It is AMAZING just how hard it can be to find a piece of software that will take a video stream and give you the option to play it back live with special effects/layovers. After searching for HOURS and HOURS (I don’t think I’ve ever had to look this hard for something on the Internet), I stumbled on WebcamMax. Now, it looks like it’s not actually made for what I’m wanting to do with it, specifically, but it WORKS! I just needed something that would give me the ability to do an image overlay with some transparent portions of the image so I could display live video behind it (want to do a Conan O’Brien style interview). And after downloading over 10 pieces of software that all had at least one big gap, it was good to stumble on these guys. I really appreciated (and this is how I found them) that they had a user forum and that the product devs actually listened to the feedback that people would post there. I don’t know how much actually gets implemented, but it’s nice to know they’re at least soliciting feedback and interacting with their user base.

Here are my pros/cons:

Pros:
Easy to use interface
Clean layout for effects, easy to find what you’re looking for
Integration into other webcam clients (again, not what I’m using it for, but a good feature to be aware of)
Can read DV camcorder inputs in place of just webcam
Good looking forum setup with some pretty active posters

Cons:
No full-screen (at least, I can’t find the option)
The design feels a little childish - the pseudo-Mac stylings are OK but there are some design continuity issues
Free version leaves a giant watermark on your display - can’t blame them, but still…

Overall, though, well worth checking out, especially if you’re in the market for something to spice up your webcam’s capabilities. Would I call it WebcamUltra or WebcamThebestever? Maybe not, but I’m OK with them calling themselves WebcamMax. I wouldn’t say they’re the best out there for specifically what I want to do, but I really can’t complain given how long I’ve been hunting for something with the functionality I need. Worth a download: WebcamMax.

And I should probably go drop them a shout out on the COUNTLESS forums I have been wading through during my search. There’s a lot of despair out there in looking for something like this. In fact, WebcamMax could probably even re-brand their product some and call it a “Live Video Production Overlay” and make a lot of people happy. Well, that and make the full screen available!