Built in isight camera and skype: crashing systmatically (iMac G5)

Hi,
I have problesm using skype video with the built-in camera on my iMac G5. Everytime i start the video or open the video preferences to select the video source, skype crashes.
Has anyone epxerienced the same. If you have some tips, i'm in!
thanks to all mac users
Message was edited by: ObiYann

Hi,
AS the camera works in another Mac User Account and even another Application on the same Mac user it is more likely a corrupt .plist
It will somewhat depend on this Mac User's use of the Internet at the start up of iChat.
At iChat start up iChat "reads" what Internet speed it can get.
This depends on the current activity of the computer and anyone else sharing the same Internet connection (Don't forget WiFi Phones).
It writes this speed to the com.apple.ichat.plist and uses that speed until ichat is Quit.
Restarting iChat is supposed to change it.
Having said that it dos not always happen.
Restarting the computer may solve it.
Try a PRAM reset.
Shut down the computer.
Restart it holding down Apple/CMD (or ⌘)+ALT PR Keys until you have heard three Start Up Bongs.
Lastly if the other have not worked delete the Users com.apple.ichat.plist.
This will be found in that Users Home Folder/Library/Preferences (Place in Trash and restart iChat if Open - this will rewrite the .plist form defaults and a new system check).
I suggest this last as it is somewhat destructive.
It resets anything set in the iChat Preferences
Font Choice
Font Colour
IM Background/Balloon colour.
Any Alerts sounds that have been changed
Any Alert > Apple Scripts that have been set.
Saved Transcripts options.
Menu bar icon in the General Section.
It also loses any Saved Status Messages as well.
Hope this helps.
11:08 PM Sunday; August 1, 2010
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

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How can I use the built-in Isight camera with an external camera (usb/firewire) at the same time?

How can I use the built-in Isight camera and an external video camera at the same time?
I'm wanting to stream over Oovoo/Skype/etc. using 2 cameras.
Thanks

Simple question with a not so simple answer.
(a) If you mean that you want to run multiple apps simultaneously using a different camera with each app, you may encounter computing power limitations. Digital video is processor intensive. The only way to know if your Mac can do this it to try it. If the video does not work together but each app works when it it the only app running, you are likely overloading your Mac's ability to process and/or move all the required data in your data bus. You can get a better indication of whether this is the case by watching your Activity Monitor utility while running the apps you want to use.
(b) If you mean that you want to have more than one compatible camera connected to your Mac simultaneously for ease of changing between video sources, some, but not necessarily all, apps you are using to operate your camera(s) allow you to select between your cameras.
How you select among connected cameras depends on which application you are using. Here is how camera selection works in a few examples:
(1) For iChat, you can choose which iSight you use in the "Camera:" choices bar in iChat > Preferences... > Audio/Video that appears when more than one compatible camera is connected. Although your camera choices will be different, the choices bar will look something similar to the Preferences settings shown here:
If you cannot see the "Camera" choices bar, your Mac is recognizing only one (or none) of your cameras. In that case, consider the suggestions fromhttp://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090 for iSight problems or refer to your other camera's documentation for help.
This particular choices bar solution applies ONLY to iChat. Most other applications also have settings that allow you to choose which camera to use. However, they do not all work the same way.
(2) For instance, iMovie HD's camera choice is NOT set via Preferences. When you have more than one compatible camera connected, iMovie6 HD uses a drop-down menu choice something like this (depending on which version of iMovie you use):
Note: Because I had no built-in iSight connected when I made this example, and because my external iSight was not connected, the drop-down menu showed only "Time Lapse." Because your Mac has a built-in iSight, your built-in iSight would show in the drop-down menu even when no other camera is connected. Connecting an additional Mac compatible webcam should allow you to choose either camera.
Other iMovie versions work slightly differently.
iMovie 9 (from iLife '11) uses a different camera choice button shown in this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/9.0/en/mov39f84285.html
iMovie 8 (from iLife '09) is slightly different as explained in this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/8.0/en/10172.html
In general, you can use your Mac's help for the application in use to find out how to select among more than one connected camera.
(3) Photo Booth in Snow Leopard 10.6.x and later uses the Photo Booth > Camera menu command to select which camera to use.
Note for readers with older Mac OS X: The previous version of Photo Booth that came with Tiger (10.4.x) is such a simple, basic app that it offers no menu selectable choice. Unless your built-in iSight is already occupied as the camera being used by some open application before you launch Photo Booth, Photo Booth will use ONLY your built-in iSight.
However, you can use the trick from ¶ 4 of http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302781 to let Photo Booth use an external camera.
(If you have an external Firewire camera connected, it may be used in preference to any USB webcam. If that is a problem for you, merely disconnect the problem Firewire device.)
(4) For FaceTime, launch the app and click the Video menu item.
If your Mac recognizes more than one connected compatible camera, a "Camera" section listing the cameras from which you can choose will appear there. Clicking on the desired camera name will let you select the one you want as shown in this image from my Mac Pro and LED Cinema Display:
If your Mac recognizes only one compatible camera, the "Camera" section will not appear in the Video menu, but FaceTime will automatically use the connected camera that is recognized by OS X.
(5) I do not use Skype oir Oovoo. For those or other apps, see Help for each app for info on how to select your desired camera.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim

