Sony VISCA over IP Control Software

Sony PTZ cameras over VISCA over IP: the BRC-AM7 (with the HTTP CGI for iris, gain and AE level) and, from Sony's command lists, the BRC-X400/X401, SRG-X400/X402/X120/201M2/HD1M2 and SRG-A40/A12 (iris, gain and exposure compensation by VISCA).

Features:

• Pan/tilt, zoom and focus (held buttons, absolute positions and goto), 100 presets, power, auto iris / shutter / gain / ND, white balance, tally, PTZ auto framing.
• Faders, rotaries and Stream Deck + dials for pan, tilt, zoom, focus, ND filter, white balance, tint, R/B gain, master black, detail, audio level and (CGI) iris, gain, AE level.
• Position, power and settings read back from the camera.

Setup: device protocol UDP, port 52381. For iris, gain and AE level set the camera's user and password in the device settings.

This guide explains how to control a Sony PTZ camera with VISCA over IP: the BRC-AM7 (with the camera's CGI for iris, gain and AE level) and the BRC-X400/X401, SRG-X400/X402/X120/201M2/HD1M2 and SRG-A40/A12.

Models

Two dialects of VISCA are spoken. The BRC-AM7 has its own flags and settings (auto iris, ND, audio, recording, ...). The BRC-X400/X401, SRG-X400/X402/X120/201M2/HD1M2 and SRG-A40/A12 use the classic one: Exposure Mode (full auto, manual, shutter / iris priority), iris, gain and exposure compensation set directly (no CGI needed), the white balance modes, backlight / spotlight, night mode, and, on the models that have them, tele convert, color bar, tally and PTZ auto framing. Pan ±170°, tilt −20° to +90° (−90° to +20° on the ceiling), 100 presets. The model code the camera reports is compared with the model chosen here, and a difference is logged. The classic models were written from Sony's VISCA command lists and have been tried on a simulator only.

Setup

Add the camera with protocol UDP, port 52381, and choose the model in the device settings. The handler keeps one socket to the camera, resets the VISCA sequence number when it starts and checks every command against the ACK / completion / error the camera sends back. Up to five controllers can use the camera at the same time.

On a BRC-AM7, iris, gain and AE level have no absolute VISCA command: they use the CGI. Enter the camera's user and password (and the HTTP port if it is not 80); the handler uses HTTP Digest, with the Referer header the camera checks by default.

Variables (prefix = the device name, e.g. cam1_)

• cam1_connection connected / offline; cam1_power on / standby; cam1_camera_model
• cam1_pan_deg, cam1_tilt_deg (+ right / up), cam1_pan_pos, cam1_tilt_pos (0-100 of the range), cam1_pt_status idle / moving
• cam1_zoom_value (% of the optical travel), cam1_zoom_pos; cam1_focus_value, cam1_focus_pos (0 = near, 100 = far), cam1_focus_mode (auto / manual), cam1_focus_mode_label (AF AUTO / AF MANUAL, to write on a button: put {{cam1_focus_mode_label}} in its text; "Focus Mode" with Toggle flips it)
• cam1_last_preset (1-100)
• cam1_auto_iris, _auto_shutter, _agc, _auto_nd, _backlight, _tele_convert, _auto_framing (on / off)
• cam1_nd_value, _color_temp_value, _tint_value, _r_gain_value, _b_gain_value, _master_black_value, _detail_value, _audio_master_value, and _iris_value, _gain_value, _ae_value (CGI) with the same names ending in _pos (0-100)

Pan/tilt/zoom/focus are read all the time (every "Position read interval"); the other settings only when a panel uses their variable or a control for them has been used.

Faders, rotaries and Stream Deck + dials

"X: Set Position" takes a position 0-100 ({{control_percent}}) for a fader or a rotary in Value mode; "X: Adjust" takes a step ({{control_delta}}) for an endless rotary or a dial in Steps mode. Pan and tilt step in degrees (+ = right / up), zoom and focus in % of the travel, the others in the unit of the setting (K, gain units, list positions). Pan and tilt are sent together as one absolute move, so a pan dial and a tilt dial turned together do not undo each other; their speed is a percentage of the camera's maximum.

Pan/tilt: ±175° and -30° to +210° on a BRC-AM7 (desktop); a control is kept to the tilt limit set in the device settings (90° by default). Zoom: the optical range (Clear Image Zoom is not used). Focus works in manual focus only. White balance, tint and R/B gain act on Memory A; set the white balance mode to "Memory A" first.

Speed: "Pan/Tilt Speed" and "Zoom Speed" (Set / Adjust) put a rotary, fader or dial on the speed the Move and Zoom buttons use when their own speed field is empty; a button held at that moment follows the new speed. Variables cam1_pt_speed (%) and cam1_zoom_speed (0-7).

Presets and thumbnails

Presets are numbered as in the camera, from 1. "Preset: Tap = Recall, Hold = Save" does both on one button: released quickly it recalls the preset, held for the hold time (2 s by default) it saves the view. "Save Preset" and the combo can also take the camera's snapshot (/oneshotimage1, a CGI: user and password required) and put it, as /uploads/images/ptz_<device>_preset_NNN.jpg, on every button and Stream Deck key that recalls that preset. Recalling an empty preset does nothing: the camera answers "not executable".

Toggle and the list of actions

Every action with an On / Off state (auto iris, auto shutter, AGC, ND, backlight, tele convert, auto framing, color bar, power, tally...) also has Toggle: the camera is asked what it is doing and the opposite is sent. The actions are sorted under titles in the selects of the builders (PAN / TILT / ZOOM, FOCUS, PRESETS, EXPOSURE, ND FILTER, COLOR, AUDIO, CAMERA). A button text can show {{cam1_focus_mode_label}} (AF AUTO / AF MANUAL).

Held buttons

Pan/Tilt Move, Zoom Start and Focus Near/Far run while the button is held and stop on release; if the release is lost the camera is stopped after 20 seconds.

Integration examples (device "CAM1")

Via HTTP GET: /api/devices/CAM1/execute?action=preset_recall&preset=1 recalls preset 1.