Jason1975

Q: FaceTime Camera Images Look Poor on New Macbook Pro Retina Models

I received my new 2012 Macbook Pro Retina display model yesterday. When doing Facetime last night, others on the other end were commenting how poor the image coming from my end looked. Then I tried it on my iphone 4S and it was amazing how much better the picture of me looked on the phone versus the macbook. Today, I went to the Apple store to compare my new computer to the Retina display models on the display. Their camera images honestly didn't look much better than what I have on mine (but for example, the new Macbook Air's images look much more realistic). Why is this? How can the HD Facetime camera in the Macbook Pro produce less realistic images than the lower resolution iPhone 4S or Ipad cameras? Any help or insight you could share would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!
Jason

MacBook Pro with Retina display, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Jun 19, 2012 8:35 PM

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Q: FaceTime Camera Images Look Poor on New Macbook Pro Retina Models

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  • by pisquano,

    pisquano pisquano Mar 11, 2014 2:51 PM in response to unaffected2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 11, 2014 2:51 PM in response to unaffected2

    this software is not free.

  • by unaffected2,

    unaffected2 unaffected2 Mar 12, 2014 3:34 AM in response to Jason1975
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 12, 2014 3:34 AM in response to Jason1975

    it's not full but it does its job and it never expires

  • by pisquano,

    pisquano pisquano Mar 12, 2014 3:58 AM in response to unaffected2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 12, 2014 3:58 AM in response to unaffected2

    unless there's something missing BTV pro is not freeware but shareware. not sure what you mean by "it's not full".

    there is a trial period.

    I also tried to use it, but somehow it will require to use iGlasses (that I now don't use anymore) - I couldn't find any way to tweak isight to solve the problem we are discussing here.

  • by unaffected2,

    unaffected2 unaffected2 Mar 14, 2014 1:44 PM in response to Jason1975
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 14, 2014 1:44 PM in response to Jason1975

    this is the tutorial check it

  • by njrsey,

    njrsey njrsey Mar 16, 2014 8:57 AM in response to Jason1975
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 16, 2014 8:57 AM in response to Jason1975

    Late 2012 rMBP, Facetime 3 OSX 10.9.2 -  The facetime HD camera is very poor quality until I call someone.  After I connect up (let's say to a Iphone 5S) the clarity improves exponentially and the image quality is spectacular (easily HD).  Also other features (such as full screen) become available depending on the other end of the facetime call.

     

    I don't believe there is a hardware issue.  If you're facetime camera seems fuzzy when you open the application, test facetime by connecting to a high quality device and the application should drastically ramp up the video quality.  Hope this helps.

  • by Euroraver,

    Euroraver Euroraver Mar 16, 2014 9:15 AM in response to njrsey
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 16, 2014 9:15 AM in response to njrsey

    Nope. This did not fix it for me. Video quality stayed crappy as ever before or after the connection.

     

    After I had Apple swap my machine for a new one, the issue was solved.

  • by unaffected2,

    unaffected2 unaffected2 Mar 17, 2014 4:13 AM in response to Jason1975
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 17, 2014 4:13 AM in response to Jason1975

    it works guys , i tried in many macs now , macbook pros and airs (no imacs yes) please test it and post your feedbacks

  • by pisquano,

    pisquano pisquano Mar 17, 2014 5:01 AM in response to njrsey
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2014 5:01 AM in response to njrsey

    njrsey are you posting these results after installing BTV pro? are you saying this improvement is only due to BTV pro?

  • by njrsey,

    njrsey njrsey Mar 17, 2014 6:22 AM in response to pisquano
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2014 6:22 AM in response to pisquano

    No this is without installing any software.  I'm saying the image clarity fluctuates and is dependant on both devices as well as the connection.  After connecting via facetime to different devices in good lighting conditions, the clarity of the camera video stream on both the sending and receiving side of my rMBP improved drastically...other functionality (like full screen mode) also depends on having that connection...

  • by pisquano,

    pisquano pisquano Mar 17, 2014 6:35 AM in response to njrsey
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2014 6:35 AM in response to njrsey

    well then that certainly doesn't apply to my case. the image quality of the iSight camera on my 15 retina is not as good/sharp/clean as comparable Macbook Air from the same (latest late 2013 generation).

     

    this issue is not an isolated case, and I have gone to several Apple Stores and compared them. there is just something wrong about how iSight works on the new retina MBPs- even Apple staff had to agree.

     

    I have now lost hope about this and just accept this is non-fixable. but it's a shame

     

    I agree with this previous post"

    "Guys. We're screwed.

     

    Just the way it goes.

     

    Euroraver, you're right. It's not the Retina Display. This was obviously something that was either 1.) Made up. 2.) Over herd from fellow employees or some shop rumors.

     

    The truth of the matter is, it's a defect that is burned into the board on the display and there is no way to fix it. If there was, they would of posted here already. If there was a fix we would of had a firmware update a LONG time ago.

     

    Solution.

     

    Go by the Logitec HD Pro Webcam C920 and stick it on the top of your Mac. Yes it might be "old school" but it's the way it goes."

  • by pisquano,

    pisquano pisquano Mar 19, 2014 11:16 AM in response to unaffected2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 11:16 AM in response to unaffected2

    the software doesn't work on recent MBPs (like mine, bought in November)

     

    see this reply from BTV pro's customer team

     

    "Sorry about the problem you are experiencing. It's not an incompatibility with Mavericks per se (we have many users using BTV Pro on Mavericks), but rather it's a recent change to the hardware of the FaceTime cameras in recent Macs that have rendered them incompatible with BTV Pro. Unfortunately BTV Pro is not in active development at the moment so I can't say for sure if/when we will be able to resolve this."

  • by pisquano,

    pisquano pisquano Mar 19, 2014 11:20 AM in response to pisquano
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 11:20 AM in response to pisquano

    I would add that the "recent hardware change" could be the culprit here. maybe Apple has switched to cheaper camera hardware for iSight?

  • by mkummer82,

    mkummer82 mkummer82 Mar 19, 2014 11:36 AM in response to pisquano
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 11:36 AM in response to pisquano

    I agree that the issue is HW-related. Confirmed by the fact that Apple didn't deny my claim and instead swapped my 2012 rMBP out for a 2013 rMBP. There is no software fix for that and replacing the 2012 component with another 2012 component won't fix it either. You need to buy a new rMBP or hope Apple will replace it for you. Period.

     

    I have documented the process that I went through here: http://www.michaelkummer.com/2013/09/12/poor-picture-quality-of-facetime-camera- and-apples-response/

     

    Cheers

    Mike

  • by pisquano,

    pisquano pisquano Mar 19, 2014 11:49 AM in response to mkummer82
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 11:49 AM in response to mkummer82

    my MBPr is a 2013 one and they still have this problem

  • by mkummer82,

    mkummer82 mkummer82 Mar 19, 2014 11:54 AM in response to pisquano
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 19, 2014 11:54 AM in response to pisquano

    I should have been more specific I meant to say LATE 2013...

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