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Stefan Hennig | 8 Apr 2012 15:11
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How to use a web-cam to scan ISBN bar-code?

Hello!

I am trying to use Tellico to organize my library of about 2000 books.
One of the crucial features was the ability to scan a bar-code using the 
web-cam of my HP635 notebook.
The webcam is usable as /dev/video0 in VLC and in Skype, but the 
check-box in the configuration settings of Tellico is not accessible and 
always grayed out.
The scanning-feature of Tellico is not even mentioned in the help-files 
so I don't even know where to look.

Any help is very appreciated.

I am using Tellico 2.3.3 and 64bit Ubuntu (Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.20-generic 
3.0.4). The webcam is reported as HP-101.

Thank you for your support!

   Stefan Hennig
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Robby Stephenson | 16 Apr 2012 02:35
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Re: How to use a web-cam to scan ISBN bar-code?

On 04/08/2012 06:11 AM, Stefan Hennig wrote:
> I am trying to use Tellico to organize my library of about 2000 books.
> One of the crucial features was the ability to scan a bar-code using the
> web-cam of my HP635 notebook.
> The webcam is usable as /dev/video0 in VLC and in Skype, but the
> check-box in the configuration settings of Tellico is not accessible and
> always grayed out.

>
> I am using Tellico 2.3.3 and 64bit Ubuntu (Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.20-generic
> 3.0.4). The webcam is reported as HP-101.

Since the configuration option is grayed out, it means the Ubuntu 
package was not compiled with support for using a webcam. You'll need to 
either compile Tellico yourself, or convince the Ubuntu packagers to 
include support for webcam use.

Robby
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Stephan Debelle | 16 Apr 2012 03:38
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Re: How to use a web-cam to scan ISBN bar-code?

Stefan,

I had tried to use a webcam for scanning bar code but found it was not easy to acquire the target (bar code).  It works (in my case) but in my opinion you are much better off buying a cheap bar code scanner,  It is much faster and will save you a lot of time.  Working on a non-profit library project we ended up buying this one http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Automatic-Barcode-Scanner-Reader/dp/B003OUQ174/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326124716&sr=8-2 works great on Ubuntu out of the box.  We scan into Libre Office spreadsheet and then import into tellico.

Probably does not solve your problem with the webcam but thought I would share my experience with a webcam, simply not the right tool for the job.

Stephan



On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 8:35 PM, Robby Stephenson <robby-9lFPeden07UgsBAKwltoeQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
On 04/08/2012 06:11 AM, Stefan Hennig wrote:
I am trying to use Tellico to organize my library of about 2000 books.
One of the crucial features was the ability to scan a bar-code using the
web-cam of my HP635 notebook.
The webcam is usable as /dev/video0 in VLC and in Skype, but the
check-box in the configuration settings of Tellico is not accessible and
always grayed out.


I am using Tellico 2.3.3 and 64bit Ubuntu (Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.20-generic
3.0.4). The webcam is reported as HP-101.

Since the configuration option is grayed out, it means the Ubuntu package was not compiled with support for using a webcam. You'll need to either compile Tellico yourself, or convince the Ubuntu packagers to include support for webcam use.

Robby
_______________________________________________
tellico-users mailing list
tellico-users <at> kde.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users



--
Stephan



_______________________________________________
tellico-users mailing list
tellico-users@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users
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Stefan Hennig | 16 Apr 2012 07:03
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Re: How to use a web-cam to scan ISBN bar-code?

Robby, Stephen,

Thank you both for your helpful comments. After some very, very mediocre
results when trying to use my Android phone's cam to scan some barcodes
I have just ordered a hand-held scanner as Stephen suggested.

Nonetheless, I will try to recompile the package and see if the web-cam
will work as a fallback solution on the road.

