Many different markets are using PTZOptics cameras for high-quality video delivery, creating new opportunities to boost engagement, increase revenue, and optimize workflow. With a variety of cabling options, network connectivity, and remote control capability, PTZOptics cameras are ideal for video production and live streaming applications.

For Your Entertainment

PTZ cameras are being used with great success to live stream or pre-record performances to be enjoyed from the comfort of home, as well as to improve the in-person experience for event attendees. Even theaters are taking advantage of this technology. With a packed house, revenue can be generated by selling virtual tickets to a global audience. And, with how easily multiple cameras can be controlled using a joystick or smartphone, a single employee or volunteer can stream the entire production with little to no training.

A great example of PTZOptics camera utilization in a performance space the way Deadmau5, the world-famous electronic musician and DJ, uses them to project video onto a 3D cube as part of his Cube V3 tour. Four cameras are located inside the cube, and projected directly onto the sides of the 3D object, adding something extra special to the audience’s experience.

Back to School

Virtual teaching processes were critical to keeping students engaged during the pandemic. Through a difficult time, students have been able to stay connected to each other and to their professors remotely thanks to video delivery technology.

When the pandemic shut down in-person learning, Rosemont College in Pennsylvania was one of many schools that turned to PTZOptics cameras as a solution for remote and, eventually, hybrid education. Check out the full case study for more information.

Corporate Solutions

If you’ve held a conference call or a board meeting during the pandemic, you know how difficult it can be to create an environment where clear, effective communication is possible, particularly when some people are in office and some are working remotely. Instead of huddling around a laptop webcam with the in-office staff, invest in a quality video conferencing system to ensure your team is able to get the job done.

As the most widely adopted IP video technology on the market, NDI^®|HX is all you need to step up your video conferencing game. NDI^®|HX makes it easy to step up the production value of your regular meetings or next corporate live stream. With this protocol, control as many cameras as you want through one IP-connected computer or controller.

Why PTZOptics?

PTZ cameras have a distinct advantage over others on the market, offering remote operation on an IP network, as well as the ability to run video over multiple connections simultaneously. With the NDI^®|HX capabilities of PTZOptics cameras, you now have the opportunity to create a broadcast-quality video or live stream that puts you in the driver’s seat in each aspect of production.

For more information on how to take advantage of NDI® technology, download my free book, “The Unofficial Guide to NDI^®.”

And, don’t forget to check out our latest feature on Videomaker!

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At PTZOptics, we currently offer PTZOptics NDI® cameras that are compatible with NDI®|HX. However, if you own a different model of camera, such as the USB or SDI PTZOptics camera, you can now upgrade to an NDI®|HX license and take advantage of the power of this new protocol. With this license upgrade, you can get all the benefits of your PTZ camera with the added power and convenience of the most advanced video over IP solution available. Here are a few reasons why you should upgrade your camera to NDI®|HX.

Say Goodbye to SDI Cables

SDI (serial digital interface) has been around since the late ‘80s and has become the industry standard for professional and semi-professional broadcast production. SDI cabling provides for excellent quality video over long cable runs with low latency. However, the major disadvantage of this method is it requires a direct line run from each camera to the switcher or computer interface. This can become problematic with a large number of cameras or in places where the architecture makes installation difficult. With NDI®|HX, you can use a standard ethernet cable to attach the camera to your closest ethernet switch. Then, as long as that switch is on the same network as your production computer or switcher, you can connect.

One Cable Does it All

Without NDI®|HX, you could be using up to three cables to operate your PTZ camera. First, as mentioned above, you may use an SDI cable to connect to your switcher or production computer. Next, you may have a power adapter running to an electrical outlet. Finally, you might be using a serial cable to connect to a camera control such as a joystick controller. With NDI®|HX, you can handle everything over that one ethernet cable. As long as you plug into a PoE (power over ethernet) switch, that line can handle video, audio, power, and remote control.

