RSSI really like the new Logitech Quickcam Orbit MP - you can record videos and add live video effects and also use avatars. I'm going to poke around the files that they use to see if I can make my own. The camera is motorized, so it'll do face tracking too - when I get back from Interop I'll post up some projects with it once I take it apart...
A little update: I couldn't resist - the files used for the model/avatars are .LVA (avatars) and .LVF for the face accessories. Once you download them, you can rename them .zip and check out the source files used. The files appear to be JPGs, GIFs and XML docs that describe what is used, but not all the files open up. I'm guessing it might be possible to replace the ones in there and perhaps it will work. Here's how the hat works...
</Description> <ModelFile>Sombrero.x</ModelFile> <ImageFile>Sombrero.gif</ImageFile>
<PreviewFile>Sombrero.gif</PreviewFile>
<TextureFile>Sombrero_512x512.jpg</TextureFile>
<AlphaTextureFile>Sombrero_512x512_alpha.jpg</AlphaTextureFile>
<PackageFile>Cinco_de_Mayo_Sombrero.LVF</PackageFile>
<Created>04 20 2006 05:46:34PM</Created>
<Properties>
<ModelComplexity>Low</ModelComplexity>
<Accessory Type="5">
<Scale X="1" Y="1" Z="1" />
<Translate X="1" Y="1" Z="1" />
<Rotate Roll="1" Pitch="1" Yaw="1" />
<HeadCover>0</HeadCover>
<ThreeD>0</ThreeD>
<Animation>0</Animation>
</Accessory>
</Properties>
</Model>
I want this just for the monacle.
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The Elvis mask was the best!
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Can you elaborate on how you were able to view the items within these downloads? I renamed a file with the .zip suffix, but it refuses to unzip. (using Mac OS X)
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Your deadpan expressions make this hilarious.
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Your deadpan expressions make this hilarious.
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Hilarious! "I'm Wal-Mart!"
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Stop using uhms every 6 seconds and I hope you heard of the word "energy" that Teenage girls throw out... you need it.
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What happens if there is no face in the camera's view?
What happens if you hold up a picture of a face?
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i downloaded some of the LVF files and found that they are actually microsoft cabinet files (not zips). renaming them to have a .cab suffix let me open them in the explorer on xp. i don't know if you can open .cab files on a mac.
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I always wanted to be Max Headroom
can someone make it happen happen happen
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I always wanted to be Max Headroom
can someone make it happen happen happen?
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I always wanted to be Max Headroom
can someone make it happen happen happen?
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I much prefer the original demo that was commented on on slashdot a few months ago (she's much cuter)- the youtube video is here.
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How about tweaking this to be used with older & non-Logitech cameras??
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I couldn't stop laughing at that, PT. I don't know what it was exactly- I think the deadpanning the entire time was hilarious. Great utilization.
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i used mac os x, renamed the file to .zip and it unzipped fine. on a pc that didn't work.
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OMG THAT TOTALLY ROCKED!!! That's one of the bestest demos I've seen in awhile... the contrast of the goofy (compliment) cartoon characters with the *deadpan* expressions was just ROCKIN' AND ROLLIN'!!!
The first two glasses reminded me of Cory Doctorow (or maybe Drew Carey) and then John Lennon. I like how quickly Phillip switched from one to another SOOO fast and paced it so succinctly.
I was totally not expecting the fullon transformations at the end. That'd be great to stream into SL: do live propaganda as an alien, saying you're landing your mothership.
And OMG OMG OMG at the end, YOU CAN BE THE CAR FROM THE CHEVRON ADS?!?! That is unreal.
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"watch out. there's a meteor coming."
hahahahaha, i just love the straight faced way you demonstrated all of that
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I like the little avatars ;)
Makes me want to get one now XD
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Has anyone had further luck hacking the LVA/LVF files? Googling always leads back to this discussion at Make.
The jpegs must be something exotic, because (like others) I can't find an application that will open them. Photoshop complains about the 'precision' of the file, but recognizes it as a jpgeg...maybe a weird bit depth? Anybody know?
Cheers,
nizo
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Too bad it's only available for Windows. But I think these effects are all done in Software through face recognition so some software maker could write this a plug-in for iChat. I'd buy it. I won't buy anything from Logitech anymore (other than their mice) since they have the habit to just stop supporting old models. I have a couple of Quickcams Colors in a box somewhere that don't work anymore due to lack of a driver.
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Cool demo, much better than the demos manufacturers provide with just a small sampling of feature previews. Couldnt find anything on the website, any word on making your own 'glasses' or avatars?