CU,
  Stefan

On Sun, 2012-04-15 at 21:38 -0400, Stephan Debelle wrote:
> Stefan,
> 
> I had tried to use a webcam for scanning bar code but found it was not
> easy to acquire the target (bar code).  It works (in my case) but in
> my opinion you are much better off buying a cheap bar code scanner,
> It is much faster and will save you a lot of time.  Working on a
> non-profit library project we ended up buying this one
>
http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Automatic-Barcode-Scanner-Reader/dp/B003OUQ174/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326124716&sr=8-2
works great on Ubuntu out of the box.  We scan into Libre Office spreadsheet and then import into tellico.
> 
> Probably does not solve your problem with the webcam but thought I
> would share my experience with a webcam, simply not the right tool for
> the job.
> 
> Stephan
> 
> 
> 
> On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 8:35 PM, Robby Stephenson
> <robby@...> wrote:
>         On 04/08/2012 06:11 AM, Stefan Hennig wrote:
>                 I am trying to use Tellico to organize my library of
>                 about 2000 books.
>                 One of the crucial features was the ability to scan a
>                 bar-code using the
>                 web-cam of my HP635 notebook.
>                 The webcam is usable as /dev/video0 in VLC and in
>                 Skype, but the
>                 check-box in the configuration settings of Tellico is
>                 not accessible and
>                 always grayed out.
>         
>                 
>                 I am using Tellico 2.3.3 and 64bit Ubuntu (Ubuntu
>                 3.0.0-12.20-generic
>                 3.0.4). The webcam is reported as HP-101.
>         
>         Since the configuration option is grayed out, it means the
>         Ubuntu package was not compiled with support for using a
>         webcam. You'll need to either compile Tellico yourself, or
>         convince the Ubuntu packagers to include support for webcam
>         use.
>         
>         Robby
>         _______________________________________________
>         tellico-users mailing list
>         tellico-users@...
>         https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Stephan
> 
> 
>
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Sebastian Held | 17 Apr 2012 21:31
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Re: How to use a web-cam to scan ISBN bar-code?

Hi Stefan,

I tested the code only with one webcam. It is a fixed focus camera.
It worked quite well, if the distance is correct (use a small fixture
for this).

The code is highly experimental and tuneable parameters are only inside
the sorce code...

Sebastian

Am 16.04.2012 07:03, schrieb Stefan Hennig:
> Robby, Stephen,
>
> Thank you both for your helpful comments. After some very, very mediocre
> results when trying to use my Android phone's cam to scan some barcodes
> I have just ordered a hand-held scanner as Stephen suggested.
>
> Nonetheless, I will try to recompile the package and see if the web-cam
> will work as a fallback solution on the road.
>
> CU,
>   Stefan
>
> On Sun, 2012-04-15 at 21:38 -0400, Stephan Debelle wrote:
>> Stefan,
>>
>> I had tried to use a webcam for scanning bar code but found it was not
>> easy to acquire the target (bar code).  It works (in my case) but in
>> my opinion you are much better off buying a cheap bar code scanner,
>> It is much faster and will save you a lot of time.  Working on a
>> non-profit library project we ended up buying this one
>>
http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Automatic-Barcode-Scanner-Reader/dp/B003OUQ174/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326124716&sr=8-2
works great on Ubuntu out of the box.  We scan into Libre Office spreadsheet and then import into tellico.
>>
>> Probably does not solve your problem with the webcam but thought I
>> would share my experience with a webcam, simply not the right tool for
>> the job.
>>
>> Stephan
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 8:35 PM, Robby Stephenson
>> <robby@...> wrote:
>>         On 04/08/2012 06:11 AM, Stefan Hennig wrote:
>>                 I am trying to use Tellico to organize my library of
>>                 about 2000 books.
>>                 One of the crucial features was the ability to scan a
>>                 bar-code using the
>>                 web-cam of my HP635 notebook.
>>                 The webcam is usable as /dev/video0 in VLC and in
>>                 Skype, but the
>>                 check-box in the configuration settings of Tellico is
>>                 not accessible and
>>                 always grayed out.
>>         
>>                 
>>                 I am using Tellico 2.3.3 and 64bit Ubuntu (Ubuntu
>>                 3.0.0-12.20-generic
>>                 3.0.4). The webcam is reported as HP-101.
>>         
>>         Since the configuration option is grayed out, it means the
>>         Ubuntu package was not compiled with support for using a
>>         webcam. You'll need to either compile Tellico yourself, or
>>         convince the Ubuntu packagers to include support for webcam
>>         use.
>>         
>>         Robby
>>         _______________________________________________
>>         tellico-users mailing list
>>         tellico-users@...
>>         https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users
>>
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Stephan
>>
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> tellico-users mailing list
> tellico-users@...
> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users
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Stephan Debelle | 17 Apr 2012 22:07
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Re: How to use a web-cam to scan ISBN bar-code?

