Other ways to differentiate USB cameras besides USB names

[tripletopper]

I noticed that OBS for Mac has a trouble automatically booting up if you're using more than one of the same type of camera or same type of microphone or any other multiple USB plug and Play devices.

Apple says the solution is to change the name of the camera but as far as I could tell there is no way to change the name of the sq11's name.

I understand OBS differentiates by the USB names. Is there any other indicator either visible or invisible that differentiates One camera in the operating system versus another that OBS can take advantage of or are you totally reliant on the fact that the USB cameras must have a different name?

One thing I did was name each OBS camera image a different name so that at least one side of the equation is never changing. How do I make sure the other side of the equation, the camera and microphone side, is kept constant?

What can I do so I don't lose the connection in between reboots?

By the way I'm using Thunderbolt 3 hubs to plug multiple USB 3.0 devices in. Is there any difference in using Thunderbolt hubs vs USB only?

 

[TFE]

I use four USB web cams (two Insta360 Links, and two Elgato Facecams) into a base-spec Mac Studio (and previously into a base-spec M1 Mac mini) with no problems at all. Three are plugged in direct to the Mac Studio, and inputs via a Thunderbolt 3 dock. And I've previously used various combinations of C920s and iPhones (wired and wireless) with no problem. Are you using the proper camera software, or just plugging the cams in without the cam manufacturer's software? Otherwise am using latest versions of OBS and Ventura.

 

[tripletopper]

One, there is no software that comes with an sq11. So it is impossible to rename as far as I could tell.

Two, older versions of Mac OS used to have numbers besides identically named items. As of as late as OS12, Apple stopped doing that.

3. Other than an sq-11 can you think of a camera that is small enough to place two side by side to make a stereoscopic pair? By the way I tried a Minoru. It has only 10- 15 frames per second and looks very choppy. The sq-11s have either 30 or 60. And they have a brighter range than a Minoru. And they only cost $20-25 a pair

 

[tripletopper]

What is Mac Studio by the way? Is that software? is that hardware? Does it cost anything to try? I'm just plugging in my sq11's directly into USB ports that were made from Thunderbolt 3 and 2 hubs.

 

[riccardo.beghin]

Hi.
I've got the same problem on a MB Pro M2.
3 cameras (2 same name).

Impossible to use...changed docking station (no alimentation problem).
As told before, I'm not able to change name to the cameras (Ankerwork C200)

Hope there will be a workaround.
Thanks.

 

[tripletopper]

There might be a USB program which lets you change the name of generic devices like UVC cameras and standard microphones. The Mac app description was incomplete and I don't know if name changing is a feature or not. It costs $4 for the program to run on other brands than the manufacturer's brand.

I'll find out soon if name changing on generics can ve done.