Problems with Elgato Facecam Pro

[ToxMox]

Chris over on the Unity forum asked me to post this here as it will likely require you guys acquiring an Elgato Facecam Pro (which was finally back in stock on Elgato's website the other day but now out of stock again)

Describe the bug
Having some problems with the Elgato Facecam Pro:

The 3840x2160 [MJPG] mode is stuck at 30hz even when I specify 60hz
The 3840x2160 [Unknown] mode just doesn't work. I believe these "unknown" modes are h264 based on the attached DirectShow Capture Capabilities output. The 1920x1080 [Unknown] mode works

Screenshot showing [Unknown] mode not working:

Screenshot showing only getting 30hz:

Directshow Capabilities:
ElgatoFacecamPro.txt

Relevant forum post:

My Setup:

• Unity version: 2021.3.10f1
• AVPro Live Camera version: 2.9.3
• Operating system version: Windows 10
• Hardware/webcam model: Elgato Facecam Pro

[Chris-RH]

Thanks, this will be helpful in case anyone else runs into the same problem as it gives a few things to try.
We hopefully have one ordered and on its way to the office, but I'm not sure exactly when it will arrive.

[RichRH]

Hi @ToxMox,

Thanks for reporting this - we finally managed to get our hands on the ellusive Facecam Pro and have reproduced the issues you're seeing.

Unfortunately there's no quick fix - 4K MJPG does indeed seem to be limited to 30hz (I suspect due to API/bandwidth limitations as 60hz is definitely the value being passed to the device - confirmed in debugger) and as you correctly suggest, the 'Unknown' format is indeed H.264, which the plugin doesn't directly support.

I think we're straddling 'enhancement' rather than 'bug' at this point but am hoping some work I'm doing on our other plugins may pave the way for the H.264 route to work, although fundamentally we really need to update the base API used by Live Camera to fully address this - on the TODO list!

Cheers,

[ToxMox]

Excellent, thank you! Very much looking forward to the fixes 😄

[ToxMox]

Hi there. I'm curious if there has been any progress or update on getting Media Foundation cameras supported?

[ToxMox]

@RichRH any update on this?

[shealan]

Any updates on this? We have just invested heavily in these cameras and discovering they don't play nicely with this package is going to cause a lot of problems for us.

[RichRH]

Hi @ToxMox / @shealan,

I'm afraid there's no update on this as of yet - 4K @ 30 is currently the limitation. We got as far as acquiring the camera and confirming the limitation but have been slammed with other work. It's still on the agenda but unfortunately couldn't give a timeframe at this point as it's pretty much a rewrite of the plugin (for Media Foundation support).

Cheers,

[HectorZap]

Hello, I have the same issue. Any updates/roadmap on this please?
It's very frustrating having bought both the camera and the plugin to get the maximum possible quality and see it capped to 30 fps.
Any update, and hopefully a timeline, would be very welcome. Thanks,

[RichRH]

Hi @HectorZap,

We share your frustration but as a small team have to choose our battles carefully, having to prioritise work based on severity and demand. Demand for this issue is certainly increasing and I can tell you that fundamental work has started on rewriting this plugin, but it will take some time and is contigent on a clear runway (contract projects etc..). I can't make any promises but late Autumn/early Winter is a realistic target.

Cheers,

[HectorZap]

Thanks a lot for your answer, and for your hard work! Looking forward to the update,

[HectorZap]

Hello! Have you made any progress on this? Looking forward to get 4k 60 fps from our ElGato Facecam Pro

[RichRH]

Hi @HectorZap,

We're actually in the process of rewriting all (Windows) plugins to better homogenise them, with Video being priority, then Live Camera (as we actually want to use the Elagato Facecam in some of our own work @ 4K/60) - progress is good but we're not quite there yet. We're spinning a lot of plates so it's hard to give estimates but we'd hope to be internally testing still within the Winter months.

Cheers,