SOLVED

Webcam image is horizontally flipped

Iron Contributor

When video conferencing in Teams the image is flipped horizontally.  I cannot find any options to flip the image to the correct orientation like you can do in Skype 4 Business.

 

Any news on when this functionality is coming?

 

Thanks

66 Replies
best response confirmed by scottcate (Microsoft)
Solution

Hi,

 

When you see your selfview in Teams it will be flipped, so it is easier for you. But when the other participants in the meeting see your video they will see it the correct way. So text will be mirrored for you but the correct way for others.

This is incorrect.  Other participants in the meeting are seeing a horizontally flipped image as well.

 

The video recording of the meeting we just had is the correct way round bizzarely!

 

Had to test it now so they did't change it but the picture is mirrored in my selfview but the other side see the picture correct and it is correct in the Stream recording. As it should be.

 

I'm using the Windows client for Teams and I don't have any software installed for the camera that can change the picture, so all mirroring is handled by Teams.

My actual problem was that in distance learning sessions I wanted to draw/write something quickly for my students on a sheet of paper, and with auto-mirror it's useless.

 

Here comes the workaround.

 

I have an additional (external) USB camera, which is a cheap Logitech C270, and after having installed the Logitech software I discovered that the image is still mirrored in the Teams video session, but NOT in the default Windows camera application. So, I do the following:

 

I open the Camera App and select the USB camera as its input. Next, I let the Teams share my desktop instead of showing the video connection (which is still handled - in mirror mode - by the built-in front webcam). Now, the students (and myself) can see the non-flipped picture, taken from the Camera App on my desktop. In fact, I can switch back and forth between the desktop mode and the video mode - whenever I want the students to admire my face instead of my drawings.

 

One can do the same trick with any other external camera and any app that does not mirror the camera input, in contrast to Teams. I know this does not answer your basic question, but may be of some help.

I have this same problem, outputting from Logitech Capture with text on screen flips to backwards on broadcast. If I flip in Capture, Teams still reverses the text overlay. Can we please just have a self view that's actually the view going out over Teams, with an option to reverse it? @Technodude 

@Curt-K Vote for this uservoice:

https://microsoftteams.uservoice.com/forums/555103-public/suggestions/39267535-toggle-video-camera-m...

 

But until Microsoft adds some settings for this at least the viewers will see the picture correct and you will see it as a mirror.

To manage in a more convenient manner the image i'm sending I'm using « ManyCam » which allows to mirror webcam inputs. Anyhow extra content (such as a timer, a ticker, ...) is not meant to be added flipped. Thus to go around Teams limitations I'm sharing the output screen, which isn't the ideal solution.
Can't Microsoft add, as in most VC software a setting under « Devices » : « Camera » to un-flip the output ?
Sheez... I'm glad I found this thread. I've been putting flips into my ffmpeg/gstreamer/obs loopback streams to work around this problem... and now I find Microsoft thinks users are using their cam and Teams as a mirror.

At the very least, they should add a "mirrored locally only" disclaimer where they now have "preview" in the device settings.

My webcam image is upside down on ms teams. how can this be fixed?

@Jesse_Litton I am as confused as I was before. Maybe you can solve my problem...sounds like you had a eureka moment. I am trying to use my Lumix DSLR as my webcam. I have a converter that allows the Lumix to be recognized by Teams/Skype as my webcam. But as noted in this thread, the image appears flipped on my Teams window, along with everything else in the image (furniture, etc.). I must assume the image shown on my Teams window is the same as what other people see. Is that incorrect? Are others seeing a "normal" version of the image? 

@Greg_Chesterton 

 

In the video recording as well as the live stream that everyone else sees other than you, they see everything the proper way...

Thanks @KarriemL . I did a test from another account and indeed it appears normal to the external viewer. I guess we're so used to seeing the mirror version in the webcam view that we don't think much about it. But when I pipe another source, like computer software running on a laptop, through that converter (also seen by my computer as a webcam), it would be nice if it wasn't reversed. But at least now I know the converter/capture card isn't doing something.

@Spence1 

rotate your camera 180 degrees

rotate your pc 180 degrees

I am trying - in these trying times (Covid 19) to use "teams" to teach. Unfortunately my laptop camera is in the wrong position to video me writing on paper.  However, my little tablet has a better camera, and records beautiful videos (no lateral inversion) of my lesson. However, I want to do this live!  Spent the whole of yesterday attempting this.

The teams app in the play store for use on my android tablet (free) - does not have video conferencing at all, (no little camera anywhere, not even in top right hand corner). The  web browser version of office 365 teams, is doing this flipping thin, and also has huge delay that more often than not times out and the video picture is not collected at all.   

 

Finally I have installed AirDroid - a beautiful little program that will transfer the screen image of the tablet into the desktop - the right way round (AirDroid mirror).  However, there is some deterioration in the picture quality - so I would like the office 365 teams android app - which I have now requested 5 times - but get no download link sent to me.  I assume the correct app, will not reverse the image. 

 

I do hope that someone from Microsoft can answer this before I start teaching on Monday!

@Vanphys the 'flipping' thing is not an issue.

 

Teams will show only you a mirrored image of your webcam, the idea being that it's actually very confusing to look at your self not mirrored. We only really ever see ourselves that way round.

Teams will show anyone else your image the right way round, as that's how they are used to seeing you.

 

I appreciate it's confusing when using the camera to show something other than your video, but you can trust that your students are not seeing things flipped.

@StevenC365 Indeed you're correct. I did a test from another account and sure enough it appears 'normal' to the external viewer. For some reason It's just a little more disorienting to see a mirrored image that we know is coming from an external camera. But I can see why it happens. 

It doesn't matter much to see myself mirrored, but if I am pushing a software app through my Blackmagic ATEM switcher (that my computer thinks is a webcam), it too is flipped. That's annoying. Even though I know it's normal to the audience, I have to look at the Teams window image with mirrored PowerPoint text. It's annoying we can't turn off that 'feature' in Teams. 

@Greg_Chesterton Definitely a reasonable request, the way to tell Microsoft is through Uservoice, try adding your scenario. The more fully the benefit is explained the easier it is for the developers to see the issue.

 

https://microsoftteams.uservoice.com/forums/599053-schools-and-universities/suggestions/39995653-add...

@LinusCansby Are you talking about the image of the person or the background?  One of my work teammates is using a football image for his background.  The jersey names and numbers are clearly backwards.

1 best response

Accepted Solutions
best response confirmed by scottcate (Microsoft)
Solution

Hi,

 

When you see your selfview in Teams it will be flipped, so it is easier for you. But when the other participants in the meeting see your video they will see it the correct way. So text will be mirrored for you but the correct way for others.

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