Ross® PTZ

The information in this document applies to the PTZ-12G and PTZ-NDI.

Cable Connections

To control the PTZ from the switcher and/or DashBoard you must connect an ethernet cable to the Ethernet port on the camera that is connected to the same network as the switcher and/or DashBoard.

Note: To control the camera from the switcher you must use the DashBoard VISCA gateway.
Note: The camera accepts PoE (Power over Ethernet) and can be powered either by the ethernet connection or the mains power connection. Both can be connected at the same time.

Switcher Communication Setup

The switcher must be set up to communicate with the robotic camera using specific protocol settings.

To Set Up Ethernet Communications

  1. Click Navigation Menu > Configuration > Devices.


  2. Click Add Device.
    Tip: Click Disable Device to temporarily disable the selected device.
  3. Click Slot and select a free ethernet device slot.
    Tip: A slot does not appear in the list if it is being used. You can click on the slot in the table on the left to edit the device settings.
  4. In the Type area click Camera.


  5. Select the following setting for your device:
    Note: The PTZ-12G connects to the switcher through the DashBoard Gateway. You must ender the IP address of the DashBoard computer.
    Setting Selection
    Driver PIVOTCam_1.1
    IP Address Enter the IP address of the DashBoard Gateway computer.
    Port Select the port assigned to the camera in the VISCA Gateway on DashBoard
  6. Click Save.

Switcher Video Setup

The switcher must be set up to associate the camera controls with the video source coming into the switcher. When you select the source coming from the camera on a bus, the menu jumps to the camera controls for that camera.

To Assign a Camera to a Video Input

  1. Click Navigation Menu > Configuration > Inputs > External.


  2. Click the Device button for the video source that you want to assign a device to.


  3. Click the device you want to assign to the video source.
  4. Select the following setting for your device:
    Option Value
    Channel Select the channel, or address, that the particular camera head you want to control is on.
    Invert Pan Pan control using the positioner is inverted (Yes) or not (No).
    Invert Tilt Tilt control using the positioner is inverted (Yes) or not (No).

DashBoard Gateway Setup

Note: This information in this procedure is provided as a guide and is based on the current version of hardware and software that was available at the time of testing. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, refer to the documentation that came with your device.

Before setting up the gateway, you must set up control of the VISCA camera in DashBoard. Refer to the DashBoard documentation for information on controlling a camera from DashBoard.

  1. On the camera tab in DashBoard, click Config > Gateway.
  2. In the Port field, enter the port number you want to use to control the camera from the switcher. This is the port number that you will enter in the device setup on the switcher.
    Note: Each camera controlled by the same DashBoard application must be assigned to a different port.
  3. Select what control you want the gateway to pass on to the camera from the switcher.
    • Focus Mode — select whether the gateway passes focus mode selections made from the switcher on to the camera (Pass), or if the gateway blocks these messages (Block). An external controller can still read the current focus mode when set to Block.
      Tip: The switcher automatically sets and updates the focus mode when controlling the camera. This can prevent other controllers from changing the focus mode when the switcher is controlling the camera and the Focus Mode is set to Pass.
    • Presets — select whether the gateway stores camera shots on the camera (Camera), or on the DashBoard computer (Local).
      Tip: Presets are available through DashBoard whether they are stored on the DashBoard computer or on the camera.
  4. Click a Control button to allow the switcher to use the gateway to control the camera (Enable) or block the switcher from controlling the camera through the gateway (Disable).
  5. On the camera tab, click Config > Operation.
  6. Select how you want use the presets.
    • Manage Presets on Camera — select whether presets are stored on the camera as well as in DashBoard. Presets are always available in DashBoard.
    • Recall Presets from — select whether a recall uses the preset saved in DashBoard or on the camera. Presets must have been stored to the camera to be able to recall them from the camera.

The Status field shows the current state of the gateway.

  • Closed — the port is closed or DashBoard isn't connect to the camera.
  • Ready — the port is open, but there are no controllers currently connected to it.
  • Connected — the port is open and one or more controllers are connected to it.
  • Error — an error has occurred. The port may be used by a different service or is being used by a different gateway.