Multiple Simulcast Options

With NDI®|HX, you can access any compatible camera from any computer or switcher on the network. That means you can produce multiple, custom simulcast options simultaneously. For instance, one switcher might handle the iMag (image magnification) in the room. Another might handle the main live stream. Another might send a different stream with subtitles and graphics in Spanish. Yet another could produce a custom feed for an overflow room.

Simplified Signal Flow for Easier Troubleshooting

If you have ever had a camera go offline right before or during production, you know how complex it can be to figure out why. This is especially true if you are using a multi-cable setup. There could be a problem with the power connection, the SDI connection, or serial control connection. Many times you will need to go to the camera to check and trace the cables. With an NDI®|HX upgrade license, you can handle everything right from your computer. With a managed PoE switch, you can even cycle the power on and off remotely, when necessary.

Next-Level Video Conferencing

Most popular video conferencing solutions such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet work well with USB webcams. However, using NDI®|HX, you can use any equipped camera on your network as a source for your meeting. This means that, during a session, you can switch between cameras and even control the pan, tilt, zoom features, adding a new level of production value to your meetings.

Extremely Low Latency

If you run your system using traditional video over IP and not NDI®|HX, you may have issues with latency. Because of this, some producers are reluctant to make the switch. However, with the latest version of NDI®|HX, suitable computers, and a gigabit ethernet switch, you can share video with no noticeable latency issues.

Simple Installation

If you are used to running cables, installing capture cards, and adjusting settings to get a camera to show up on your switcher or production computer, NDI®|HX is a real time saver. Once you have your network operating, adding a new camera can be done in minutes.

Works for Any Size and Budget Production

NDI®|HX is the perfect solution whether you work in professional broadcast operations, run a YouTube channel, or just want to live stream your church services. It is easy to set up and integrate with just one camera and free software like OBS. Still, it is a robust solution suitable for a professional production studio.

Ultimate Scalability

No matter what type of content you are looking to share, chances are you will eventually expand your setup. With traditional cabled configurations, adding additional cameras, switchers, computers, and simulcasts can be overwhelming. Upon reaching a certain size, some producers must start over with new equipment for additional connections, because hardware switchers can only handle so many inputs. Many computers are also limited in the number of different capture cards or boxes they can handle. Using NDI®|HX, all you need to add a camera is an open ethernet port on your network. There is virtually no limit to the number of cameras that can be added to a network or the number of computers that can access it.

Works with Most Popular Software

NDI®|HX marks an evolution in video production. Not only is there a variety of dedicated software to handle many production tasks, but connectivity is also available in most popular production software. Programs compatible with NDI®|HX include: vMix, Wirecast, OBS, NewBlueFX Titler, and more.

What Are You Waiting For?

If you’re not yet convinced to take a leap into the future of video delivery, take a look at our Unofficial Guide to NDI®, a free resource to help you better understand this new technology. Ready to upgrade your USB or SDI PTZOptics camera with the purchase of an NDI®|HX license? Visit our website and get started.

House of Worship Case Study

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NDI version 4 is now available and with it comes massive improvements to video quality, security and NDI HX compatibility. PTZOptics NDI cameras can now have their firmware upgraded to support NDIv4. This update includes massive improvements to NDI HX which include lower latency, full support for GPU decoding acceleration, and support for the most advanced compression formats available today. On top of the great video improvements, PTZOptics NDI users will gain access to NDI Groups to increase security, Custom Naming to increase usability and new Multicast features that are easier to use and more flexible than ever before.

Simply put, NDIv4 sets up PTZOptics camera users for the future opening integrations that were once only available to certain NDI developers. PTZOptics NDI cameras now speak NDI fluently in the sense that NDIv4 will only get better as the core NDI technology evolves.

New NDI Configuration for Cameras

The first thing you will notice once you upgrade an NDI camera to the latest firmware is a new NDI Config tab. This tab allows you to set up a local device name and channel. This is the device name that will show up in any NDI compatible hardware or software like OBS, Wirecast or vMix. The Channel name is particularly important for cameras that support multiple NDI channels, like the HuddleCamHD Pro IP which supports two channels of NDI output. For this camera, you can see that two channels are available, one for the wide angle view and one for use with an electronic pan, tilt and zoom.

