Processing / C920 logitech capture frame rate video discourse

Question

I'm developing on Processing 2.0b, and i just bought a C920 logitech webam for a good capture quality.

Then I try to capture at 1920 x 1080, the problem is that I'm under 15 fps per seconds.. When I list all the devices availsable to capture, the program write:

Some size and fps

...

-[61] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1024x576,fps=5"

-[62] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1024x576,fps=30"

-[63] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1280x720,fps=5"

-[64] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1280x720,fps=30"

-[65] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1600x896,fps=5"

-[66] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1600x896,fps=30"

-[67] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1920x1080,fps=5"

-[68] "name=HD Pro Webcam C920,size=1920x1080,fps=30"

...

some others size and fps...

So, as I can read.. for the size 1920 x 1080 the framerate of 30 fps is available..

What's wrong ??

Even if I force the program or run at 30 fps.. theres a crash pointing on cam.start(); telling me that the framerate for this size isn't available...

Any help ... ?

Answer 1

I ran into this problem a few months back as well. Here's what I found, searching through forums and contacting customer support:

The Logitech C920 only provides 30fps at 1080p with applications that supports H.264 directly, and can pull in the H.264 stream directly from the camera. The C920 does on-board H.264 compression, but most applications don't support pulling the compressed stream straight from the camera; instead, they have to decompress then re-compress the stream, dropping the framerate.

Skype supports H.264 straight from the camera, so with Skype you should be able to get 1920x1080 @ 30fps, but you won't see this high framerate with Processing. Also, I think you have to use Windows to use the Logitech drivers to support this.

I'll post the research I did a while back if I can find it, but unfortunately the answer is that you'll have to drop either your resolution or your framerate.