Which is the best API to use when accessing a WebCam in .Net? (I know they can be webcam specific, I am willing to buy a new webcam if it means better results).
I want to write a desktop application that will take video from a webcam and store it in MPEG4 formats (DivX, Xvid, etc...). I would also like to access bitmap stills from the device so I can do image comparison between frames.
I have tried various libraries, and none have really been a great fit (some have performance issues (very inconsistent framerates), some have image quality limitations, some just crash out for seemingly no reason. I want to get high quality video (as high as I can get) and a decent framerate.
My webcam is more than up to the job and I was hoping that there would be a nice Managed .Net library around that would help my cause.
Are webcam APIs all just incredibly bad?
You never said which ones you have already used but I recommend you might want to try out DirectShow.NET for capturing the device and FFMPEG for your video conversions. You will find both these libraries on SourceForge.