# Live streaming webcam and switching sources freezing

**URL:** <https://community.wowza.com/t/live-streaming-webcam-and-switching-sources-freezing/36217>\
**Category:** Wowza Streaming Engine\
**Created:** [April 15, 2014, 11:25am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/live-streaming-webcam-and-switching-sources-freezing/36217 "2014-04-15T11:25:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Eddie\_Hermoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Eddie\_Hermoso](https://community.wowza.com/u/Eddie_Hermoso)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 11:25am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/live-streaming-webcam-and-switching-sources-freezing/36217/1 "2014-04-15T11:25:45Z")

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I can successfully record a live stream from a webcam. However, when I right-click on the Flash component that is broadcasting my webcam, click on Settings -\> Video -\> and then change the webcam source to a different one plugged in to my laptop, the live stream video freezes, although I can still hear the audio. If I switch back to the original webcam that I used to start the live stream, the stream goes back to normal.

The live stream will work with any connected webcam that I choose to start with. But it is once I switch to an alternate webcam source that the live stream freezes.

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**Author:** ![sal\_jefferson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sal\_jefferson](https://community.wowza.com/u/sal_jefferson)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 10:36am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/live-streaming-webcam-and-switching-sources-freezing/36217/2 "2014-04-15T10:36:44Z")

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Hello, are the codec settings the same on each webcam? This sounds like a playback issue occurring due to codec differences between the 2 sources.

Salvadore

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**Author:** ![Eddie\_Hermoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Eddie\_Hermoso](https://community.wowza.com/u/Eddie_Hermoso)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:44pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/live-streaming-webcam-and-switching-sources-freezing/36217/3 "2014-04-15T12:44:28Z")

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The actionscript activates the camera onload and sets it to H264 - Baseline and Level3 with Speex audio. I can see the camera change from the main Flash component, but the live stream freezes when switch. Shouldn’t camera switching apply the initial H264 settings across all available camera sources including built-in and external USB-connected?

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**Author:** ![Eddie\_Hermoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Eddie\_Hermoso](https://community.wowza.com/u/Eddie_Hermoso)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2014, 7:52am UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/live-streaming-webcam-and-switching-sources-freezing/36217/4 "2014-04-29T07:52:57Z")

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Sometimes it takes 15 seconds for Wowza to show the new webcam source and sometimes it takes over 3 minutes. I’ll investigate further.

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**Author:** ![sal\_jefferson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sal\_jefferson](https://community.wowza.com/u/sal_jefferson)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://community.wowza.com/t/live-streaming-webcam-and-switching-sources-freezing/36217/5 "2014-04-15T12:38:17Z")

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You can start Wowza in stand-alone mode /bin/startup.bat (or startup.sh on Mac) and see the output in the console. This should show you what codecs are being sent to Wowza, and possibly what the problem is when switching.

Also, does the freezing happen when you are watching the stream in a client while switching sources? Does it work if you stop the player and start it again? This would indicate the issue is in the transition from source to source.

Salvadore