Logitech QuickCam Messenger

cparker · Post by **cparker** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:26 pm

While deciding which IP cameras to get (the cheapest Axis is over $200!), I decided to try out my personal QuickCam Messenger on ZoneMinder.

$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:08f0 Logitech, Inc.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

I got the driver installed from Debian Sarge's official repository and loaded it (I used module-assistant).

$ dmesg | grep quickcam
usbcore: registered new driver quickcam

However, when I add a new monitor pointing to /dev/video0, and go to view the camera feed, I just get a broken image. The status below the broken image says this:

Status: Idle - 0.00 fps

Am I doing something wrong? This is a headless system without an x server, so using a tool like xawtv is not an option. The only thing I can think of is that the camera is not on /dev/video0, even though it is the only video device installed.

jameswilson · Post by **jameswilson** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:26 pm

caould youpost your logs, and webcams are fun with x, without x, unless everything is spot on you have very little chance of getting it working

cparker · Post by **cparker** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 6:21 pm

What logs do you want me to post, exactly?

jameswilson · Post by **jameswilson** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:37 pm

the relevant bits from messages, and your monitor settings

cparker · Post by **cparker** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:08 pm

Ok... When I go to view the image that shows up as broken, I get a 500 Internal Server Error.

Here are the settings for the quickcam monitor:

*** GENERAL ***

Name = QuickCam_Messenger
Source = Local
Function = Monitor
Enabled = True
Linked Monitors =
Maximum FPS = 1.00
Alarm Maximum FPS =
Reference Image Blend %ge = 7
Triggers = None available

*** SOURCE ***

Device Path = /dev/video0
Device Channel = 0
Device Format = NTSC
Capture Palette = Gray
Capture Width (pixels) = 320
Capture Height (pixels) = 240
Orientation = Normal

*** TIMESTAMP ***

Timestamp Label Format = %%s - %y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S
Timestamp Label X = 0
Timestamp Label Y = 0

*** BUFFERS ***

Image Buffer Size (frames) = 40
Warmup Frames = 25
Pre Event Image Buffer = 10
Post Event Image Buffer = 10
Alarm Frame Count = 1

*** CONTROL ***

Controllable = False
Control Type = None
Control Device =
Control Address =
Auto Stop Timeout =
Track Motion = False
Track Delay = 0
Return Location = None
Return Delay = 0

*** MISC ***

Event Prefix = Event-
Section length = 600
Frame Skip = 0
FPS Report Interval = 1000
Default Rate = Real
Default Scale = Actual
Web Colour = red

Here are some log snippets, too:

/tmp/zmupdate.log
10/24/06 14:52:52.315051 zmupdate[2660].INF [Checking for updates]
10/24/06 14:52:54.516265 zmupdate[2660].ERR [Error check failed: '500 Can't connect to www.zoneminder.com:80 (Bad hostname 'www.zoneminder.com')']
10/24/06 15:52:54.380765 zmupdate[2660].INF [Checking for updates]
10/24/06 15:52:55.321719 zmupdate[2660].ERR [Error check failed: '500 Can't connect to www.zoneminder.com:80 (Bad hostname 'www.zoneminder.com')']

/tmp/zmwatch.log
10/24/06 16:46:08.290132 zmwatch[2654].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' started at 06/10/24 16:46:08] at /usr/local/bin/zmwatch.pl line 118
10/24/06 16:46:18.299324 zmwatch[2654].INF [Restarting capture daemon for QuickCam_Messenger, shared memory not valid]
10/24/06 16:46:19.683038 zmwatch[2654].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' starting at 06/10/24 16:46:19, pid = 6404] at /usr/local/bin/zmwatch.pl line 118
10/24/06 16:46:29.691634 zmwatch[2654].INF [Restarting capture daemon for QuickCam_Messenger, shared memory not valid]

/tmp/zmaudit.log
10/24/06 16:46:53.883506 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]
10/24/06 16:47:05.070306 zmdc[6431].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' started at 06/10/24 16:47:05]
10/24/06 16:47:05.075165 zmdc[2605].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' starting at 06/10/24 16:47:05, pid = 6431]
10/24/06 16:47:05.257051 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]
10/24/06 16:47:16.444561 zmdc[2605].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' starting at 06/10/24 16:47:16, pid = 6437]
10/24/06 16:47:16.442923 zmdc[6437].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' started at 06/10/24 16:47:16]
10/24/06 16:47:16.629784 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]
10/24/06 16:47:27.822059 zmdc[6444].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' started at 06/10/24 16:47:27]
10/24/06 16:47:27.824827 zmdc[2605].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' starting at 06/10/24 16:47:27, pid = 6444]
10/24/06 16:47:28.008192 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]

