I'm trying to figure out how to connect four USB webcams to my laptop and get a live view with each webcam displayed in its own quarter of the screen. I don't want to record or stream; I just need a live offline view. I'd like the same view to show on my laptop screen and at least one external monitor. My laptop is likely running Windows 10 or 11, but I'm curious if there's a way to do this on a Chromebook too. Also, I'm considering using USB-A webcams but wondering if USB-C would offer any benefits or if the setup changes at all. Any ideas on how to make this happen?
3 Answers
Another software you might want to consider is Blue Iris or Agent DVR. You can turn off all the features you don’t need, and both work with various cameras. Just be cautious about using a USB hub since it could impact performance—laptops typically don’t have many USB controllers.
You can also look into SplitCam as another option. For the cameras, USB-A should be fine and is generally cheaper than USB-C, which may not be necessary for this kind of task. Just make sure to have a decent USB hub; otherwise, you might struggle with bandwidth issues, especially on a laptop. As for Chromebooks, it could be tricky unless you enable developer mode for proper software installation, but even then, performance might lag.
I would suggest using OBS to set this up. Even though you don’t want to record or stream, you can easily use OBS to display all four cameras in a full-screen view without any overlays.
That sounds like a solid plan! Plus, you can still record if you change your mind later.