Was your webcam advice wrong?
QI’ve acquired a second-hand Labtec webcam that I want to use with my Windows 10 PC. Device Manager lists it as ‘Other Device/ Unknown Device’. I originally assumed my camera not working was due to the lack of a suitable driver, as it came with nothing. I emailed Logitech, which now owns Labtec, and they told me that Labtec webcams are plug and play.
On page 64 of Issue 537’s Problems Solved you told reader Ralph Mynn that webcams must be USB Video Class (UVC) to be plug and play and that they have been “for the past few years”. How many years exactly? Could my webcam be too old? It could just be dead! Searching for the model name online turns up loads of outfits offering free driver software downloads. Are these to be trusted? Great mag, by the way. Raymond Cropper
AThanks! We couldn’t (and can’t) give an exact figure for UVC compatibility because different manufacturers incorporated it at different times, and in different models.
However, we can say for certain the first version of UVC was formalised in late-2003, so the earliest Uvc-supporting webcams would be from around 2004 onwards. Labtec was effectively dead by the early 2000s, though it did limp on under Logitech’s stewardship for a while, so it’s likely that your webcam doesn’t support UVC. For accuracy we should say that while UVC does effectively mean a webcam is plug and play, the term ‘plug and play’ has a wider meaning and is not only associated with UVC. For example, older versions of Windows might recognise older webcams that don’t have UVC, or prompt you to insert a driver disc.
We wouldn’t advise trying to download drivers from random websites, no matter how legitimate they look. If you do find a site that you believe is trustworthy, be sure to scan any downloaded files for viruses. Alternatively, keep an eye on ebay for an original driver disc – because Windows 10 may accept the original driver. However, if you’re spending more than a small amount you’d have to ask yourself why, given that higher-quality new webcams that work flawlessly with Windows 10 are available for £10-£20.