You can use PTZ camera modes to PTZ modify camera views.
Overview
The features described in this section are available for IP PTZ cameras or analog PTZ cameras over a four-wire serial connection.
Functionality may vary slightly when using some PTZ camera models or PTZ cameras that only support a two wire serial connection.
Contact your 3VR re-seller for more information on your camera model if the behavior you observe is different than that described in this chapter.
PTZ camera control is available for live video streams in the Video panel or the Live Video tab of the Monitor panel.You can use three PTZ control modes to modify the current camera view:
Compass Mode: a compass is displayed in the video player; clicking a chevron moves the camera in the selected direction
Click to Center Mode:
Click on a point within the camera view to re-centers the camera view
Draw a box around a region with the mouse cursor to zoom in and re-center on the selected region
Use the slider bars to tilt and zoom the camera
Joystick Mode: hold down the mouse button to pan the camera in the direction of the mouse cursor. User can use Joystick controller to pan the camera, e.g. Axis Joystick controller.
Move your mouse over the PTZ mode icons at the bottom of the video player to display the name of the mode in a tool tip.
Compass Mode
To change the camera’s field of view using compass mode:
Click the compass icon in the lower-left corner of the video player to select compass mode.
Click the chevrons in the compass to move the camera in that direction. The size of the chevron corresponds to the panning distance:
Click the innermost chevron to move the camera a short distance.
Click the middle chevron to move the camera an intermediate distance
Click the outermost chevron to move the camera a larger distance
Click and hold the mouse on any chevron to move continuously in the indicated direction. Click and hold down the innermost chevron to move the camera more slowly than the outermost chevron.
Use the slider bar along the left-hand side of the video player to zoom in and out.
Click to Center Mode
To change the camera’s field of view using click to center mode:
Click the square icon in the lower-left corner of the video player to select click to center mode.
To re-center the camera view, click the mouse anywhere in the video player to center the camera on that point.
To tilt the camera up or down, use the slider bar on the right-hand side of the video player.
To pan left or right, use the slider bar along the bottom of the video player.
To zoom in or out, use one of the following options:
Use the slider bar along the left-hand side of the video player.
Click and drag the mouse to draw a box around a region of interest. The camera zooms in on the region.
Joystick Mode
To change the camera’s field of view using joystick mode:
Click the joystick icon in the lower-left corner of the video player to select joystick mode.
To move the camera using joystick mode, click anywhere in the current field of view and hold down the mouse button. The cross hairs will travel in the direction of the cursor at a speed proportional to the distance between the cursor and the cross hairs.
To move slowly, click and hold closer to the cross hairs.
To move quickly, click and hold the mouse at a greater distance from the cross hairs.
To zoom in or out, use the slider bar along the left-hand side of the video player.
Preset Views
Selecting a Preset View
To move the camera to an existing preset view:
Click Presets to display the presets menu.
Select the preset view you wish to load.
Saving a New Preset View
To save a new preset view:
Use click-to-center, compass, or joystick mode to move to the desired camera view.
Click Presets to display the presets menu.
Click Add Current View.
Type the name of the new view in the pop-up dialog box.
Click Save to save the new view.
Editing a Saved Preset View
To modify or delete a preset view:
Click Presets to display the presets menu.
Click Edit Views.
In the Edit Views window, select the name of the preset view to modify:
To rename the preset view, type a new name for the view in the Name box, and then click Save.
To set the current view as the default view for this camera, select [ ]Set as Home Preset, and then click Save.
To delete the view, click Delete
Click Close to return to the Video panel.
Tours
Viewing a Saved Tour
To load a PTZ tour:
Click Presets to display the presets menu.
Click the name of the tour you wish to view.
The tour will continuously loop until manually stopped. To stop the tour at any time, click the Click here to stop tour playback text at the top of the video player.
To resume the tour, select the tour from the presets menu.
Recording a New Tour
To save a new PTZ tour:
Click Presets to display the presets menu.
Click Record New Tour.
Record your tour using the PTZ controls to change the camera view as desired.
When you are finished recording the tour, click the Click here to stop recording text at the top of the video player.
Type a name for the new tour in the pop-up window.
Click Save to save the tour.
Renaming or Deleting a Tour
To modify an existing PTZ tour:
Click Presets to display the presets menu.
