Camera on laptop going extremely pixelated

[RainV2]

Hello!
My friend recently got a new laptop, specifically the HP Omnibook 7 17" (Intel Core Ultra 7 processor with the rtx 4050 and 32GB of ram) and the camera has been going pixelated (no matter whether its discord or the camera app itself), after a few minutes and you have to either slide the privacy thing over to potentially reset the camera or turn it off and on again, sliding the privacy cover over doesn't always work, but works sometimes, turning off and on again helps every time but the issue repeats itself after a few minutes. The pixelation also tends to just full on change the color, sometimes turning them green on camera with the darker parts becoming blue/purple. We have tried checking for new drivers but that hasn't worked for us.

[Hawks_Eye]

Hi @RainV2 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

I’m really sorry this has been affecting your friend’s experience—especially on such a powerful new laptop. You’ve already done a great job checking for driver updates, and I appreciate the effort. 

The pixelation and color distortion you're seeing on the HP Omnibook 7's camera likely stem from a software-level image processing conflict or thermal-related sensor instability. Let's work through a few steps to stabilize the camera feed.

Step-by-step actions to fix pixelated and color-shifting webcam output

Disable any third-party camera enhancements:

• Open Camera Privacy Settings:
  Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Camera and ensure only essential apps have access.
• Disable enhancements in apps like Discord or Zoom:
  In Discord, go to Settings > Voice & Video > Advanced, and turn off Hardware Acceleration and Video Processing.

Reset the camera driver manually:

• Open Device Manager (Win + X > Device Manager).
• Expand Imaging Devices or Cameras.
• Right-click your camera > Uninstall device.
• Restart the laptop. Windows will reinstall the default driver automatically.

Install HP Camera Driver from official source:

• Visit the HP support page for your model:
  HP Omnibook 7 Drivers & Software
• Enter your exact model (e.g., HP Omnibook 7 17-inch) and download the latest Camera Driver under “Driver-Keyboard, Mouse and Input Devices”.

Disable automatic exposure and white balance (if supported):

• Open the Camera app.
• Click the gear icon (Settings).
• If available, turn off Auto Exposure and Auto White Balance to prevent color shifts.

Test in a clean boot environment:

• Type msconfig in the Start menu and open System Configuration.
• Under Services, check Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all.
• Go to Startup > Open Task Manager, and disable all startup items.
• Restart the laptop and test the camera. This helps rule out background conflicts.

Let me know how the camera behaves after these steps. If the issue persists, we can explore thermal or firmware-related adjustments next. You’re doing everything right by staying persistent and observant.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[RainV2]

Hello!
Thank you for the reply but unfortunately none of these issues helped.
We did notice that uninstalling the drivers helped for slightly longer (around 15-20 minutes)
Another thing, there are no specific drivers for the camera on the HP website when looking at drivers for my friends specific laptop.
What else could we do to further troubleshoot?
Thank you!