How can I install Microdia UVC microscope?

Question

I bought a Maozua 5mp USB microscope off Amazon (after checking in the reviews that it worked on Linux). Sadly when I connected it on Lubuntu 16.04 it does not work in guvcview or cheese.

I did some investigation. I show the relevant parts below:

ls /dev | grep video
video0
video1

The microscope is on video1 and a logitech webcam on video0. The webcam works when the microscope is not connected, but guvcview and cheese cannot retrieve video from it when the microscope is connected:

lsusb 
Bus 003 Device 009: ID 0c45:6366 Microdia

more detailed info:

lsusb -v
Bus 003 Device 008: ID 0c45:6366 Microdia 
Couldn't open device, some information will be missing
Device Descriptor:
  bLength                18
  bDescriptorType         1
  bcdUSB               2.00
  bDeviceClass          239 Miscellaneous Device
  bDeviceSubClass         2 ?
  bDeviceProtocol         1 Interface Association
  bMaxPacketSize0        64
  idVendor           0x0c45 Microdia
  idProduct          0x6366 
  bcdDevice            1.00
  iManufacturer           2 
  iProduct                1 
  iSerial                 3 
  bNumConfigurations      1
  Configuration Descriptor:
    bLength                 9
    bDescriptorType         2
    wTotalLength          662
    bNumInterfaces          2
    bConfigurationValue     1
    iConfiguration          0 
    bmAttributes         0x80
      (Bus Powered)
    MaxPower              500mA
    Interface Association:
      bLength                 8
      bDescriptorType        11
      bFirstInterface         0
      bInterfaceCount         2
      bFunctionClass         14 Video
      bFunctionSubClass       3 Video Interface Collection
      bFunctionProtocol       0 
      iFunction               5 
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        0
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      1 Video Control
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              5 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                13
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      1 (HEADER)
        bcdUVC               1.00
        wTotalLength          108
        dwClockFrequency       15.000000MHz
        bInCollection           1
        baInterfaceNr( 0)       1
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                 9
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      3 (OUTPUT_TERMINAL)
        bTerminalID             5
        wTerminalType      0x0101 USB Streaming
        bAssocTerminal          0
        bSourceID               4
        iTerminal               0 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                28
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      6 (EXTENSION_UNIT)
        bUnitID                 3
        guidExtensionCode         {7033f028-1163-2e4a-ba2c-6890eb334016}
        bNumControl            24
        bNrPins                 1
        baSourceID( 0)          2
        bControlSize            3
        bmControls( 0)       0xff
        bmControls( 1)       0xff
        bmControls( 2)       0xff
        iExtension              0 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                29
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      6 (EXTENSION_UNIT)
        bUnitID                 4
        guidExtensionCode         {b42153bd-35d6-45ca-b203-4e0149b301bc}
        bNumControl            32
        bNrPins                 1
        baSourceID( 0)          3
        bControlSize            4
        bmControls( 0)       0x03
        bmControls( 1)       0x80
        bmControls( 2)       0x3f
        bmControls( 3)       0x9f
        iExtension              0 
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                18
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      2 (INPUT_TERMINAL)
        bTerminalID             1
        wTerminalType      0x0201 Camera Sensor
        bAssocTerminal          0
        iTerminal               0 
        wObjectiveFocalLengthMin      0
        wObjectiveFocalLengthMax      0
        wOcularFocalLength            0
        bControlSize                  3
        bmControls           0x0000000e
          Auto-Exposure Mode
          Auto-Exposure Priority
          Exposure Time (Absolute)
      VideoControl Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                11
        bDescriptorType        36
        bDescriptorSubtype      5 (PROCESSING_UNIT)
      Warning: Descriptor too short
        bUnitID                 2
        bSourceID               1
        wMaxMultiplier          0
        bControlSize            2
        bmControls     0x0000177f
          Brightness
          Contrast
          Hue
          Saturation
          Sharpness
          Gamma
          White Balance Temperature
          Backlight Compensation
          Gain
          Power Line Frequency
          White Balance Temperature, Auto
        iProcessing             0 
        bmVideoStandards     0x 0
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x83  EP 3 IN
        bmAttributes            3
          Transfer Type            Interrupt
          Synch Type               None
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0010  1x 16 bytes
        bInterval               6
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       0
      bNumEndpoints           0
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            15
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  1 (INPUT_HEADER)
        bNumFormats                         2
        wTotalLength                      411
        bEndPointAddress                  129
        bmInfo                              0
        bTerminalLink                       5
        bStillCaptureMethod                 2
        bTriggerSupport                     1
        bTriggerUsage                       1
        bControlSize                        1
        bmaControls( 0)                    11
        bmaControls( 1)                    11
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            11
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  6 (FORMAT_MJPEG)
        bFormatIndex                        1
        bNumFrameDescriptors                5
        bFlags                              0
          Fixed-size samples: No
        bDefaultFrameIndex                  1
        bAspectRatioX                       0
        bAspectRatioY                       0
        bmInterlaceFlags                 0x00
          Interlaced stream or variable: No
          Fields per frame: 1 fields
          Field 1 first: No
          Field pattern: Field 1 only
          bCopyProtect                      0
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         1
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2592
        wHeight                          1944
        dwMinBitRate                1209323520
        dwMaxBitRate                1209323520
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize    10078285
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         2
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2320
        wHeight                          1744
        dwMinBitRate                971059200
        dwMaxBitRate                971059200
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     8092749
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         3
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2048
        wHeight                          1536
