Black screen in teams using Elgato Cam Link 4k in linux

Question

Black screen in teams using Elgato Cam Link 4k in linux

Leo 1

Microsoft teams is showing a black screen instead of the video of my camera. I use a sony a5100 camera that is connected using an Elgato Cam Link 4 on a computer that is running Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS. If I use the browser version of teams instead of the app, I do get a working video but I can only see one other participant in my conference calls. I tried several solutions (using OBS studio, reducing bit rate of camera by lowering settings) but none of these work. The video works fine for other apps (like Zoom) and also works in teams when running windows 10. Is there a solution to this problem that works on Ubuntu?

JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-05-24T02:59:43.803+00:00
Hi @Leo

Can the camera device be detected in Microsoft Teams for Linux?

Have you tried another camera device to see if it works?

In this case, we recommend you try to make a test call in Teams client to see if there are some error messages.

In addition, please try to log out Teams client and clear Teams client cache file by running the following command:

rm -r ~/.config/Microsoft/Microsoft\ Teams
JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-05-28T10:15:02.38+00:00

@Leo

It has been a while, how is everything going?
If you have any update about this issue, please feel free to post back.
Leo 1 Reputation point

2021-06-02T15:48:31.697+00:00

Hi @JimmyYang-MSFT

Thank you for your reply. The camera is indeed detected (Teams detects the elgato device that shows up as "Cam Link 4K: Cam Link 4K"). If I use a normal webcam I do get video.

The error message I get when making a test call is:

Video isn't working
We couldn't use your webcam for video.

I also tried clearing the Teams client cache like you suggested (first checked if the files were indeed in the path you specified). However, this did not solve the problem. If you have other suggestions on how to get the camera working it would be most helpful.
Leo 1 Reputation point

2021-06-02T15:53:07.023+00:00

Small addition to my previous message. The audio from the camera does work. So when I make a test call with the Cam Link 4K selected, I do hear myself but do not see the camera video output.
JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-06-08T10:14:22.937+00:00

Hi @Leo

It seems your device is not compatible with Teams. It recommends you use the certified device for Microsoft Teams.
Leo 1 Reputation point

2021-06-08T11:06:30.213+00:00

Hi @JimmyYang-MSFT ,

Thank you for your reply. I understand why you say this, but I think this is an issue with the teams application in Linux. It does work in other Teams settings (like in windows or through a internet browser) as I mentioned above. If there is no solution to the problem at this time than that is disappointing but likely nothing you can help with. I therefore hope a fix for this can be implemented in a future version of teams on linux. Is there any way in which you can make sure that this is looked at by the application developers for a future update? Other conferencing applications have no problem with this setup, which has become a lot more used over the past year, so I don't think teams should stay behind.
JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-06-11T08:56:35.493+00:00

Hi @Leo

Thanks for your understanding!

Is there any way in which you can make sure that this is looked at by the application developers for a future update?

It is suggested to open a ticket to get more efficient support. The support engineer will collect your backend log file and analyze this problem exactly.

1 answer

Your answer

JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-05-24T02:59:43.803+00:00

Hi @Leo

Can the camera device be detected in Microsoft Teams for Linux?

Have you tried another camera device to see if it works?

In this case, we recommend you try to make a test call in Teams client to see if there are some error messages.

In addition, please try to log out Teams client and clear Teams client cache file by running the following command:

rm -r ~/.config/Microsoft/Microsoft\ Teams
JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-05-28T10:15:02.38+00:00

@Leo

It has been a while, how is everything going?
If you have any update about this issue, please feel free to post back.
Leo 1 Reputation point

2021-06-02T15:48:31.697+00:00

Hi @JimmyYang-MSFT

Thank you for your reply. The camera is indeed detected (Teams detects the elgato device that shows up as "Cam Link 4K: Cam Link 4K"). If I use a normal webcam I do get video.

The error message I get when making a test call is:

Video isn't working
We couldn't use your webcam for video.

I also tried clearing the Teams client cache like you suggested (first checked if the files were indeed in the path you specified). However, this did not solve the problem. If you have other suggestions on how to get the camera working it would be most helpful.
Leo 1 Reputation point

2021-06-02T15:53:07.023+00:00

Small addition to my previous message. The audio from the camera does work. So when I make a test call with the Cam Link 4K selected, I do hear myself but do not see the camera video output.
JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-06-08T10:14:22.937+00:00

Hi @Leo

It seems your device is not compatible with Teams. It recommends you use the certified device for Microsoft Teams.
Leo 1 Reputation point

2021-06-08T11:06:30.213+00:00

Hi @JimmyYang-MSFT ,

Thank you for your reply. I understand why you say this, but I think this is an issue with the teams application in Linux. It does work in other Teams settings (like in windows or through a internet browser) as I mentioned above. If there is no solution to the problem at this time than that is disappointing but likely nothing you can help with. I therefore hope a fix for this can be implemented in a future version of teams on linux. Is there any way in which you can make sure that this is looked at by the application developers for a future update? Other conferencing applications have no problem with this setup, which has become a lot more used over the past year, so I don't think teams should stay behind.
JimmyYang-MSFT 58,646 Reputation points Moderator

2021-06-11T08:56:35.493+00:00

Hi @Leo

Thanks for your understanding!

Is there any way in which you can make sure that this is looked at by the application developers for a future update?

It is suggested to open a ticket to get more efficient support. The support engineer will collect your backend log file and analyze this problem exactly.

Answer 1

Lukas Grolig 1

Hi,

I have the same issue. The reason is that there is a max. resolution limitation for some devices. My Logitech webcam can run on fullhd but Cam Link is limited to 720p. With higher resolution, you get a black screen.

Check this: https://microsoftteams.uservoice.com/forums/908686-bug-reports/suggestions/42405061-linux-application-shows-black-video-on-webcam-with

Leo 1 Reputation point

2021-06-02T16:01:40.313+00:00

Hi @Lukas Grolig ,

Thank you for your response. I have indeed seen many messages of people with a similar problem. I also tried reducing the resolution but this did not work for me. However, this might be because I used the wrong settings for ffmpeg. In any case, like mentioned in your link, this is not acceptable as a solution for daily use. With video conferencing having become much more important in the past year this is something that should work "out of the box". Other applications like Zoom have no issues with this setup. Hopefully the experts at Microsoft will be able to find a solution!
Lukas Grolig 1 Reputation point

2021-06-03T12:58:01.463+00:00

I had to also play with FPS. I for my it was working by setting 60 and not working with 30. So it will depend also on what your camera supports. So let's see when this will be fixed.

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Black screen in teams using Elgato Cam Link 4k in linux

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