When I first select Apply Video Effects button on toolbar it displays a dialog "Messenger Plus! Camera needs to be installed for video effects? Do you want to enable it?" and I select Yes. But it is not installed. I cannot see that camera on Control Panel or Device Manager and cannot select it in the MP! for Skype Preferences window. I repaired and reinstalled several times but to no avail. I tried adding the camera from "Add an imaging device" window from Cameras and Scanners window of Control Panel and selected the MsgPlusDriver.inf file in the MsgPlusDriver folder under MP! for Skype installation folder but Windows displays "The specified location does not contain information about your hardware"


Windows XP Pro SP3
Skype 5.8.0.158
MP! for Skype 1.02.0.96

Some questions:

1. Did installation start when you chose yes?
a. If yes, did you receive a success prompt when it was done and did the video effects pane appear?
b. If you go to video in Skype (Tools > Options >Video Settings) is the Plus! Virtual camera in the dropdown?

2. If installation did not start:
a. Did you get an error message?
b. Do you have admin priviledges on the account you installed on?

3. Do you have a physical webcam attached?
4. Were you on an account with admin rights when you installed the Virtual Camera from the toobar button? It needs those rights in order to be installed.

Same experience as ahmetgns.
XP Pro SP3
Latest Skype and Plus!Skype.
No webcam attached.

1. yes
A. Can't remember if I got the success or failed prompt.
Video-effects pane does appear and is useable, but only after getting the prompt that no webcam has been selected. The preview of the video-effects panel (right side of that panel) is not visible.
B. No. Dropdown is empty

CookieRevised, the "no webcam has been selected" and the preview not being there sound normal to me when you do not have a physical webcam attached. How are you going to send video-effects if you do not have a real cam atached that gets the videostream to apply them on.

In order to find out if the installation problem may have to do with whether or not one actually has a webcam attached I will have to ask the following question to those experiencing this issue too:

3. Do you have a physical webcam attached?

(added to my first post of questions as well)

Don't dismiss it too quickly because I don't have a physical cam.

The first time I selected video-effects panel the 'virtual camera' dialog did appear. It also does not explain why, after installing the virtual camera there is nothing in the dropdown box. So, having a webcam or not is independant of this and/or does not entirly explain things.

Even not having a preview is not nessecairly because there is no physical camera attached. It might as well use that 'virtual camera' for preview.
There is nothing in Plus!Skype which explains what this 'virtual camera' actually is, what it is used for and why one should install it. There are also plenty of other programs which define a so called 'virtual camera' which you can perfectly use instead of a physical camera when you want to send video.

1. Did installation start when you chose yes?
Yes
a. If yes, did you receive a success prompt when it was done and did the video effects pane appear?
Yes
b. If you go to video in Skype (Tools > Options >Video Settings) is the Plus! Virtual camera in the dropdown?
No

3. Do you have a physical webcam attached?
No

However why I expect to see that virtual camera in the dropdown list in Plus! preferences is because I see it in WLM's Audio and Video Setup window and also on Skype's Options>Video Settings window and it can be set as the camera used by those programs.

What I don't understand is also that although this virtual camera is not listed in Device Manager window, how it can be selected as the camera on both WLM and Skype Options.

But when I first see the word Virtual Camera I expect to use that to stream videos to my contact although I don't have a real cam attached.

quote:

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Originally posted by ahmetgns

.....I see it in WLM's Audio and Video Setup window and also on Skype's Options>Video Settings window ....

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sunshine
On question number 1b you said you don't see it there...do you see it there or don't you? Some inconsistency here.

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Sunshine, I have the exact same response as ahmetgns, incl. misread, answers on your questions, admin priviledges, expectations of what this Virtual Camera actually is, etc.

If the answers to question 1, 1a and 1b are yes then the Virtual Camera is installed as should.

I do not have Messenger Plus! Virtual Camera in Plus! for Skype Preferences and not in Device Manager either. The only difference is that I do have a physical webcam attached and thus can see the preview.

I don't see how one could misread question 1b, it is clear I ask about Skype settings not Plus! ones....

Anyway, guys as I said the Virtual Camera is installed perfectly fine on your computers. For now the only thing you can do with it is set video effects on the stream from your physical webcam, so to profit from this option you will need a physical webcam at this time.

I think the real question here is what the heck is this "Virtual Camera", what is the purpose of it if you can't do a thing with it. Why does it need to be installed?

If it is just a driver to make recording work or to make effects work, then I suggest to rename it as such to avoid confusion. Moreover, if so, why is there even a choice to install it or not? It all makes little sense.

Because as we both have indicated, there are plenty of "virtual camera's" which create video streams from video files, desktop, etc and show that instead of a real physical webcam stream.

As such, I also do believe that it is very normal to think that this "Plus! Virtual Camera" (which is by the way not named consistently the same throughout Plus!Skype.... if you wanna start talking about quality of translations) is not installed properly or working properly.

I plugged in a real webcam and everything works now.

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised
As such, I also do believe that it is very normal to think that this "Plus! Virtual Camera" (which is by the way not named consistently the same throughout Plus!Skype.... if you wanna start talking about quality of translations) is not installed properly or working properly.

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