Virtual Cams Not Working with Zoom and Skype

UPDATE: As of May 25, 2020, Zoom has restored access to virtual cams! Update to the latest version to connect back to Ecamm Live virtual camera again.

Ecamm Live’s virtual cam is a great way to be able to send the output from Ecamm Live into other applications.

This means that our virtual cam does things like allow you to bring the quality of your DSLR or mirrorless camera in to use in an interview or product demo or do things like share your full run of show (with multiple cameras, logos, lower thirds, video clips, and more) into another app.

It should come as no surprise that virtual cams are becoming incredibly popular these days now that more people are leveraging video and live video to connect with their community.

Unfortunately, both the Zoom and Skype recent updates have broken access to all virtual cams (not just ours). This means that all virtual cams, including Ecamm Live’s, are not able to connect to Zoom or Skype like they used to.

Zoom and Skype may choose to solve this issue (and we’ve heard rumors that’s likely), but in the interim, here are some ways that you can still take advantage of the benefits of Ecamm Live’s virtual cam in these applications.

Virtual cam is an Ecamm Live Pro feature and is only available in the Pro level. Here are all of the Ecamm Live Pro features.

In this post we’ll cover

What virtual cams are
Where you can use your Ecamm Live virtual cam and where you can’t
Workarounds for the recent Zoom and Skype updates, which have broken the virtual cam connection
The new screen share feature in Ecamm Live

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What is a virtual cam?

As stated above, Virtual Cams (or Virtual Webcam or Virtual Camera) allow you to send the output of Ecamm Live into many other Mac apps. This will let you use all of the features of Ecamm Live (such as Green Screen, digital zoom, Screen Sharing, and overlays) in other apps that don’t otherwise have those features.

Virtual Webcam will work even when you are not using Ecamm Live to broadcast or record.

Where can you use Ecamm Live’s Virtual Cam

Facebook Messenger Rooms
Google Meet
Microsoft Teams
Bluejeans
And many more!

If you don’t see the virtual cam coming through automatically into the above apps, you can try these troubleshooting steps.

Workarounds for Using Virtual Cam in Zoom

Until Zoom allows virtual cam access again, you can use any of these three workaround options to still use the features of Ecamm Live’s virtual cam in Zoom.

Option 1: Use Web-based Zoom in Chrome

As another alternative, use Zoom’s web-based client in Chrome. Here are some steps to use the web-based client instead of the Mac app:

Running Zoom in Chrome

Option 2: Remove Zoom’s Code Signature

Removing Zoom’s code signature is another way to re-enable virtual cameras. To do this:

1) Quit Zoom.
2) Open the Terminal app, found in Applications -> Utilities.
3) Copy and paste this command into Terminal and then press return:

codesign --remove-signature /Applications/zoom.us.app

4) Re-open Zoom.

Ecamm Live now includes a Sharing Window, which allows for sharing the output of Ecamm Live via Zoom’s screen sharing. Details on using the Sharing window can be found below.

Workarounds for Using Virtual Cam in Skype

Until Skype allows virtual cam access again, you can use any of the below workaround options to still use the features of Ecamm Live’s virtual cam in Skype.

Option 1: Use An Old Older Version of Skype

Older versions of Skype, such as version 8.59 will still load iGlasses:

Download Skype 8.59

Open Skype 8.59 directly from its disk image rather than from your Applications folder to prevent Skype from automatically updating to newer version.

(When you see this window above, double-click the Skype icon rather than dragging it to the Applications folder.)

Option 2: Remove Skype’s Code Signature

Removing Skype’s code signature is another way to re-enable virtual cameras. To do this:

1) Quit Skype.
2) Open the Terminal app, found in Applications -> Utilities.
3) Copy and paste this command into Terminal and press return:

codesign --remove-signature "/Applications/Skype.app/Contents/Frameworks/Skype Helper (Renderer).app"

4) Re-open Skype.

Ecamm’s New Sharing Window

Ecamm Live’s Sharing Window feature (for Pro level users only) can be used to send Ecamm Live’s output into Zoom. This is an alternative to using the Virtual Camera feature, which no longer works with Zoom on Catalina.

Turn on the Sharing Window by picking it in Ecamm Live’s Outputs menu:

In your Zoom meeting, click the green Share Screen button in the toolbar:

You will then see a list of things to share. Find Ecamm Live Sharing – Window. (See below.) You may need to scroll down in the list of windows to find it.

There are two other checkboxes on this screen:

Share computer sound: Check this checkbox to send sound from Ecamm Live (for example video file playback and sound effects) into your Zoom call.
Optimize Screen Share for Video Clip: Check this checkbox if you’ll be using Ecamm Live primarily for cameras and video file playback. It will have a faster frame rate. Uncheck this checkbox if you’ll be primarily using Ecamm Live’s screen sharing feature to present your screen, or if you’re presenting a PDF. (The quality will be crisper.)

Click the blue Share button to start sharing Ecamm Live.

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