Customer Reviews

Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This camera is available in two packages - this is the basic package and comes with the Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera, a headset that you probably already have, and a code redeemable on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the game UNO (which supports the camera in online play) and also 1 month of Xbox Live Gold service.

Note that the official press releases mentioned the game Totemball being included. It is NOT included, but you can now download it for free from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The camera itself is very nice. It's very small and has a focus ring on the front. The quality of video and still pictures is great. It's easy to install, you just plug it into your Xbox in the front or back USB port and you're good to go. You can also use it as a regular webcam with your PC. It currently does not work with Macs but Mac support is promised soon from Microsoft as their press release claims Mac support.

Overall it's a nice little piece of equipment. It just depends on whether you want a webcam or not! Video chat is a nice feature if you have friends or family with an Xbox 360. Also, future games will support mapping your face onto your on-screen character which will be fun. Games like Totemball will be played by actually moving your arms and body around in front of the camera. So it does open up a lot of opportunities for new experiences with your Xbox.

Parents worried about kids: when playing camera-enabled games you will see other people's video whether you have the camera or not, so buying this camera doesn't make any difference to what they will see. You can disable looking at other people's video for all the games.

With the iSight no longer for sale, there are few alternatives for users of older Macs looking to use the video features of iChat AV. This camera works perfectly.

The quality is decent and it's very small. Not a ton of extra features, but it works right out of the box without any other software. That is far better than lots of bells and whistles that only work OK.

I don't own an xBox and can't speak to how this camera is for that, but it's a great camera to use with my computer and far cheaper (and better) than most aftermarket webcams.

I bought this camera on an impulse. Here are my thoughts:

Right now, I'd say it's not worth a whole lot. As of October 9, 2006, it only has three functions. You can use it on Uno, Totemball, Billiard Games and for video chat with friends on Xbox Live. Additionally, you plug it up into your Windows PC and use it as a web cam.

However, if you're getting this for your Xbox360 (which you probably are), I say wait until there's a good reason to buy it. Totemball is an absolutely terrible game, and unless you want to people to see you while you're playing Uno, there's not much point in getting it yet.

I say hold off until it's functional with a few more games before rushing out and getting it. It's definitely nice to have, and anyone wanting to get the most out of their 360 should check it out, but it's just not too important just yet.

EDIT: As of June 2007, the camera is functional with a few titles. The most notable is Command and Conquer 3, in which you can view your opponent's face when you obliterate their army. It is a nice touch to the game. Still not entirely necessary for the Xbox 360, but nice to have nonetheless.

The inexpensive XBox 360 Live Vision camera is natively recognized by current versions of Mac OSX, without having to install any drivers: just plug it in, and you can immediately video conference using iChat, Skype, etc...
Focus is manual (unlike the iSight, which has powered focusing and can be set to autofocus mode). The picture quality is excellent, very sharp and low light sensitivity perfectly adequate.
A green light ring illuminates around the base of the lens to warn you that the camera is on.
A perfect, inexpensive way to give your older Mac, Mac mini or MacPro video conferencing capability.

Also in the box: a mono headset with mike for XBox. Unfortunately, the connector is just non-standard enough that it only works on XBox, but it's an extra toy for the same price.

All in all, great value for Mac users!

I bought this camera on a tip I received from a guy working at my local Apple Store. He said that this camera worked flawlessly as a webcam with iChatAV. So I took a chance and picked up this Xbox 360 specific camera from the local store.

Believe it or not, it works like a charm. Just as he said it would, I took it out of the box, plugged it in, opened iChat and I had a working webcam. Easy. I had no idea about this Xbox 360 camera working with my iBook G4 so perfectly. Just thought I'd let you Xbox 360ers know that this camera is a great alternative to buying an all new MacBook if you're still using a computer that doesn't have a built in webcam.

I don't know how this thing works on the Xbox 360, but on the my iBook G4, it does the job extremely well. Thank you Apple Store guy.

Oddly enough, this camera works great on Mac OS X (leopard). Skype, iChat, and Photobooth all work fine, no drivers needed. The only drawbacks are lack of microphone and no autofocus, but its only $30.

The camera provides a decent picture and nice adjustment to lighting conditions. Works well with my iBook in iChat which is a plus for me.

I bought the Vision camera on launch day because I thought it would be a great idea to video chat, send picture messages and more with this camera. Unfortunately, the low-resolution and sub-par framerate of this camera have left a bad taste in my mouth.

Video chats are not that impressive because of the low framerate of the camera. Instead of 30 frames per second, like most digital cameras, I think the Vision camera has a framerate of maybe 10-15 frames per second. And that's on a good day. If you and a friend are chatting and just sitting still, this will offer decent results. The second one of you start to move, the video becomes choppy and grainy almost instantly.

Speaking of grain, the resolution of the Vision camera rivals that of most entry-level cell phones. I understand that it would be extremely cost prohibitive to include a 5 megapixel camera, but taking a picture with this thing is just bad. Unless you have professional-grade lighting equipment in your house, you're not going to get anything that's worth keeping for too long.

Another thing that was promised with the use of the Vision camera, was gesture-based and live feed based gaming. The game that comes for free with the camera, Totem Ball, has been a continual source of frustration because the camera has a hard time picking up where you're standing and where your arms are at. To move your character around and ultimately play the game, you have to continually move your arms up and down. It would be one thing if this was just physically tiring, but the game is really not that good and the camera has a hard time distinguishing where you are or how far away you are if you're playing on a larger TV set. And the live feed based games just show a continual video feed of your usually semi-nude opponents during games like UNO and a few others. This doesn't offer that much to the gameplay except you now get to see who's calling you racial slurs or hurling homophobic remarks.

The camera really doesn't deliver on its promises so I'd recommend everyone to pass on this investment.

I wouldn't have bought one of these if I hadn't seen it working first. It doesn't seem at all useful. Turns out, it's not for yourself; it's for your family. If you live in different cities, this is a great way to keep in touch. Play a little, chat a little, see some smiles.

You can get better webcam systems for your PC, but not as practical as this one.

* It works.
* It's easy to set-up and use.
* Unlike a PC webcam, you'll actually use this.

Of course, it's silly without the audio system, but I think everybody with an xbox360 already has the headset, right?

If you have a mac mini or a Mac pro this is a great buy. I even think the quailty surpasses the isight built into the iMac I upgraded to a Mac Mini after I sold my 2007 iMac to my parents and i was in need of a cam so i looked around and read that this was compatible with any mac with 10.4 or higher, and since the camera has been out for a while you can get this for dirt cheap used I wound up paying 8 bucks for it after i had some left over trade in credit at gamestop. Its compatible with iChat Skype Photobooth and a majorty of Mac progoams even works under Windows and window 7 to.