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This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title : Get webcam resolution and info on Ubuntu and fix HD
Author : Remy van Elst
Date : 23-08-2020
URL : https://raymii.org/s/tutorials/Get_webcam_resolution_and_info_on_Ubuntu_and_fix_HD.html
Format : Markdown/HTML
---

With all the video calling nowdays due to working from home I decided to get a
webcam. Since I mostly work at a workstation, I have no microphone or camera
built in. A friend gave me a spare webcam, a generic non-brand. It says "HD Camera"
on the box, but by default it records in 640x480. Using a few tools on Ubuntu
you can figure out what resolutions are supported for your device.

It turned out to be Cheese, the webcam capture program I used, not supporting
the `mjpeg` format, just the `yuyv` RAW format. Using another webcam program
named [Webcamoid][2] solved it, that program was able to use `mjpeg`.

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Here's a picture of Cheese showing the possible resolutions, none of which are
even near HD:

![cheese resolution][1]

### lsusb

Via the device itself, without installing external software, you should be able
to find out what resolutions are supported. First get the correct Bus and device ID:

lsusb

Output:

[...]
Bus 003 Device 006: ID 1b3f:2247 Generalplus Technology Inc

Along with a bunch of `Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub`, but this is the device
I want to query. Bus 003, device 006. Query that device and grep for `Width|Height`:

lsusb -s 003:006 -v | grep -E "Width|Height"

Output:

wWidth 1920
wHeight 1080
wWidth 1280
[...]

This should give you a general idea. For more detailed information, you can use
tools from `video4linux`.

### video4linux

`v4l`, or, video4linux is a long time project regarding all things video, on linux,
as the name might suggest. I remember using it with Mandrake back in the day to
get a camera working, and it's still going strong as a project. Install the
required packages to get started:

apt install v4l-utils

Query the camera directly, in my case it's `/dev/video0`:

v4l2-ctl --list-formats-ext -d /dev/video0

Output:

ioctl: VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
Index : 0
Type : Video Capture
Pixel Format: 'MJPG' (compressed)
Name : Motion-JPEG
Size: Discrete 1920x1080
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 1280x720
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 800x480
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 640x480
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 640x360
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 320x240
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 176x144
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 800x600
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 1920x1080
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)

Index : 1
Type : Video Capture
Pixel Format: 'YUYV'
Name : YUYV 4:2:2
Size: Discrete 640x480
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 640x360
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 320x240
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 176x144
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 640x480
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)

Or, using `ffmpeg` for more compact output:

ffmpeg -f video4linux2 -list_formats all -i /dev/video0

Output:

Compressed: mjpeg : Motion-JPEG : 1920x1080 1280x720 800x480 640x480 640x360 320x240 176x144 800x600 1920x1080
Raw : yuyv422 : YUYV 4:2:2 : 640x480 640x360 320x240 176x144 640x480

### Solving the resolution issue with Cheese

I didn't find any options to use a different format or resolution with Cheese.
I tried `camorama` but that also has no configurable resolution. Then I tried
`guvcview` but that crashed my KDE desktop and at last I tried [Webcamoid][2].

That did have options for resolution and encoding, as you can see in the below
image:

![webcamoid][3]

[1]: /s/inc/img/cheese_resolution.png
[2]: https://webcamoid.github.io/
[3]: /s/inc/img/webcamoid.png

---

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