Database Users

[Review] Video Calling On The Galaxy Tab with PC/Mac: Which Apps Work?

There have been many questions on the forums regarding which video chatting apps work and which done. If you dont wanna read my mobo-jumbo just jump down to the results.
One of the main reasons I decided to abandon my Nexus One and get the Samsung Galaxy Tab was because it offered a 1.3 MP front facing camera so I could video chat. So you can imagine my dismay when I found out that there were no apps that played nice with the Tab; they either didnt use the front facing camera or just completely sucked. Well, it has been a few months since I got the Tab and as expected, some apps have emerged and I'm here to outline a couple of them. There are apps out there such as Tango, Fring & the official T-Mobile Video Chatting app (powered by Qik) that work well with the Tab but they only offer Android-Android video calling which was pointless for me. I know it may be shocking, but not everyone owns an Android phone (let alone one that has a front facing camera)! I was more interested in calling between a Mac/PC & the Tab. Here are my results:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqZr6xTlPCI
Results:
If you didnt have time to watch the entire video, here's the gist of it. OoVoo offers a great video chatting experience but unfortunately the image captured from the Tab always appears on its side. This makes it difficult for the person on the other side to get a clear look at your mug and they basically have to tilt their head sideways for them to view you properly. This could cause for some neck pains after prolonged use! But hey, if they don't care then I don't either! And if that wasn't bad enough, the person on the desktop/laptop needs to be using a Windows machine. Ya, I know. Bummer!
Lastly we have ClearSea. This app is the only one that works "perfectly". It uses the front facing camera properly and it displays the images correctly. Of course, there's always a catch. ClearSea is only a 10 day trial and requesting a demo account every time may seems cumbersome but its a great alternative. One thing to mention is that the desktop client software is compatible on Mac & PC wish is a pure win!
In the end, I still use Oovoo because when I'm not on my Tab (which is rare) and am using my computer, I like to use the video calling software they provide; it feels more polished. I got an email from oovoo today regarding this issue so lets hope we get a patch out there quick!
Apps mentioned but didnt bother showing in the video (They dont use the front facing camera):
-Video Chat
-ReelPortal
-Yahoo Messenger
-Fring
-SipDroid
-Radar

Nice little review, keep us posted

no front facing camera workin on ooVoo
Hi, Ayman
I own a Samsung Galaxy Tab, Brazilian model GT-P1000L, and I simply can`t get ooVoo working on its front facing camera.
In the first time I ran ooVoo the front facing camera option was showed on its menu. But as I choosed this option, software just blinked screen and back to use the rear camera. So, I did tap on camera menu, and suprisingly that soft button show me no more the front facing camera option.
How did You get to use the front facing camera working on Galaxy Tab?
My Kernel version is 2.6.32.9 and ROM is P1000LVJJJ3(original).

my only advice is to uninstall and reinstall the app. im pretty sure the latin tabs have different hardwares compared to the US & Euro ones. that just means u gotta wait for oovoo to support your hardware. i would try emailing oovoo and letting them know about the hardware/software conflict and maybe they can add it on their list of devices to support. until then, theres really nothing else to do. sorry i couldnt be more helpful.

Actually both Tango and Fring work across multiple operating systems. I use both to video chat between my tab and multiple iphone users. Both work great and now so can skype to some degree
Sent from my SCH-I800 using XDA App

i use fring all the time to call my iphone buddies

you guys are both right, those apps do work but I really was just focusing on which apps allow video calling between computers and the tab. but yes, those do work.

Tango issue
I have been using tango and for some reason, if I call an android phone it works fine. When I call my niece on her iPad, my ffc shows her a very close up image. my inset looks normal. Is it the iPad or tango? any ideas?

jamesbryant said:
I have been using tango and for some reason, if I call an android phone it works fine. When I call my niece on her iPad, my ffc shows her a very close up image. my inset looks normal. Is it the iPad or tango? any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thing for me "they said it was a talking NOSE" LOL
Also, the audio from the far end works for about 4-7 seconds, then no audio at all.
They still hear me.
So I have reverted to Skype, which has worked fine all the time.

