How to connect a smartphone as a web camera. How to use a smartphone (phone) as a webcam. Connecting your phone to your computer via IP Webcam

06.03.2024

The camera built into a smartphone or tablet can be used not only for shooting masterpieces and sending them to Instagram. And not even just for video calls. Here are some non-trivial ways to use the miniature camera that is always with us.

1. Surveillance system

If you have an extra Android phone or tablet (version 1.2 or higher), you can turn it into a home video surveillance system using the IP Webcam app. By setting up the program at home, you can watch the “live” broadcast via the Internet on your computer or another phone. To save battery, you can choose to broadcast a low-resolution stream. If the device is connected to the mains, you can configure the transmission of higher quality video.

6. Digitize your papers

A tablet or smartphone is a pocket scanner that is always with you. Install the CamScanner HD application, which exists in versions for Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8 - and turn your portable gadget into a full-fledged scanner with the ability to merge and annotate documents, save to a file and text recognition (unfortunately, the Russian language is not supported). For an additional fee, it is possible to save all documents into editable PDFs and store them in a 10-gigabyte cloud.

The Handy Scanner app for Android devices lets you scan documents or photos and save them into PDF files that you can email or automatically upload to Dropbox cloud storage.

7. Scan film negatives

An ordinary smartphone can act as an improvised slide scanner, allowing you to scan film negatives - of course, with imperfect quality, but quite sufficient, for example, for posting on the Internet.

To do this, you need to install the HELMUT program for devices running Android and find a light source sufficient for a photo “in the light”: this can be either a window on a clear sunny day, or a white computer screen with the brightness turned to maximum. The resulting photo can be edited directly on your smartphone using the application or sent to your computer.

8. Google Photos

Google's desktop search engine has long had a feature called photo search. The free Google Goggles app brings it to mobile devices.

The Google Goggles program is designed primarily to search for various products, pictures, attractions; it is also capable of recognizing barcodes and QR codes, recognizing texts and translating them into different languages.

What's most impressive about Google Goggles is its ability to recognize famous views and panoramas, book and CD covers, and even solve Sudoku puzzles! If you come across an incomprehensible phrase in a foreign language, point the lens of your smartphone at it and Google Goggles will translate it for you. The application has all the information power of Google at its disposal.

Quite often in technical support we are asked, is it possible to use a smartphone camera (iPhone or Android) as a web camera? Yes, it is possible, and very simple. You don't even need to connect your smartphone to your computer with a cable. Below we will give step-by-step instructions.

So, here's what you'll need:

- Smartphone (iPhone/iPad or Android) with a built-in camera and an active connection to the network via wifi
- AlterCam program for connecting to a smartphone camera

Smartphone camera as a webcam - how does it work?

The AlterCam program will install a virtual webcam on your system, into which you can broadcast anything - be it video from a real webcam (with added real-time effects!), desktop video, or even a pre-recorded video file. In our case, the video source for the virtual web camera will be the smartphone camera. The AlterCam program will connect to the smartphone camera via IP protocol and will take video from it in real time and broadcast it in a virtual webcam. It may sound complicated, but setting up is very simple - here are the step-by-step instructions:

The first thing you need to do, of course, is install it on your computer. It's easy and only requires a few mouse clicks. The program will launch automatically after installation.

Now we need to install the IP camera application on the smartphone. For Android smartphones, install this application (it's free). For iPhone/iPad/iPod touch, install the iPCamera - High-End Network Camera application. Not free, but inexpensive, $1 (we couldn’t find a free worker).

For Android: Launch the IP Webcam application on your smartphone. There will be a list of settings, usually by default everything is configured optimally, so scroll to the very bottom and select the item "Run"

For iPhone/iPad: Launch the iPCamera application. When you launch it for the first time, you will need to allow the application to access the camera. Twist the settings using the Configure button - at will (well, at your own peril and risk), by default everything works well.

Launch the AlterCam program on the computer. In the "Camera" drop-down list, select "Add IP camera". Further closer attention is a responsible step.

We connect to the smartphone camera using the AlterCam program. In the dialog for adding an IP camera, enter “IP camera name” - an arbitrary string. The resolution of the IP camera depends on the camera settings in the application on the smartphone. If you do not know the exact value, do not change this setting.