Click Edit Tours.
In the Edit Tours dialog box, select the name of the tour to modify:
To rename, edit the name and click Save.
To delete, click Delete.
Click Close to return to the Video panel.
PTZ Camera Focus and Iris Control
Some PTZ camera models allow for increased control over focus and brightness. For these cameras, you can click the Manual Focus Control or Manual Iris Control button at the bottom of the video player to display a slider bar to adjust focus or the size of the iris.
Manual Focus Control
By default, auto-focus is enabled for all PTZ cameras. To manually control focus:
Click the Focus Controls button at the bottom of the video player.
To focus on objects nearer than the current focal point, click N, or move the slider bar to the left.
To focus on objects past the current focal point, click ∞ or move the slider bar to the right.
To resume automatic focusing, click the Focus Controls button again.
Manual Iris Control
By default, brightness is automatically adjusted for all PTZ cameras. To manually control brightness:
Click the Iris Controls button at the bottom of the video player.
Click the box with the black circle to darken the field of view, or move the slider bar to the left.
Click the box with the white circle to brighten the field of view, or move the slider bar to the right.
To resume automatically adjusting brightness, click the Iris Controls button again.
View Options
Certain view options are available for certain cameras. The available view options depend on the camera in use.
Panning
With certain cameras, you can pan the camera view. With some cameras, you click in the view and drag in the direction you want to pan. In addition, on certain cameras, in the Single (1-Up) view, an overlay appears on the image to show you the field of view displayed.
You can include panomorph camera channels in stitched views (see "" for information on this feature).
360-Degree Panomorph
Camera Controls
By default, a 360-degree panomorph camera shows an overall view of an area, but the image is warped. The 3VR system can dewarp (or flatten) the image and allow you to focus on particular areas on interest.
Different cameras and lenses support different dewarped view types. The table below shows the available dewarp view types for supported cameras, and the vendors' terminology for the view types, along with the 3VR commands used to display them.
To select a view type for video from a 360-degree panomorph camera:
Right-click on the image in the video player. A menu pops up and shows the available view types for the camera.
Select the desired view type from the View Type sub menu. Most view types display in the video player. However, the Panorama view type displays all the available view types for the camera in a separate, Panorama Viewer window, shown below. (Labels identify the view types shown in the sample image below.)
Audio Playback
The OpCenter Video panel supports both live and recorded audio streaming.
Audio must be enabled and configured in 3VR System Manager in order for audio controls to be available for a camera that supports audio. See the 3VR VisionPoint VMS Installation and Configuration Guide for 3VR Appliances for information.
Starting and Stopping Audio
Only one audio camera may be streamed at a time. Use one of the following steps to start or stop audio playback.
If the camera is not already playing video, bring it up in the video grid using one of the options in Adding and Removing Cameras.
Start streaming with one of the following steps:
Right-click the camera video feed in the video grid and select Play Audio on "[Camera Name]"
Right-click the camera name in the camera tree and select Play Audio on "[Camera Name]"
Stop streaming with one of the following steps:
Right-click the camera video feed in the video player and select Stop Audio on "[Camera Name]"
Right-click the camera name in the camera tree and select Stop Audio on "[Camera Name]"
Controlling Volume
Controlling Volume in OpCenter
When you select an audio camera in the Video panel, the video toolbar is displayed on top of the video player. This toolbar contains the volume control for audio, as well as the camera's PTZ controls (if applicable).
To adjust the volume of audio playback for a camera, move the mouse over the speaker icon to display the volume slider bar and drag the bar right to increase the volume or left to decrease the volume.
Muting Audio Playback
To mute audio, click the speaker icon. An x appears next to the speaker to indicate that audio is muted.
To restore audio, click the speaker icon again
Controlling Volume in Windows
To raise or lower the volume of audio playback for all audio channels, adjust the volume of your PC with the following steps:
Click the speaker icon in the Windows task bar notification area.
Click and drag the slider bar up or down to adjust the volume.
Auto-Hide Video Toolbar
By default, the video toolbar is placed at the bottom of each video player, overlaying the video feed. If desired, you may configure OpCenter to auto-hide the toolbar when the video player does not have mouse focus.
To begin auto-hiding the toolbar:
From the OpCenter Video panel, click the Options button.