ICS Camera Issues

After upgrading to ICS, the build in Camera App has problems and also the QRC-Reader App even shows a error.
In Google Googles and Camera FX, the Camera works perfect.
Does anybody experience the same issues.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using xda premium

anatmavada said:
After upgrading to ICS, the build in Camera App has problems and also the QRC-Reader App even shows a error.
In Google Googles and Camera FX, the Camera works perfect.
Does anybody experience the same issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, all working perfectly here. I tested video, still, and panorama with the front and rear cameras, including all options (white balance, face effects, etc.), as well as panorama with the rear camera (it can't be used with the front one), and scanning a dozen different 2D and 3D barcodes with the ZXing app and rear camera as well.
Not a single error or crash on a stock US-market just-wiped TF101. Well, other than that the camera quality sucks, but that's a hardware issue.

every camera app including the stock one work perfectly.

Mine also works perfectly now... fornt and rear...
But one question though: in the stock camera app, what's the button in the lower right corner for? my camera app freezes when I click on it...

Hi,
Also for me not working camera; I try more applications, none of them working.
This is very strange: I have between the applications that are included in ROM also "Superuser". This suppose to came with ICS?
My TF was rooted previously, but when I did upgrade to latest version of HC (8_6_5_21), I did lost the root.
So this application was installed in my TF before the upgrade to ICS; but now I cannot uninstall: seems that is included in ROM.
The error I receive when I try camera is : "Can't connect to the camera".
I believe that something went wrong in my upgrade. I did also factory reset after upgrade to ICS, no change.
Now I hope some update from asus will help me.
Gabi

camera not working
My camera is not working as well, done people have started their cameras up while holding their finger in front of it to activated their auto focus, and have had success. Just place your finger in front of the camera for 5 seconds then remove it. No success for me, but you can tell it's doing something different when you do that

Same problem here "Can't connect to camera". This error comes up for front facing camera but the back camera works perfectly. Thing is this error came up when I installed the prime rom.
PS. The front facing camera was working when I bought the tab.

yioti said:
Same problem here "Can't connect to camera". This error comes up for front facing camera but the back camera works perfectly. Thing is this error came up when I installed the prime rom.
PS. The front facing camera was working when I bought the tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, the front sensor strikes again...
That's almost like my own experience with the front camera: worked like a charm on Honeycomb, since 9.2.1.17 it goes berserk in low-light conditions until the unit is rebooted (but instead of an error message the Camera application showed a garbled image with previous contents of the framebuffer).
IIRC, the first batch of logs I sent to Asus North America was related to this problem

Are you guys stock and unrooted? If not give it a shot just to see.

Camera auto focus issue

Whenever i open my camera app, the displayed image will not auto focus- it remains blurry no matter how long i allow it to readjust. The only way i can get it to focus is by shaking the phone vigorously- then it instantly auto focuses. Anyone else experience this or other problems focusing?

Has this always happened? Did you just get the phone?
Sent from my SM-N910U

i got it about 2 weeks ago, and i'm not sure if its always been this way- i never messed with the camera until after i rooted & flashed a new rom. But i do notice the problem on 2 separate note 4's, so i'm wondering if this is a rom specific issue or something others have noticed as well

Try using a third party camera app and see if it makes a difference.
Sent from my SM-N910U

Same thing is happening with my wife's Note 4 camera. Tried DL'ing 3rd party apps, and that didn't work. Shaking it vigorously for about a minute did work, but who wants to do that every time you need to take a pic, especially since we have a 1 yr old. Anyone have any luck with settings? I don't want to have to go back and return the phone, if i can help it.

Glad I'm not alone with focusing problems...
Here is my topic : Note 4 camera won't lock focus + blurry edges on pictures with far focus
Best regards,
Chris.

Problem with initial autofocus
I have the same issue with autofocus. When I open my camera is out of focus. When I a shake the camera it goes into autofocus. This has happen every time so far. I just purchased my a note from an ATT store on Dec 19th. I read on another forum a user sent his back to be fixed. They said it was a software update issue. My question is will it be released to every one soon?

