Question / Help Webcam with on-board h.264 decoder useful ?

[Kriis-k]

Hello

Just want to know if it will be useful to buy a camera who have an h.264 integrated decoder.

When i stream games with my laptop obs already encode to h.264

That include camera stream or it will need more cpu ressource to encode it with standard 720p webcam ?

I'm searching for a 720p webcam but I'm not really sure that a webcam who decodes h.264 will save my cpu or not.


Thanks for help

 

[R1CH]

It will not make any difference, it just sounds like a marketing term.

 

[Kriis-k]

Really ??

Those cameras are encoding h.264 in real time without cpu intervention

So i use my laptop webcam or another usb 720p webcam my cpu usage wouldn't grow up ??

Waiting for replies to buy my new webcam

I you have any advices i hear you.

Thank you !

 

[R1CH]

CPU usage will increase with any USB device that encodes data, which includes most webcams.

 

[Kriis-k]

So a hardware encoder on some cameras is not so "marketing" it isn't ?

My i5 3230m loads @ 60% when i go live (2000kbps 720p 30fps) with embedded laptop webcam.

So if I buy an external USB webcam my cpu will not suffer ?

Thanks for your help I don't want to buy a new webcam and have some troubles.

 

[R1CH]

It seems likely that a "hardware encoder" just means that the webcam encodes its data. You will still suffer a CPU hit from having to decode it.

 

[Kriis-k]

Ok so how a 720p will increase my cpu usage instead my embedded laptop webcam ?

2 or 3 % not more ?

I just want to be sure that a 720p webcam will not make some problems

 

[David Okon]

I know this is an old thread but wouldn't the camera encoding in h.264 allow higher resolutions at higher framerates over usb2.0?

 

[sam686]

I know this is an old thread but wouldn't the camera encoding in h.264 allow higher resolutions at higher framerates over usb2.0?

Yes for most webcams, but hardware compression reduce quality for slow USB 2.0, and uses up CPU usage to decompress them. Most H264 compression over USB 2.0 have some delay.

USB 2.0 only have enough speed for 720x480 at 30 fps at YUY2, UYVY colorspace without compression. Some webcam can do 1280x720 at a very low 10 fps without compression which fit the USB 2.0 speed.

PCI-E (version 2.0 or more then one lanes) and USB 3.0 have enough speed as they don't need compression for 1920x1080 at 60 fps at YUY2 UYVY colorspace, which can lower CPU usage.