If you already have a camera with HDMI output sitting around a capture card can be a great way to get really good image quality for not much money. If 720p is enough I’ve actually had really good success with these incredibly cheap ones: youtu.be/daS5RHVAl2U - I’ve even seen them at places like Walmart and Target under the Vivitar brand so they’re readily available.
If you don’t look around locally for used Sony cameras. Because 1080p is only 2 mega pixels and many of the nicer old Sony cameras have clean HDMI output you can get kind of amazing image quality for very cheap. Some newer model mirrorless cameras got updates to run as a webcam directly off the USB port but they’re likely out of your budget and some require software. (Edit: make sure you check if the model you’re looking at has clean HDMI out - some do, some don’t, and some do with some tweaking. This site has a decent bit probably incomplete list: wasge.es/clean_output/ )
If you want a more traditional webcam and need autofocus something like the Logitech c920 family is probably your best bet but the constant revisions may have added a software install. Most cameras are including software since realistically they’re all basically the same and most of the “features” are added in the software.
If you don’t need autofocus, there are a number of companies taking Sony “security camera” sensors and slapping them in boxes with screw mount lenses. ELP and Mokose are examples but there are others. With enough light these generally look pretty dang good. If you pick one up and decide later to upgrade, it can probably live mounted up high just for playing magic, especially since there are a few 4k ones that will probably let you read the tiniest of text on the cards.
Hmm I need to do some research. I’m not really sure what these are for or what they do, but I’ll look into it, thanks.
Most cameras are including software since realistically they’re all basically the same and most of the “features” are added in the software
Yes, I understand. It’s always been this way, but then the way to do it is to either sell the software, or include instructions on how to retrieve it, not to automatically drop an installer on someone’s PC the moment one connects the device. From my POV, I’m shopping for hardware. If I’m looking for software features, I can shop for those separately.
I’ve heard that Logitech does do the same thing Razer does now, but I’ve also heard they don’t. It’s frustrating not being able to find this information.
ELP and Mokose
I’ll look into this as well. Seems like people have had focus issues though, based on reviews I saw.
You’ve given me some options. I’m sure there’s some cheap brand out there somewhere that doesn’t force the installer, but it’s even hard to find facts about whether they do or don’t.
Hmm I need to do some research. I’m not really sure what these are for or what they do, but I’ll look into it, thanks.
Sorry, probably should have explained. If you have a camera that has an HDMI or other video output they basically convert it to a USB camera.
I’ll look into this as well. Seems like people have had focus issues though, based on reviews I saw.
Most of the models they put out don’t have autofocus at all, you have to physically turn it to focus. Depending on exactly how your setup works that may or may not be viable - overhead cam like for playing magic probably doesn’t move much, but for video conferences where you shift in your chair it might be weird if the room is a bit darker.
If you have a camera that has an HDMI or other video output they basically convert it to a USB camera.
I have an action cam (like a knockoff gopro) that has a pretty good image. So I could use that as a Webcam if I had one of those capture cards?
Also, I forgot to mention: It doesn’t have to read all the text on a card, it just needs to be able to accurately detect which card it is, then Spelltable pulls up the card text from a database.
If it has an HDMI output without too much junk on it yes. Sometimes the HDMI output will have the same interface that’s on the screen, sometimes it will be clean, and sometimes it shows the interface but you can shut it off so it doesn’t matter. You can usually crop out the interface in OBS but you’ll lose some resolution doing that. You should be able to plug it into a monitor or TV and check fairly easily.
I’ll try it. If I can stream with this, I’ll be so pleased. I’ve taken longboarding footage with this thing, and it always looks crystal clear.
I think I’m gonna look for the one at Walmart next time I’m there. This action cam even fits my existing mounting hardware so this will be perfect if I can get it working!
This is… exactly my setup too. Works great. The brio is a tiny bit weird in that it appears as two independent video devices in Linux, but choosing the right one is all that’s necessary and it works fine.
GrapheneOS and Android are both based on AOSP, and calling/texting is such basic functionality for a mobile OS that I doubt that GrapheneOS’ implementation is much different from Android’s, if at all.
I’ve been on GrapheneOS for the past year or so, I’ve never actually enjoyed using my phone as much as I do now. No Samsung apps I can’t uninstall, no Google spyware, the only stuff running on my device is stuff I want it to run, the way I want it to run.
I bought this phone with the express purpose of installing GrapheneOS on it, so I can’t compare to stock Android on the same device because I never used it. I haven’t had any issues with battery life though, I can usually get a day and a half out of a full charge, and I’ve never had it die on me when I needed it. Charging is so fast nowadays anyway that it’s not much of a bother to plug it in for like 20 or so minutes and getting at least half of a full charge.