Same issue here. 1 week old note 4.

been using my phone for a month and this blurry back camera is happening lately !!! it was ok when I bought it !! really annoying

Wipe off your camera before opening the app. I'm serious. The rear camera has to be clean or it will try to focus on whatever is on the screen in "close up" mode. It even tries to focus in on fingerprints! I'm dead serious. This was bothering me for almost a whole month before I figured it out.
A lot of you may have already messed with settings, etc. So, reset your camera settings to default, close your camera app (completely by clearing it in recently used apps) and then clean your lens and launch the camera app.
Felt like an idiot after struggling with this so long. Now I just know I have to wipe the lens off before launching the app every time.

DJHile said:
Wipe off your camera before opening the app. I'm serious. The rear camera has to be clean or it will try to focus on whatever is on the screen in "close up" mode. It even tries to focus in on fingerprints! I'm dead serious. This was bothering me for almost a whole month before I figured it out.
A lot of you may have already messed with settings, etc. So, reset your camera settings to default, close your camera app (completely by clearing it in recently used apps) and then clean your lens and launch the camera app.
Felt like an idiot after struggling with this so long. Now I just know I have to wipe the lens off before launching the app every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This does not fix the issue we are experiencing.

Unfortunately, it's a hardware issue and you need a replacement. You can tap the phone on your hand and it will focus correctly for awhile but it needs to be replaced.

Note 4 af issue
Besides shaking, i noticed it needs sufficient light for it to be calibrated properly. And of course this is only temporary. Not sure if there is a fix for this problem. Bummer

i had issue with kitkat but only for a object in movement. It does not focus object. i compared camera with a Xperia Z1 and it seems to be better than note 4.

I've got the same problem when shooting in macro , the problem is gone when i've updated on lollipop.

ptfdmedic said:
Unfortunately, it's a hardware issue and you need a replacement. You can tap the phone on your hand and it will focus correctly for awhile but it needs to be replaced.
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Click to collapse
You have right. I am waiting for new note 4 from Samsung.

Yes ur right. But this problem started after upgrading to lollipop

Hi, I also have this issue. In the past I never got this issue. I am not sure if this happen after upgrade to Lollipop or not.
But I believe it is not hardware problem as it not happen all the time.
I open camera app and it cannot focus for a while, then I exit from camera, and re-open it again immediately, it can focus.
If I lock and left the phone for a while, let say 5 minutes, and open camera again, the issue come back again.
Is this because software issue like the camera app need to prepare something in background before ready to focus (causing lag before focus) and when we put it to sleep( lock the phone and left for a while) then we open it again and it need to prepare again.
My work around is, if I face camera focus lag, I immediately exit camera app (pressing home or back button ) and re-open camera again and it no lag on focus!
Hope this help you.

Facing lots of problems in my new Huawei P10 plus

Hi,
I bought new Huawei p10 plus flagship with lots of expections but I am frustrating with few issues.
Firstevice is overheating excessively when i connect net or play game.I tried few cooler master type app from appstore but those doesnt work.
Second:I downloaded a lot of call recording app from playstore but none of those works.I hear my sound only.
Third: My front facing camera looks a bit blur to me.Is it for image stabilization?If yes then how to turn it off?
Fourth:When i download any app from playstore each and every app requires permission to access my phone my images and everything and if i click deny none of app run.I feel insecure cause I have to allow every app forcefully
I am tired of these issues and i got no solution from youtube.I would like to mention that I'm running model-VKY-L29 build number VKY-L29C63B151 EMUI version 5.1 Android version 7
Please help me as soon as possible cause I am really tired of each issues.

