2 x 4k webcams exactly the same won't recognize them individually?

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DarenCovington

New Member
Hoping someone can help. I bought 2 x 4K cameras they both work good but they come up as the same name in windows and OBS won't display them both at the same time???

I even changed the name s in the registry to CAM01 and CAM02 but it still comes up as WEBCAM in OBS?
it shows WEBCAM twice in the dropdown menu you can select either camera, but once you set one of them up in a scene, you cannot setup the second one in another scene?

please say their is a way these cameras were expensive...
 
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AaronD

Active Member
Expensive doesn't necessarily mean that *everything* is quality. They might have really good optics, for example, and then they farmed out the USB side to the lowest bidder.

USB is supposed to be smart enough to distinguish multiple of the same device, and use both at the same time, and keep them straight even as they change ports. The idea there, is that you can just yank them all out without documenting where they were, plug them back in however they fit, and everything's supposed to "just work" as if nothing ever happened, even though they're all in different ports now.

Practically though, it's not that great. The serial number that the USB spec requires to be unique to make that work, often isn't. It's much cheaper to make them all *exactly* identical, and nobody knows the difference until they try to use multiples on the same host.

Then things get weird, especially when the host assumes that the spec *was* actually followed as-written, and doesn't have a well-designed way to handle violations like that.
 
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madrigal

New Member
I read about at, that's why I bought 2 different webcams.
some things that come to mind (not an expert by any means) though I doubt they work (I think AaronD is correct)
-use two separate physical USB-ports for the cams, do not use a usb-hub
-download latest firmware or drivers for the cam ?
-use the webcams in two different programs simultaneously, to troubleshoot whether the problem is likely linked to OBS or not. If that works, I guess there are solutions (maybe 2nd virtual cam program?) (again, by no means an expert)
-contact webcam-manufacturer for the solution
-return 1 webcam to the store and pick up a different model
-use a second PC >.<
 
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Lawrence_SoCal

Active Member
DarenCovington said:
Any solutions? Anyone?
Click to expand...
As with almost all OBS Studio Sources... best initial troubleshooting is done OUTSIDE of OBS Studio (and by that, I specifically mean OBS Studio NOT running at all, ie not running in the background)

So, I'd start with using either Operating System apps, or maybe something like Teams, and check if those show both USB webcams as separate. The point is to determine whether your issue is at Operating System level or OBS Studio. I'm going to guess this issue is at Operating System level, meaning you need to start by contacting the manufacturer of your USB webcams for the fix. As Aaron indicated, as identical camera usage is rare, that use case is often NOT tested for by Mfgs, and they may not offer a fix. Solving that in a MacGyver-ish workaround could get complicated and technical (hacking firmware, OS Registry, or other).. what exactly would be required if Mfg violated USB spec by using same serial#? it depends. sorry. I'd push Mfg to provide a replacement equivalent camera that won't have the problem... or a driver that addresses the issue. but many Mfgs will blow you off.
 
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