macOS 15 Built-in "Camera Control" Background Replacement Applied to ALL Cameras

[WhenWillThisAllEnd?]

Hello, and thank you for having a look at this.

This is a bit difficult to explain, but I will do my best and provide additional information.

Mac: Mac Mini M4 (2024) macOS Sequoia 15.3.1 (24D70)

Objective: Two cameras in OBS; One to show presenter (with background replacement using an image file), while second camera is overhead to show keyboard.

ISSUE: In OBS [31.0.1 (64 bit)], built in macOS 15 background replacement functionality applies background to BOTH cameras.

NOTE: In a test using Photo Booth to show camera A, and Logitech LogiTune to show Camera B, this functionality works correctly, allowing each camera's background replacement to work independently.

For some information from Apple about how this new functionality works, see this link:
Use the camera on Mac

From left to right: Pic - 001, Pic - 002 & Pic - 003

NOTE: I have not been able to find an official name for this macOS App / functionality. There are two different icons to represent it in the macOS Tool Bar: The 'purple icon' and the 'green icon'. The 'green icon' is the same icon Apple uses for FaceTime, but this is NOT FaceTime. Very confusing.

In Pic - 001, you see this being represented with the 'purple icon' and you can see the two cameras I have: 1) A Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920, and 2) A Logitech MX Brio

NOTE: I do not know what the difference is between the 'purple icon' and the 'green icon'. If you click on the SECOND 'purple icon' (NOT the one on the Tool Bar, but the one in the upper right-hand corner of the pop-up window, then the icon on the Tool Bar switches to the green FaceTime icon but again... this is NOT FaceTime.

In Pic - 002, you can see I have the MX Brio camera selected, and I have my Background image selected and activated (the icon for it is green).

The problem, is that turning it on here, ALSO turns it on for the HD Pro Webcam C920 in OBS! For my purposes, I NEVER want this background applied to this Camera. Of course, if I DO turn it on... or off for the C920 cam, it also does so for the MX Brio! So they are essentially locked together.

In Pic - 003, you see for the C920 camera that my background is selected and enabled (again, green icon)... but the backbround is functionally OFF... NOT being displaed, as you can see the keyboard being displayed. If you click on the word "Background", the green icon turns gray, and nothing changes. The keyboard is still displayed. But if you click on it a second time, the icon turns green, and NOW the background WILL activate and be applied, so you will no longer see the keyboard, but the background image, only. These changes simultaneously affect the MX Brio also, as they are 'locked together".

I will monitor this thread and be very responsive to any replies as I would like to help with getting this fixed.

Thank you!

 

[Aage]

First of all, I am not trying to be a knowitall here.
But I would suggest you stay away from that built in macos sharing functionality at all.
In my humble opinion, at best, it looks unprofessional, and it is not even the best solution.
At worst it may cause unpredictable situations.
Countless meeting presenters have been humiliated by this sad ass functionality.

I see you use OBS...
It seems you are not understanding the built in power of OBS,
since you turn to the built in macos eye candy sillyness instead:
You can add any background to any camera or any scene in OBS.
It is easier, and it is more reliable.

So, if I understand your problem at all correctly,
my advice is to turn off all camera sharing and background sharing up at the menu bar.

Instead, explore how you can do this better and more flexible through OBS.

If you don´t have a *VERY* properly lit green screen behind you, you should probably just put a
cropped / resized selection of the presenter camera on top of your presentation / whatever you want to display.
Simpler and easier solutions always look and work better than crappy executed "fancy" solutions. :)

Good luck!

 

[WhenWillThisAllEnd?]

First of all, I am not trying to be a knowitall here.
But I would suggest you stay away from that built in macos sharing functionality at all.
In my humble opinion, at best, it looks unprofessional, and it is not even the best solution.
At worst it may cause unpredictable situations.
Countless meeting presenters have been humiliated by this sad ass functionality.

I see you use OBS...
It seems you are not understanding the built in power of OBS,
since you turn to the built in macos eye candy sillyness instead:
You can add any background to any camera or any scene in OBS.
It is easier, and it is more reliable.

So, if I understand your problem at all correctly,
my advice is to turn off all camera sharing and background sharing up at the menu bar.

Instead, explore how you can do this better and more flexible through OBS.

If you don´t have a *VERY* properly lit green screen behind you, you should probably just put a
cropped / resized selection of the presenter camera on top of your presentation / whatever you want to display.
Simpler and easier solutions always look and work better than crappy executed "fancy" solutions. :)

Good luck!

Thank you for your time and information.

Yes, I am new to all of this. I have not understood the "built in macos sharing functionality" and it's been driving me crazy. I wasn't able to determine even WHAT software was producing that "... up at the menu bar", initially. I finally found an Apple reference to it.

My situation is, I'm trying to produce some videos / YouTube instructional videos. I have three "hover over" (above view) cameras pointing down at the keyboard and a few peaces of gear. But I also have a fourth, presenter camera to record myself providing the course of instruction. My workshop area is very unsightly and even if I had a green screen, it would be completely impractical to implement. So I need a "background image" replacement solution in OBS, such as is possible in ZOOM, which I have not been able to find.

For my purposes here, the problem with the built in Apple screen sharing is that it applies the background image to ALL cameras!!!! How ridiculous! But honestly, for the videos I HAVE been able to successfully shoot and complete, that did NOT require the hover overhead cams, the built in Apple functionality worked perfectly! One presenter camera, and the rest all OBS scenes, etc. But now I MUST find a way to be able to use the background replacement with the presenter cam, AND be able to use the other three cameras in the mix WITHOUT them having the background image also applied to them.

You said, "You can add any background to any camera ... in OBS." Please, tell me how to do this? You do mean just as it's done in ZOOM, correct? I have been looking and searching for a way to do this.

Again, thank you for your help.

 

[WhenWillThisAllEnd?]

OK... this message is for all.

I've been messing around with all this over a couple weeks time now. So, I'm getting more familiar with the issue.

There seems to be a compatibility issue between macOS Screen Sharing and OBS. If it worked, it would be fantastic, as Mac users would have a solid solution for background replacement that's built right into macOS.

EXAMPLE:

I currently have four 4K web cams (Logitech) connected to my Mac Mini M4. The macOS Screen Sharing ICON, at the top, in the macOS Tool Bar, sees all four cameras and shows them as being OBS. The Screen Sharing DOES show separate, individual selections for a "Background" for EACH camera! So, effectively, you could choose a different background replacement image for each camera. That would be fantastic!

The problem is that somewhere, this functionality is broken. I don't know if it's a macOS issue or an OBS issue. No matter what selections you make in macOS Screen Sharing, a change in one cam is universally applied to all cams. If you change the background image for one camera, all cameras get that image. If you turn off backgrounds for one cam, it turns it off for all cams. If you try to turn on a background for one cam, it turns it on for all cams.

I hope this gets fixed quick, because this would be some amazing functionality! It's almost there! Probably a real simple code fix, and I'm thinking this would be a change in OBS.