Almost everybody carries a phone with them these days and learning how to use a phone as a webcam can save you from having to buy expensive and underperforming webcam units. Show
We’ll cover a bunch of different types of phones and setups to give you the most practical and functional guide possible. We’ll guide you through the whole process, show you what you should avoid doing and give you tips and tricks that we’ve learned over time and through countless mistakes. Our goals are to save you as much time and to take the guesswork out of it. You’ll have quick access to a webcam on the go, and don’t need a degree in quantum computing to get it done. It’s foolproof and easy to follow. Let’s jump into the guide.
Table of Contents
How to Use a Phone as a Webcam – Where to StartGetting started is often the hardest part – especially if you’ve never done this before. There are a couple of things you’ll need to take note of before getting started. Here they are:
These cover just the basics and we’ll point out anything else you’ll need out along the way. With all your gear handy, let’s get started! Related Article: How to Use iPad Camera – Everything You Should Know! How to Use an iPhone as a WebcamThere are two options here: one is free; one will cost you around $8 depending on the cost of the app. This is still quite a bargain considering you’d have to pay many times over for a webcam or DSLR. On your iPhone, head over to the play store and search for “EpocCam”. There will be two apps with that name listed in the results. The app with the red icon is the paid version, and the app with the green icon is the free version. The main difference between the two apps is that the paid version lets you record in 1080p and the free version caps the resolution at 720p. This can be quite a big difference and 1080p offers better quality and looks sharper. Ultimately, it’s up to you, but if you’re going to be using the webcam for work then you might want to go for the 1080p option. Once you’ve decided which version of the app you’re getting, download and install it. You might need to allow a couple of permission requests from the app for it to run properly. Don’t open the app yet. Before you do, head over to www.kinoni.com and follow the instructions below:
Once it’s installed and opened, you can move onto connecting to your computer. We suggest using a USB cable for the best results and highest quality transmission. You can use a Wi-Fi connection if you have to, but it shouldn’t be too hard to get your hands on the right USB cable. Once you’ve connected to your computer, follow these instructions:
Using this app, you can record from either the front or back camera. You should use the back (main) camera for the best results, as the front camera has a far lower native resolution. You can also adjust the flash on/off and horizontally flip the image. To complete the setup, open the software for the app that we downloaded earlier. Your phone should be connected and you should be ready to start using the EpocCam source as your webcam. You can add this camera source to Skype, Zoom, etc. for quality that’s far superior to your computer’s native webcam. Now you can use a phone as a webcam Zoom and other major video conferencing apps will allow. Play around with the process a little and find what works best for you. Read Also: How to Use a DSLR as a Webcam How to Use an Android Phone as a Webcam on Mac and WindowsLet’s start with connecting your android phone to a windows PC. Luckily this is quite an easy process. Using an Android Phone with a Windows PCHere are the steps you should follow:
Using Android phones with Windows will give you very little trouble when compared to the trickier process of connecting an Android phone to a Mac as a webcam.
Using an Android Phone with a MacWhen connecting your phone to a Mac as a webcam, you’ll need to head over to www.senstic.com. You’re going to need a decent Wi-Fi network at your home for this method to work and connecting via USB poses its problems. Here are the steps to follow:
P.S. You need to have the right version of Mac OS installed or the software won’t support it. You can check these requirements when you’re on their home page. There’s also a slight delay of less than a second for your video to display on your Mac screen. How to Use a Phone as a Webcam with Streamlabs OBSYou might think that Streamlabs OBS is only for streaming live to Facebook, Twitch, etc. It’s recently come out with a mobile version that lets you use your phone’s camera to record footage. You can capture the display of your phone along with what your front camera or rear camera is looking at. You have the choice to just use the camera if that’s what you’re going for. In this section, we’re not going to look at the mobile version of Streamlabs OBS, but rather the PC version. We want you to be able to add your phone as a video source to Streamlabs OBS and use it as a webcam. Here’s what you need to do:
Now that you’ve got the app up and running on your phone, it’s time to set it up as a video source in Streamlabs. Here are the steps to follow:
That should bring you to a new window. The video that shows up is likely to be your computer’s inbuilt webcam. If it is, don’t worry, we’ll change this all now. Here’s what you need to do next:
You’ve now added your phone as a webcam into Streamlabs OBS. Play around with the settings in the VCam app on your phone if you want to mess with the color, brightness, flash, etc. Some Common Problems You Might Run IntoAs with all technical tasks, you’re likely to come across some minor issues here and there. In this section, we’re going to cover some of the things you can do to troubleshoot or work your way through the issues. What to Do if My PC Doesn’t Detect My PhoneThis is a common issue if you’re connecting via USB. Here are some checks you can go through and see if any of them work for you:
You’ll hopefully find a fix among these tips and get the webcam connected and working. Tips for Getting Better Quality Webcam VideoThere’s nothing worse than a grainy video and cracking sound during a video call. Here are some tips to improve the overall quality of your webcam video and audio:
Final ThoughtsWe’ve covered a bunch of different setups and device combinations in this guide. Remember that you can change software for something you’re familiar with – just make sure it’s compatible with the devices you’ve got. You should now have a very clear plan for how to use a phone as a webcam. With a little practice, you’ll be getting clear images and smooth audio – enjoy! How do I use my webcam on Twitch?Since you probably want to include your webcam in your gameplay scene first, click on the "Edit" button next to the "Gameplay" label. Now the corresponding sources that belong to the scene will open. This includes the webcam. Click on "Webcam" under "Layers".
Can I stream from Twitch and use my phone as the webcam?Broadcasting will work on tablet or phone on all devices that support the Twitch app, from low-end to high-end. Can I broadcast from the camera and screen at the same time? At this time, you cannot broadcast both from the camera and capture your screen at the same time.
How do I get Twitch to recognize my webcam?Unable to detect my microphone or webcam
During the first time setup, you will be asked to grant permissions for your Microphone and Webcam. Ensure that you click through each device and grant permission. You will see a check mark and the button will say granted once Twitch Studio has permission to use the device.
How do I use DroidCam with Streamlabs?To do so, open up Streamlabs OBS and click + to add a new Source. In the popup that opens select Video Capture Device and click Add Source. In the next screen just click Add New Source. Now you get to play with the settings for the device.
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