Adjust webcam colors on Spectre X360

[C_Brooks]

My husband & I just Skyped on my 5 hour old Spectre 360 in the same location.  His phone camera looks Great!  It's true to color.  My brand new laptop's camera is... pitiful.  😕  Purple looks good on me, but seriously.  This is going too far.  Thankfully, we bought all the extra perks at Best Buy and I'll have them do whatever it takes to fix it.  This includes returning for another brand, if that's what it takes.  HP, you've got some fixin' to do!

Sencerely, 

Otherwise satisfied

[Beloculus]

I had the same problem on my x360 and was quite disappointed as I spend a lot of my day on video chat and try to be outdoors as much as possible, and so everyone was asking me why my trees were orange in the middle of summer.

To resolve it, I purchased an IR filter from B&H Photo (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/617653-REG/Marshall_Electronics_V_FIRC_650_650nm_IR_Cut_Filte...). Placing that over the webcam cleared the color issues right up. Still haven't figured out exactly how I'm going to attach the thing, but I'll clear that hurdle soon I'm sure 😉 

Current hypothesis is that HP cheaped out on the camera and saved themselves some money by just not including an IR filter. This does resolve the issue for $5 + shipping and some glue.

[proxyx]

This is not the hypothesis, it's a fact. Weren't the trees orange?

The IR filter will not fix noise, low resolution, color issues etc.

Take your advise elwhere, this is NOT a DIY forum. People pay some serious money for the laptop and expect it to be free from faults. Turns out that in this case, despite several critical posts and reviews, HP (this forum) is NOT interested in any solution. Zero fixes so far. I'm not going to glue anything on my laptop... and if so, HP should be doing it for me (!), don't you think?

Camera driver includes a setting to disable IR, improves nothing. This is a lowest grade camera not only the IR problem.

Post pictures for others to judge... before you claim something. Let's see your hot glue work...

Here is my picture to illustrate the issue of purple tint and overall abysmal quality of my HP Envy camera (also shared by Spectre). Good luck trying  to distinguish the lines on my sweater on the HP screen. Total pink blurry mess.

[David_J_W]

Most of us are familiar with what the front facing camera in a smartphone can do - but even a modestly priced smartphone often has a greatly superior front facing camera than the webcam in a laptop costing several times as much. The Samsung Galaxy S8+ sat next to me has a front facing camera capable of 8 megapixel stills, 1080p video with HDR and stabilisation, and 1440p video without HDR or stabilisation. The rear facing camera is more capable still. Even more modest phones often have front facing cameras of at least 4 megapixels+ that are capable of 1080p video. Meanwhile laptop webcams are usually very low end devices - 0.9 megapixel stills and 720p video at 30fps (so the same still resolution as video resolution) is still common. I'm not going to discuss issues such as viewing angle and resolving power of the lens - these are just the headline specifications based on the sensor and processing setup.

The webcam in a laptop is a facility that many users never use. When I am not at my desk I usually use my phone for videoconferencing. If I am at my desk, the setup my laptop is docked to includes an external webcam on top of the monitor that is directly in front of me.

Those that use the integrated webcam will probably only use it for video conferencing - ephemeral video that is not normally recorded. When every cent on the bill of materials counts in a price sensitive consumer marketplace, it is hard for manufacturers such as HP to specify high quality cameras, especially if that additional expenditure on the BOM doesn't translate to additional sales or marketing capital.

In the case of the Spectre x360, I am unsure whether the same camera is used for the IR functionality for Windows Hello and for visible light use. The HP web site says "HP TRUE VISION FHD IR CAMERA Log in safely through Windows Hello and video chat with an 88-degree wide-angle field of view." A single camera covering both IR and visible light is almost certain to have the problem detailed in this thread.

Why be so harsh on Beloculus, proxyx? His/her experiment with a near IR filter seems to confirm the colour cast comes about from near IR light entering the camera. It would be nice to see images with and without the filter in question, also his/her developing ideas about mounting that filter. The lack of a root cause fix from HP after all the time you've been posting about this issue seems to indicate that self-help is the only way ahead.

