PTZ cameras

A Pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera is a camera that you can physically adjust remotely. You can control a PTZ camera with joystick or by using a camera.

To control a PTZ camera with a joystick, see Joystick window.

To control a PTZ camera, place the cursor over the camera’s video panel to display the PTZ camera controls, or use the PTZ Control panel window by clicking on the PTZ Control icon from the toolbar. For information on the functionality of the PTZ Control panel window, see the following table.

Note: The PTZ Control icon appears in the toolbar only when a PTZ camera displays in a video panel in the Live window.

User-initiated PTZ commands have priority over event linking PTZ commands, and both have priority over PTZ preset tours. If two or more PTZ commands occur simultaneously, the command with the highest priority occurs and the other commands are ignored for a set time. You can set the Resume Time on the Mechanical PTZ tab in the Camera Settings window. For more information, see the following table.

Table 1. PTZ Control panel window
Interface element Description
Presets list Displays a list of saved views for PTZ cameras.
To apply a preset to the camera, select a preset from the Presets list.
Pan/Tilt area Adjusts the direction and direction speed of the camera.
Zoom area Adjusts the zoom and zoom speed of the camera.
Iris area Adjusts the iris of the camera. The Iris area is only available on some cameras.
Enable Tour button Activates PTZ preset tours. This button is available only for users with PTZ admin permissions.
Focus area Adjust the focus of the camera. The Focus area is only available on some cameras.