Try upgrading the firmware, maybe it helps. i have two p10 plus and I have no such issue on any of the devices. if its new it must be under warranty get it replaced.

noman6196 said:
Hi,
I bought new Huawei p10 plus flagship with lots of expections but I am frustrating with few issues.
Firstevice is overheating excessively when i connect net or play game.I tried few cooler master type app from appstore but those doesnt work.
Second:I downloaded a lot of call recording app from playstore but none of those works.I hear my sound only.
Third: My front facing camera looks a bit blur to me.Is it for image stabilization?If yes then how to turn it off?
Fourth:When i download any app from playstore each and every app requires permission to access my phone my images and everything and if i click deny none of app run.I feel insecure cause I have to allow every app forcefully
I am tired of these issues and i got no solution from youtube.I would like to mention that I'm running model-VKY-L29 build number VKY-L29C63B151 EMUI version 5.1 Android version 7
Please help me as soon as possible cause I am really tired of each issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi!
1: It's not overheating, it's normal when you play games that requires a lot hardware acceleration. Also, don't play hard games when charging the phone, then is overheating!
2: It will do the same on EVERY PHONE! Or use a paid call recorder app. You did expect to find a free call recorder app?
3: When starting the front camera, the portrait effect is always ON! Disable it and your pictures will be fine (you have a small icon in the upper side)
4: THIS IS HOW ANDROID IS BUILD! Every app you download it will ask for your permission. It's first time you are using Android??
Conclusion:
- you never had an android phone before (probably you are very young);
- you didn't read the Huawei P10 manual (everything is explained there).
Stop blaming on the phone, is not the phone, it's YOU!

^ exactly what he said

Camera Error

Hey y'all, I got the G6 yesterday and had a camera related question. This is a brand new device, fully updated, and when I go to open the camera, a message pops up saying "Camera Error: Camera Unavailable." Does anyone know how I can fix this?
This seems like an app error because the camera works well on Facebook and Snapchat.

settings -apps-camera -clear cache and date reboot-try!
If not working.....if not working.?.RMA

I already did that and I get the same error. I find this odd.

I was wrong. Both Snapchat and Facebook switch between the single and dual lense back cameras. They do not switch to the front camera.

jbaalson said:
I was wrong. Both Snapchat and Facebook switch between the single and dual lense back cameras. They do not switch to the front camera.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue with my LG G6. Have you fixed yours?

I got a new one, only way to fix it.

Im having the same issue after a screen replacement. The people who replaced the screen even boight a new front camera and replaced it with no luck. Also, the screenshot button for the bottom bar is conpletely missing which i find very odd.

That error seems to be the camera unpluged
I mean the phone is made of connections between hardware and the camera is not connected , its an hardware problem that is fixed by open the phone and plug jt in

Hey y'all, I got the G6 yesterday and had a camera related question. "Camera Error: Camera Unavailable." Does anyone know how I can fix this?

I have the same issue with my phone. I replaced the cameras and it still gets the error; however, it does come on when I use a barcode reader...?

I also have the same issue (lg g6 - android 9)
When i open stock app for camera i get error "Camera unavailable".
But with other camera apps like Gcam or Open Camera, it works fine.
I flashed with new rom, but the error is still there.
Any ideas???
- i flashed with Android 9... not solved
- i flashed with Android 8... not solved
Hardware problem?
in that case why camera works fine with any other application, except stock?
Software problem?
it should have been solved after flashing two original roms (8 & 9).
The only explanation i can think is that there is hardware problem with 1 of the 2 camera. And maybe with the wide one. And maybe that's why it is not working with stock app. Maybe other camera apps don't require both camera's (normal and wide lens) to be working.

nikoska said:
I also have the same issue (lg g6 - android 9)
When i open stock app for camera i get error "Camera unavailable".
But with other camera apps like Gcam or Open Camera, it works fine.
I flashed with new rom, but the error is still there.
Any ideas???
- i flashed with Android 9... not solved
- i flashed with Android 8... not solved
Hardware problem?
in that case why camera works fine with any other application, except stock?
Software problem?
it should have been solved after flashing two original roms (8 & 9).
The only explanation i can think is that there is hardware problem with 1 of the 2 camera. And maybe with the wide one. And maybe that's why it is not working with stock app. Maybe other camera apps don't require both camera's (normal and wide lens) to be working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash Nougat better known as Android 7, and upgrade to 8 or 9