USB Cameras
pi-webrtc reads USB (UVC) cameras through V4L2. They work on a Raspberry Pi and on a Jetson, with no extra setup.
1. Find the camera
Install the V4L2 tools and list the video devices:
sudo apt install v4l-utils
v4l2-ctl --list-devicesFind your camera and note its first /dev/videoN device. For example, /dev/video2 means --camera=v4l2:2.
2. Check the formats
List the formats, sizes and frame rates that the camera supports:
v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video2 --list-formats-ext3. Start pi-webrtc
Use a format, size and frame rate from that list. For a camera on /dev/video2 that sends MJPEG at 1280×720 and 30 fps:
./pi-webrtc --camera=v4l2:2 --v4l2-format=mjpeg --width=1280 --height=720 --fps=30 ...Choose a format
--v4l2-format | What the camera sends | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
mjpeg | Compressed JPEG frames | The best choice for most cameras. It uses little USB bandwidth. |
h264 | Compressed H.264 | Uses the least USB bandwidth and CPU, if the camera supports it. |
yuyv | Uncompressed frames | Uses a lot of USB bandwidth. Fine for small sizes. |
i420 | Uncompressed frames | The default, but few USB cameras support it. |
Always set --v4l2-format. Most USB cameras do not support the default, i420.
Other V4L2 devices
V4L2 also covers virtual cameras (V4L2 loopback). See Virtual cameras.
CSI Cameras
A CSI camera connects to the board with a ribbon cable. pi-webrtc reads it with libcamera on a Raspberry Pi, and with libargus on a Jetson.
RTSP Cameras
Stream an IP camera, or any RTSP stream, through pi-webrtc. Run pi-webrtc on a Raspberry Pi or a Jetson near the camera, and point --camera at an rtsp:// URL.