IMovie 6.0.3 does not recognize built in iSight Camera on new iMac

New iMac, Intel, OS 10.5.4, QT 7.5.
Built in Camera works with Photo Booth, the new iMovie 7.1.3 and iChat.
iMovie HD 6.0.3 or 6.0.4 does not recognize the camera. Opening a new project results in a No Camera Connected error. I have tried selecting various options in the video format drop down when creating a new project. I have repaired permissions, tried it under various users, removed the imovie plist, reinstalled imovie (both 6.0.3 and 6.0.4) without success. All 10 of the new computers are exhibiting this problem.
Any help would be appreciated.

That is not an option that I can select on the imac's. On my iBook under 10.5.4 with iMovie HD 6.0.3 or 6.0.4 I can click on the triangle next to the camera icon and select the built in iSight camera. On the new iMacs that does not work. The built in iSight is not listed as an option.

Built in iSight camera no longer showing up or recognized by iMac

Hello there - I have a white 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with a built in iSight camera, and the camera is no longer showing up, or is not recognized by the computer any longer. Very strange! The little green LED by the camera is not lit any longer, and the camera is not recognized any longer by Photo Booth, iChat AV, or any of the other apps that would use the camera. This is a real pain, because I am leaving for France in a couple days and am taking my MacBook Pro with me, and am hoping that I can use iChat AV to talk to my kids at home on the iMac. I do have an extra iSight camera that I have hooked up to the iMac and can use in a pinch, but I really want to use the built in camera on the iMac. Any hints / ideas / suggestions on what to do for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

No, unfortunately that did not help. I did the following...
1. See if the issue is application-specific. - Nope. Camera is not recognized in any of the apps that it should be recognized in, I tested iChat AV, PhotoBooth, ImageCapture, and iMovie.
2. See if the issue is user-specific. - There's only one user account on this Mac, so I couldn't do that.
3. Find out if the computer recognizes the iSight. I went into System Profiler and checked the USB profiler, and the camera does not show up.
4. Reset SMC or PMU. These just looked like different ways of restarting, which I did multiple times.
I have also run my Software Updates (on OS 10.5, which I did with a clean install from an OS 10.5 DVD by the way) and still no camera. This problem started happening with the original OS 10.4 (which it came with) and I was hoping a clean install of the OS would help, but no.
I'm wondering if resetting the PRAM might help, but I can't remember those keys you hold down while restarting (was it Apple-Option-P-R ?) or if that is just reaching waaaaay back to the pre OSX days.
Here's the kicker though - if I plug in a FireWire iSight camera, all is well. I'm really hoping that the camera isn't jsut dead, but it's starting to look that way. Would Disk First Aid or maybe DiskWarrior help?

Built in isight camera no longer showing up or recognized

Hello there - I have a white 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with a built in iSight camera, and the camera is no longer showing up, or is not recognized by the computer any longer. Very strange! The little green LED by the camera is not lit any longer, and the camera is not recognized any longer by Photo Booth, iChat AV, or any of the other apps that would use the camera. This is a real pain, because I am leaving for France in a couple days and am taking my MacBook Pro with me, and am hoping that I can use iChat AV to talk to my kids at home on the iMac. I do have an extra iSight camera that I have hooked up to the iMac and can use in a pinch, but I really want to use the built in camera on the iMac. Any hints / ideas / suggestions on what to do for this problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Sorry to tell you, you're in the wrong forum, this is for G5 PPC iMacs. You need to be [here|http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1110].

MacBook Pro using WinXp and Built in iSight camera?

