Webcam passthrough for cloud desktops

Your desktop is not running on your machine. It runs on an isolated instance in a cloud region and is streamed into a browser tab. The camera, however, is physically attached to the device in front of you. Passthrough is the mechanism that captures the local camera in the browser, encodes it, sends it up the same session transport as your keyboard and mouse input, and presents it inside the remote operating system as a normal video device.

Because the remote OS sees an ordinary camera device, applications inside the session — conferencing clients, browser-based meetings, capture tools — need no special support.

• A Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Edge, Brave) or Safari 17+; camera redirection is not supported in private/incognito windows on some platforms.
• An HTTPS origin — browsers only expose camera and microphone devices on secure origins.
• Camera redirection enabled on the workspace policy (on by default for new workspaces).
• Around 1-3 Mbps of upstream bandwidth in addition to the desktop stream.

1. Open the workspace in your dashboard and go to its settings, then Devices.
2. Turn on Camera redirection and, if you need audio input, Microphone redirection.
3. Start or reload the session. The browser prompts for camera access — choose Allow.
4. Pick the source in the session toolbar if you have more than one camera. The selection is remembered per device.
5. Inside the remote desktop, open your conferencing app and select the redirected device (it appears under the workspace name).

Passthrough adds one encode and one decode to the local capture path. On a healthy connection to a nearby region, expect 40-90 ms of added camera latency — visible if you watch your own preview closely, but not perceptible to the people you are talking to, because their view is dominated by network and conferencing buffering anyway.

• 720p30 is the right default: it keeps upstream bandwidth low and leaves headroom for the desktop stream.
• 1080p30 is worth it for recorded content or presenter-heavy work, not for routine calls.
• If the desktop stream stutters when the camera turns on, lower camera resolution first — the desktop stream is what your work depends on.

• Black image: another local application holds the camera. Quit it, then reload the session tab.
• No device listed in the remote app: camera redirection is off in workspace policy, or the session started before the browser permission was granted — reload the tab.
• Permission prompt never appears: the site permission is set to Block. Reset it in the browser's site settings for sisidesk.com and reload.
• Camera works, microphone does not: microphone redirection is a separate policy toggle and a separate browser permission.
• Choppy video after a few minutes: usually upstream saturation. Drop to 720p or 480p and re-test.
• Works on one machine but not another: check that the second machine is not on a corporate network blocking the session's media ports.

Camera, microphone, clipboard and file redirection are independent policies, set per workspace or inherited from a team default. Regulated teams commonly disable clipboard and file redirection while leaving camera and microphone on, so meetings work but data cannot leave the isolated instance. Every policy change is written to the workspace audit log.

Camera frames are relayed to your workspace instance for the duration of the session only. They are not recorded, stored, or inspected by the control plane, and no intelligence feature reads them. See the security overview for how workspace isolation is enforced.

Do I need to install anything to use my webcam in a cloud desktop?

No. SisiDesk sessions run in the browser, so the camera is captured by the browser using the standard getUserMedia permission and redirected into the remote desktop. No client download or admin rights are required.

Why does the remote desktop show a black camera image?

In almost every case the browser tab holds the camera permission but the remote session has not been granted device redirection, or another local application already holds an exclusive lock on the camera. Close other camera apps, reload the session tab, and re-accept the camera prompt.

How much bandwidth does webcam passthrough use?

Camera passthrough is an additional upstream stream on top of the desktop stream. Budget roughly 0.5-1.5 Mbps upstream for 720p30 and 2-3 Mbps for 1080p30, in addition to the downstream desktop video.

Can administrators block camera and microphone redirection?

Yes. Device redirection is a per-workspace policy, so an administrator can disable camera, microphone, clipboard or USB redirection for a workspace or a whole team.

Send the session ID and the browser version to hello@sisidesk.com and we will pull the session's media diagnostics.