You will also notice an NDI receive group which is used for security and organizational purposes. Once you start using a lot of NDI sources on your network, you may want to consider who has access to those sources, especially if those sources include PTZ camera controls. Using NDI Access Manager, you can set up custom receive groups so that only specific computers on your network can actually discover the NDI video sources on your network. In this way, you can set up your PTZ cameras on a secure receive group name, enter the receive group name into NDI Access Manager on the computer you would like to receive the sources and you are done. No other computers on your network will be able to see the NDI sources on your network unless you set up the access manager with the custom receive group. This is a great way to protect your NDI sources from unwanted viewers or operators on your network and increase security on larger networks.

Discovery Server and Multicast Options

NDIv4 also now supports the freely available NDI Discovery Server which increases what you can do with NDI on complex networks. It’s also ideal for mini networks that do not have a router. The Discovery Server allows you to point each camera to a discovery server on your network which can make NDI source discovery work smoother in some networking environments.

NDIv4 has a new auto-generation tool for multicast. Multicast is of course the technology that allows networks to send and receive multiple video feeds at the same time without congesting a network with on-demand video traffic.

Note: You must have a properly configured multicast enabled network in order to use the new NDI Multicast features.

NDI Tally Lights and Other Firmware Updates

NDIv4 will open up hundreds of new integration possibilities including NDI control for the SuperJoy and NDI Tally Lights as just two examples. PTZOptics NDI cameras should now work with almost any NDI integration available today.

Finally, the latest PTZOptics camera firmware hosts an array of other great updates including SRT, Motion Sync, NTP synchronization and live video preview in web-browsers. For a complete list of firmware updates you can check out https://ptzoptics.com/firmware-changelog/.

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Here is a list of live RTMP streams we will have going on:

1. The Main Stage (Produced by a TriCaster TC1)
2. An IRL (In Real Life) stream with a LiveU Solo
3. The Esports Tournament (Student Run with Wirecast and OBS)

The main live stream

First of all, check out this 3D Google Sketchup drawing of the space so that you can grasp where everything is located inside our venue. As you can see there is the main stage with microphones and a projector. This area has its own live streaming setup with multiple PTZOptics NDI cameras capturing all the action on video. This setup uses a NewTek Tricaster TC1 with SDI camera connections and NDI HX video outputs as a backup. Our local area network setup (using Ubiquiti gigabit networking equipment) provides PoE (Power over Ethernet) to each camera. Each camera’s ethernet connection is also used for control using pan, tilt, and zoom. This TriCaster system will be live streaming to Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn using a cloud-based restreaming service called EasyLive. This system will also include an IRL (In Real Life) perspective provided by a LiveU Solo that we can switch to during the presentation as needed.

The Esports Live Stream

The next area of interest is the Student-run broadcast which is being live-streamed to Twitch. This broadcast will actually be covering the Esports tournament specifically. The Esports tournament is a 3 vs 3 Rocket League game which also includes an observer PC and an OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) video production machine. The students will be running a brand new Wirecast Gear which will be connected to multiple PTZOptics cameras via SDI and NDI. We will also have an OBS production computer which will be focused on the Esports game capture. Each Esports computer will be running OBS which will capture the gameplay screen and a PTZOptics Webcam. OBS will combine these two video sources (Gameplay + Webcam) and turn these into an NDI video stream available in 720p to any computer on our local area network. The observer PC will be able to show in-depth gameplay from any of the machines in 1080p by running the Rocket League client and joining the game as an observer. This observer PC will be connected to a Magewell Pro Capture HDMI to USB dongle which features a loop through option. This allows us to capture the observer PC directly into our OBS streaming PC as a webcam source and still provide an HDMI video source for our play by play announcers.

Note: We may also use NDI to capture the observer PC using NDI Scan Converter or OBS. The Magewell capture device can be used to reduce the network traffic coming into the Wirecast Gear as necessary. Each computer can only pull 750 megabits per second of video off the switch without congesting the overall throughput of our gigabit system.

