Disabling built-in isight

I'd like to learn how to disable the isight camera when it's not in use. I read a report about a flaw in the codeing where someone can come into my computer and use the isight to view what I'm doing. Call me paranoid, but that's messed up. And even if the report was false, I'm sure its possible. If I have to go into the code to disable it I will, just give me the steps. Thanks.

The report you read is flawed, the only person who has access to the iSight image is the person currently logged in.
Having said that, it's fairly easy to grab an image and email it for example - Google for isightcapture and authsight - without the current user being aware of that. Some of the software to assist with MacBook theft/recovery applies this method (at failed Logins).

Similar Messages

Easy way to enable/disable built-in iSight?

Hello everyone!
I am trying to figure out how to enable/disable built-in iSight camera on my MacBook Pro. I do quite a bit of video conferences lately so I went out and bought a decent camera that produces a nice picture and has zoom in/out controls etc. It all nice and well but now I have a little problem - most web-based conferencing software simply uses the "default" camera, which is in my case the built-in iSight. I want to disable the iSight and make my external camera "default" one instead but I just can't figure out how to do it... Any ideas?
Cheers
Alex

Scripts like this can easily disable and enable built-in iSight:
http://techslaves.org/index.php?page=62
However, such scripts simultaneously disables ALL USB webcams when active.
Instead of disabling USB cams, select your other camera in the Flash Player settings. If you need help with settings, see Adobe Help: http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/help04.html
If necessary, you can quit your browser, launch Photo Booth or some other video app to keep your iSight busy. Minimize this app if you like, launch the browser and go to your video web site, and then check that Flash can use the camera you want.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.7.3

Disable built-in iSight or otherwise enable External Webcam

Hi All,
I'm trying to take pics directly onto a MacBook. Don't need anything fancy, so PhotoBooth would suffice, but I need more control over where the camera is pointing than lifting and trying to aim a laptop. We have a Logitech 9000 but we can't get photobooth to use it. We tried tying up the built-in iSight with another app: this just causes photobooth to open with a blank black screen. We tried an applescript to disable the internal iSight (script "Intel Mac iSight Disabler" from [email protected]): this caused photobooth to launch with an error "No Camera" icon.
Anyone know either a way to disable the built-in isight and have an external webcam work OR an app that does basically what Photobooth does but with the ability to choose the camera?
Thanks,
Jeff

Jeff at K2 wrote:
Hi All,
I'm trying to take pics directly onto a MacBook. Don't need anything fancy, so PhotoBooth would suffice, but I need more control over where the camera is pointing than lifting and trying to aim a laptop. We have a Logitech 9000 but we can't get photobooth to use it. We tried tying up the built-in iSight with another app: this just causes photobooth to open with a blank black screen. We tried an applescript to disable the internal iSight (script "Intel Mac iSight Disabler" from [email protected]): this caused photobooth to launch with an error "No Camera" icon.
Anyone know either a way to disable the built-in isight and have an external webcam work OR an app that does basically what Photobooth does but with the ability to choose the camera?
Thanks,
Jeff
Hello Jeff.
(1) Re-enable your built-in iSight. The script you mention disables ALL USB webcams when any are disabled.
To use a different (must be compatible with your Mac) camera, occupy your built-in iSight in another app that lets you select the camera BEFORE you launch Photo Booth. Then, when you launch Photo Booth, it will automatically connect the webcam that is not already in use. For more details, scroll down and take a look at (3) in this link:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11033260&#11033260
It deals with built-in iSight and the iSight in an LED Display, but the idea is the same.
(2) For more info on alternative webcams, take a look at this use Tip:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2018211
Depending on the exact model of your Logitech, macam drivers apparently may allow it to work with your Mac. More info at the macam site:
http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/cameras/index.php
Depending on how much budget you have and whether you have trouble making your Logitech work, you may find buying a new "UVC" webcam to be a simpler solution for a second webcam.
EZ Jim
Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz w/Mac OS X (10.6.2) MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.2)
LED Cinema Display G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11) iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9) External iSight

How do I disable video (w/built-in isight) on gmail chat?

I have a macbook with a built in isight and am finding it impossible to disable the video on my gmail chat. Please help!

Then could you possibly tell me where you found it .. cause for me deleting the 'google talk plugin' doesn't do the trick .. google voice doesn't work in my country but I see the little green camera icon when i log into google chat and even in my chat settings i see my webcam working perfectly - SO how do I completely disable that ??

How to disable my built-in iSight and use another webcam?

