How to use your GoPro as a webcam


This article describes how you can use a GoPro Hero camera as a webcam which can be used in Zoom.us (Windows only), Skype, and many other applications.

*** Update ***

Although the article is still valid, we recommend to use this webcam tool instead because it is much easier to use: http://www.gopro2webcam.com.

*** Update ***

Note: The GoPro is connected via WiFi which means you need a second connection for the internet access (e.g. a LAN cable).

Pre-requisits

Setup instructions

Step 1: Download ffmpeg

Download ffmpeg and extract the “bin/ffpmpeg.exe” (or “bin/ffmpeg“) file to the Desktop.

Step 2: Download webcamoid

Windows:

Download webcamoid for Windows special version here. Then extract the “webcamoid” folder to the Desktop.

macOS:

Download webcamoid for macOS special version here. Then extract the “webcamoid.zip” file to the Desktop.

 

Step 3: Connect to the GoPro camera and start the Camera Suite streaming server

Connect to the GoPro’s WiFi network using the macOS or Windows network manager. If you have a GoPro Hero 8/Max camera then the WiFi connection can be created using the WiFi connector app.

Then start the Camera Suite app, connect to the GoPro camera, and start the streaming server in the Camera Suite app. Uncheck the “Enable UDP streaming server” checkbox before starting the streaming server.

Step 4: Start ffmpeg

Open a command prompt (terminal) and type in the following two commands:

Windows:

cd Desktop
ffmpeg -fflags nobuffer -f mpegts -i udp://10.5.5.101:8554 -f mpegts -vcodec copy udp://localhost:10000

 

macOS:

cd Desktop
./ffmpeg -fflags nobuffer -f mpegts -i udp://10.5.5.101:8554 -f mpegts -vcodec copy udp://localhost:10000

Step 5: Start webcamoid and add a virtual webcam

Start webcamoid and click on the cog symbol in the bottom toolbar. Click the “Add” button for adding a new virtual webcam. Eventually it is necessary to restart the webcamoid app.

macOS only: Click on the webcam symbol (second symbol) and add a new URL source with url “udp://@:10000”. Restart the webcamoid app.

Step 6: Start Zoom, Skype, etc.

Start Zoom, Skype (Desktop edition!), or any other app where you want to use the new webcam. If the video does not show up then toggle the “Enable virtual webcam” switch in the webcamoid app.

macOS: Please use this version of Zoom for macOS as the latest version has a bug which does not support virtual webcams: https://zoom.us/client/4.6.19178.0323/Zoom.pkg

 

The following videos show the whole process on Windows and macOS:

Microsoft Windows 10

 

Apple macOS (10.13 or newer)

41 COMMENTS

  2. I got this to work for video, but there is no audio recording. Should this also allow audio input through the gopro? Is there a special way to get this to work?

  3. Hello, can I expect a delay/latency between video and audio when implementing your described solution here? If so, how long approximately? I have a Windows 10 laptop and a Hero8 camera. Thanks in advance for reply. Best regards, Pedro

      • Thanks for your reply. Does delay mean latency for image and audio or just that they are out of sync?
        If out of sync, do you have any suggestions on how to make sure that it is the gopro audio that gets picked up? (I already made sure that it us in video mode).

          • Hello,

            I bought the Virtual Webcam Driver, installed it and followed the steps for RTMP and the gopro 8. Sometimes the user interface shows me an RTMP url, sometimes it displays ‘rtmp://”No WiFi interface found. Enter this computer’s IP manually here!”/live’. When I do all other steps the gopro gives me the message “Network problem”. After that it doesn’t matter what I do (stop/start app, switch gopro off/on).I cannot connect again to the gopro from the app. I need to restart the laptop (since there is no way to stop the service). I don’t know if that is coincidence but then at least I am able again to connect gopro and app. I tried totally resetting the gopro and reconnecting it to the app. Same result.

            – Do I need an rtmp server on my laptop or do you provide that? If you do provide it, why doesn’t the ip address show every time?
            – What is the use of the available network interfaces drop-down? I tried several of them (with and without ethernet). How do I know which is the right one?
            – There is no reaction from the application once I start the server. Why is that? How do I know if it is properly running? A little message would be useful…
            – Why is the gopro complaining about a network problem. By the way, I tried entering a random rtmp ip address and the error message was the same.

            I would appreciate your ideas since I spent some considerable time on this already.

            Thank you very much in advance,
            Pedro

  5. Hi, I have a problem with creating of virtual webcam in webcamoid. When I add new virtual webcam, somehow it’s not appear there. Please help.

  6. Hi,

    when I execute the ffmpeg file it stops short (see below). This in turn means the webcamoid can not find the virtual camera. Do you have any suggestions?

    Thanks in Advance

    calhost:10000
    ffmpeg version git-2020-05-15-b18fd2b Copyright (c) 2000-2020 the FFmpeg developers
    built with gcc 9.3.1 (GCC) 20200513
    configuration: –enable-gpl –enable-version3 –enable-sdl2 –enable-fontconfig –enable-gnutls –enable-iconv –enable-libass –enable-libdav1d –enable-libbluray –enable-libfreetype –enable-libmp3lame –enable-libopencore-amrnb –enable-libopencore-amrwb –enable-libopenjpeg –enable-libopus –enable-libshine –enable-libsnappy –enable-libsoxr –enable-libsrt –enable-libtheora –enable-libtwolame –enable-libvpx –enable-libwavpack –enable-libwebp –enable-libx264 –enable-libx265 –enable-libxml2 –enable-libzimg –enable-lzma –enable-zlib –enable-gmp –enable-libvidstab –enable-libvmaf –enable-libvorbis –enable-libvo-amrwbenc –enable-libmysofa –enable-libspeex –enable-libxvid –enable-libaom –disable-w32threads –enable-libmfx –enable-ffnvcodec –enable-cuda-llvm –enable-cuvid –enable-d3d11va –enable-nvenc –enable-nvdec –enable-dxva2 –enable-avisynth –enable-libopenmpt –enable-amf
    libavutil 56. 45.100 / 56. 45.100
    libavcodec 58. 84.100 / 58. 84.100
    libavformat 58. 43.100 / 58. 43.100
    libavdevice 58. 9.103 / 58. 9.103
    libavfilter 7. 81.100 / 7. 81.100
    libswscale 5. 6.101 / 5. 6.101
    libswresample 3. 6.100 / 3. 6.100
    libpostproc 55. 6.100 / 55. 6.100

  7. hi there! i have the hero 7 and a wifi connection to my computer but but my cmd only says ‘ffmpeg’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file. I have both folders unzipped to my desktop. am i missing something here?

    • Have you copied the “ffmpeg” (or ffmpeg.exe) file to the Desktop?
      You must also type “cd Desktop” (without quotes) into the terminal before entering the “ffmpeg” command.

  8. Hi, I’m getting no where with the ffmpeg file. When I type the macOS commands, nothing is happening. Should I see a window or something?

  11. My problem started when I use the command control …. unfortunatelly, when I write “cd Desktop”, nothing happens in mi PC, Windows 10. Please consider to refund me the cost of the Camera Suite App. Many thanks!

  12. The webcamoid app is not working for me. Every time I try to launch it it quits with just a flash of a window. (Mac OS 10.13.6)

    Any other options for downloading and launching?

  15. hiya thnx loads for this. quick question: do i need a LAN connection because the gopro creates its own wifi? so if i have a LAN connection i basically can still connect my internet as well? i just want to make sure before i spend on camera suit as i am a student.

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