PlayStation Eye gets utility boost, hacked to work as webcam

Remember that PlayStation Eye you purchased way back when? You know, that PS peripheral you used for all of 12 minutes before shelving indefinitely? It's time to break that bad boy back out, as a detailed hack from the NUI Group shows how to convert it into a working webcam within Windows. Make no mistake, this isn't the simplest hack in the whole wide world, but the long-winded instructions ought to guide you right through. What are you waiting for? Head on down and get to work!

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

[allislost @ Oct 1st 2008 3:48AM]

Another incredibly useful alternative use for such a useless device is to grab one and the whole thing. People should try it!

[Andir3.0 @ Oct 1st 2008 10:17AM]

"grab one and the whole thing"

You're missing a verb...

"grab one and _____ the whole thing."

[allislost @ Oct 1st 2008 5:05PM]

HA!

[oZone @ Oct 2nd 2008 2:28AM]

Grab one and accidentally the whole thing. All of it.

[Poom @ Oct 1st 2008 3:57AM]

hmm my friend has been using it as a webcam for his pc for a long while already... he was talking about getting some ps eye driver. ???

[BuddyBoy @ Oct 1st 2008 4:06AM]

I've used mine on my Macbook since June. I'm surprised Engadget didn't jump on that one when it came out, I thought they loved Apple.

http://webcam-osx.sourceforge.net/

[mayq @ Oct 1st 2008 4:45AM]

I've also been using this for a while on a mac. I assumed that windows drivers for this webcam came out earlier than the one for mac.

[Fade2blac @ Oct 1st 2008 3:58AM]

"Used for all of 12 minutes before shelving indefinitely?"

Ummm, I don't know if I agree with that completely. I did buy it when it first came out and I used it for Eye of Judgment and while it was cool, it just wasn't my kinda game. But I do use it for video chatting quite frequently as well as using it for a microphone while playing games online. Not to mention that games, Buzz, SingStar, and LittleBigPlanet all use it quite well! I'd say that I'd got my money's worth out of it and I'm looking forward to see what the future brings as well, like that crazy looking monkey game that's name is currently slipping my mind.

[Poom @ Oct 1st 2008 1:33PM]

I'm not surprised they write this after constantly provoking sony fanboys in their post saying there are only 3 of them anyways... They're too blatantly anti-Sony and it's kinda sad to see such bias.

[Tigermain @ Oct 1st 2008 4:31AM]

Erm yeah I did this my other halfs son about 2 or so years ago using the logitech drivers I think was a little fiddly as you need to get the right ones depending on the model but theres plenty of guides out there. Where have you been Engadget!?!?

[Michael @ Oct 1st 2008 5:29AM]

News? this is hardly news, ive been using this as a webcam since 2006 with the dlink camera drivers..!

[Faar @ Oct 6th 2008 12:32AM]

Erm, no you haven't... The Playstation Eye hasn't even been out that long.

You're thinking of the Eyetoy, which is a completely different piece of hardware (and much inferior in performance and quality.)

[5lab @ Oct 1st 2008 6:48AM]

I think some of you guys are confusing playstatin eye (hd ps3 camera + mics) with the eyetoy (ps2 camera, sans mics if i remember right, and low res)

[BuddyBoy @ Oct 1st 2008 7:46AM]

Not at all. This has been done before I've been using it for months now. Never even touched an eye toy. Engadget is just a little behind the times.

[Shane @ Oct 1st 2008 6:53AM]

Some of you guys are confused what cam is talked about in this article. This is for the Playstation Eye (for PS3) not the EyeToy which was made for the PS2. And no you can't use the EyeToy drivers on the PS Eye (PS3)

[Roc_80 @ Oct 1st 2008 7:29AM]

agreed

[Mark @ Oct 1st 2008 8:20AM]

Agree with Fade2blac. I've had the Eye for a while and there's a few decent games out there that take advantage of it. Loving it with the LBP beta ATM.

And the camera is really good quality. Way better in low light conditions than the 360 camera.

[htd @ Oct 1st 2008 9:34AM]

I am actually using eyetoy as webcam on my vista laptop, since my createive webcam live! doesnt have vista driver. it works really well. :)

[Kimleng @ Oct 1st 2008 11:26AM]

The problem with this hack is that it is only able to be used for recording straight to your computer at the moment. It is not compatible with any IM programs out there such as MSN/Yahoo/Skype/etc. So, unless you're a YouTuber or operate your own live porn channel, it's only a cool novelty for now. Bring it back out for 12 seconds this time instead of 12 mins.

[cerupcat @ Oct 10th 2008 1:29AM]

It now works in other programs. You have to check back for updates ;)

[Jessica @ Oct 7th 2008 12:00AM]

I went out and bought a Eye from Wal-Mart for the $39.96 price tag. I came home and installed his software program. This camera is absolutely AMAZING. I mean quality video beyond any webcam. I currently have a half dozen webcams. All the websites claim the Logitech Notebook Pro/9000 series are the best. The problem is they record in 15 frames per second and the Carl Zeiss lens is horrible. I've tried a plethora of cams. I've tried about every webcam on a notebook. The best are made by Acer at an unfortunately VGA quality, but the image I find to be far superior. I'm a high resolution person myself, but I am willing to downgrade to a lower resolution to get a better image. The problem with this eye cam software is the sheer number of space it requires. A 3 second video is 50MB. Ouch! They do upload to youtube, but you better have tons of hours on your hands to wait for the upload to complete. I'd like to see compression in H.264. But I would donate at least $100 to this guy if he could make this work like a regular webcam such as in firefox, chrome, opera, IE, etc as a recognized webcam without it crashing instantly. The 18MB per second recording is tough, the quality is of the frame rates are out of this world. All these webcams on the market promise up to 30fps yet only record at 15fps. I'm aware of Firefly MV and iFire, but the company that sells them seem to assume you are into advanced design such as robotics or something far above the average mod savvy person. I realize it is his first version and hopeful he can give the public an escape from the stagnant technology of webcams...let's face it the highest rated webcams are years old. What gives?

[cerupcat @ Oct 10th 2008 1:33AM]

Please understand, this is a driver that is still in progress.

The main difference between this windows driver and the one on mac is that this one WILL be able to run at 60fps @ 640 x 480 and 120fps @ 320 x 240. Mac only does 30fpa at any resolution from what i've tested. The driver is being worked on very hard and it will definitely run and work as a normal webcam (in most applications e.g. MSN, AIM, firefox, etc). Equivalent cameras that run at that fps and resolution cost in the $300+ range (e.g. Firefly MV) so this is huge news to have $300 functionality for $40.

[pureanduncut @ Oct 10th 2008 11:53AM]

using D-Link DSB-C310 (Rev B1) drivers for this since 2004!