USB Camera

Review by eFreeware

Most Android apps assume the camera you want is already built into the phone. USB Camera takes the opposite position: plug a webcam, an HDMI capture card or an EasyCap grabber into the USB port through an OTG cable, and the app handles the video and audio that comes through. That single idea has been drawing users for years, and it is the clearest reason to consider the app at all.

It is free, it carries ads, and there are no in-app purchases to worry about. The developer also offers a Pro version that adds some extra options from General Settings and removes the advertising, though the free build is the one most people will try first. With more than five million installs and a 2.8 average across 17,718 ratings, the audience is sizeable and the feedback is mixed, which is worth keeping in mind before you build a workflow around it.

What arrives through the USB port

The app is a userspace driver, which means it talks to the hardware itself rather than relying on Android to do it. That design is what makes the whole thing possible, and it also explains the main constraint: the driver belongs to this app alone. Other apps on the same phone cannot borrow the connection, because Android does not permit installing a kernel driver. If your plan involves feeding the same webcam into several programs at once, this is not the tool for that.

The hardware list is unusually broad for this category. UVC webcams with their own microphone or an external USB audio input are supported, along with UVC video grabbers that can take up to 4K over HDMI, progressive or interlaced. Codec coverage runs through H.264, H.265, HEVC, MJPG, YUY2, P010 and NV12. Older analog gear is covered too, including EasyCap models built on UTV007, HTV600, HTV800, STK1160, EM2860 and SMI2021 chipsets, plus Windows Hello and IR cameras and certain non-UVC devices such as USB endoscopes.

The developer asks for a good quality OTG cable and a reliable power supply, and notes that some devices, the Elgato Cam Link among them, may need a powered hub to bridge the signal properly. That is the kind of advice that tells you this app lives or dies on the physical chain between camera and phone.

Recording, snapshots and dash-cam duty

Once a device is connected, the app records video or captures still frames. Loop-recording is available, with automatic segmentation while recording and automatic deletion of the oldest archives when storage runs low. That combination is what lets the developer pitch it as a dash cam, and the logic holds: point a camera out of the windshield, let it overwrite old footage and forget about it.

Overlays are more flexible than I would expect from a utility like this. Timestamps, GPS position and speed can be burned onto the frames, and the recent update lets position and speed be positioned separately rather than as one block. Long text can be animated, and an animated GIF or WebP can be placed on the video as a watermark. Video overlays can also appear on the preview, with a setting to turn that off if you would rather see a clean image while framing a shot.

Control does not have to happen on the screen. A headset or Bluetooth headset can trigger snapshots and start or stop recording, and the snapshot button on a webcam works as well. It is a small set of details that matters when the phone is mounted somewhere awkward.

Turning the phone into a network camera

The app includes RTSP and RTSPS servers along with HTTP and HTTPS, which turns the phone into a wireless IP camera for monitoring. You can watch the feed in a browser, or pull it into an IP camera app. Bi-directional audio is supported here, but it depends on a separate IP Camera app from the same developer.

The recent update added TLS support for the server, letting a pfx or p12 certificate enable secure https and rtsps connections, and the app can generate self-signed certificates if you do not have one. For anyone who wants the stream reachable beyond a home network, that is a meaningful addition rather than a cosmetic one.

Broadcasting to RTMP and SRT servers

Live output goes to RTMP and SRT media servers, with rtmps supported for the secure variant. The app can push to several servers at once, which is useful if you want a stream recorded elsewhere while it goes out live. HEVC and AV1 over RTMP are supported, and the developer lists YouTube Live as a current destination.

Codec support comes with version requirements. HEVC recording or streaming needs Android 5.0 or later and a device that handles the codec; AV1 streaming needs Android 10 or later with the same condition. Those are hardware and OS floors rather than app limitations, but they decide whether the higher-efficiency options are open to you.

Audio is not limited to what the capture device provides. USB audio can be blended with the phone mic or system sound, and the external camera feed can carry an overlay from the built-in camera or the screen. Both are the sort of routing options that normally require a desktop, and having them on a phone is the strongest argument for the app's existence.

Motion detection, FTP and background recording

Automatic recording can be triggered by motion detection, with the resulting clip uploaded to an FTP server and an email notification sent when it lands. Set up with a camera pointed at a doorway or a driveway, that becomes a simple monitoring loop that runs without anyone watching.

Recording also survives a trip to the background. Pressing the enter-background option in the menu moves the app out of the foreground without interrupting the recording, which is the difference between a tool you can leave running and one you have to babysit. For FPV use, a side-by-side view works with goggles, and the app also offers a VR/FPV view mode.

Permissions, power and the physical setup

Full USB video access needs camera permission starting with Android 9, so the first launch asks for something that seems unrelated to plugging in a webcam. The developer also stresses cable quality and power, warning that weak OTG setups or underpowered ports can stop devices from working at all. A powered hub is the usual answer when a capture card refuses to appear.

The 2.8 rating across a large number of installs suggests that a fair share of attempts end in frustration, and the hardware variables above are the likely reason. This is an app where the phone model, the cable, the hub and the capture device all have to cooperate.

The Pro version adds some extra General Settings options and removes ads, while the free version shows advertising. The core recording and streaming functions require no purchase.

Suited to a specific kind of tinkerer

This app is built for people who already own the hardware and want to use it with a phone or tablet: a streamer with a capture card, someone with an old EasyCap gathering dust, a maker who wants a cheap IP camera for a workshop, or a driver who wants a dash cam from a spare webcam. The breadth of supported chipsets and the RTSP, RTMP and SRT outputs are what make those projects realistic.

It is also a reasonable fit for anyone who needs overlays and audio mixing in a portable setup, since GPS, speed and timestamp data can be burned into recordings and USB audio can be combined with the phone's own microphone. The FPV and side-by-side modes extend that to goggle users.

The app rewards patience with cables and settings more than it rewards a quick install. If your hardware is on the supported list, the OTG chain is solid and you are comfortable working through permission prompts and codec requirements, the free version gives you a lot to work with.

A capable bridge for the right hardware

USB Camera does something few Android apps attempt: it treats the phone as a capture and broadcast hub rather than a camera. Recording, loop-recording, snapshots, RTSP and HTTPS serving, RTMP and SRT output, motion-triggered clips with FTP upload, audio mixing and overlays are all present, and the recent TLS and watermark additions show the project is still being extended.

The trade-offs are the ones the developer describes: a userspace driver that works only inside this app, camera permission required on newer Android versions, codec floors tied to Android 5.0 and 10, and a hardware chain that needs good cables and adequate power. Ads are part of the free version, and the Pro build offers extra settings options without them.

I would point this at tinkerers, streamers and monitoring projects where a supported capture device is already on hand. If your setup matches the list and you are willing to troubleshoot the physical connection, the free version is worth installing to find out what your phone can do with a camera plugged into it.

What's new

* IP Camera Server supports TLS now, you can add pfx/p12 certificate to enable https/rtsps connection * Supports generating self-signed certificates for TLS * Improve the compatibility with Elgato Cam Link 4K * Reduce the rendering delay of EasyCap devices * Position and speed overlay can be set separately * Can animate long text * Video Overlay can be shown on Video Preview, you can turn it off from Settings * Supports overlaying animated image (GIF or Webp) as watermark on video frames