Can't seem to find a thread on this question? Is it possible to use the built in iSight camera on a MacBook Pro while running Win Xp Home SP 2?
Thanks
Dennis Moore

Hi Dennis Moore2,
Does not look like it's working yet. Looks like a driver problem:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2502129&#2502129
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2160883&#2160883
Good Luck,
John

Built in isight camera not working with flash

My built in isight camera on my macbook works just fine in photobooth and in skype or ichat.. but just in the past week or so, it will not work when im on websites that use flash. I've seen some threads that say that I need to go into settings and make sure that the camera chosen is the USB. When i go into flash settings, the only options are Google1, Google2, or Built in isight. It doesn't work with any of them. Does anyone have any idea how I can make it work again?

zeppelinfan1234 wrote:
I don't have google add ons. I followed the path but i have no Google folder in Application Support. Any other suggestions?
Your problem is not the same as that posted by the OP, and your system info shows you using Mac OS X (10.5.6).
For your symptoms with this system, I suggest you do the following:
(1) Apply the 10.5.8 Combo Update using the following process:
• Backup your Mac and turn off Time Machine
• Disconnect peripherals and restart Mac
• Use Disk Utility to repair permissions
• Download and install
http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_8_ComboUpdate
• Repair permissions again immediately following the restart that finishes the update.
• Test whether Flash works for you now.
(• Turn Time Machine on later when you are satisfied that the update worked.)
(2) After applying the 10.5.8 Combo, if you are still having problems, download and install the latest Flash player compatible with your system:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/
Also check any other third-party browser plugins or other add ons. Apply all available updates and uninstall any third-party items that are known to be incompatible with your system.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.5); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.5)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod touch 4.1

MacBook Pro (Late 2007, 2.4/2.2GHz) - Built-in isight camera issue

I have a MBP (as mentioned, Late 2007) running Lion 10.7.2 (updated yesterday). And I have a problem with the built-in iSight camera
Same with photo booth and skype.
So far I have tried
1) shutdown, unplug power, remove battery, press power for 5 seconds, plug battery back, plug power, boot. No help. No LED's light up to make my day.
2) Press P R - Alt Cmd during boot (2/3 cycles like that)
Could anyone throw some light into this?
Much thanks in advance.

Try reinstalling Lion:
Reinstalling Lion
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alterhatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

Isight photobooth and skype

Hi,
ever since I got the new version of skype, photobooth won't recognize the built in isight camera. It simply shows a 'no camera' icon in the middle of the screen (photobooth app). However I have found that whenever I quit skype and then restard photobooth or simply start photobooth without having skype running there aren't any problems.
Hope this hasn't previously been discussed however i didn't find anything through the search (both here and via google..)
Thanks in advance
Regards

MUCaviator wrote:
Hi EZ Jim and thank you for the reply!
You are most welcome, MUCaviator!
And thanks for the Helpful points!
I do realize that only one application may use isight at a time. However while skype may be open it isn't using it (no videochat or anything on and the light next to the isight camera isn't on). With the old version of skype this didn't cause any problems. Is it possible that skype simply reserves the camera for it's own use, therefore not letting other applications use it even though skype isn't using it itself?
(1) Because everything worked until you changed Skype, I agree that the problem is with Skype.
Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to your Skype question.
(2) Unless you get the answer you need here, I suggest you try Skype help.
As you know, Skype is a third-party (non-Apple) products. The best answers for your Skype-specific question should come from Skype:
https://support.skype.com/
Skype provides comprehensive Help including FAQs, step-by-step instructions, and a searchable knowledge-base. Additionally, Skype hosts dedicated "Forums" about their products. If the users who post there have not already answered your question, they will likely be able to quickly help you.
If all else fails, you can follow the "Get more help" link to directly contact the Skype developer's technical support. They should best be able to tell you how to use their product with your system.
(3) If your time is valuable, you should immediately seek help from the Skype users who may have shared your trouble and already found a solution. However, if you want to try other ideas before exploring Skype Support, you can reinstall software.
(a) If you have not already applied the 10.5.8 Combo Update
using the following method, you can do so now:
• Backup your Mac and turn off Time Machine
• Disconnect peripherals and restart Mac
• Use Disk Utility to repair permissions
• Download and install
http://support.apple.com/downloads/MacOS_X_10_5_8_ComboUpdate
• Repair permissions again immediately following the restart that finishes the update.
• Test Skype. Reconnect needed peripherals and test again.
(• Turn Time Machine on again when you are satisfied that the update worked.)
(b) If you haven't downloaded the new Skype again and reinstalled it, you can do so now.
I suggest that you restart Mac and repair permissions before the download.
Because I do not share your problem, I cannot test whether either of these reinstalls can solve anything. However, although they may do nothing to help you, neither can do any harm, and neither costs anything but a bit of time.
EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.6); MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.6)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11); iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.2.1