The image you have posted is far from ideal for comparison purposes, because I doubt you've calibrated either laptop's screen using an external colorimeter, and even if you have there will be differences. It would have been better to capture a still image from both webcams, then either post those images or make a composite of them in photo editing software. Links to the original images from the camera software are helpful for those wanting to dig deeper. If you have something like a ColorChecker, that would make an idea subject for comparison shots, as the colorimetry of the patches is well known.

If the problem is excessive near IR sensitivity of the camera, there is probably nothing HP can do unless they switch to a camera with a better IR filter built in or can upgrade the filter in the existing camera. This might not be straightforward - the engineering work on the device has been completed and if I'm looking at the correct Service and Maintenance Guide, the electronics in the lid of the laptop are spared only as an entire assembly. This means that even service centres are not expected to change the camera - if there is a camera failure in warranty, the entire display and camera assembly will be changed.

My feeling is that if the colour cast issue is excessive near IR sensitivity of the camera, it is a quality issue rather than a fault. My belief is that the English courts would probably side with HP if the matter was before a court - no specific guarantee was made as to the quality of the camera, the camera is described as for "video chat" and the device is a general purpose laptop that happens to have a camera; it is not a digital camera or a dedicated videoconferencing platform. This would mean the question before the court was whether the camera was of reasonable quality for video chat - and I would expect the court to conclude it is. The camera is reasonable, but that is the most that can be said about it. My expectations might be wrong, and other jurisdictions might take a different view entirely.

Despite the marketing bluster - which is accompanied by a notable lack of actual specifications other than a viewing angle - it looks like it is a cheap camera. You imply that the resolution is low and there's a fair amount of noise. The issues seem to run deeper than excessive near IR sensitivity whereas any change to the filters will only fix colour casts from inadequte near IR filtering.

You've posted an awful lot about the x360 cameras and I hope HP have heard your view, proxyx. I hope they'll consider something rather better for future devices - there are laptops out there with better integrated webcams despite the constraints on available space and BOM cost. Even so, I have yet to come across an laptop integrated webcam that I would regard as producing an outstanding image - often even moderately priced mobile phones can do much better. If we look at the Quickspec of what I think is the most expensive current x360 device, the ZBook Studio x360 G5, all that is promised of the optional webcam on those devices is 720p at 30fps - it's probably the same inexpensive camera as in these Spectre x360s.

I will be very surprised if HP change anything in the current generation of devices unless there is an upgraded camera with the same form factor available at little extra cost that can be substituted as a routine engineering change when current webcam stocks are depleted. It will be cheaper for HP to accept a few returns from users unhappy with the webcam (or offer free / discounted external webcams to those that complain) than re-engineer devices that are already some way into their product lifecycle.

[BAmsterdam]

I just came off the phone with Roberto from HP Netherlands and he helped me with a solution. He ran WebcamFW.exe on my computer, a Realtek Camera firmware update tool, and after this the colors are back to normal. It's unfortunate I can't upload the file here for future users with the same problem, but I'm sure that if you call HP they can help you. Just make sure you refer to the file I described. 

[David_J_W]

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@BAmsterdam wrote:

I just came off the phone with Roberto from HP Netherlands and he helped me with a solution. He ran WebcamFW.exe on my computer, a Realtek Camera firmware update tool, and after this the colors are back to normal. It's unfortunate I can't upload the file here for future users with the same problem, but I'm sure that if you call HP they can help you. Just make sure you refer to the file I described. 

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That's great news that something can be done for at least one of the issues.

Approximately how old was your x360 device, and exactly what model was it? I'm guessing that, at some point, HP moved to shipping this firmware in new devices.

[BAmsterdam]

Hi David, 

Thanks for the kudos and your reply. 

I purchased my HP Spectre x360 Convertible 13-ae015 two weeks ago. The problem was there when I received it, so they don't ship the laptops with a fix. I had to run it myself. 