Now the main thing is that the address is indicated at the bottom of the application on the smartphone, exactly transfer it to the “IP camera address” parameter in AlterCam and (ATTENTION!) add it to it "/live" in case of iOS device and "/video" in the case of an Android device as shown in the figure:

Click OK. If everything was done correctly, then an image from the smartphone camera should appear in the AlterCam program. If the picture does not appear, check that the previous steps were completed correctly.

Now you need to select the AlterCam virtual camera where you are going to use the smartphone camera - in Skype (in settings), in other chats. As you can see, with AlterCam, using your smartphone camera as a webcam is as easy as shelling pears!

By the way, you can add a picture from your smartphone camera as an additional image to the main video. That is, you can select your webcam on your computer as the main video source, and your smartphone camera as an overlay (a smaller picture on top of the main one). Or you can stream desktop video with video from your smartphone camera overlayed on top. In general, AlterCam will fulfill any of your fantasies :) In order to add video from a smartphone camera on top of the main video, you need to click on the “Add IP camera” button on the “Overlays” tab.

I hope you found the article useful. See you again!

All modern smartphones are equipped with cameras and microphones, so many have probably at least once had the desire to use these functions together with a PC for video communication. For laptops, a camera and microphone are standard tools, but for a desktop they need to be purchased separately.

You cannot use your phone as a webcam for a PC using standard Android tools. Even in the “for developer” mode, I was only able to find a way to connect in audio source mode, and even then, neither Mi Max 2 nor Mi Max 3 could be “started” on a PC in this mode. But as it turned out, this is not a problem at all: third-party software easily allows you to use your phone as a webcam (and also as a microphone).

How to turn your smartphone into a webcam with DroidCam

DroidCam is a simple and free tool for turning your smartphone into a webcam. It has an advanced version, DroidCamX, which costs about $4, but the basic functionality is quite good in the free version. All that is required to connect a smartphone in webcam mode is that both the PC and the phone are on the same local network (connected to the same router).

If everything is configured correctly, you will see a window on the monitor with the image captured by the camera.

You can check that instant messengers (for example, Skype) also have access to this signal in their settings responsible for transmitting video and sound.

If you cannot establish a connection, make sure that there is a virtual camera and microphone in the “Device Manager”, and that the smartphone and computer are on the same local network.

How to use your phone as a webcam in IP Webcam

IP Webcam is another application for using your smartphone as a webcam. It has more capabilities in terms of organizing video surveillance, but this program can also be useful as a camera for messengers. As with DroidCam, both devices must be connected to the same local network.

The disadvantage of IP Webcam is that it works in emulation mode, which is associated with certain difficulties. Thus, the program does not allow using a smartphone microphone as a sound source. But it can transmit images in FullHD, while DroidCam can only transmit in HD, and even then, in the free version you need to watch an advertisement.

Almost any owner of a modern smartphone or communicator with a built-in camera sooner or later wondered about using the device’s camera to broadcast images to the Internet. This approach is obvious and completely logical. A WEB camera in its pure form remains a rather exotic device. And not even by price, but by the tasks that the user can come up with for it. Of course, with the exception of the most obvious – video broadcasting when using Internet telephony programs. All other utilitarian tasks in which a separate camera could be used have not yet become widespread and remain the province of enthusiasts. At the same time, buying a separate device for transmitting video during communication if you have a smartphone (communicator) already equipped with a camera (and often two) is at least not entirely logical. In fact, to use a mobile device as a WEB camera, all that was missing was a utility capable of transmitting an image in real time from a mobile phone camera to a client program on a PC. One of the first utilities designed for devices based on Windows Mobile was Cool Camera (WebCamera Plus) from Ateksoft.

The image received from the device’s camera is transferred to a PC (you can use a connection via Bluetooth, cable or Wi-Fi), from where this image can be used by one of the messenger programs. A special feature of the new version is audio support, that is, the communicator’s microphone can be used for conversations, for example, via Skype. The program has a lot of settings that allow you to get a decent quality image. The cost of the program is $19.9.

Until recently, the WebCamera Plus program had no competitors, but Warelex recently released the multifunctional Mobiola WEB Camera application. A special feature of this program is its support for a wide range of mobile devices, including RIM Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Symbian_v2/v3 and UIQ_2/3. The utility for each type of device costs $19.95, which is almost identical to the cost of the program from Ateksoft.

The module installed on a PC is not universal, so the client part for the device is bundled with the corresponding PC utility. Demo restrictions also apply to PCs; the program can be installed freely on the device and does not require activation.