        dwMinBitRate                754974720
        dwMaxBitRate                754974720
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     6292045
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         4
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1920
        wHeight                          1080
        dwMinBitRate                497664000
        dwMaxBitRate                497664000
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     4147789
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  7 (FRAME_MJPEG)
        bFrameIndex                         5
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1280
        wHeight                          1024
        dwMinBitRate                314572800
        dwMaxBitRate                314572800
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     2622029
        dwDefaultFrameInterval         666666
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)            666666
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            26
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  3 (STILL_IMAGE_FRAME)
        bEndpointAddress                    0
        bNumImageSizePatterns               5
        wWidth( 0)                       2592
        wHeight( 0)                      1944
        wWidth( 1)                       2320
        wHeight( 1)                      1744
        wWidth( 2)                       2048
        wHeight( 2)                      1536
        wWidth( 3)                       1920
        wHeight( 3)                      1080
        wWidth( 4)                       1280
        wHeight( 4)                      1024
        bNumCompressionPatterns             5
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            27
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  4 (FORMAT_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFormatIndex                        2
        bNumFrameDescriptors                5
        guidFormat                            {59555932-0000-1000-8000-00aa00389b71}
        bBitsPerPixel                      16
        bDefaultFrameIndex                  1
        bAspectRatioX                       0
        bAspectRatioY                       0
        bmInterlaceFlags                 0x00
          Interlaced stream or variable: No
          Fields per frame: 2 fields
          Field 1 first: No
          Field pattern: Field 1 only
          bCopyProtect                      0
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         1
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2592
        wHeight                          1944
        dwMinBitRate                161243136
        dwMaxBitRate                161243136
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize    10077696
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        5000000
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           5000000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         2
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2320
        wHeight                          1774
        dwMinBitRate                131701760
        dwMaxBitRate                131701760
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     8231360
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        5000000
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           5000000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         3
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           2048
        wHeight                          1536
        dwMinBitRate                150994944
        dwMaxBitRate                150994944
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     6291456
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        3333333
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           3333333
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         4
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1920
        wHeight                          1080
        dwMinBitRate                 99532800
        dwMaxBitRate                 99532800
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     4147200
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        3333333
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           3333333
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            30
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  5 (FRAME_UNCOMPRESSED)
        bFrameIndex                         5
        bmCapabilities                   0x00
          Still image unsupported
        wWidth                           1280
        wHeight                          1024
        dwMinBitRate                104857600
        dwMaxBitRate                104857600
        dwMaxVideoFrameBufferSize     2621440
        dwDefaultFrameInterval        2000000
        bFrameIntervalType                  1
        dwFrameInterval( 0)           2000000
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                            26
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                  3 (STILL_IMAGE_FRAME)
        bEndpointAddress                    0
        bNumImageSizePatterns               5
        wWidth( 0)                       2592
        wHeight( 0)                      1944
        wWidth( 1)                       2320
        wHeight( 1)                      1744
        wWidth( 2)                       2048
        wHeight( 2)                      1536
        wWidth( 3)                       1920
        wHeight( 3)                      1080
        wWidth( 4)                       1280
        wHeight( 4)                      1024
        bNumCompressionPatterns             5
      VideoStreaming Interface Descriptor:
        bLength                             6
        bDescriptorType                    36
        bDescriptorSubtype                 13 (COLORFORMAT)
        bColorPrimaries                     1 (BT.709,sRGB)
        bTransferCharacteristics            1 (BT.709)
        bMatrixCoefficients                 4 (SMPTE 170M (BT.601))
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       1
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0080  1x 128 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       2
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0100  1x 256 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       3
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0320  1x 800 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       4
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x0b20  2x 800 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       5
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x1320  3x 800 bytes
        bInterval               1
    Interface Descriptor:
      bLength                 9
      bDescriptorType         4
      bInterfaceNumber        1
      bAlternateSetting       6
      bNumEndpoints           1
      bInterfaceClass        14 Video
      bInterfaceSubClass      2 Video Streaming
      bInterfaceProtocol      0 
      iInterface              0 
      Endpoint Descriptor:
        bLength                 7
        bDescriptorType         5
        bEndpointAddress     0x81  EP 1 IN
        bmAttributes            5
          Transfer Type            Isochronous
          Synch Type               Asynchronous
          Usage Type               Data
        wMaxPacketSize     0x1400  3x 1024 bytes
        bInterval               1

