- AVOID - This software silently installs malware!
www.shiningmorning.com
2015-08-05 - 8.8.4 ∞
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costs: www.shiningmorning.com/purchase-magiccamera.html
- There is a free version.
- $30 + $10 for a personal copy and future upgrades. I presume this is in USD.
- I was interested in giving a decent review for this software because I could get a license for free.
TODO- www.shiningmorning.com/support.html-
TODO- www.shiningmorning.com/screenshot-virtual-webcam.html
Website ∞
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I don't understand why this product doesn't have its own separate website / URL when their other products do.
Features - TODO ∞
Particularly interesting items are noted with a +
- Photo frames.
- Visual filters & transform effects.
- + Real-time replace webcam backgrounds with pictures/videos. (You can create fantastic effects such as raining inside your house!)
- Add funny masks, noses, hats, eyeglasses by webcam face tracking.
- + Paint/doodle on webcam video.
- + Image overlay and video overlay.
- Add cool Flash and gif animations to webcam.
- + Type text directly on video to "chat" with your friends.
- + Picture in Picture.
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Video scene.
- What is this?
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Customizable effects. (The source, position, size and transparence of most effects are editable.)
Has some really interesting advanced features:
- + Simulate multiple webcams & use them independently in different webcam applications.
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+ Send/record sounds as well as video, via our virtual sound card tool.
Installation and setup. ∞
- The download is a simple .exe file.
- The installation is trivial, without any bundled extra garbage.
- The installer generated a "Virtual Webcam" at the end of the installation.
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Interestingly, the installation asked for ongoing administrator permissions. I denied this, and later I learned this was a good idea since Magic Camera installs malware (see below).
First impressions ∞
- The program is feature-limited nagware. On startup it has a purchase button. I'm fine with this.
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The top says "Buy Now to Remove the Watermark!", but I don't see an actual watermark.
- I see it appear when I apply a frame.
- I don't like that this program is separated into two windows. I guess I still have PTSD from GIMP. I see no way to re-attach the effects panel if the user manually moves it. Bah.
- I don't like that this program uses its own application/window style. It's stranger still to see the effects panel using the correct style.
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I played with the Distort settings, and it appears that multiple distorts can be applied simultaneously. While playing, I got a "Magic Camera cannot be continued" error.
- Awkward English.
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I was randomly clicking and saw that multiple "distort" items were being applied simultaneously. At first I didn't understand what was going on. Then I saw there was a list of items appearing in the main window.
- This could have been made much more simple, with a checkbox for each distort item being applied. However, the list format being used allows for extremely complex customization.
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I went looking for the Magic Camera tray icon to drag it out into visibility and saw that its right-click menu was also fancy.
Search Protect ∞
- It was then that I noticed something called "Search Protect".
- The installer's license agreement did not mention Search Protect.
- I uninstalled Search Protect, uninstalled Magic Camera, re-installed Magic Camera and saw that Search Protect was silently re-installed.
- Search Protect has an about page whose links are not clickable. Furthermore, it references a license agreement which I did not agree to.
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Uninstalling gave a little scare message.
I ran Windows Defender after uninstalling Search Protect, and its scan did not detect anything.
FAIL - Any software which is dishonest enough to silently package another program isn't something I want to use, and certainly isn't something I'd pay money for!
I was interested in a couple other programs this company made, but now I'll avoid them.
I believe this also installed something called "Wajam 64". I nuked its tasks and deleted its folder in Program Files.
Last updated 2018-02-14 at 05:31:20