Any tips on how to disable my built-in iSight? I have got a webcam that is mac compatible, but having problems with my yahoo msg because it does not recognise the usb camera...
Can anyone pls help?
Thanks.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23346/isight-disabler-applescript

Disable the built-in ISight Skype?

Hi
I downloaded today the latest version of Skype 5.0.0.7980 (mac)
and in the preference there isn't any option to enable/disable camera...
could you tell me how can I disable the built-in ISight Skype camera please?
thank you

This is really a Skype Question but do have skype go to preferences in skype and under video, uncheck enable skype video.

Maximum FPS recording with built-in iSight on Macbook Pro

Does anyone know if the built-in iSight on the Macbook Pro has a limit on the recording frames per second? I'm trying to make record some clips using iMovie, but it only records at 15 fps. I tried Quicktime Broadcaster with settings at 29.97 fps, but only got slightly better (17 fps). Do I NEED QuickTime Pro in order to record at 30 fps (29.97) or is this a hardware limitation?
Thanks in advance!
J

Welcome to Apple Discussions, itjaslee
Until you hear from some MacBook users, here are two things you can try:(0) Best video quality requires much more light that what I (and most others) consider normal room light. Try using much brighter lighting.
As explained in this Apple kBase article, iSight switches to 15 frames-per-second to improve picture quality in what it considers "low-light conditions."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93235
This Apple kBase article gives you some more particulars about best types of lighting, etc.:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93273
Both were written for the external iSight, but the same tips may help you.
(1) Best video quality requires lots of disk space and processor power. Your MacBook Pro has a very powerful processor, but any processor can be overloaded by the user.
Almost all external drives will be slower than your Mac's internal drive. Record direct to your internal (startup) drive. If your internal drive has less than 10 GB available, free up some space. OS X slows down when your drive gets too full.
If you have more than one applications running when you notice your problem, restart you Mac, launch only the application you are using to record, and check your frame rate again.If you need to post back for other suggestions, you might confirm that:
(a) your 15 fps is the actual recording speed versus the playback speed on your Mac.
(b) you have set the QT Broadcaster settings to 30 fps. To change the QTB frame rate, click the "Video" tab and check the box for "Enable Video Stream." Then set the frame rate and disable the video stream to make your recording.
(c) you have set iMovie HD's default frame rate per this help instruction:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iMovie/HD/en/im172.html
Jim
G4 PB 1.67 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.9) G5 DP 1.8 External iSight

Built-in iSight and Logitech Fusion

I have an iMac-Intel with built-in iSight and a new Logitech Fusion web cam. Both work fine in iChat as it recognizes both and let's me easily choose one or the other in Preferences.
However, when using video chat at sites that use the Flash player, only the built-in iSight is selectable and the Logitech cam (also USB) is not.
Is there a way to deactivate the built-in iSight so that the Logitech cam can be my primary cam?
iMac - Intel Mac OS X (10.4.9)

This problem occurs because Flash is only listing drivers (instead of devices) and the two cameras are both using the Apple UVC driver. Here's a possible workaround, but I can't try this, as I don't have a Fusion here:
1) Download macam 0.9.1 from here:
http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/downloads.html
2) Install the macam driver by dragging macam.component to the "drag component to here" folder.
3) Make sure your Fusion is connecting, and open macam.app. If you don't see the settings drawer, choose "Camera Settings" from the "Control" menu.
4) In the settings drawer, you should see a "Disable" checkbox in the lower right-hand corner. If it's checked, make sure it is unchecked.
5) If you made changes, choose "Save Current setting" from the "Control" menu.
6) Quit macam.app, and any open web browsers or video chat programs.
7) Relaunch your web browser and bring up the Flash video settings. You should now see a new item in the list of cameras, as the Fusion should now be using the macam driver.
I hope this helps!
Thanks,
Glen

Built-in iSight for MacBook Pro OS X 10.4.11 Not working

This was working before, and all of a sudden it won't work! I can see it in the system profiler under USB, but in PhotoBooth it comes up as a green screen and in applications like Skype and iChat I just get a black screen (or once it showed that I did not have any video connected). All of my software is up to date, I have restarted a dozen times, I tried to take the battery out, but nothing works!
Let me know if anyone can help!