I looked at the output of dmesg and found the following ominous lines:

[ 2364.670728] usb 3-2: new high-speed USB device number 8 using xhci_hcd
[ 2364.829594] usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=0c45, idProduct=6366
[ 2364.829598] usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[ 2364.829601] usb 3-2: Product: Digital microscope
[ 2364.829604] usb 3-2: Manufacturer: Sonix Technology Co., Ltd.
[ 2364.829606] usb 3-2: SerialNumber: SN0001
[ 2364.831835] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Digital microscope (0c45:6366)
[ 2364.839225] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 4 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839229] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839232] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839235] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!
[ 2364.839369] input: Digital microscope: Digital mic as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb3/3-2/3-2:1.0/input/input20
[ 2637.035796] usb 3-2: USB disconnect, device number 8
[ 2646.208190] usb 3-2: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 2646.367005] usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=0c45, idProduct=6366
[ 2646.367009] usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=2, Product=1, SerialNumber=3
[ 2646.367012] usb 3-2: Product: Digital microscope
[ 2646.367015] usb 3-2: Manufacturer: Sonix Technology Co., Ltd.
[ 2646.367017] usb 3-2: SerialNumber: SN0001
[ 2646.369205] uvcvideo: Found UVC 1.00 device Digital microscope (0c45:6366)
[ 2646.376527] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 4 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376531] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Extension 3 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376534] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Processing 2 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376536] uvcvideo 3-2:1.0: Entity type for entity Camera 1 was not initialized!
[ 2646.376672] input: Digital microscope: Digital mic as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:14.0/usb3/3-2/3-2:1.0/input/input21

I disconnected the Logitech webcam, to avoid interactions, and ran cheese from the console (using sudo to avoid permission problems). I saw the following output:

paul@clio:~$ sudo cheese
[sudo] password for paul: 

(cheese:3520): IBUS-WARNING **: The owner of /home/paul/.config/ibus/bus is not root!
libv4l2: error turning on stream: Protocol error

