Skype video input

[cdrtz]

Hi,

I am considering using Magic for one of my projects. It is an interactive performance piece and it involves a 2 way audio/video stream; much like a Skype call between a studio performer and a live audience. Where Magic comes into picture is processing the stream that is projected for the audience, i.e., the performance. The performance is remote and interactive, that's why I need the 2 way audio/video stream.

I was considering using Skype for this but I couldn't figure out how to use the Skype incoming video as a video source in Magic. Is there any third party software that you are aware of that can capture the Skype video stream and expose it as a video source? If not, are you aware of any other video call software that I could use instead of Skype and would make it easier to capture the incoming video stream?

Any advice/thoughts are welcome! Thank you!

[visuality]

I was curious myself how that could be done, this is something I saw that may be useful, good luck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyR_NYXsKyA

[Magic]

For things like this, I always recommend a program called "ManyCam", because it lets you capture an area of the screen (such as your Skype window), and then presents it as a capture device you can select in Magic.

See https://manycam.com/help/desktop for more info.

[cdrtz]

Thank you for your replies. I considered using either ManyCam or OBS, but what I don't like about them is that they capture an area on the screen which means the video has to always be in the same area and always on top. ManyCam can also capture a window, but many times it will capture the entire window, including the title bar. I am also concerned about a loss in quality when capturing an area of the screen and potentially some lag.

In the meantime I realized that it is probably better to change my setup and have Magic on the other end, i.e., processing the performance video captured from a webcam before it is streamed through Skype. I found out that Magic can be used as a sender for Spout. I managed to have Magic send the video to the demo Spout receiver, but I cannot really figure out how the get the SpoutCam to work. It looks like the latest release of Spout doesn't work with Skype so I was thinking to use ManyCam like this: Magic->Spout->ManyCam->Skype. So far I only get a 'grainy video signal' (like you get on TV when there is no connection) in ManyCam when I use SpoutCam as a source, while using the webcam directly works well in ManyCam.

Does my Magic->Spout->ManyCam->Skype setup look right? Is it a better one that you can recommend? Do you have any idea about how to get SpoutCam to work with Magic?

Thanks!

Later edit: Actually the problem doesn't seem to be in magic, but in spoutcam, since I can get magic output to spout demo receiver without problems.

[Magic]

Later edit: Actually the problem doesn't seem to be in magic, but in spoutcam, since I can get magic output to spout demo receiver without problems.

Hmm, I'm not sure why it wouldn't work. Have you tried asking on the Spout forums?

Oh, one thing I just remembered is that you might want to try the 32-bit version of Magic. I think SpoutCam only works with 32-bit applications.

[cdrtz]

Yes, I asked the Spout forums and the developers there are helpful: http://spout.zeal.co/forums/topic/spout ... #post-2738. It is a known problem with Skype which they are working on to resolve. I don't think the version of Magic, 32 or 64 bit, makes a difference. The problem that they have is with 64 bit applications that use the Spout virtual cam. And Magic can send the video to the Spout demo receiver without any problems.

I am probably going to have to wait for the next release of Spout which hopefully will fix the SpoutCam-Skype interraction. I hope it is not a Windows 10 specific problem.