Sebastian,

I tested with a USB handheld cam and found it was just taking too long for the capture (distance, light angle etc..) We have a few 1000 books to scan and therefore the $30.00 scanner made sense.

With the scanner we can scan as fast we can pick up books into a doc and then import into tellico, works like a charm.

Best,
Stephan

On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 3:31 PM, Sebastian Held <sebastian.held-Mmb7MZpHnFY@public.gmane.org> wrote:
Hi Stefan,

I tested the code only with one webcam. It is a fixed focus camera.
It worked quite well, if the distance is correct (use a small fixture
for this).

The code is highly experimental and tuneable parameters are only inside
the sorce code...

Sebastian

Am 16.04.2012 07:03, schrieb Stefan Hennig:
> Robby, Stephen,
>
> Thank you both for your helpful comments. After some very, very mediocre
> results when trying to use my Android phone's cam to scan some barcodes
> I have just ordered a hand-held scanner as Stephen suggested.
>
> Nonetheless, I will try to recompile the package and see if the web-cam
> will work as a fallback solution on the road.
>
> CU,
>   Stefan
>
> On Sun, 2012-04-15 at 21:38 -0400, Stephan Debelle wrote:
>> Stefan,
>>
>> I had tried to use a webcam for scanning bar code but found it was not
>> easy to acquire the target (bar code).  It works (in my case) but in
>> my opinion you are much better off buying a cheap bar code scanner,
>> It is much faster and will save you a lot of time.  Working on a
>> non-profit library project we ended up buying this one
>> http://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Automatic-Barcode-Scanner-Reader/dp/B003OUQ174/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326124716&sr=8-2 works great on Ubuntu out of the box.  We scan into Libre Office spreadsheet and then import into tellico.
>>
>> Probably does not solve your problem with the webcam but thought I
>> would share my experience with a webcam, simply not the right tool for
>> the job.
>>
>> Stephan
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 8:35 PM, Robby Stephenson
>> <robby-9lFPeden07UgsBAKwltoeQ@public.gmane.org> wrote:
>>         On 04/08/2012 06:11 AM, Stefan Hennig wrote:
>>                 I am trying to use Tellico to organize my library of
>>                 about 2000 books.
>>                 One of the crucial features was the ability to scan a
>>                 bar-code using the
>>                 web-cam of my HP635 notebook.
>>                 The webcam is usable as /dev/video0 in VLC and in
>>                 Skype, but the
>>                 check-box in the configuration settings of Tellico is
>>                 not accessible and
>>                 always grayed out.
>>
>>
>>                 I am using Tellico 2.3.3 and 64bit Ubuntu (Ubuntu
>>                 3.0.0-12.20-generic
>>                 3.0.4). The webcam is reported as HP-101.
>>
>>         Since the configuration option is grayed out, it means the
>>         Ubuntu package was not compiled with support for using a
>>         webcam. You'll need to either compile Tellico yourself, or
>>         convince the Ubuntu packagers to include support for webcam
>>         use.
>>
>>         Robby
>>         _______________________________________________
>>         tellico-users mailing list
>>         tellico-users-RoXCvvDuEio@public.gmane.org
>>         https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Stephan
>>
>>
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> tellico-users mailing list
> tellico-users-RoXCvvDuEio@public.gmane.org
> https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users
_______________________________________________
tellico-users mailing list
tellico-users-RoXCvvDuEio@public.gmane.org
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users



--
Stephan



_______________________________________________
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tellico-users@...
https://mail.kde.org/mailman/listinfo/tellico-users
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