Hello MOVA
Thanks for that new info.
If you have not installed any new hardware since your Mac worked correctly, it is possible that your problem may be hardware related. However, here are a few other ideas that you can try before you take your Mac to an Apple Technician for service.
To avoid possible conflicts while you do your testing, disconnect all unnecessary peripherals, restart your Mac, and make sure you do not have any running "Login Items" that might conflict with iSight apps.
(1) It is worth trying another account. Use System Preferences to create a new account and test there. It will not take long and, if a new account corrects your problem, it is a much simpler remedy than some other possibilities.
(2) It sounds like you have followed the suggestions in the Troubleshooting link for the reset. If you are not CERTAIN, repeat the process to be sure.
(3) Some iNtel Mac laptop users have reported success after unplugging their Macs and leaving the battery out for half-an-hour to overnight. You might want to try disconnecting EVERYTHING, including both power and peripherals, for a few hours to see if it help you.
(4) If someone might have removed the QuickTime file shown in MacOS X Hints article to purposely disable your built-in iSight, you will need to restore the file to its correct location in order for your built-in iSight (or any other USB camera) to work.
(5) Apply the 10.4.11 Combo Updater. Use the following method:
• 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 10.4.11 Combo Update (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.
We will watch for your status update (and, hopefully, your notice of success.)
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.1) External iSight

This device cannot start. (Code 10) for built-in iSight webcam on Windows 7 Ultimate

The built-in iSight webcam of my MacBook Pro 15 inch (late 2009, early 2010) suddenly became not working toady on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (Bootcamp) with a yellow ! on the device on Device Manager.
I rebooted the MBP to MacOS X and the device worked just fine using Skype.
I disabled/enabled it under Windows 7 but the built-in iSight webcam simply did not work. I uninstalled and reinstalled the device driver but it still did not work. I downloaded Microsoft Fix-It software but still could not fix it.
I am sure this is just a device driver issue and the last thing I remember is that there was an automatic WIndows update run at the end of yesterday. Perhaps a Windows patch broke the device driver.
Paul

I updated Skype and my iSight video would not work when running Windows 7 64 bit natively in bootcamp. I have a 2009 Mac Pro with a 27" Apple LED Cinema Display and an ATI Radeon HD 5770 video upgrade card. After some hunting around, I found out that bootcamp is up to version 5. Apparently, it does not automatically update. I downloaded the update from the Apple website, unzipped it, and copied all of the unzipped files to a USB thumbdrive (FAT formatted) as instructed on the download site. Then I was able to install the update from the thumb drive. The iSight works perfectly now with Skype running Windows 7 64bit.
Hope this helps.

Very strange built-in iSight behavior

I'm seeing some strangeness with the built-in iSight camera on my early-2008 15 inch Macbook Pro. At some point I noticed that the iSight would simply stop working. A PRAM reset would enable it again but then it would stop working for no apparent reason. Here's where things get interesting. I did a PRAM reset and logged in and the iSight worked. I plugged in a USB hub (with three external drives, a smart pen dock, a Snowball microphone and a Bamboo Fun tablet plugged in) and it worked until I rebooted with the USB plugged in. So I decided to try simply rebooting without the hub plugged in and not plugging it in until after I had logged in and gotten to the desktop. As long as I did that the iSight camera continued to function.
I came into the office today, my first day back after realizing what I thought was going on and booted the machine. Now at work I have an Apple USB keyboard. I deliberately didn't plug it in until after I had logged in however, I logged out for a moment and then logged back in with the USB keyboard still plugged in. The iSight was disabled.
So here's my conclusion and my question. It appears that the system profiler 'loses' the iSight camera on the USB bus if any USB device is plugged in at any point before logging in to the desktop. Has anyone seen anything like this? I had initially thought it was some kind of strange hardware issue, perhaps a loose connector but then realized it can't be that because if it were a PRAM reset wouldn't resolve it. So it must be something with the system profiler.
Question 1: Is the system profiler something on the firmware or is it software. If the latter is there any safe (or reasonably safe) way to get at it?
Question 2: Is anyone aware of some weirdness with the early-2008 vintage Macbook Pros and the built-in USB ports? (I have verified that it does not matter which USB port I use.)
Question 3: If anyone has seen this, were you able to fix it permanently? If so, how?
Thanks in advance

When your iSight next stops working, consider Apple's http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2090 suggestions.
The PMU (SMC) "reset" suggested there often restores normal function.
Instead of PRAM, the recommended fix for your problems
is a PMU/SMC reset: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964.
If your problems continue after trying all of Apple's relevant "Troubleshooting" suggestions, before going to work on your System Profiler (System Information in Lion) or preferences, use your Mac's Disk Utility to repair permissions and then download and apply the latest Combo Update. For your Mac OS, the current Combo is at http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1484.
Repair permissions again immediately following the system restart that completes the Combo update.
Properly applying the Combo version of updates can sometimes correct software problems, and it costs nothing but a few minutes of your time.
However, repetetive symptoms may be an indication of an intermittent hardware problem.
If your trouble is being caused by a hardware problem, there are no user serviceable parts of your Mac's inbuilt camera. Therefore, if your problem continues to be only temporarily corrected, when the problem becomes too annoying, ask your Apple-Authorized Service Provider to check out your symptoms to determine whether your Mac needs service.
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.7.3

