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I'm using Ubuntu with Fluxbox and I would like to video chat on Skype. However, Skype doesn't recognize my webcam.

  1. Ubuntu 12.04
  2. Skype 4.0.0.8
  3. libv4l-0 and libgstreamer0.10 are installed
  4. luvcview provides an awesome output from my webcam, so it's working, just not in skype (which means it works in cheese as well)
  5. Reinstalling skype with gdebi didn't solve the problem.
  6. Reinstalling Ubuntu with Fluxbox minimal install from scratch doesn't solve the problem either.

Now, my question: Does anyone know what Skype needs for webcam recognition in Fluxbox or under Fluxbox?

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4 Answers

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You must run skype with v4l. To do this type:

Exec=bash -c 'LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype'

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Okay, this looks like something I would add to fluxbox's startup file. Does this start skype on boot? Because that's not exactly what I want. What exactly does it do anyway? I mean, I'm glad about your help but I don't want to add something to my config files without knowing what it does. – shlomo Sep 5 '12 at 13:24
Well, for all those trying to solve the same problem: This solution only works in ONEIRIC 32bit. More info, follow this one: community.skype.com/t5/Linux/… – shlomo Sep 12 '12 at 15:47
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I'd suggest to check the packages that were removed along with the KDE, some of them should be responsible for controlling the webcam drivers.

Additionally, check if your controllers are recognized by skype (using skype preferences).

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Thanks for the help :) I will check for the removed packages. I guess I can find this in /var/log/apt. About the controllers: Would that be the devices list in the skype video preferences? If that's the case then skype doesn't recognize my controllers as it says "No device found". – shlomo Sep 5 '12 at 13:20
@shlomo I remember that one I had the same problem. I believe that was solved once cheese was installed. That worked with Gnome! – Dox Sep 5 '12 at 13:30
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I've found another more recent forum entry addressing a similar issue. It was solved by preloading the libv4l.so. However, that didn't help for me. However, here's the link: http://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=110742&p=621448

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While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. – Peachy Sep 14 '12 at 2:38
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I was able to find a workaround. Installing gnome-shell solved the problem in fluxbox as well. I don't know what exactly was missing but at least I can use my webcam now.

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