/var/log/messages
10/24/06 16:46:53.883506 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]
10/24/06 16:47:05.070306 zmdc[6431].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' started at 06/10/24 16:47:05]
10/24/06 16:47:05.075165 zmdc[2605].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' starting at 06/10/24 16:47:05, pid = 6431]
10/24/06 16:47:05.257051 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]
10/24/06 16:47:16.444561 zmdc[2605].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' starting at 06/10/24 16:47:16, pid = 6437]
10/24/06 16:47:16.442923 zmdc[6437].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' started at 06/10/24 16:47:16]
10/24/06 16:47:16.629784 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]
10/24/06 16:47:27.822059 zmdc[6444].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' started at 06/10/24 16:47:27]
10/24/06 16:47:27.824827 zmdc[2605].INF ['zmc -d /dev/video0' starting at 06/10/24 16:47:27, pid = 6444]
10/24/06 16:47:28.008192 zmdc[2605].ERR ['zmc -d /dev/video0' exited abnormally, exit status 255]

dmesg
Linux video capture interface: v1.00

apache2 error.log
[Tue Oct 24 14:53:22 2006] [error] [client 192.168.1.114] Premature end of script headers: zms, referer: http://192.168.1.2:8888/zm/index.php?vi ... 0&control=
[Tue Oct 24 14:53:25 2006] [error] [client 192.168.1.114] Premature end of script headers: zms
[Tue Oct 24 14:54:17 2006] [error] [client 192.168.1.114] Premature end of script headers: zms, referer: http://192.168.1.2:8888/zm/index.php?vi ... 0&control=

Regarding the shared memory message:

# ipcs -m
------ Shared Memory Segments --------
key shmid owner perms bytes nattch status
0x7a6d2001 0 www-data 700 3072964 0

Just in case...

# g++ -v
Reading specs from /usr/lib/gcc-lib/i486-linux/3.3.5/specs
Configured with: ../src/configure -v --enable-languages=c,c++,java,f77,pascal,objc,ada,treelang --prefix=/usr --mandir=/usr/share/man --infodir=/usr/share/info --with-gxx-include-dir=/usr/include/c++/3.3 --enable-shared --enable-__cxa_atexit --with-system-zlib --enable-nls --without-included-gettext --enable-clocale=gnu --enable-debug --enable-java-gc=boehm --enable-java-awt=xlib --enable-objc-gc i486-linux
Thread model: posix
gcc version 3.3.5 (Debian 1:3.3.5-13)

Again, the machine is a Debian Sarge machine.

cparker · Post by **cparker** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:58 pm

Sorry for the double-post, but I really need to get to the bottom of this ASAP.

What does the "shared memory not valid" message mean? I didn't see it in the README or the Wiki.

I looked further into the system's shared memory settings, and found this:

$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/shmall
2097152
$ cat /proc/sys/kernel/shmmax
134217728

Now, this is an older machine, and doesn't have a lot of RAM (/proc/meminfo shows MemTotal = 62236 kB)... However, I have a GB of swap set aside on the hard drive. And even with everything running on the system, there's still free RAM, so I don't think that's the problem.

I did a search in the forum, and found the description of a problem that seems similar to my own: http://www.zoneminder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6678

I'm accessing ZoneMinder via http://x.x.x.x/zm/. ZoneMinder is installed in /var/www/zm. Here's the relevant bit from my Apache conf:

Code: Select all

        DocumentRoot /var/www/
        <Directory />
                Options FollowSymLinks
                AllowOverride None
        </Directory>
        <Directory /var/www/>
                Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
                AllowOverride None
                Order allow,deny
                allow from all
                # This directive allows us to have apache2's default start page
                # in /apache2-default/, but still have / go to the right place
                RedirectMatch ^/$ /apache2-default/
        </Directory>

zms is located in /usr/lib/cgi-bin, which is the directory specified in my Apache conf:

Code: Select all

        ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /usr/lib/cgi-bin/
        <Directory "/usr/lib/cgi-bin">
                AllowOverride None
                Options ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
                Order allow,deny
                Allow from all
        </Directory>

In ZoneMinder options, I have ZM_PATH_ZMS = /cgi-bin/zms.

It's odd, though. If I access http://x.x.x.x/cgi-bin/zms directly, I get a 500 Internal Server Error. There don't seem to be any permissions issues:

/usr/lib/cgi-bin$ ls -l
-rwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 1075031 2006-10-15 14:19 nph-zms
-rwxr-xr-x 2 www-data www-data 1075031 2006-10-15 14:19 zms

So, I'm officially out of ideas. What would be my problem? Everything seems to be set up properly. Do I need to adjust shared memory again? If so, to what?