Tried all suggestions from this topic except the IR filter, which is a clever one I admit. Then I was about to return it to Coolblue, the shop where I purchased it. They were willing to immediately replace the laptop, but after reading this topic I was affraid this would not solve anything and would only mean I needed to configure yet another new laptop. So the servicerep suggested I'd call HP which I did. 

I think the fix I described should work for all HP Spectre webcams who show black/blue as purple/pink. 

Now it's up to HP to include this fix in the HP Support Assistant. 

[proxyx]

Regarding the "fix" with the IR filter... where is the proof?

are we supposed to take a word for it? No proof, no picture, nothing... just a statement...?

For HP, to address it, they would have to admit there's a problem. Did not see it yet.

To date there is no admission, confirmation and no attempt to come up with the fix. Looks familiar?

Obviously they cannot fix the problem they pretend doesn't exist, or deny.

Locking threads, deleting posts and ignoring users is not the way leading to a solution.

Forums like this, with participation of HP staff, are supposed to be a conduit for both sides to effectively communicate. Someone forgot about that. It has nothing to do with campaigning but rather sharing information with other users in an attempt to develop a solution, for both sides. Companies have a feedback channel here. That was the idea. So far no response from HP or any serious attempt to study the problem. LIke it or not this IS an official HP forum created for users to communicate with the company and between themselves. 

I suggest you read again what OP and C_Brooks have written in the first post. People expect HP's active participation and initiative in fixing the pink webcam issue. None to date. My green clothes are purplish blue, blue are pink and pink are white. No philosophical deliberation will fix that, period.

[EddyK]

@proxyx, I completely understand your frustrations considering that I went through the same experience. However, your request to find an official reply/solution will most likely be futile. 

This is a peer-to-peer forum therefore the DIY forum that you are referencing is technically the correct description of this forum. The only intervention HP has in this forum are the robotic replies made by the support agents and the occasional escalations. 

@Beloculus thank you for providing your solution which is also cost effective.

@BAmsterdam thanks for proposing a solution.

I have to agree with most of @David_J_W's comments. While the lack of a solution by HP is annoying, webcams attract little to no customer interest. Instead, the market is demanding bezeless, powerful, thin & light, and aesthetically pleasing laptops - not laptops that have good webcams. If you're truly looking for a high quality webcam, one of HP's business lineup laptops may be in your interest. And yes, this is a premium device, but getting this furious over probably the most underused component by most consumers is a bit nonsensical. 

Furthermore, HP does not release official notes or investigation details publicly on the forum. A concept similar to this which is released to the public are Advisory Documents which usually deal with more concerning matters.

If @BAmsterdam's solutions truly works, I could try to request for this firmware internally and share it here although I'm honestly a tad bit skeptical.

- Eddy

[BAmsterdam]

Top = after Bottom = before with error.

As you can see the distortion of color I experienced was similar. My shirt is darkblue, but appeared purple. The boxes in my closet are coca cola red and black, but appeared pink and purple. And my hat is black and seemed pink. You can imagine why I have opted to switch to grayscale before I applied the fix Roberto gave me.

My assumption on how this fix worked for me is that because the laptop also has infra-red LEDs for authentication (Windows Hello) the webcam is set for different frequencies of light where it shouldn't. But then again, that's only an assumption. 

I have uploaded the ZIP exactly as the HP support rep downloaded it to my computer here:

https://ufile.io/wmd52 

Please note that this file will be deleted after 30 days because uploadfiles.io will then require me to pay which I have chose not to. I assume that by that time someone from HP will post a link to it here. Use the file at own risk.

ps. He downloaded it using an USA FTP server with a username that ends with some identical numbers.  Maybe this info can help the HP rep find it internally. If not he or she can PM or email me for my casenumber, so we can find exactly which rep at which time. Roberto was his name and he spoke Dutch with me. If you read this Roberto, thanks! 🙂