olume control visible in the Volume Control recording properties. A: Double-click the camera icon o n the Window s taskbar. If there is no camera icon on the taskbar, start VLounge and select 'Confi guration - Icons', and enable 'Driver ico n on tas[...]

Q: No Video: My application doesn't d isplay any video. A: There are several reasons for not having video: 1. Check whether the USB PC camera is conne cted to a USB port 2. Check whether 'Mi crosoft WDM Image Capture' is the current capt ure source. On systems with other devices, this other device may be the sel ected capture source [...]

Q: The video works, but no audio is recorded: My application doesn't prod uce any audio. A: There are several reasons for not having audio: 1. Check whether audi o recording has b een enabled in your appli cation. 2. Check whether the USB PC cam era microphone is selected as th e current recording device. (Start, Settings, Control Panel, Multi[...]

Q: Why do I sometimes hear clicks in my audio during play back of a video clip? A: During the recording phase the processor (CP U) has to process a lot of data and the processing capacity will be limited by the maximum comp uting speed of your processor. This also explains why the actual video result you can achieve strongly depen ds on the process[...]

8 Technical specifications Optical PCVC720K ToUcam XS PCVC730K ToUcam Fun PCVC740K ToUcam Pro Sensor CMOS CMOS CCD Pixels 352 (H) x 288 (V) 640 (H) x 480 (V) 640 (H) x 480 (V) Still image resolution 640 (H) x 480 (V) 800 (H) x 600 (V) 1280 (H) x 960 (V) Illumination < 10 lux < 5 lux < 1 lux Integrated lens F2.0 F2.0 F2.0 Resolution/perform[...]

Minimum system requirements Processor Pentium II 233 MHz RAM 32 MB OS Windows 98, Windows 200 0 or higher (not NT4) CD-ROM drive Required (for installation only) USB interface Required Internet connection USB speakers or sound card with speakers Software Windows drivers by Philips VRecord by Philips VideoLink Mail by Smith Micro NetMeeting by Micro[...]

Power supply NOTE: Should you wish to connect this camera to a USB hub instead of y our computer's root hub, you will need to use a powered hub capable of deliv ering the operating power specified below. Power Supplied via the USB cable Power compliance Gene ral USB specifications 1.1 for po wer requirements Three modes for power supply: Suspe[...]

9 Regulations, Warnings & Maintenance 9.1 FCC compliance This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the follo wing two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference receiv ed, including interference that may cause undesired operatio n. NOTE: This[...]

10 Glossary Audio input device (recording dev ice) One of the Windows multimedia settings i s the recording device setting. This setting determines which audio hardwa re is being used to provide audio si gnals to audio applications . This setting is accessible through: the Windows 'Start' menu, Setti ngs, Control Panel, MultiMedia, Audio [...]

Indicator LED The LED on top of the camera will be illuminated when it is deliveri ng video images to your computer, and not illuminated when it is not. It w ill flash before a timed sn apshot is taken. One second before the snapshot countdown ends, it will flash more rapidly to warn you of the impending event. Philips installation program A standa[...]

30 USB Universal Serial Bus, used for connecting exter nal devices to the PC without having to restart your PC. Video for Windo ws Developed by Microsoft, this is a standard for displaying video on the Windows desktop. Wi ndows has this built in. This standard has now been superseded by Direct Show, which is part of DirectX. Video stream A collecti[...]