Getting started with Camo

To get started with using Camo with your webcam or other connected camera, you’ll first need to download and install Camo Studio on your computer. If you’re using your phone as your camera, you’ll also need to get Camo on your iOS or Android device. In this case, we recommend installing the mobile app first, using the instructions here.

Using Camo with webcams and other connected cameras

First, download and unzip Camo Studio for macOS here or Windows here.

Once you've downloaded Camo Studio, double-click the Camo icon to install it.

On Windows, check the box to accept our license agreement and click Install.

On Mac, grant Camo permission to install. It will move itself to “Applications”, and set up a plugin to let video conferencing apps see and use it.

On both Windows and Mac, Camo Studio will also ask if you want it to automatically check for updates. We recommend that you allow these, as we release updates regularly to stay compatible with a wide range of video apps, and also add new features and improvements.

Getting a Camo license

There's no need to pay to use Camo, and the free edition provides a number of tools to capture, improve and customise the video from your device. However, if you'd like to unlock all of Camo's power, you can upgrade by clicking the "Upgrade" button on the top-right of Camo Studio.

That will show a window like the following, with buttons at the bottom to buy or activate a license. Clicking "Buy now" will take you to Camo's checkout to purchase a license.

Once you've purchased a Camo license, you'll receive an email with a link to finish setting up your account. From there, either click the activation link at the end of the setup process or login to the app using your email and the password you chose for your account. The app will activate your license, and you're ready to start using Camo Pro.

Connecting your device to Camo Studio

Now you can connect your device to Camo. Built-in cameras should be detected automatically, and will appear in the Device pull-down menu in the upper left corner of the Camo Studio interface.

Webcams and cameras connected by USB will also appear - just note that you may have to first enable USB streaming on your mirrorless or DSLR camera, and that to get the highest possible resolution, you’ll need to use a cable that matches the highest USB standard that both your computer and device support.

Finally, some cameras will only stream 4K or 1080p via an HDMI cable, which may require connecting your device to your computer via a video capture card.

Getting Camo for use with your iOS or Android device

Camo is available on the App Store and Google Play Store. You can find it on both by searching for "camo".

Installing Camo Studio on your Computer

Once you've downloaded the app to your mobile device, you can share the computer app directly from Camo.

• To share from iOS to macOS, AirDrop the desktop app to your Mac by tapping the AirDrop icon on the Getting Started screen.
• To share to Windows, tap Send Link from the Getting Started screen on Android or iOS.

Alternatively, you can download and unzip Camo Studio for macOS here and Windows here.

Once you've downloaded Camo Studio, double-click the Camo icon to install it.

• On Windows, check the box to accept our license agreement and click Install.
• On Mac, grant Camo permission to install. It will move itself to “Applications”, and set up a plugin to let video conferencing apps see and use it.

On both Windows and Mac, Camo Studio will also ask if you want it to automatically check for updates. We recommend that you allow these, as we release updates regularly to stay compatible with a wide range of video apps and add new features and improvements.

Pairing Camo and Camo Studio

Camo lets you connect your mobile device to Camo Studio via either Wi-Fi or USB. We recommend pairing over USB for your first session as it offers the best video latency and connection stability.

If you are using an Android device and are looking to connect to a Windows computer, the easiest way to pair is via Wi-Fi as the process to pair through USB is more complex in this case.

Find out more about the trade-offs between Wi-Fi and USB connections.

Pairing Camo over Wi-Fi

Pairing Camo with Camo Studio over Wi-Fi is simple and works the same for iOS and Android devices:

1. On your computer, open Camo Studio and tap the + button next to the Device dropdown in the left sidebar. This will open a pairing window displaying a QR code.
2. In Camo on your mobile device, tap the wireless connection button in the top-right and then scan the QR code displayed on your computer.
3. Your devices should connect automatically and video from your mobile device should start streaming through to Camo Studio.

The minimum requirements for pairing over Wi-Fi on Apple devices is macOS Catalina (10.15, released in 2019) and iOS 13 (released in 2019). All supported versions of Windows and Android are compatible with Wi-Fi pairing.

If you encounter any issues pairing your devices via Wi-Fi, check out our handy troubleshooting tips or try connecting over USB.

Pairing Camo on iOS over USB

Pairing Camo running on iOS is automatic on both macOS and Windows. Plug your device into your computer using a standard Lightning cable and, after a couple seconds, you should see video from your device appear in Camo Studio.

Pairing Camo on Android over USB

The steps for pairing Camo for Android differ depending on whether you’re pairing to a Windows PC or a Mac.

Your Android should connect automatically to your Mac over USB. If you previously followed the steps below to connect to Windows, make sure USB debugging is turned off by searching for Developer Options → USB debugging and unticking it.

To pair Android to Windows, you’ll need to turn on USB debugging. The instructions to do this vary slightly depending on the Android phone you're using. We've outlined the process below using a Samsung Galaxy S20.

If you need help turning on USB debugging for your Android device please contact us and we'll walk you through the process for your specific phone.

To turn on USB debugging:

1. Connect your phone to your computer and open Camo Studio. The interface should display a set of instructions similar to the ones below.

2. Follow these steps on your Android to configure your device:

   • Go to Settings, search for Build number and tap it 7 times.

   • Now search for Developer Options in Settings, scroll down to USB debugging and tick to turn it on.

   • Selecting Always allow from this computer means you will only need to do this once.

Activating Camo

There's no need to pay to use Camo, and the free edition provides everything you need to use your iPhone as a high-quality webcam. However, if you'd like to unlock all of Camo's power, you can upgrade by clicking the "Upgrade" button on the top-right of Camo Studio.

That'll show a window like the following, with buttons at the bottom to buy or activate a license. Clicking "Buy now" will take you to Camo's checkout to purchase a license.

Once you've bought Camo, you'll receive an email with instructions on how to activate your account. To activate Camo using previously set account details, in Camo Studio go to Upgrade and select Activate license, and enter use your account credentials to authenticate.

If you've closed the browser window you used to buy Camo, and you can't find the email, search for support@reincubate.com in your inbox and check your spam. Contact us if you get stuck or need help!