webcams on desktop monitors

PeteSut

I'll be needing a webcam to continue working during the pandemic. I just bought a new desktop computer here and was planning to hook up a webcam to my old monitor. Now I find the webcam is not supported for Windows 10.  Looking at the vast selection of monitors here there are numerous filters to search by, but none mention built-in web cams! Is this only standard nowadays on laptops?  I guess I could go with a separate webcam that I hook up to the monitor, but  I'm surprised there are no built in options.  Any advice?

PowerSpec_MikeW

With some exceptions, webcams are pretty consistently present on laptops. It should be listed in the specs though. Unless it's a very low end budget laptop, I would generally count on it having a built in camera and mic. As for your old webcam not being compatible with Windows 10, depends on the driver they're using. If they're running or able to run on a generic USB Video driver, it should work. What web cam do you have?

PeteSut

I have a Logitech c260. Logitech is unwilling to support it and I'm not sure if the quality would be worth the effort. So my question is really about MONITORS. Do they NOT come with built-in web cams? Is the tech advancing so rapidly that it is better to buy the cam and the monitor separately?

PowerSpec_MikeW

I have not seen many monitors that include a built in webcam. AIO systems include them. As for why, most likely it's a feature that most people aren't that interested in, having this built in and the problem is it increases the cost for the seller, and this add on isn't going to increase their sales by enough, to offset the cost of not being competitively priced, for the people who don't want this feature.

Do you know what the Logitech C260 shows up as in Device Manager? 

PeteSut

Thanks for the follow up.  When I plug it in it shows up as "USB composite device".  But in Device manager it shows up under AUDIO as Logitech HD Webcam C260.  It's like the camera component doesn't exist.

PowerSpec_MikeW

So it's installing the mic but not the camera. Is the USB Composite Device under "Other Devices"?

PeteSut

No, the only thing listed under other devices is my monitor.

ct241

We have a desktop with a very old monitor(2008).  We now need to connect to Zoom for meetings. We do not have a microphone or camera.   What is the best way to update and solve this problem. 

TSTonyV

ct241 said:

We have a desktop with a very old monitor(2008).  We now need to connect to Zoom for meetings. We do not have a microphone or camera.   What is the best way to update and solve this problem. 

You can just purchase an external webcam. You can view what's in stock at your local store with at the following link:

https://www.microcenter.com/category/4294966765/webcams

External webcams will plug into a computer via USB and pretty much all come with a microphone. 

PeteSut

Never mind. I decided to buy a new webcam. Thanks for your efforts.