Whether you’re using a standard or mini PTZ camera, it’s essential to create the right environment for recording or streaming. Achieving that goal doesn’t have to be complicated. We’re going to share the key elements of a successful PTZ camera environment to help you get started.
Your Goal and Purpose
One of the most important elements of your setup is to understand your goal and purpose. Although this isn’t a tangible thing, your purpose will direct your setup, and it will be easier to bring all elements together.
Sit down and consider your goals for your PTZ camera. These can include:
- Television broadcasting
- Livestreaming on the Internet
- Recording and live-streaming simultaneously
Once you understand your purpose and goals, you can start building your setup to meet these needs. This will allow you to determine:
- How many cameras you will need
- Your cabling setup
- What types of controllers and/or video switches you will need
- Whether you need additional software for recording video
Types Of Cameras
Now that you have your goals in mind, you can consider what type of PTZ camera will work best for your needs. A PTZ camera means having the ability to pan, tilt and zoom, but there are a few different types out there.
- Security: 4K PTZ security camera models allow you to monitor the area in great detail.
- IP: Internet Protocol (IP) PTZ cameras can be installed wirelessly, allowing for more flexibility in your setup.
- PoE: With Power over Ethernet, or PoE, the camera is powered by an Ethernet cord. It allows you to connect to the network and keep your camera running, saving you on cabling.
- Wireless: When you need to transmit video footage over a long distance, wireless cameras are ideal. These PTZ cameras remove limitations on the location of your camera, so you can monitor areas or live streams with minimal restrictions.
Finding the right camera is important, so weigh your decision carefully.
Methods For Remote Control
PTZ cameras can be controlled via IP, serial, or IR.
- Serial control: This allows you to connect to a switcher or controller that will control the camera’s functions. Serial connections use specific protocols, so it’s important to ensure your camera and controller support the same ones.
- IP: This allows you to control your camera using your IP network and software. These cameras use the NDI protocol.
- IR: This allows you to control your camera using an infrared remote control – just like a television remote. These remotes can control the camera’s basic functions.
These are the most common remote control methods for PTZ cameras.
Camera Attributes
A PTZ tracking camera may have many attributes that you’ll need to master, but the most ones important to know about are:
- Image flipping. When mounting the camera to the wall, the flip function ensures that the video is in the right orientation.
- Monitoring. One attribute to never overlook is the monitoring options available on a PTZ. Loop output will allow you to create 24/7 monitoring, including for security purposes.
- Noise. Events can be loud and noisy. The right PTZ camera will be designed to produce a low amount of operational noise to ensure the noise is never too loud for production.
If you consider all the remote control options above, it’s easy to see why PTZ cameras are so highly sought after by production teams.
Add Graphics and Titles
Finally, one of the last features that we want to touch on is that you can add to any production by incorporating:
- Graphics
- Titles
Software solutions allow you to add in both titles and graphics to make every production as professional as possible. You’ll find multiple software solutions that will work well with:
- SDI
- HDMI
- NDI
- Wirecast
Depending on the solution you choose, you can often add your own text files or RSS feeds to control the graphics and text on the screen.
Conclusion
PTZ cameras are some of the most advanced in the world. If you create the right production environment and follow the tips above, you’ll have an easy time maximizing the quality of your production. However, you’ll need to save some of your budgets to invest in audio, lighting, and screens. Proper lighting and audio are two crucial options for video production that you cannot overlook without greatly impacting the final video.