A little more about this machine: It was used on a daily basis in an office setting. It had WIndows 98 (not SE) running on it and it was pretty swift. I backed up all of the relevant data on it, gave the backup to the owner, blew the drive away, and put Debian on it. Without an X server, the machine is very fast. I'd like to just get this one USB camera working on this for now, but I eventually plan on having nine IP cameras running on this machine.

jameswilson · Post by **jameswilson** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:39 pm

the shared mem thing in the distros i know is usually because you are capturing at too high a res. If you grabbing at 320x240 then the default of fedora and mandrake is ok. You only beed to up it if going above medium res.
Not sure of this so i might be asking again, does this cam work in linux, ie have yuo got video of it in tvtime or xaw etc it maybe a pallete issues etc. It took me 12 months of fun before i finally got my usb cam working on the latest live cd.

cparker · Post by **cparker** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 5:42 pm

I plugged the camera into my Ubuntu laptop, set it up, and it worked with xawtv...

I'm beginning to think that it's not the camera installation that's the problem anymore.

I keep seeing this in my Apache logs when I go to view the quickcam monitor:

[Fri Oct 27 13:38:25 2006] [error] [client 192.168.1.114] Premature end of script headers: zms, referer: http://x.x.x.x/zm/index.php?view=watchf ... 0&control=

There's obviously a problem with zms, then. I'm going to try reinstalling ZoneMinder. It seems just reinstalling and not changing anything in the config has worked for others when trying to solve the unsolvable problems.

Thanks so much for your help and your patience.

cparker · Post by **cparker** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:52 am

Well, I tried reinstalling ZoneMinder, and I'm still getting this error:

[Tue Oct 31 21:48:49 2006] [error] [client 71.232.128.152] Premature end of script headers: zms, referer: http://x.x.x.x/zm/index.php?view=watchf ... 0&control=
[Tue Oct 31 21:48:54 2006] [error] [client 71.232.128.152] Premature end of script headers: zms

I get an internal server error (error 500) even when I just access /cgi-bin/zms without any arguments, even when I don't have any monitors created (I just now deleted the QuickCam_Messenger monitor to see what happens).

Does anyone know what would be causing this error?

EDIT: In case you're curious, I installed the QuickCam driver and followed the directions from http://qce-ga.sourceforge.net/, but it doesn't seem like the QuickCam stuff is the problem still. So, perhaps this thread should be in the "ZoneMinder 1.22.x" forum instead...

jameswilson · Post by **jameswilson** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:09 am

cparker, i know its a regular of mine but why not try one of the ready made distross. We see so mnay questions on debian and ubuntu that i think that starting off with one of the others makes sense. By all means move back one you geta feel for the app, but i just dont know anything about that distro. And i dont think any of the regular contributers here do either

cparker · Post by **cparker** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:54 pm

What do you mean by "ready made distro"? Are you referring to the Live CD?

Whatever a "ready made distro" is, it has to support madwifi for me to be able to use it.

jameswilson · Post by **jameswilson** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:13 pm

well you can use fedora 3, with CTU zm, or mandrake 2006. I prefer the non live version of Ross's distro's but thats mainly cos the installer is easier to play with. Not sure what mad wifi is but you could see it will work on mandriva 2006

paulandgabriela · Post by **paulandgabriela** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:26 pm

Strange I have pretty much the same behavior.

See the threat under the ZoneMinder Form Index

ZoneMinder Forum Index -> ZoneMinder 1.22.x->Zoneminder Console - Stopped -v1.22.3

I am told to look into the shared memory: I have a Logitech Quickcam Zoom which seems to work fine with XAWTV.

When looking at the shared memory:
------ Shared Memory Segments --------
key shmid owner perms bytes nattch status
0x00000000 0 root 644 790528 2 dest
0x00000000 32769 root 644 790528 2 dest
0x00000000 65538 root 644 790528 2 dest
0x00000000 163843 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 196612 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 229381 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 262150 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 294919 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 327688 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 360457 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 393226 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 425995 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 458764 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x00000000 491533 root 600 393216 2 dest
0x7a6d2001 557070 apache 700 18433028 0

The entry 0x7a6d2001 is the one for ZoneMinder. However the odd thing is that compared with the rest the NATTCH=0 and Status=blank does not correspond with the rest???

I do not have a clue what it means but at least it is odd.

Cheers,

Paul

paulandgabriela · Post by **paulandgabriela** » Fri Dec 08, 2006 11:59 pm

While writing this it turns out that I have to set it to YUV420P and NOT PAL

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers,

Paul

Linuxnub · Post by **Linuxnub** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:20 am

i'm having the exact same problem, I switched to PAL and it still doesnt work.