Using Web Cameras With XSplit Broadcaster - XSplit Blog

9/15/2020 Using Web Cameras with XSplit Broadcaster | XSplit Blog
Using Web Cameras with

XSplit Broadcaster
Melvin
Dichoso
Melvin Dichoso
March 1, 2016
Welcome to the XSplit Workshop, a feature series where we provide tips to help
you get the most out of XSplit.
One of the most commonly hardware devices used with XSplit is a web camera.
Whether you are vlogging or casting an epic run-through the arena in
Hearthstone, adding a web camera is a sure fire way to improve interaction with
https://www.xsplit.com/blog/workshop-web-cameras-xbc 1/7
your audience. This blog will help you ensure you are getting the best quality
and performance out of your web camera!
FPS related issues with web cameras

Most web cameras come with drivers and software. The problem is that the web
camera software in general tends to suggest that ‘automatic’ modes are always
the best. This is rarely the case.
Most web cameras, especially web cameras in the sub $100 USD range, cannot
keep stable frame rates if the exposure settings are too high (it can also affect
cpu usage). The automatic mode does not acknowledge this, as it is mostly
concerned about image visibility and not about maintaining a steady frame rate.
Therefore, in a dark room, automatic mode will keep you visible, but at a
lowered frame rate. Even in a bright room, it is still not advisable to use
automatic mode because your environment can change to a setup the auto
mode can’t handle. This is especially true if there is a possibility your lighting
settings could change drastically over the course of your broadcast (i.e. daylight
to night).
Turn auto mode off

At XSplit we distinctly recommend disabling all automatic modes on your web
cameras. If you’re adamant about high quality, you need to take charge of and
control your environment through good lighting, and you need to set your
devices to their optimum settings. If you’re using automatic modes, you rely on
“average fits all” logic and your camera will behave quite differently when there’s
a cloud passing by your window or the reflective brightness from your monitors
changes during streaming. Another potential issue is auto-focus on chroma key
setups. If the camera shifts focus, your chroma key will likely change shade of
color, and this can cause a blurry edge around your figure. While the following
information focuses on a Logitech web camera, much of the information can
translate to other types of web cameras. Generally speaking, you will want to
turn off automatic settings for exposure, gain, and auto-focus.
Logitech C920
In XSplit right-click your web camera, choose “Configure” and click “Video
Input”.
Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 setting
On the driver window, in the first tab: Disable “Auto-focus”. You will have to do
some manual adjustment after. Make sure you adjust while seated in the
position you intend to stream from.
Logitech Webcam Control Auto-focus Properties
On the second tab: Disable “RightLight”, “Gain” and “White Balance”. After
disabling these auto modes, adjust the sliders to your liking. Please note, if you
set the exposure slider too high, you will encounter low frame rates.
Logitech Webcam Properties Advanced Settings
Click Save.
General camera settings

In XSplit right-click your web camera, choose “Configure” and click “Video
output”. This menu is where you will configure what the web camera output is.
While the output size and frame rate are fairly self explanatory, one important
thing to note is the color space/compression. USB 2.0 web cameras (and capture
card devices) cannot send a lossless full colorspace spectrum in 1080p picture
through USB2. The camera needs to compress the data stream. Where available
we recommend the compression formats MJPG and YUY2 as they have the least
visible deterioration.
general web camera settings
No need to capture 1080p!

Also, please consider what resolution you need for your shot. Unless you’re
doing a full size shot of the web camera, there’s no need to capture it in 1080p.
Consider setting the camera resolution relative to the size of your source.
Example: Here’s XSplit set to record in 720p at 30 fps. There’s no point in
capturing your web camera in 1080p. But what size should you capture? My web
camera is sized to a specific portion of the scene. Try to guess the pixel height of
the web camera source…
XSplit Broadcaster setting camera resolution
It’s 272 pixels. Hence the ideal capture resolution for this shot is 360p. If I set the
resolution of the web camera higher, then I’m basically wasting USB2 bandwidth
and the resized image would not look different. Note: The exception to this is if
the camera is bad at resizing due to hardware limitations. In this case you will
want to let XSplit resize it (because it uses a sophisticated software algorithm) to
achieve a better image quality.
Also, if your recording or live stream is in 720p, all sources at higher resolutions
are generally just a waste of resources on CPU, GPU, memory and external
hardware. Always set your source resolutions and frame rates to something
relative to the resolution you’ve set in XSplit Broadcaster in order to use your
computer’s resources optimally.
Another reason why we generally don’t recommend doing 1080p capture on

web cameras, is that you would not safely be able to add more than one camera
per USB controller, because it would use up all the USB2 bandwidth. Your
keyboard and mouse might even be affected if there’s congestion.
Warning on RGB24
We advise against using RGB24 (uncompressed) as a color space setting! The
camera frame rate is typically severely limited with this setting (exactly how
much depends on the web camera model and driver of the web camera).
web camera frame rate setting
Now that you’ve optimized your camera, have fun live streaming or recording! If
you have any questions, please let us know in the comments!

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9/15/2020 Using Web Cameras with XSplit Broadcaster | XSplit Blog

Using Web Cameras with

FPS related issues with web cameras

Turn auto mode off

Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 setting

Logitech Webcam Control Auto-focus Properties

Logitech Webcam Properties Advanced Settings

General camera settings

general web camera settings

No need to capture 1080p!

XSplit Broadcaster setting camera resolution

Another reason why we generally don’t recommend doing 1080p capture on

web camera frame rate setting

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