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PanTiltZoom Mobile Application

Welcome to the PTZOptics forum(s)!


This thread has been created for end users to discuss the topic of the PanTiltZoom mobile application when being used with the PTZOptics cameras.


Please make sure to respect the experience level(s) of all users at all times when posting within our forums or your account may have access removed.


We often see requests for the ability to add a live preview to the mobile control applications that are available for the PTZOptics cameras and until recently there was no solution we could offer.


Using the Android 7.0, or greater, platform there is a multi-window feature that was added, sometimes referred to as “split-screen,” where you can view two active applications at the same time.


With this feature we can now have a live preview of a PTZOptics camera with P/T/Z control on the same screen at the same time using the proper applications.


Required Applications

  • PanTiltZoom - on Google Play Store for P/T/Z control
  • VLC - on Google Play Store for Live Preview using RTSP


Once you have installed both applications on your Android device you’ll need to open both applications and setup as follows:


PanTiltZoom Setup

  1. Open the PanTiltZoom application

  2. Click the “Setup” gear in the top right corner to setup your camera

    1. Name - use any title that works for you

    2. IP Address - Current IP address of the PTZOptics camera to control

    3. VISCA Port - 5678 (default)

    4. VISCA Address - 1 (default)

  3. Exit this screen, using the back button and the close button that follows, and you should now see your name shown on the first camera selection button

    1. Click that button with the new Name in place and the button should turn green.

    2. You can verify you have control of the camera at this time by moving the joystick around

  4. Your PanTiltZoom Application is now ready to be “split-screened” with VLC… we just have to get VLC setup


VLC Setup

  1. Open the VLC application

  2. Click the three (3) bars in the top left of the application

    1. Click “Stream”

    2. For “Enter network address: e.g…” you’ll need to supply the string used to access the RTSP feed of your PTZOptics camera

      1. HD RTSP Stream - rtsp://<camera ip>:554/1 

      2. SD RTSP Stream - rtsp://<camera ip>:554/2

      3. Example

        1. Camera IP = 192.168.100.88

        2. RTSP = rtsp://192.168.100.88:554/1

      4. Click the “Paper Airplane” icon to start streaming a live preview  Note: please be aware there may be latency experienced in viewing the stream via VLC

  3. VLC is now setup to be “split-screened” with the PanTiltZoom application


Split-Screen Setup

Note: I did not need to enable “split-screen” or multi-window mode on my Android device however with different versions you may need to enable the feature before you can proceed.

  1. Exit to the main Android screen using the “HOME” button

  2. Now use Android to show you all active applications… for me this is done by swiping up from the “HOME” button but differs depending on the manufacturer please see the example screenshot below

 

  1. You’ll notice each application has a small “bubble,” or circle, with its own icon at the top

    1. Push and hold the “bubble” icon above VLC until a new menu appears

    2. Select “Split-Screen” and the application will lock itself to the top of your screen

    3. Now without exiting the application selection screen, as shown above, simply click on the PanTiltZoom application to make it the second application used with “split-screen” mode.

  2. You can drag the bar in between the two (2) applications to adjust the size of each application until you find a comfortable fit

    1. Please see screen-shot example of the finished solution below


Is the app 'only' compatible with PTZO hardware? I am trying to figure out if I can use this app to control an AVIPAS 1281 camera over the network.

Hi Josh,


Unfortunately since we do not manufacture the AVIPAS cameras I am unable to state if their control methods are the same as the PTZOptics cameras.


You may be able to reach out to the developer of the application to see if they have any experience with the AVIPAS models and their control solution.



Seems like a nice app. Maybe it's worth having  a forum where people can post hardware that was confirmed to work with the app?

Anyway, thanks for the reply.

This is great.  I really wish PTZO would take their controller and add, even a small preview screen to the app..  So you can at least see that the camera took the saved position and moved the camera.  Maybe take away the thumb stick and zoom controls, but have a view and saved number pad.   I have many setups in churches that do not have a media or sound team, but need to see a live view of the stream.  I have found some security PTZ apps that let you see the stream, but don't seem to control the camera properly.

Hi Mike,


The PanTiltZoom application works with PTZOptics cameras but is not our solution.


If you would like to share these suggestions with the developer please feel free to do so via their support link on their main website.


https://www.pantiltzoom.cam/support/ 


For security applications and control you would likely need to ensure the application supports ONVIF and that ONVIF is enabled on the camera.


As ONVIF was designed for security it's movement may not be ideal for production use.



If you have any other questions we can help you with please don't hesitate to return to the forums.



Suddenly, my focus bar is greyed out and I can no longer manually focus my cameras i.n the ios PanTiltZoom app.  How do I get that feature back?  Thanks

Hi Darlene,


Are you still able to control the cameras focus through the cameras web interface?


There is a setting in the camera's OSD menu that I would check on. Under the Setup sub menu make sure that Auto Focus L is set to Off.

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