Distorted image when using the depth camera in a video app

WHAT AM I SEEING?

"Snow" effect, or distorted image, when using the depth camera in regular video apps like Google Meet, Skype, Zoom, Windows Camera, etc.

ENVIRONMENT:

Intel® RealSense™ F200 Camera

Intel® RealSense™ SR300 Camera

Intel® RealSense™ R200 Camera

CAUSE:

The RealSense Depth stream is selected as the video source in the video application. The Depth camera is not meant to be used directly by applications.

RESOLUTION:

When using regular video apps like Google Meet, or Skype, Zoom, Windows Camera, etc, select the Virtual Driver as the video source. The Virtual Driver will properly route the RGB stream to your application. Do not set the RGB stream as the video source. The Virtual Driver gets installed by the Depth Camera Manager.

To take advantage of the depth capabilities of the RealSense camera, use specially enabled apps that were programmed specifically for using depth. The software vendors listed on the apps page have enabled their applications to work with Intel RealSense depth cameras. Contact the software vendor to confirm if they support your RealSense camera.