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xbox live vision camera and el capitain

Hello,


I have an xbox live vision camera that worked well with older os's, but doesn't seem to work with el capitain. Any way to get it to work? I'm using a Mac Mini with a monitor, and it would be nice to have a camera as well (without having to buy a new one). Thanks!

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on May 30, 2016 12:26 PM

Reply
11 replies

May 31, 2016 9:33 AM in response to kw9919

I would think it should work as is. However, as discussed in this reddit discussion page, it seems that a workaround can be found for some, but not all, users who share your problem. I don't use xbox live vision camera so I have not tested any of the possible suggestions in the redditi page.

CAUTION -- Try the reddit suggestions at your own risk. I cannot assure you that the linked software in the reddit page will not conflict with your OS X El Capitan software.

If you have not already done so, I suggest that you first try the following known things users can do to resolve webcam problems before installing any third party software:


(1) If restarting your Mac doesn't fix the problem,



(2) use Apple's http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090.



(BTW - The Troubleshooting article calls the camera an "iSight". However, after the article was published, Apple has changed the built-in camera's name on newer Macs from "iSight" to "FaceTime" and then to "FaceTime HD." Regardless of the name of your built-in camera, the same info and troubleshooting applies.)



Be sure to test more than one Apple app (Photo Booth, FaceTime, iMovie, QuickTime Player, etc.) in more than one user account. Do NOT use the "Guest" account for this test. If you do not have more than one user account for the testing, create a new one now. If you need help, how to do it is explained in http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201754.



A "Standard" user account is all you need for testing.



(3) If your cam won't work properly even with Apple apps, use OS X Recovery to completely reinstall your Mac OS from the Recovery System stored on your startup drive. Don't bother testing Skype or other third-party apps until you have your camera working with Apple apps.



(4) If none of the above suggestions resolve your trouble, contact Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider to have your Mac professionally serviced. Be sure to backup your Mac and deauthorize iTunes before tendering it for service.

If none of the four suggestions above gets your xbox live vision camera working with El Cap, given the low cost of some Mac compatible UVC webcams, it may be wiser to opt for the new camera that is known to work with your system. A reliable retailer will be able to warrant that the new cam he sells is compatible with your Mac.



Message was edited by: EZ Jim


Mac OSX 10.11.5

Jun 1, 2016 6:22 AM in response to EZ Jim

Thanks for the response. The camera indeed does not work with El Capitan, and none of the suggestions by Apple helped. (Incidentally, they assume that it's a firewire connection, but the xbox live vision camera is usb.) The reddit discussion seems to be more about enabling a controller for games than a camera. (I browsed through the discussion, and a search for "cam" yielded no results.)

Jun 1, 2016 7:11 AM in response to kw9919

How is it connected? USB? Fire Wire?

I have Apple iSight FW camera and it does not really work in EL Capitan. No audio and I get one frame every 20 seconds or so.

Did you have to install drivers for it before? If so then you need updated drives since in El Capitan Apple tightened up when signed drivers are required.

Jun 1, 2016 9:43 AM in response to lllaass

Hello lllaass


I know you wrote to kw9919, but this information may be of use to you and other readers.


All xbox live vision cameras are all USB devices. They are listed as UVC devices. As such, they should work without additional software on any Mac using OS X version 10.4.9 and later. For these OS X versions, all software necessary for UVC device use is automatically included by the OS X installer.

If a restarting Mac or unplugging and reconnecting your external iSight does not correct your Firewire connected iSight problems, there may be something fixable in your system.

I have tested external iSight with El Cap on my Apple FW iSights on my2009 Quad core Mac Pro using a variety of apps: QuickTimeX, QT7 Pro, iMovie, Messages, and Photo Booth. Because I have more than one camera and microphone connected to my Mac, each app must be configured separately to select the desired sources. Both sound and video work fine in all tested apps when the selected source is set to external iSight. In Messages, I get 30 frames per second and 100% Audio and Video quality (as reported by Connection Doctor.)

Best Regards,

EZ Jim



Message was edited by: EZ Jim


Mac OSX 10.11.5

Jun 1, 2016 10:18 AM in response to EZ Jim

My iSight camera work OK with no audio on my 2009 Mac Pro with El Capitan.

Ob my late 2009 Mini it would give no audio and one frame every 20 seconds or so with Mavericks. It worked OK with previous OSX versions and I gave it away before updating further

I get same non-performance with my 2013 Mac Pro and 2012 Mac Mini with Mavericks and later

Jun 1, 2016 10:21 AM in response to kw9919

kw9919 wrote:


Thanks for the response. The camera indeed does not work with El Capitan, and none of the suggestions by Apple helped. (Incidentally, they assume that it's a firewire connection, but the xbox live vision camera is usb.) The reddit discussion seems to be more about enabling a controller for games than a camera. (I browsed through the discussion, and a search for "cam" yielded no results.)


You're most welcome, kw9919.


Neither Apple nor I is assuming anything about your connection. I know your camera is a USB cam. Although your camera does not connect via Firewire, you can still apply the connection troubleshooting techniques to your USB cables and connection ports.


If you have tried all of the other suggestions already offered, you should now be using OS X 10.11.5. If the camera problem persists, the next step is to contact Apple or an Apple-Authorized Service Provider for diagnostic help.


If the Apple Service people recommend a service call, take both your Mac and external camera along. They can diagnose and correct any problem whose root cause is in your Mac (if it is economically feasible to do so.) Once they have examined your Mac, they can give you an estimate of any cost beyond diagnostic charges so you can decide whether to proceed. Be sure to backup your Mac and deauthorize iTunes before tendering it for service.

If your Mac checks out as healthy, they can test your camera on known good Macs. If the problem is found to be in your camera, and if your camera is not warrantied or economically repairable, consider another Mac-compatible external webcam.




Message was edited by: EZ Jim


Mac OSX 10.11.5

Jun 30, 2016 9:41 AM in response to adamoc

If the camera is a standard UVC type USB device then in theory it should still work as that is a generic standard. However with El Capitan Apple did make two changes that did cause lots of devices to no longer work.


  1. Apple implemented SIP which meant a lot of older drivers for third-party hardware stopped working and needed to be updated to become compatible. This should in theory not have applied here since no driver was being used other than Apple's built-in generic UVC driver. See About System Integrity Protection on your Mac - Apple Support
  2. Apple at least with regards to USB PCIe cards in the classic Mac Pro rendered previously working USB 3.1 cards completely non-functional, previously these cards did work at least as USB 3.0 cards using the generic Apple driver. It seems Apple changed the rules so their generic driver no longer supported third-party cards or deleted their driver completely. Now this is particularly interesting because it relates to support for generic USB devices and in this case we are also talking about support for generic USB devices even if it is a different type i.e. a web-cam vs. a PCIe card.


Based on this it could be number 2 above applies. If true it might be Apple deciding either to do this purely for reasons of enhancing security, or it could be Apple deciding to no longer be generous and to stop providing generic driver support for various categories of devices. Historically Apple has been very helpful in providing generic drivers which have supported entire classes of devices as standard meaning for lots of products you did not have to install a driver supplied by the manufacturer, this contrasts with Windows where for most devices you need a device specific driver.


It would be helpful to know if any other UVC cameras still work in El Capitan without needing an additional driver installing. Logitech is the usual example.

xbox live vision camera and el capitain

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