w700 camera is very laggy in windows 8.1

cheeto81
cheeto81 Member Posts: 11 New User

My acer w700p iconia tablet shipped in 2013 with window 8.0  the camera worked fine...the image on the screen was clear, the windows camera app was very responsive.  if you moved the tablet/camera, the screen updated instantaneously, like a phone or camera does.

 

After updating to 8.1m the camera app and hardware "work" but it has a few problems:

  1. the app it self is supper laggy.  whether i'm tapping to tape a picture, or loading the options, it is laggy
  2. The screen does not refresh when you move the camera...it takes from a  few to 15 seconds for the screen to update when you move the tablet camera.  this is true for both video and still
  3. this happens in the crystal acer app too

I contacted Microsoft, who told me to get an updated driver.  Acer says its a Microsoft driver and they are not responsible, even though it worked fine in 8.0

 

Microsoft claims they found the real mfr of the camera, but the latest driver they found is the same one from 2006 that windows update applies.

 

as of 1/15/2015, both Microsoft and acer have claimed they have escalated this to a higher tier support and someone will get back to me.

 

Acer suggest i do a system restore which puts 8.0 back on, then update.  I have done this twice myself, and acer repair has done it twice and not fixed it.

 

Anyone have the camera working smoothly in 8.1?  anyone have a link to a newer driver?

 

I would hate to go back to 8.0 just for a working camera, cause overall 8.1 has been better

 

Thanks

Best Answer

  • gsjansen
    gsjansen Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    I had the same issue when I upgraded to 8.1 on my w700 a year and a half ago.

     

     you need to edit your battery power plan settings.  go to Edit Plan Settings > Change advanced power settings > Intel Dynamic Platform & Thermal Framework Settings > Low Power Mode Setting and change from enable to Application Specific for battery and Disable when plugged in.  It has nothing to do with the camera itself.

Answers

  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    cheeto81,

     

    There is an app in the Microsoft Store named Acer Crystal Eye. Could you please download that if you haven't already and test the camera using it? I've heard of success using that app rather than the pre-installed app that comes with Windows 8/8.1.

     

    Could you let me know which camera you are referring to, I assume you are talking about the 5MP camera, I just want to make sure which you are using.

  • cheeto81
    cheeto81 Member Posts: 11 New User
    Have tried that, it's equslly bad once you turn up the photo quality

    Yes, the 5mp camera on the opposite side of the screen
  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    cheeto81,

     

    Thanks for the reply. Are you using it at the 4:3 ratio setting, I'm also seeing some information that individuals are changing it to the 16:9 ratio setting and it's causing choppiness as it's not designed to run at 16:9.

     

    If you've tried it using 4:3 in both the Acer Crystal Eye app and the default Windows app and it's still choppy, you can try lowering the quality, down to 2.1 MP possibly, to see if that resolves the issue.

  • cheeto81
    cheeto81 Member Posts: 11 New User
    I need 5mp. The tablet was advertised as 5mp. If it's set to 4:3 it isn't close to 5mp. To get 5mp you have to use 16:9

    Changing to a lower res introduces a new issue, the resolution isn't high enough. It must be 5mp

    I tried the 16:9 and 5mp on windows 8.0 and it worked perfectly. It worked perfectly for 16:9 and 5mp. Upgrading to 8.1 is what broke it

    So please don't bs me that's it's not designed to work smoothly at 16:9 and 5mp. Your vendor's driver isn't 8.1 compatible. They need to upgrade it. Microsoft said Microsoft didn't write the driver

    There needs to be a solution that works eith the max res and any ratio
  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    cheeto81,

     

    I've looked at a W700 we have here for the 5MP camera options, I'm only seeing 4:3 aspect ratio and resolution choices (2592x1944) for this camera and nothing for 16:9 at 5MP. I've attached some screenshots I took from the tablet below.

     

    I certainly understand that it should work using the newest operating system, unfortunately, based on the age of the unit the drivers that are posted on our website are all that are going to be posted for this unit. I can only suggest dropping the resolution in Windows 8.1 or go back to Windows 8 so you can use the 5MP without issues.

     

    W700 Acer Crystal Eye options.jpg

    W700 Win 8 Camera App options.jpg

  • cheeto81
    cheeto81 Member Posts: 11 New User
    16:9 is required for 5mp with the windows camera app

    The unit is not that old and if you are even half of a reputable company you would keep the drivers up to date for all version of windows 8.x. It's not like I'm using windows xp. You know how bad 8.0 is so ill pretend you were joking. I bought it with 8.0, you should be required to keep the drivers up to date for the entire life of windows 8.x. Suggesting a lower res is a joke

    Buying this tablet from acer is the biggest regret of my life, and I share that everday with the hundreds of people I meet flying every week and at the trade shows I attend. The reseller won't give me a refund so maybe bbb.com can help.
  • cheeto81
    cheeto81 Member Posts: 11 New User

    since you won't be a real computer company and make sure all qualtiy levels of your camera works with all version of windos 8.x since it shipped with 8.0, can you at least tell me who manufucatured the camera?  since you refuse to do your job and work with them to keep the hardware compatible, maybe i can contact them to upgrade the driver to work with windows 8.1.

  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    cheeto81,

     

    I have sent you a PM in regards to this.

  • cheeto81
    cheeto81 Member Posts: 11 New User

    i will mark a post a solution once there is one...still waiting for a solution...lower megapixels or  going back to 8.0 are not solutions

  • gsjansen
    gsjansen Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    I had the same issue when I upgraded to 8.1 on my w700 a year and a half ago.

     

     you need to edit your battery power plan settings.  go to Edit Plan Settings > Change advanced power settings > Intel Dynamic Platform & Thermal Framework Settings > Low Power Mode Setting and change from enable to Application Specific for battery and Disable when plugged in.  It has nothing to do with the camera itself.

  • cheeto81
    cheeto81 Member Posts: 11 New User
    I love you gsjansen. You are smarter than everyone that works at acer and Microsoft.
  • gsjansen
    gsjansen Member Posts: 10

    Tinkerer

    yeah, this was a very frustrating experience when i 1st upgraded to 8.1.  The solution was originally posted by a user who goes by the name of 1st time acer back in september of 2013. 

     

    I have had my w700 since January of 2013, and i use it heavily every day.  It is honestly the best note/tablet that I have ever owned.  I never check in here at the forums discussion pages anymore, as I have had no issues with the w700 in the past year and a half.  I just stumbled upon your post, and realized that acer and microsoft were giving you the run around, as I had this very same problem, and it had nothing what-so-ever to do with the camera.

     

    I'm glad it worked for you as well!

     

    all the best!

  • -Justin
    -Justin Member Posts: 2,362 Skilled Specialist WiFi Icon

    gsjansen,

     

    Nice job figuring that out! I've passed a message along to have an article created externally for other customers if they have this problem, it looks like they were faster than my reply getting it out there: Why does video stutter or lag on my 5MP camera in Windows 8.1?