Problem with two external web cams

[TimCassonSmith]

Hi,

I have an exam booked this Tuesday (20th 10.15am Australia/Brisbane time) and in advance of this, I have been trying to get my two external webcams to work. 

Basically they are both recongised during the mic sound input, however during the compatibility test only one is being picked up along with my internal camera.

The extermal cameras both work on my RHEL 8.7 system, and they are a MS LifeCam .

I have tried to connect my two web cams either directly to my laptop or via my thinkpad docking station. my laptop is being powered and charged from my docking station as I have limited plug sockets to have all powered from the mains.

the goal was to have both web cams working, close the lid on the laptop and use my larger external screen with an usb external KB and mouse.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreicated. 

Tim

[PetrCihlar]

HI TimCassonSmith
you dont need to have 2 cameras for the exam. No need. You need to have AN EXTERNAL CAMERA. No internal or secondary external camera is needed.
However, if you have it for some reason, it is not a problem. I see the camera may work as a microphone also. 
What you need to do is checking the mic input and mic volume in the Sound settings as you boot. Also, plug all the cams before you power on your computer, or else the mic input changes if you re-plug any cam or mic later. The proctor will choose the cam he/she wants. 
I hope this hels and brig peace to your mind

Petr

[TimCassonSmith · Accepted solution]

@PetrCihlar  Thank you for your reply. I have since got both cameras to work now .

As for your point on not needed two camera - firstly I was advised that two are needed, secondly when I did have a problem with my internal camera during an exam, I had to spend some time for the camera to be positioned so that the protoctor could see my face and hands. 

Having 2 makes the process for both the proctor and myself easier for the process of the exam to start.

For everyone who has a lenovo t14s laptop and needs to use a larger screen, USB KB and Mouse with two cameras - you need to go into the BIOS under security and disable the internal camera - 

One of the extermal cameras had to be connected directly to my laptop and the other to the docking station. The monitor also had to be connected to my laptop for the set up to work. 

There has been an issue closing the lid on the laptop within the exam set up as it closes everything down. This is fixed by disabling the power saving option in the BIOS.

Hope this is of help to someone.

Kind regards,

Tim Casson-Smith

[PetrCihlar]

Hi,
again RH does not require 2 cameras. You just need to have an external camera. Of course, having 2 cameras in total (1 ext. + 1 int.) is an advantage for the proctor. The internal can be used to read the ID for instance, if the external one is not able to focus. Imagine people running the exam from a desktop computer, not having the internal cam. They are allowed to take the exam too. 

This may be useful:

How to position an external webcam - https://learn.redhat.com/t5/Certification-Resources/How-to-position-an-external-camera-for-a-Red-Hat...

Regards

Petr

[KhaledElSheikh]

I will use external monitor, Can I use only one external camera or I must have 2 external camers?

[Fran_Garcia]

You only need ONE external camera that can be moved. Some people have two because they are using laptops, but that is not a requirement. Ensure you follow the requisites for a PC-like setup  (only one wired mouse and keyboard, only one screen, etc) as detailed in the exam onboarding document.