How can I view my webcam in vista?
I have a cheep Logitech webcam that works fine in Skype and flash applications. In windows xp I could open the webcam in my computer and view though it and save pictures. Does Vista do that as well?
And if not what's a good simple program that I can use to replicate this functionality?
Since it looks like the functionality you are expecting is not available in Windows Vista, you can use VLC to open the camera as a "Capture Device" and then take snapshots using VLC. The VLC FAQ explains tells us that to take a snapshot:
How can I take screenshots?
To take a snapshot of the video displayed by VLC, you just need to press the pre-defined snapshot hotkey:
- Windows / Linux / Unix: Ctrl+Alt+S
- Mac OS X: Command+Alt+s
To change it, go to Preferences -> Interface -> Hotkeys settings, check Advanced options, and set Take video snapshot.
You can also take a snaphot via the menu Video -> Snapshot.
To change the snapshot format or directory, go to Preferences -> Video.
Where are my screenshots?
If you haven't changed the snapshot directory in your preferences, your screenshots should go to:
- Windows:
My Documents\My Pictures\- Linux / Unix:
$(HOME)/.vlc/- Mac OS X:
Desktop/To change it, go to Preferences -> Video -> Video snapshot directory.
You can't do that in Vista as the WIA driver installed on XP is not included with Vista, it is by design.