Why does my new 14" Acer chromebook CB514-4HT-359X camera hunt for the correct exposure setting?

JalopyJed

On my model CB514-4HT-359X, the picture rotates constantly from too dark to too light in any room and even outside--back and forth.  A second exact replacement chromebook does the same thing.  None of my  other five chromebooks do it. When video conferencing the other participants also see the brightening and darkening. I have done a factory reset.  Any ideas for a fix?

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

billsey

There are different cameras used on this model line. Is yours FHD or HD only? IIRC that SKU is the Costco build, which is supposed to have the better FHD version. Here are the specs on it:

Implementation of the automatic exposure control is done by Google as part of the OS, and I'm betting that's what is giving the inconsistent results you see. Try checking with their support site to see if they've had reports of the same issue with these new ChromeOS only cameras.

JalopyJed

Thank you for your response. Yes, it is a Costco unit with FHD. It's the age old question--a software or hardware problem? If it's a Google software problem, then why is it a software problem on two new units of this model and not any of my other five chromebooks? As you said, implementation of the automatic exposure control is done by Google as part of the OS. But if that implementation is not working on this webcam, it seems that's a hardware problem.

Does Google have to make their software compatible with all the manufacturer's webcams or must the webcams be made to be compatible with the Google software? I would think the webcams have to be compatible with the Google software. Can Google be expected to develop software for a bunch of different webcams?

I did post to the Google forums. (Another user also posted about the exact same problem on the same model.) They, of course, said it was a hardware fault.

billsey

It's likely a combination of hardware and software. That model uses a webcam designed specifically for Chromebooks so will probably use different drivers than the ones designed for Windows laptops. My guess is those cameras are less expensive than the more common Windows ones, since they don't have to worry as much about how apps will access them. Google provides the drivers as part of the OS, but gets the drivers directly from the manufacturer of the hardware, in this case either Tech-Front or whoever makes the OV2740 chipset (OmniVision, I think). That might be fairly new hardware so it wouldn't be unusual for them to be working through bug reports to get all the tweaks handled.

JalopyJed

Thank you for your responses. I reluctantly returned both units for a refund because I didn't want to send a new, just out of the box unit in for repair.

By the way, let me say that Acer is my favorite brand of chromebook. Before the camera issue on my two new units, I have puchased seven Acer chromebooks over the years—all without any issues. That being said, I'm disappointed that Acer let this model get out the door for sale. I don't know if there is a quality control procedure to check the units, but it's a shame that this excellent chromebook got through with this big flaw.

It may be a bigger problem than a few isolated units. Many folks don't use the camera on their chromebook, unless they do video conferencing. So, the defect is there, they just don't know about it yet. Hopefully, the reported issues on the forums get over the the Acer production team.