Xbox Live Vision is a webcam accessory that was developed as an accessory for the Xbox 360video game console. It was announced at E3 2006 and was released in North America on September 19, 2006, Europe and Asia on October 2, 2006, and Japan on November 2, 2006.[1][2]
In 2010, Xbox Live Vision was succeeded by Kinect, a new camera accessory that also incorporates a motion tracking system and adds voice recognition functionality to the console.
The camera can be used for video chat, personalized gamer pictures, in-game video chat, and still pictures. The camera features 640 × 480 video at 30 fps and is capable of taking still images at 1.3 megapixels. It allows for video chat and picture messages (requires Xbox Live Gold) with video effects along with in-game compatibility. Certain games allow a digital zoom of 2x or 4x while video chatting.
It also features three camera effects, in which the currently captured video image is overlaid on the dashboard background. The three effects are 'watery', 'edgy', and 'dotty'. The camera uses a standard USB 2.0 connection and is also Windows (XP and newer) and Mac OS X (v10.4.9 and newer) compatible.
The Xbox Live Vision Camera was announced at E3 2006 and released in North America on September 19, 2006, following a 1-month pre-launch period in which Toys "R" Us stores in New York City and Los Angeles sold them to build up hype. It was released in Europe and Asia on October 6, 2006, and November 2, 2006 in Japan.
Using its USB 2.0 connection, the Vision Camera is compatible with Windows XP Service Pack 2[3][4][5] (32-bit only), Windows Vista[6][7] (32-bit[8] and 64-bit[9]), and Windows 7[6][7] (32-bit[10] and 64-bit, although 64-bit is not confirmed by Microsoft[11]). Because the Vision Camera lacks audio input, a microphone must also be connected to the computer for voice chat and audio recording. Drivers are not included with the Vision Camera but can be downloaded automatically by Windows when prompted. One restriction of the Vision cam when used on the Windows is that it will not natively record videos, only take pictures. Additional software may be used to alleviate this problem.[12]
Mac OS X 10.4.9 added support for the USB "video class" group of peripherals, which includes the Vision Camera. The Vision Camera works in iChat, Photo Booth, Facetime for Mac, and other applications that use QuickTime for video display, such as Skype. A USB 2.0 connection is also mandatory.[13] The camera continued to work from 10.5 to 10.7, but soon after that support was removed.
PlayStation 3system software (firmware) version 1.54 added support for "video class" USB devices, allowing use of the Vision camera, as well as webcams and other similar devices.[14]
