Lifecam HD-3000 bad audio

Anonymous
2020-09-18T22:09:59+00:00

Hi I have Win 10, and I have a Lifecam HD-3000, and the audio has a hum.

I've tried a couple of units and they are the same, so I know it's not a physical fault.

I also tried changing the sampling rate, a solution offered in other forum answers, but that didn't work.

Does the Lifecam HD-3000 simply not work with windows 10, or is there a solution to get the sound working properly ?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-09-21T10:49:30+00:00

    Hi thanks for getting back to me. On the box it say model 1492, year 2019. 

    I've played with the microphone input level from 0% to 100%, held the cam away from the monitor, plugged it in a different room in a different computer, turned all the lights off.

    The hum changes with the input level but it's always there.

    I tried the a headset microphone - sound was good, no hum.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-09-21T10:38:22+00:00

    There may be several minor revisions. I know there are at least two major model numbers. I have model 1492. The other model is 1456. Maybe one model is more resilient than the other. The only generic FAQ I could immediately find for other LifeCam models covering audio issues. 

    Resolve poor audio quality by using your LifeCam in a Messenger Video Call

    Have you ever tried the listen to this device option and lowered the mic gain to see if you can hear the hum. I personally connected a USB headset (did not use the headset mic) and enabled Listen to this device and lowered the output to less than 80%. The USB headset or 3.5mm to USB adapter headset helps isolate things. This type of configuration might allow you to orient the camera around to see if the buzzing goes away when the cameras are moved around or away from things.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-09-19T13:28:40+00:00

    I own several LifeCams (HD-3000 not VX, HD-6000, Cinema and Studio) and do not have any noticeable hum on any of them. My logitech c920 has always had worse quality mic audio by comparison but no hum either. I tested with variable mic sensitivity levels and clearly picked up the TV audio from the other end of my house at the highest levels. Maybe there is an issue with quality control and shielding your level of EMI, newer revisions of the hardware or the drivers themselves.

    You can try these older drivers that I have hosted that resolve dark issues with several LifeCams. I have no idea if they addressed all the issues in the latest releases of the drivers but these tend to be the most stable. Maybe they will address your hum issue. The LifeCam software with overlays should not be used on Windows 10. Either drivers issued by Windows Update or the generic UVC USB Video device/USB Audio device drivers should be used on Windows 10. You can also try changing any automatic video settings in the driver. There is always a possibility that one of those features are creating resource/latency issues generating your issue.

    Excerpt from one of my other posts on camera issues:

    These drivers are compatible with: 

    HD-3000, HD-5000, HD-5001, HD-6000, Cinema, Studio, and Microsoft-based (not Intel) *Surface Pro Front and Rear cameras (*64-bit only).

    LifeCam 4.25.532.0 64-bit \[pcdust.com\]

    LifeCam 4.25.532.0 32-bit \[pcdust.com\]

    Visual guidance on how to properly update/downgrade to these drivers.

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-09-18T23:34:11+00:00

    Hiya Melik, thanks, well, I tried it on two other windows 10 machines. 

    I should say I also tried using the Win 7 driver from the Microsoft download site, in compatibility mode, but that made no difference, still a loud hum over the audio.

    It just looks like it's obsolete on windows 10, the company hasn't updated the drivers.

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-09-18T22:16:53+00:00

    Hi Ingrid,

    Have you tried the webcam on other computers aswell or did you just test on 1 PC? Would be worth to test on others and then we can surely know that it is something with the webcams software.

    Please reply so that I can assist you furthermore with the problem :).

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