Re: Videoconferencing on NetBSD

[nia <nia%NetBSD.org@localhost>]

On Tue, Oct 15, 2024 at 03:10:13PM +0000, Abu Hussain Al Mukhtar wrote:
> [ Posting to the correct mailing list now ]
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I was wondering if anyone has been sucessful in joining (not hosting)
> videoconference calls (or at the very least, teleconference calls with
> no video) from a NetBSD box, either by using the Linux compatibility
> layer or otherwise. If so, would you mind sharing your experience?
> 
> More specifically:
> 
> * Which software did you use? was ist native software or a web client?;

Web clients for jitsi meet, discord, others. Firefox.

> * Which problems did or do you have with the microphone and the webcam?
>   I was searching for something similar to FreeBSD's webcamd, which
>   does not seem to exist in NetBSD;

The microphone is muted in the kernel mixer by default and needs
to be unmuted and have its gain raised. ADC value matters for internal
mic vs. plugged in one.

In general webcamd is unnecessary (thankfully!)
because webcam access is standardized via uvideo(4).

> * Did or do you experience weird behaviour? e.g. Webcam working in
>   general but randomly freezing;

There were problems with the webcam (attached internally via USB)
freezing before some changes to the xhci driver.

> * General recommendations? (Software, Hardware, NetBSD architecture)

Firefox is the only browser available with WebRTC support.