What is a Panasonic PTZ camera?
Panasonic PTZ cameras (such as the AW-HE and AW-UE series) are professional pan-tilt-zoom cameras designed for broadcast, studio, and live production environments. They can be controlled remotely over a network via an HTTP/CGI API. More information on their website.
With the Panasonic PTZ device, the Cuez Automator can move a camera to a saved preset position whenever an Item or Block is triggered, so camera shots follow your rundown automatically.
Note: Each Panasonic PTZ camera needs to be added as a separate device in the Automator. If you have multiple cameras, repeat the setup steps below for each one.
Before you start: Make sure the camera is powered on, connected to the network, and reachable from the computer running the Automator. We recommend giving the camera a static IP address so it doesn’t change between sessions.
Adding a Panasonic PTZ 'device' to the Automator
In the top right corner of the Automator, we see 'Devices' - this can be either in red or green depending on the status of the configured devices. Click it and select 'Add device'.
Next, select 'Panasonic PTZ' from the 'Device type' dropdown list, then give it a name.
Once the device is selected and given a name, we will see all fields needed to configure it so it can be used with the Automator.
Basic device configuration
You can enable or disable the Panasonic PTZ with the Device enabled checkbox, and enter the Host name, which is the IP address of the camera (for example 192.168.1.50). By default the host name is set to localhost, so the device will show as Offline (red) until you replace it with your camera’s IP address. Once the correct address is entered, the device should show as Online (green) in the top right corner.
Configuring actions
The next step is then to configure each Item and Block configuration with the (set of) functions you want to perform on the Panasonic PTZ when triggering the Item or Block - more general information on that in this article.
Available functions
Go to preset
Moves the camera to a preset position saved on the camera. In the set field, pick a preset from the list (Preset 1–100).
Tip: Set up your camera positions as numbered presets in the Panasonic camera menu first, then select those presets in your Item and Block configurations.
Note: Go to preset is currently the only function available for Panasonic PTZ cameras. Direct pan, tilt and zoom control is not supported in the Automator.
Troubleshooting
Device shows offline: Check that the Host name is the camera’s IP address and not the default
localhost, and that the Automator computer can reach the camera on the network.Preset doesn’t move the camera: Confirm the preset is saved on the camera itself, and that the function points to the right device.
Multiple cameras: Each camera is a separate device. Check that the right device is selected in each function.
This article was written for Cuez Automator v1.36.0.