zxing - not able to read driver license data

Question

I need to read data from the driver license barcode (USA). I've tried:

• zxing for java on the server side, pictures taken by phone, no success at all, it cannot find the pdf417 barcode. The code copied from the examples thus it should be ok.
• zxing-js - I've used BrowserPDF417Reader to decode the barcode from the video camera. It can find a barcode but the checksum is not valid Any tip how I can improve the image quality, what could be prefer size etc?

I've used online generator to generate sample pdf417 and then it's working - thus it seems it's all about the image

• on the other hand also tried a paid library and it worked (almost - video camera didn't start Samsung note 10 for iPhone it worked)