You don’t have to spend money buying a webcam for video conferencing because you can use a smartphone camera.
In the context of the pandemic, the issue of communication on the Internet has become particularly acute. Many schools have switched to distance learning, and workshops have moved from company offices to laptops and smartphones. However, there are times when one voice communication is not enough – you need video communication. But what if the webcam is not? Today I will talk about using the phone as a webcam. The article is relevant for smartphones on Android and iPhone. It features three Windows-compatible programs, the latter also available for Linux.
DroidCam
- Free (up to 480p, advertising).
- Full version: $5.
DroidCam is a convenient utility with only the most necessary functionality to work. In addition to transferring the image, this app allows you to use your smartphone as a microphone. Perhaps the only drawback of the free version of the utility is to limit the quality of streaming to 480p, but video conferencing will be enough and this.
How to connect over Wi-Fi:
- Make sure your PC and smartphone are connected to the same hotspot.
- Open DroidCam on both devices.
- Rewrite the IP address and port on your smartphone screen into the app on your computer.
- Tick next to Audio if you want to send sound from your device’s microphone.
- Click “Start.”
To connect on the phone wire on Android, you need to turn on the DEB debugging mode on USB.
iVCam
- Free (with watermark and advertising).
- Full version: $10 a year.
iVCam is a great free program, and the main feature is low latency and image settings in the free version. To use it, you only need to install a client and server on a PC and smartphone and then connect to a mobile device in any of the available ways – by USB or Wi-Fi (computer and smartphone must be connected to the same network).
Among the app settings are resolution choice, FPS, pixel format, hardware decoding settings, and ISO and exposure. Bonus, the app can record video from the camera to the file and take pictures.
To connect on the phone wire on Android, you need to turn on the DEB debugging mode on USB.
Iriun Webcam
- Free (watermark).
- Full version: $4.
Iriun Webcam is perhaps the most convenient and simple application in this collection of all. Unlike other utilities, only this one has the support of Linux distributions. In addition, the free version has no advertising and restrictions on the quality of the video; then, other utilities can not boast. To use it, it is enough to be connected to one Wi-Fi network or included “USB debugging” in the settings of the Android smartphone developer and connection by wire.
