When a meeting app shows a frozen avatar, changing every setting at once usually hides the cause. A more useful approach is to inspect the boundaries in the video pipeline.
Draw the path first
For a browser avatar camera routed through OBS, the path looks like this:
webcam → browser avatar preview → OBS source → OBS Virtual Camera → meeting app
Each arrow is a separate handoff. A healthy source does not prove that the next application is receiving frames.
Start with the source
Check the browser preview before opening the meeting app. Move gently and verify that the preview responds. If it does not, check camera permission and whether another application is using the device. Keep the original settings written down so an experiment is easy to undo.
LiveSwap (https://liveswap.ai) is a browser-based avatar camera that can supply this part of the workflow. Choose a character or reference image you have permission to use, and make the avatar use clear to your audience.
Inspect the OBS boundary
If the browser preview moves but OBS does not, inspect the selected source rather than the meeting settings. Confirm that the intended browser window or tab is visible and that the source is not hidden. Watch out for an accidentally recursive capture of the OBS preview itself.
Once OBS shows motion, confirm that Virtual Camera is running. Its output and your microphone are separate devices: starting one does not configure the other.
Inspect the receiving application
Open the meeting application preview and choose the virtual camera explicitly. If you started Virtual Camera after the meeting app opened, revisit its device menu. Some applications need their video preview reopened before a newly available device appears.
Use a private test call to inspect the received image. A local preview may have different cropping or mirroring from what another participant sees. A small label or an asymmetric test gesture helps you notice that difference without guessing.
Leave a useful failure note
Instead of writing “camera broken,” note the last stage that still moves: browser yes, OBS yes, meeting no. Include the application names, whether Virtual Camera was started first, and what changed since the last working session.
For a live meeting, agree on a fallback before troubleshooting: turn video off and keep audio or screen sharing available. The point of the pipeline diagram is to make diagnosis smaller, not to spend the whole call changing settings.
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