You can easily switch back to stock Android if necessary :)
I switched a couple of years ago and the process then was pretty straightforward to the point I can’t really recall much about it, I can’t imagine its got trickier since then. I’m due a new Pixel sometime this year and I plan on putting Graphene straight on to it.
Process is simple;
Backup everything you want to keep and move the backup off your device.
Identify FOSS equivalents for all the apps you currently have (but maybe you already use them)
Read the installation instructions. Re-read until you understand exactly what every step entails and means. Any step you’re at all unsure of, ask. Much better to ask questions before you start than be stuck needing an answer halfway through.
If it goes bad (which it won’t) or you don’t like Graphene you can, as I said, revert back to stock Android.
Flashing the stock Pixel ROM back is just as simple as flashing GrapheneOS, the instructions in GOS website are very good for both.
The only two things I can think of that might be issues are banking apps and Google Pay, if you use that. I use Play services in the main profile and honestly there’s not much difference to the stock ROM in terms of user experience. Even Android Auto works nowadays.
Graphene has nothing to do with your sim or phone number, your sim card is possibly tied to your IMEI but that never changes so it should be just fine. If for some reason it won’t work after you flash graphene your phone provider should be able to swap you to a new sim card and port your number over no problem, but even that would surprise me, it should “just work.”
Btw Whatsapp and Gpay can run on graphene but it sort of defeats the entire purpose. Some people will create an alternate user profile for all that type of shit and install google play services on it, and put all their spyware apps over there. Just something to think about, it’s easy to set up once you have graphene installed.
I made the switch when I got a new phone. So I kept both the old phone with android and the new phone with GrapheneOS. There was a transition period when I would bring both phones with me, just in case. Now my old phone is my “whatsapp” phone which I keep at home and turn on rarely. During the transition period I used my old phone number whenever I needed to provide my phone to use a service, but eventually I transitioned that to a VoIP. But, even then, many services will reject VoIP phone numbers, so I still make use of the old one.
I had to request a special scanner from my bank because the banking apps do not work with GrapheneOS. And I had to make sure that nothing important goes into my gmail anymore because google would request that I used my old phone 2FA in the most inconvenient moments, and also I don’t want to access google from my GrapheneOS phone.
I think that there are many annoyances that can and probably will happen if you try to jump right into GrapheneOS after having previously relied in the google/meta ecosystem. If you attempt to switch too quickly you might inadvertently lose access to your bank, and you might become suddenly unable to communicate with family and friends. My government’s online identification system requires that I use their app, which runs on google services, so I still have to use my old phone for that. And I have encountered situations in which the only reasonably convenient way to proceed is to download an app. For example, recently I registered for a gym that would then require me to use their google-store app so that I could identify myself when purchasing a physical card.
I am not sure as I did not test this one. Maybe you can go in person and get a worker to get you access to the kiosk through your account to print the card. It is one of those massive chains with gyms in every corner. I think that by now they rely on their digital infrastructure and many of their workers are not trained to handle uncommon situations. At least I get that from some of my experiences, but I could be wrong, maybe if I would have called them could have helped me with this. It was just easier to get the app into my old phone, print a card, delete the app.
Does WhatsApp not work at all on Graphene OS or do you just need to enable Google Play services for it to work? (I do understand why you personally may not want to enable the Play services, but I’m just curious about the potential capabilities).
I think that it works, but for it to work you need to enable Google Play services. From what I understand, this is done in a sandboxed manner simulating a fake identity, so it is possible to do this while isolating Google from your phone to an extent. But I think that WhatsApp is in itself problematic and one of the direct offenders that I want to avoid, regardless of its reliance on Google Play services, and so I have not gone through this effort myself.
Many people have the misconception that they’re defeating the purpose of GrapheneOS by using privacy invasive apps but in fact the opposite is true. If you want to use those apps, then using GrapheneOS allows you to protect your privacy from them far better than another OS.
GrapheneOS arguably makes the biggest difference for someone who is going to be using a bunch of mainstream apps including very privacy invasive ones. They need features like Storage Scopes and Contact Scopes more.
You’ll substantially benefit from our privacy and security features without making significant changes to your apps. In fact, you’ll benefit more from features like Storage Scopes, Contact Scopes, Sensors toggle, etc. if you use a bunch of very privacy invasive apps.
I don’t see much at all that could go wrong with switching over to grapheneos immediately. I, admittedly, did it as soon as I recieved my device so there was no concern, but it was about as smooth as the process could possible have been. Back up any files you care about and just do it, I reckon
Honestly, I need to know. Who actually plays Valorant or LoL? I know they are super popular but those games are the furthest away from fun I can think of. I know taste and fun is subjective and not an objective fact, but it still baffles me how anyone can find entertainment there.
Are these games the equivilent of picking up a sport? Maybe that’s why I’m bored to shit with them, since I also find irl sports to be dull as fuck.
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