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I have a setup on a Windows 10 computer where I have multiple of the same kind of USB webcams connected to one computer.

Is there a way to have the system list the webcam names differently so they can be more easily distinguished in programs like OBS, Skype, or Zoom?

I tried a registry edit as suggested here. While that succeeded in changing the webcam name in the Device Manager, when I go to an application like OBS Studio, it lists the webcam as its original name, and is still unchanged after a restart.

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I have a workaround involving changing the global friendly name of a USB device instance.

  1. Plug in USB device.
  2. On Device Manger, right-click webcam -> properties -> details.
  3. Select "Device instance path" and copy the value.
  4. Go to Registry Editor, expand "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE", highlight "SYSTEM".
  5. Then search for the copied device instance path from earlier (CTRL+F, CTRL+V).
  6. From the search, the device instance should be highlighted, expand it.
  7. Then expand #global" and highlight "Device Parameters".
  8. Then in "FriendlyName", change the name to the desired custom name, which should then subsequently be the name shown in programs.

Note that this works only for a specific webcam on a specific USB port; the above can be repeated with other combinations of devices and USB ports.

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In OBS you add the web cam as a source. At that point, you can name the source. You will not be able to tell which webcam is which when selecting it unfortunately.

In this particular instance, I can't imagine you have more than 2 (perhaps 3 at a push), which would mean a little trial and error should get you there.

Just add them all and then rename the sources so you know which is which. I follow the naming convention:

SOURCE: Webcam above monitor

SOURCE: Webcam to side of computer etc.

And for scenes I follow this naming convention

SCENE: Webcam only

SCENE: Webcam with filter

SCENE: Webcam with mask etc.

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