The Play by Play Announcers

Play by play announcers makes the live stream more exciting. Keeping with our student-run broadcast theme we will also have students from Hofstra University on camera and announcing. These announcers will be able to see the “Observer PC” and provide commentary on the gameplay. This audio will be captured with our USB audio interface and mixed into the production which will include the gameplay audio and the microphone pickup from our team microphones. Each team will have its own LAN (Local Area Network) connected TeamSpeak setup. Therefore each team will have USB headsets connected to quickly strategize and talk together. From a production stand-point, we will also have microphones available to capture the team’s banter and cheering. Take a look at our audio setup in the following diagram to get a better grasp on the audio setup. Keep in mind that NDI video can also include audio and it will be used as optional audio inputs for our streaming systems. Each PTZOptics Webcam can provide 1080p video and audio into our NDI streams coming from each Esports computer.

As you can see the audio setup is not too complicated. We are using a Behringer USB audio mixer with six inputs. Two microphones for our play by play announcers, one microphone for each team and two audio inputs from the main house audio system. The main house audio system is being used for the on-stage panelist. At some point, as the Esports tournament wraps up we can switch to this audio feed and allow our presenters a chance to use the audio feed. Todd Conley from HighSchool.GG and Paul Richards will talk about the technology being used in this audiovisual setup during the second half of this Esports tournament live stream.

Wirecast and OBS working with LiveU

So we came up with a very interesting idea to use two video production systems in a single Twitch stream which leverages a LiveU streaming setup and a Roland video switcher. If you are unfamiliar with the LiveU LU600, this is a cellular bonding system that can send out high-quality RTMP video streams in remote locations. In our case, the LiveU LU600 is more reliable and affordable than the event venue (Dream Downtown Hotel in NYC) and therefore easier to work with. From a production standpoint, we will be connecting a Roland V-1HD to the LiveU LU600 which will allow us to seamlessly switch between the HDMI output of the Wirecast Gear and the OBS streaming setup. This is important because we can now have the students focus on the cameras and “In Real Life” production of the esports tournament. Then we can have the OBS production focus on the gameplay. This way we can have two producers working together like a DJ would have two records spinning that they can switch between. We can switch between either video feed at any time, or incorporate video outputs from either system into each. For example, the OBS production system could take the NDI video output from the Wirecast system and the Wirecast system can take the output of the OBS system. We also have the ability to switch the video output going to the LiveU and therefore Twitch instantaneously during the broadcast.

NDI IP Address Table Management

Finally, it’s incredibly important to realize a few things about NDI. First of all, every computer will have the latest NDI 4.0 drivers installed. Next, it’s always a good idea to create an IP management table that lists all devices you plan to use NDI with on your network. As you can see all of our PTZOptics NDI cameras are listed out with static IP addresses. Each camera has an IP address, a friendly name, and some notes to help our production experts know which cameras they have access to, how to access them, and finally who should take primary PTZ controls. As you can see, even though we have SDI cabling running to our Wirecast Gear and TriCaster systems, we are still giving each producer access to the IP addresses of the PTZ cameras. This way they can quickly choose a camera they would like to remotely control and confirm they have the correct camera by cross-referencing the NDI friendly names with our NDI IP address table. Furthermore, each live streaming computer system including the Wirecast Gear, TriCaster TC1 and OBS system has been given a static IP address as well. We are also, using a router with DHCP to manage additional equipment that we are connecting to our local area network. For example, each gaming PC will be set to DHCP and they will receive an IP address from our router. Since we are only sending out NDI video sources from these systems we do not require a static IP address.

With our PTZ cameras, we do need static IP addresses because we want to come prepared knowing the exact address needed to control each camera. In fact, we pre-label each camera with its friendly name and static IP address to make life even easier. A print out of this IP address table will be given to each production manager. If you have any additional questions about our Esports NDI streaming setup let us know! We love to receive questions via our Facebook page at https://facebook.com/ptzoptics.

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