For Windows Mobile, the program's capabilities include changing the video resolution, the ability to save screenshots and record videos. The image broadcast from the camera can be rotated by an angle that is a multiple of 90 degrees.

The client part for Symbian devices allows you to change the video quality and degree of compression, as well as adjust the image intensity. There are rotation buttons on the panel of the PC program. Here you can select the method of connecting the device and PC (cable or Bluetooth). The program allows you to use any smartphone camera to capture video. That is, you can use both the main camera of the device and the front camera. Audio transmission through the smartphone's microphone is not supported, so you won't be able to use your phone for calls via Skype directly.

Practice of use

We launch the client part of the WEB camera on the PC, then activate the application on the smartphone and connect to the PC via one of the available connection types (for example, via a cable). Then launch Skype and select the WEB camera in the video settings. Save the settings. Now, when answering any call, your interlocutor will see the image broadcast from the device’s camera.

Without additional devices, using a mobile phone as a WEB camera is not very convenient. As a rule, none of the devices is equipped with a stand for fixation. Even devices that come with desktop stands (of those that we were able to try were the Nokia N91 and Sony Ericsson p990i) could not be used directly. The Nokia N91 does not have a front camera, the Sony Ericsson P990i has a front camera, but the driver does not allow you to enable it for video transmission. Therefore, the question of the advisability of purchasing one of the described programs remains. You will have to decide for yourself which way is most suitable for you - purchase a separate WEB camera with an existing mount or use a mobile device camera to transmit video and solve problems with making the mount. In any case, the cost of the program will be comparable to the cost of a separate WEB camera, so purchasing the program can only be recommended to those who are willing to spend time making a phone holder from improvised materials.

As for the quality of video, especially in communication programs, any of the programs described allows you to get a fairly clear picture, especially taking into account possible restrictions on traffic transmitted over the network. Using a mobile device camera in video surveillance systems is only theoretically possible, since any stationary WEB camera will cope with the task of image transmission, while having a number of advantages in price and ease of mounting. In my opinion, using a smartphone (communicator) as a device for transmitting video is justified only if you do not use video communications very often and are willing to spend time making a holder for the phone. For devices based on Windows Mobile, the Ateksoft program is more preferable, since it has built-in microphone support. For Symbian/UIQ based devices there is no alternative to the Mobiola WEB Camera program.

The first webcam in the computer annals was launched relatively recently, only in 1991, after which many more years passed before computers and laptops with a built-in “eye” began to be produced, capable of filming and photographing the interlocutor on either side of the monitor. Today, a webcam is a mandatory attribute of portable personal computers, but if your computer or laptop is not equipped with a webcam (in the case of a laptop - a rarity today), and you need, for example, to chat with someone on Skype, then there is an alternative method by connecting a mobile phone or smartphone to your computer. But only if your device is equipped with a camera with a resolution of over 0.3 megapixels. If you have a Bluetooth adapter, connecting your phone camera to your PC is even easier than using a USB cable.

Connection algorithm:

From the very beginning, decide on how to connect your mobile device to your PC: Bluetooth adapter or USB. Let us immediately note that the most reliable way to transfer data is to connect via a USB cable, and the advantage of using USB is its high transfer speed. However, when connected using a Bluetooth adapter, you can keep your phone anywhere, even in the next room.
In order for your phone camera to function as a webcam, you need to properly connect it to your computer, first of all using the mobile phone modem drivers if you decide to use a USB cable. After successful installation, your phone will be synced with your PC. Modem drivers can be installed using a special boot disk; as a rule, it comes with the phone. "Automatic installation" on the disk will allow you to install additional. programs for transferring data between a phone and a computer.
After the driver installation operation, your computer should display a message indicating that it has found a new device that is connected to the PC. Thus, your mobile device is connected to the computer.
If you decide to connect your phone to your PC via a Bluetooth adapter, then you will need to activate the Bluetooth function on both connection devices in the settings of your phone and computer (depending on the model of both).
On your computer, open the Start menu, select Control Panel, then double-click the Bluetooth Devices tab.
In the settings window of your Bluetooth adapter, click the “Add” function and the search for new Bluetooth devices will begin.
From the proposed list of found devices, select your phone with two clicks of the mouse. You will also need to click on the “Do not use access key” option.

The connection is complete. In any video conferencing application, for example, Skype, or VKontakte, check the operation of your installed webcam.