(cheese:3520): cheese-WARNING **: Could not read from resource.: gstv4l2bufferpool.c(1054): gst_v4l2_buffer_pool_poll (): /GstCameraBin:camerabin/GstWrapperCameraBinSrc:camera_source/GstBin:bin18/GstV4l2Src:v4l2src1:
poll error 1: Protocol error (71)

I googled 'microdia' and '0c45:6366' and found a lot of people have struggled with this microscope. Some believe they got it working, but the solutions are spread across long threads stream-of-consciouness-wise and I have not pieced together anything that works. I noted that most of the threads are dated 2008-2009. It makes me wonder whether a working driver became available after that period - but I can't find it !

Any help will be much appreciated.

I just tried the microscope on another machine running Lubuntu 16.04.2 and it works in both guvcview and cheese. The machine that fails has Lubuntu 16.04.4, although I doubt the slight version difference is significant. I have not tried VLC, but now that I know cheese can work, I think I must look for the difference in the configuration between these two machines. — user1759557, Sep 27 '18 at 03:00
Great find! Please update your answer so anyone else with the same hardware can benefit once you get it figured out. My advice is compare kernel versions and kernel modules that are loaded, i.e the output of uname -ra and the output of lsmod — Kristopher Ives, Sep 27 '18 at 03:02
Great. I just ssh'd into the second machine to start comparing. The working machine is Thetis.
paul@thetis:~$ uname -ra Linux thetis 4.4.0-83-generic #106-Ubuntu SMP Mon Jun 26 17:54:43 UTC 2017 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

paul@clio:~$ uname -ra Linux clio 4.13.0-41-generic #46~16.04.1-Ubuntu SMP Thu May 3 10:06:43 UTC 2018 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux — user1759557, Sep 27 '18 at 03:22
Interesting, one is using Linux 4.4 and the other is using 4.13 - I assume the newer one is the one working correctly? — Kristopher Ives, Sep 27 '18 at 03:24
You can try running a more recent kernel on the 16.04 system or upgrading to 18.04 using sudo do-release-upgrade — Kristopher Ives, Sep 27 '18 at 03:25
The older machine is working, but somehow I doubt that the Lubuntu version is the problem. Isn't it more likely to be the modules in use, or other configuration issue ? I really don't want to upgrade from 16.04 because of a heap of software dependencies. — user1759557, Sep 27 '18 at 03:29
It's hard to say because kernel version and modules often go hand in hand. The likely difference between the systems is in how hardware databases are populated that say "use this module" for a given hardware component (PCID) — Kristopher Ives, Sep 27 '18 at 03:34

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 11 '18 at 13:49

I finally solved it. After a lot of time testing and theorising I came to the conclusion that the problem was nothing to do with drivers or OS versions. It seemed to be only one specific machine that had problems. This pointed to a hardware problem. By accident I chanced on an article about all the problems ASMedia USB3 devices have with Kinect2. The specs for my motherboard(Asus X99 Deluxe II) show it uses ASMedia for USB3, but not apparently for USB2. I switched my webcam and Microscope to the USB2 ports and have not had a problem since.

Many thanks to Kristopher Ives who put a lot of effort into helping me with this.

Conclusion if you are having trouble with UVC devices and have ASMedia USB3, try USB2 ports. Also ASMedia USB sucks !

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 24 '19 at 10:28

Try connecting the Webcam directly to USB on your PC's motherboard - not through a USB extension cable or hub.

After trying different viewers and even upgrading Ubuntu I didn't have any luck. I finally saw the answer above and tried a USB2 not USB3 and it worked. However that was coincidence in my case - USB3 worked as well when I removed the extension cable I had been using.

Sounds stupid as the Webcam enumerates and appears to almost work, but I guess there's a low quality cable or circuitry inside the webcam (or it draws a lot of power) and USB starts to struggle as soon as it tries to transfer a lot of data.

How can I install Microdia UVC microscope?

2 Answers2