Recent iterations of Windows 11 have made significant strides in empowering users to personalize their webcam settings without the need for third-party applications. By navigating to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras, users can adjust various parameters such as brightness, contrast, and sharpness. The forthcoming updates promise to broaden these customization options even further.
New Features in the Canary Builds
In an exciting development, user @PhantomOfEarth on X has uncovered a hidden feature within the latest Windows 11 Canary builds. This feature, identified by the ID 52142480, allows users to modify the webcam image resolution. With this enhancement, users will have the flexibility to either let Windows 11 determine the optimal resolution or manually select their preferred resolution and frame rate from a comprehensive list of options.
Recent Canary builds include an additional advanced camera option: media type, which lets you choose a specific camera resolution. (ID is disabled by default, 27744+)vivetool /enable /id:52142480 pic.twitter.com/vZxAmv7Rqk
— phantomofearth ☃️ (@phantomofearth) December 4, 2024
For those operating on Windows 11 build 27744 or newer, and possessing a webcam, the process to enable this feature is straightforward using the ViVeTool app:
- Download ViVeTool from GitHub and extract the files to a convenient location.
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator and navigate to the folder containing the ViVeTool files using the CD command. For instance, CD C:Vive.
- Enter vivetool /enable /id:52142480 and hit Enter.
- Restart your computer.
Upon rebooting, head back to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Cameras. Select your webcam and click “Edit.” You will find the newly available resolutions listed next to the “Media type” option, alongside the recently introduced settings that allow multiple applications to access the webcam simultaneously and a basic camera mode for troubleshooting purposes.
In addition to these camera enhancements, Microsoft has rolled out a new Canary build featuring several improvements across File Explorer, Task Manager, and the taskbar. Furthermore, the Microsoft Store has been updated with a new functionality designed to streamline the updating process for Win32 applications.