Built-in isight camera suddenly stops to work

Almost one year later after buy a Macbook Pro (Mac OS X 10.5.6), the built-in isight camera suddenly stops to work. It was doing well until now. It's a program and user independent bug. During a video conversation, it just stops. It happens when I use mercury or skype (the only video chat programs I use). And just after, when I try to restart the chat, the program doesn't recognize the camera.
Only when I boot the computer (shut down -> cable unplugged -> battery out -> 5s pressing boot button -> battery in -> cable on -> turn on) the problem is fixed for a while... but then the problem happens agains... the problem occurs after the 4th or 5th time Im using the program...
Any suggestions??? Thank you in advance.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090 How to Troubleshoot iSight
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2411 "Your camera is in use by another application" message
my isight camera is not working-not recognised with photo booth or ichat
Are you aware that you marked your post as Solved? That is what the green star means at the top of this thread.
Message was edited by: CMCSK

IMovie '08: Built-in iSight camera not recognized in Yosemite

On this page
http://support.apple.com/en-us/TS2472
iMovie '08: Built-in iSight camera not recognized
it says:
In Finder, navigate to /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/
Select the file com.apple.mio.VDCAssistant.plist and delete.
Restart your system.
You should now be able to use your iSight camera with iMovie.
However, in Yosemite, it only has this file name
com.apple.cmio.VDCAssistant.plist
and I don't want to delete it as instructed without someone who knows telling me it won't hurt my newly installed and thus far working well OS 10.10.1, with iMovie 7.1.4 on my iMac 24 inch, Early 2008, 2.8 GHz Intel Dore 2 Duo, 2 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. It worked with Leopard, and I don't recall having to use the above mentioned support page.

Contact Apple. I believe you have a hardware issue there if it's not showing up in your System profiler.
Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Macsimum News Associate Editor  Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support'

Built-in iSight cam randomly stopped working. All I get is a green screen!

I used it just yesterday with both Photobooth and iChat with no problems what so ever. Now all it shows is a green screen! Anybody know what the problem may be and how to fix it??? Thanks!
-Jonathon

Welcome to Discussions, -Jonathon
Here are the solutions that help most users who encounter green-screen problems. None are complicated, but the only way to find which one will work for you is to try them one-by-one until you find the one that fixes your Mac.
(1) Check your System Preferences as explained in this kbase article about Built-in iSight camera produces blue or green pictures.
(2) If your System Preferences are set correctly, try every suggestion re: Built-in iSight in the "How to Troubleshoot iSight" article.
Be sure to include the checks for whether the problem is "application-specific" and "user-specific".
If you need help creating a new user account to check whether your problem is "user-specific" during Troubleshooting, see this Help article.
(3) If resetting or the other suggestions do correct your problem, try the following:
• Backup your Home Folder, or at very least, your important files.
• Repair permissions. (Click here if you need help.)
• Then download and apply the Mac OS X 10.4.10 Combo Update v1.1 (iNtel).
• Finish with another Permissions Repair, and then check your iSight again.
Users have reported fixes to a variety of audio, video, connectivity, and software conflicts and unreliability issues after properly applying Combo Updates.
(4) A few iNtel Mac laptop users have also reported success after unplugging their Macs and leaving the battery out for half-an-hour to overnight.
(5) If none of these suggestions help, contact Apple or your Apple-Authorized Service Provider for a professional check.
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.10) G5 DP 1.8 External iSight

How to I get the built-in iSight camera to work?

My built-in iSight camera is working but the "capture" button is greyed out and I can't record.

Hi there,
You may want to take a look at some for the troubleshooting steps found in the article below, specifically the section titled "Built-in iSight cameras"
How to Troubleshoot iSight
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2090
Hope that helps,
Griff W.

Can I use my MacBook's built-in iSight camera to record footage in FCE?

I want to know if I can use footage I shot with the built in iSight camera. My regular video camera is not working, and I have some footage taken from my iSight camera. Is there anyway I can use my built in iSight camera in Final Cut Express 4?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2264
you can also capture from your iSight using Quicktime Player and then export the movie for use in FCE

Built in iSight camera quality

I have found that when I turn the built in iSight camera on my MacBook Pro for video through Yahoo, AIM or even Photo Booth, the auto setting results in an image which is too dark. When I put my thumb over the camera and let go, the image looks good until the auto white balance "corrects" the image and I'm back to a dark image.
Do I have a faulty camera, is it a faulty system, is there any adjustment I can make?
TIA

I find the internal iSight cameras, in both the MBPs and iMacs, have difficulty in many situations where lighting isn't perfect. So try increasing the available lighting, especially to your facial region. Additionally, try getting closer to your camera if you can. Sounds odd but I think part of the lighting calcluation is lighting from your display.

Built in isight camera and skype: crashing systmatically (iMac G5)

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