Hi Jerry Cates,
So the audio input on the PTZOptics cameras is not the most ideal for production, more for monitoring, due to the noise floor it presents.
We often recommend, where possible, to run the audio feed directly to the production PC / Box using a USB Audio Converter if necessary.
If you need to run the setup this way though we recommend managing your audio gain structure in the following fashion...
The input signal, to the camera, should be as loud as possible without distortion.
Lower the cameras audio levels, via the Web Interface, to around -10.
Finally in the production software bring the gain level back up to the desired level.
I hope the above suggestions can get you to where you are hoping to be and if you have any additional questions please do not hesitate to return.
Matthew,
Thank you for responding. I found noise cancelling in the production software and we were able to control the background noise by filtering it out that way as well as boosting the audio input. Moving forward I think we will end up using an Audio Converter in the future. We are new to live streaming and it does take time to learn the ropes. Thanks again for your help.
Hi Jerry,
Absolutely my pleasure... and you certainly have the right attitude towards production... great things come with time.
If we can be of any additional assistance as you're figuring things out please don't hesitate to come back and share or inquire.
P.S. I still learn new things about production every day... it's an amazing art :-)
I found this while trying to figure out why my PTZOptics camera had such a high noise floor on its audio. You advertise the line in as a feature, I don't think you can just say, "So the audio input on the PTZOptics cameras is not the most ideal for production, more for monitoring, due to the noise floor it presents." I'm experiencing -24dB noise floor on two separate cameras. This isn't just "not ideal." it makes the line in unusable for audio. At the same time, I see videos from PTZOptics touting the line in jack as the perfect place to attach a mic or inject background music. Is there any plan to improve the audio handling on these cameras?
Hi Pat,
While not ideal it is a feature of the camera that a lot of our end users utilize and like having access to.
We are investigating ways to improve upon the noise floor but have no ETAs that could currently be provided.
Hello,
We are having the same issue with audio noise when using 3.5 mm audio jack. We use camera's live streaming features without external broadcast equipment (we do use OBS for some events), and audio noise is very annoying. Live streaming direct from camera was a main deciding factor to purchase this camera over similar offered by other vendors. I appreciate if PTZOptics can provide a solution to this basic feature of this great camera.
Thanks!
Hi Everyone,
Thank you everyone for sharing these excellent details on the issues you have been dealing with.
After some time spent working on the noise floor issues as described we are finally investigating a few options to improve the audio.
We are hoping to begin our testing of this improved audio quality around the end of this month once we have been able to verify the options do not impede upon other camera functions.
Once we have verified that the improvement is moving to production we will be happy to return here to share the good news.
If any setbacks are discovered we will also followup to let everyone know what's occurring.
If you have any follow up questions as we work on a potential fix please don't hesitate to post here.
Hi Everyone,
I wanted to provide an update on the audio issues that have been shared.
We have been able to vastly improve the noise floor issues as well as some other minor tweaks that should provide a substantially better experience using the line input.
I currently have a beta version of the PT20X-SDI-XX-G2 (PoE Version) firmware that I believe will be moving to production in the near future as well as being listed via the PTZOptics Firmware Finder at that time.
If there is someone that has a PoE version of the PT20X-SDI-XX-G2 and would like to trial the beta firmware please do the following
Please be aware a response will come from a different address at PTZOptics than the one your are sending to.
We will support as many "beta testers" as possible but if there is too much interest a response to the inquiries will no longer be generated.
Once I know that this firmware has moved to the PTZOptics Firmware Finder, as officially released, I will be sure to update this forum posting.
In addition as we begin to implement this same update to our other camera models I will do my best to keep everyone updated here.
If anyone has any additional questions, concerns or ideas please feel free to follow up on this message in the forums.
Note that the tryatyourownrisk e-mail address has no implications towards this actually being a try at your own risk firmware upgrade
(Normal firmware upgrade policies should still be followed or problems could arise)
Is the Beta only for the SDI models? I have of the USB 20X models and 1 of the USB 12x models, all with Lav mics running to the Line In on the back of the camera. The only complaint is the noise floor. We've been able to remove most of it successfully in post but that adds more work.
Hi Collin,
So far we only have the noise floor fix for the 20X and 12X SDI/NDI models. And both of those should be available through the Firmware Finder.
We are working on getting that same fix applied to the other model cameras and hope to release the firmware updates soon.
Do you have an estimated timeframe for publishing this firmware fix for the PT30X please? We would be willing to be a beta test site if necessary as the line-in audio is barely usable at the moment.
We're in the process of making a purchase decision in the week or two and are seriously considering the PT30X NDI or SDI. RTMP-to-youtube directly from the camera with excellent S/N ratio audio are critical requirements for us. An estimate on the timeframe to get the fix into these cameras as well as some feedback on what the vastly improved S/N ratio is would be very helpful and quite likely earn you at least one new sale. :)
We found that with a -24db input volume in the camera audio settings and a strong line input we can get acceptable audio.
I'd still like to see this improved though.
Jerry Cates
We successfully set-up a live stream church service and were able to control the camera on Studio 6 by vimeo and on to YouTube. Our problem is a background static coming over the network with the video. The camera is located about 100' away from our sound rack and network drop, so both the cat6 and audio line (shielded XLR and a XLR to 3.5mm patch cable) are running together to the camera where we use the line in jack to drop in the audio to the stream. At first I thought it might be interference picked up on the way so I disconnected the audio jack from the camera and we still have the same static. Then I ran a separate clean cat6 line away from all possible interference to the camera and I still have the same noise. Do you have any suggestions?
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