ZoneMinder Forums

I notice that while zoneminder is running I am unable to use my webcam for apps like skype or OBS etc. I have to manually stop the zoneminder service to use the other apps and then manually start it again. is there a way to have zoneminder running and still use the webcam for other apps trying to access /dev/video0 ?

I would expect not: If ZM is holding /dev/video0 open, it is using it.

How do you think your webcam would cope with being told to use one resolution/frame rate by ZM, but another by Skype etc? It wouldn't work out well.

This used to be the case with /dev/audio and /dev/dsp on the old days of OSS, until all the clever stuff around ALSA/Jack/Pulse Audio, where the sound subsystem opens and owns the hardware, then presents copies of that (potentially having to fake different audio rates and sample depths, channel counts) to applications.

I don't think there's an equivalent layer for video.

no worries, I can just shut it down to use a different app. no big deal, just wondered if there was a way to do it. Thanks.