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 will not work with Skype

I have a new Macbook Pro that I purchased about a month ago, running OS
X 10.5.8.
I've been using Skype to video chat, and at first everything was working
very well. In the middle of a chat, however, the video stopped working
altogether.
If I go to the video tab in Skype preferences, the camera will then turn
on and I can see myself, but once I go back to the call, the camera
won't turn on (the green light on my camera stays off too). In video
preferences I have the following options checked: Enable Skype Video,
Automatically receive video from: People in my Contact list, and Show
that I have video to: People in my contact list. I have also tried to
enable the "Start my video automatically" option but to no avail. The
video camera it is set to use is the Built-in iSight.
I have tried reinstalling skype, including deleting all the preference
files on the computer, but that did not help.
The video works fine in other applications such as Photobooth, iMovie and Google Chat. I have browsed through the many Skype forum posts about similar issues, as well as Apple forums and have tried every fix that people have suggested including resetting my SMC, updating all my applications, trying Skype under different user accounts, reinstalling Quicktime, reinstalling Skype (as outlined in the Uninstall guide for mac), repairing permissions, etc.
I am pretty sure that this problem began directly after I switched to
SCREEN SHARING during a video chat. When I switched back to Video, it
did not work.
No other applications that use my camera are running.
I am assuming that since it originally worked with Skype, and since I had not touched ANY of the options in Skype and have done nothing other than try screen sharing, and since I did a complete Skype reinstall includeing preferences, that the problem should NOT be with the Skype program itself, but rather something that was modified in the operating system configuration during screen sharing.
The only other thing I can think of trying is to reinstall iSight, although I haven't been able to figure out how to do that, or to reinstall my entire operating system, which I don't see as an acceptable solution.
I am using Skype Version 2.8.0.659
Any help getting this fixed would be greatly appreciated.
I have posted a similar topic in the Skype forums along with a screen shot of my Skype preferences window: http://forum.skype.com/index.php?showtopic=422861
From my online reading in both the Apple and Skype forums, it seems as though this is a relatively common problem. If I can find a solution from either Skype or Apple, I will post the solution in both of the forums.
Update: I just upgraded my OS to 10.6.1 and my camera started working again. Then, I was in a chat and I lost my internet connection. As soon as I got back online I restarted the conversation and the camera doesn't work again. This is getting to be ridiculous.
Thank you for your time,
rystheguy

Hi,
It is years since I tried Skype. (Probably in Tiger)
I use Little Snitch, a utility that can report the ports and IPS any App is trying to contact.
For Video chats it seems the Skype process spreads the load across many "Servers" wanting to connect to about 3 doz (I got fed up with clicking the accept Button)
For this reason I do not think it is very secure.
I only today read a post that said Skype had Screen Sharing.
iChat 5 makes it clear (well if you run /Applications/iChat.app/Contents/MacOS/iChat -errorLogLevel 7 In Terminal) that there is a "camera" setting for the Desktop which may be a forthcoming thing or is about produce the Screen Sharing pic. (i.e iChat lists two "cameras" in the log produced by the above Terminal command).
iChat 4 and 5 use the Apple Remote Desktop engine to do Screen Share as does the Screen Sharing App invoked from the Finders Go Menu > Go to Server and using VNC:// as the Link type.
I would have no idea what protocol Skype are using.
They created their own Video protocols and similar with SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) for Connecting to POTS (Plain Old Telephone Systems) Phones in disregard for Internationally agreed Standards.
I doubt that it makes use of the ARD engine. It will probably be a reinvention of the wheel again.
I took a look around the Skype web site but could not find any mention of how they are doing Screen Sharing.
I would guess it is similar to the iUSBCam method of Desktop as Video Feed.
Do the Console or System Log in Console (Applications/Utilities) have any messages about this ?
9:59 PM Monday; September 21, 2009

HT3964 my built-in isight camera will still not work on my macbook pro after completing smc reset. The green light comes on but no video.

my built-in isight camera will still not work on my macbook pro after completing smc reset. The green light comes on but no video.
Any Suggestions?

Restart the computer.

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.

Disabling built-in isight

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