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so awesome! thanks for the video.
and don't listen to the naysayers, that was hilarious. and i have a half-crush on you now, uh oh.
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Thanks for the great demo. I noticed yourself and the other woman have demonstrated this camera by embedding the video in Flash.
I do not have Flash, is there some way to embed this in Flash so it does not have to stream as it normally might on website with a link to an AVI, MPG (or whatever file it outputs)?
I would need probably an SWF file that points to a text file that I can edit and just give the name / location of the video file.
Love someone to help me out with this.
Thanks, Peter
pcumming@yahoo.com
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Hmm... A first alternative to the proprietary Logitech feature?
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I don't have any webcam at all but I'm a bit curious about these new features coming to us, the end users. :D
I found some info on the LVA-files.
I renamed "Man on the moon.LVA" to "Man on the moon.Zip" (*.Cab seems to work just as well) and was able to view the files in that archive.
The largest one seems to be a .GR2 file, which according to FilExt.com is a "Granny Game Content File" file.
More info on that format can be found at Rad Game Tools.
As for the "unreadable" .JPG files I'm guessing that they aren't normal .JPG files but some form of "Granny"-adapted .JPG images so if you do some research on the Granny 3D formats you might be able to do your own avatars.. maybe... if Logitech hasn's incorporated some form of tampering-protection in their files.
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I did some further research myself and the .jpg-files and the .gr2 file seem to be corrupted when they are uncompressed.
I've done some quick tests with WinZip, WinRAR and the "expand" command (since it is a CAB-file, just as someone mentioned below) and those files always end up garbled (when viewing them with an advanced text editor or a "HEX editor").
I'm not sure why the XML-files are readable but there's something fishy with the compression of those files (perhaps the tampering protection I suspected).
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I have a Logitech Fusion --- I have tried everything to improve my outgoing sound, but the echo'
s and breaking up is driving me nuts. Maybe a newer model would be better --- Any ideas ?
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oh yes, nice cam. But stupid soft within.
cameras list
and another cameras list here
Stop using uhms every 6 seconds and I hope you heard of the word "energy" that Teenage girls throw out... you need it.
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I have an old logitech web cam and I need to know if I can record myself giving a speech and then view it with no one online seeing it?
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well... I've been doing some digging too, and here are my findings thusfar:
.LVA is just a .cab file renamed - as reported by many others... (it is thereby not a .zip, but some apps are flexible enough to just not care)
.gr2 does not appear to be an actual .gr2 file - at least, it fails the crc-check as a valid .gr2, so it has either been obfuscated in some way, or may simply be of a different type...
.jpg has thus far eluded me - they do not start with the same sequence, they do not seem to be of any texture format I've been able to test (originally, I thought it may be a .dds (DXT)) - maybe some kind of opengl-texture?
.x is also a bit strange - primarily because it isn't included in all of the avatars... there are however more than a few 3d-related apps that use that extension, so it is possible one of them might be able to open it... - TrID has not been able to identify it either
.xml nothing fancy here - these are normal xml-files... (human-)readable with any text-editor...
conclusion - either by some strange coincidense, they've managed to (by accident) use up at least 2, but probably 3 or more (well-)known extensions for other filetypes, or they've employed an obfuscations-scheme...
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Hello. All info was useful for me. Thanks.
Крымская поисковая система
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All info was useful for me. Thanks.
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For those of you who use this camera on a mac, how did you get it to work. I can't even get the camera to regirster on my iMac G5. Can you guys help me out? Thanks.
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I also would like more information regarding how to easily use this cameras features on a mac. I was able to get the camera to work from IOXWebcamX-1.1.dmg. That was simple so no instructions needed. Just a quick note I had to RESTART the mac. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? I had flashbacks to the dark days of windows! Hey if I can not use all the features I will just buy from a better company, probably smaller but better.
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Any new updates on this? Its been almost 2 years, and nobody has been able to crack this yet? Would love to see some progress.
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yes i wannt my own comic effects.
who has a solution ?
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need a webcam
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Solution is to write header information on those jpeg files. Then you can open them.
There are hints on the avatars, background is 640x480 and image 512x512.
Still not sure what file is gr2, it has all those moving things though (for example, eye-winking etc).
I'm gonna buy one camera and just try some files with dropped headers if it'll work.
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cool!
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anyone have a fix to edit the LVF file yet?
anno 2009?
i found where it puts the temporary's but doesnt read it. have to install file again.
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