Setting up a webcam in Windows 10 is finally about to get a little easier
A new camera-specific settings page will land with an upcoming Windows 10 update
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Since the pandemic began,webcamshave become one of the most important tools in the technological arsenal - and yet they have never been easy to configure inWindows 10.
However,Microsoftintends to rectify this issue with an upcomingWindows 10update, which will introduce a dedicated Cameras page to Settings listings.
The new Settings panel will act as a central hub for webcam tweaks, listing all cameras (both in-built and external) available to the user and providing a simple way of adjusting performance options such as brightness and contrast.
Windows 10 webcam settings
As a result of the pandemic and nation-wide lockdowns, video conferencing has become a crutch for many of us this year, in both personal and professional contexts.
However, despite the time and money poured into building the most feature rich video conferencing experiences possible, the humble webcam still acts as a central point of failure. Without a functioning camera that delivers a clear picture, you’ve fallen at the first hurdle.
According to arecent study, technical glitches are the number one source of “Zoom anxiety”, which is described as a “feeling of panic when asked to jump on a video call”. And webcam difficulties are surely responsible for a large proportion of these technical issues.
With the new Windows 10 update, users will hopefully find it easier to optimize their webcam set-up, giving them one less cause for concern. The image preview feature, for example, will give users a chance to check webcam quality ahead of time and troubleshoot any problems they might have.
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The in-built Windows 10 configuration options should also combine well with webcam features provided by video conferencing platforms themselves - such as virtual backgrounds and background blur - to give the user the greatest possible control.
The camera settings upgrade is already available in early-access with Build 21277, hidden behind experimental flags, but is expected to roll out to all users in the new year.
ViaWindows Latest
Joel Khalili is the News and Features Editor at TechRadar Pro, covering cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud, AI, blockchain, internet infrastructure, 5G, data storage and computing. He’s responsible for curating our news content, as well as commissioning and producing features on the technologies that are transforming the way the world does business.
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