New PTZ software available for Sony EVI-D70

I have written a Windows application called EVI-D70 Commander for controlling the Sony camera using mouse and keyboard via serial port and PTZ cable.

Download from: http://www.cwshop.com/LDSSoftware

Let me know what you think.

Louis.

This is a very handy piece of software. It has the ability to jog the camera which is a real problem with the Sony demonstration software. The program is easy to install and has a small CPU demand. The screen real estate is likewise modest.
An inexpensive video to USB convertor from Bestlinknetware.com for $20 allows me to replace a separate video monitor and place the image on the controlling PC screen.

Louis,

We had our stake conference today (13FEB2011). We webcast to two other remote sites. In the past when we received the D70 camera from church headquarters we would simply use the remote control that came with it to control the camera.

This time we downloaded and used your software app. Amazing difference in the ability to control the P&T functions. We really liked the titling ability too, as limited as it was. This was a great addition to the webcast.

Thank you for taking time to write this app and more importantly, share with others. It certainly made my job ("cameraman") so much easier.

Sincerely,


Jim Bernardi
jimbo3san@gmail.com
Lehi, UT

We just finished our first webcast. With the assistance of all the information here in the forum, the webcast was a success. We broadcasted to 3 other buildings each with 2 projectors. I was able to obtain 2 EVI-D70 cameras brand new off of Ebay for under $500.00 each. I was also able to get a video mixer as suggested in the forum. We did spend a little more than I wanted to onbaluns that were used, Video, S-Video,Control and power, but it was worth it.

One bit of information that I would like to pass on was theuse of a USB Shuttle Pro and the PTZcontroller software to remotely control the cameras. This worked like a champ with the ability to program all 6 presets, camera selection and up, down, zoom in,zoom out and jog wheel for panning ability. Cost wise on the software and the Shuttle Pro a lot less than any remotecontrol, you might want to take a look at it.

A recent area training broadcast in the evening highlighted the need to adjust the white balance. The Commander PTZ software allows for macro files. The file WhiteBalanceOnePush.d70 was created in the directory of the executable file with a one line entry "81 01 04 35 03 FF white balance one push WB mode". You must place a white card in front of the camera that receives the same light as the subject and execute the command. The same thing can be done with the Sony demo software.
The different options are explained on page 8 of the Sony EV-D70 manual.

I have a couple of questions regarding a multi-camera (2 in our case) setup: We have 2 D70s on their way this time from HQ to do different shots, etc. They are also sending a switch and a captioning device too. My question is two parts: I want to use the control software that lpuster has created to control both. Since I don't have access to the cameras until they arrive about 2 days before the conference I am not able to "tinker" with the software (the app will close if it doesn't find a camera) until they arrive.

1) Does this software have the ability to control multiple cameras inside one session? Or, do I need to have two controllers (PCs/laptops) and the control software running on each?

2) What kind of control cable does this require? Will RS232 work or does it need to be the RS422 interface due to the distance (we are planning on controlling them from the utility room where the sat. eq. is located? I understand that RS232 is limited to 50' and RS422 will go 3600' because it is balanced (voltage wise).

Thanks,


Jim B.
Lehi, UT
Jimbo3san@netzero.com

jimbo3san wrote:What kind of control cable does this require? Will RS232 work or does it need to be the RS422 interface due to the distance (we are planning on controlling them from the utility room where the sat. eq. is located? I understand that RS232 is limited to 50' and RS422 will go 3600' because it is balanced (voltage wise).

Unless you hear from someone with experience with this model, I'd plan on using the 422. It appears you don't have the luxury of testing 232 ahead of time to make sure it would work and that it's reliable.

quintonrhq wrote:A recent area training broadcast in the evening highlighted the need to adjust the white balance. The Commander PTZ software allows for macro files. The file WhiteBalanceOnePush.d70 was created in the directory of the executable file with a one line entry "81 01 04 35 03 FF white balance one push WB mode". You must place a white card in front of the camera that receives the same light as the subject and execute the command. The same thing can be done with the Sony demo software.
The different options are explained on page 8 of the Sony EV-D70 manual.

Did I read this correctly... there was area training on conducting broadcasts? wow... how do we get on the list for one of those? Was it recorded... can it be viewed somewhere?

I am not aware of training on this - I think they are saying they found the need to adjust the white balance on a broadcast they were doing.
T.

The EVI-D70 Commander software worked great for us. Picked up a 30' Visca PTZ Control Cable on ebay. My laptop doesn't have seial port so used a usb to serial cable. My laptop found the usb to serial device but put it on com9. I just went in and changed the port to com1. Worked great! Love the presets. Also the fact that when you use the presets it mutes the video temporarily so you don't make everyone "zoom sick".

Being able to add some text on the screen is a nice touch also.

We broadcast to 8 locations. Everything went pretty well except for some audio issues I mentioned in another thread.

Thanks Louis for taking the time to make this app.

Michael Holland
Birmingham AL.

@RusselHtn

We ended up not going completely remote and we setup the "control booth" in the overflow area off to the right near the video jack that feeds the system.

It was just as well, try as I might I couldn't get the RS422 to work. This was even using daisy chain cables from an "insider" at the Church. One of the managers over all this AV/webcast stuff for the Church is in our stake...

I checked and rechecked the pinouts of the cables (using a ohmmeter so I know that there was a definite connection), diagrams, everything. The USB to 422 converter seemed to be working but it was hard to tell. That could have been the problem. I loaded the drivers right of the manufacturer's site too. The version of Windows didn't seem to matter either.

So I ended up using 232 after all since the run was only 50'-ish. I found out that the software app that Louis (lpuster) wrote currently doesn't do multiple cameras but he has it on his list. I had to use two separate laptops, as well. It worked fine. I cannot say enough good about Louis' app. The GUI interface and the single step jogging capabilities are excellent and easy to use. Thanks again Louis! I am NOT a fan of the IR remotes. You simply can get the fine control you need from them.

I will see if I can get the 422 to work by next conference and go for the complete remote setup.

Jim B.

Let us know if you find a solution (and what the solution is) for RS-422 to work with PCs and the EVI-D70. I worked on it for over a week and even purchased an RS-422 board for the computer. No luck so I ended up purchasing the Sony RM-BR300 remote. It was expensive but solved all problems and works like a dream.

michaelfish wrote:Let us know if you find a solution (and what the solution is) for RS-422 to work with PCs and the EVI-D70. I worked on it for over a week and even purchased an RS-422 board for the computer. No luck so I ended up purchasing the Sony RM-BR300 remote. It was expensive but solved all problems and works like a dream.

@michaelfish,

I did figure it out last night! I still have all the stuff here until today so I decided to solve the problem now.

Actually I was facing a number of problems. Some I should have known ("duh" type problems) and others were difficult. Here is my dissertation/work log to figure this out. If I was more systematic in my troubleshooting and read more documentation I could have figured it out much quicker I believe.[INDENT]1) Dip Switch: There is a 4 position dip switch on the bottom of the camera that determines the communication type. Switch #3 is the communication type (232 or 422). Be sure to set it to 422 :p (duh!) Oh, don't forget to power cycle the camera or the change won't take effect.

2) Drivers: Getting the right drivers for the USB to RS422 adapter for WinXP and Win7. I didn't know who the manufacturer was on the adapter. There were no ID marks or anything on the adapter itself. I actually Googled "USB to RS422" and found one that looked just like the one I had. It turned out to be from Startech. From their website I was able to get the right drivers, and the pin-out documentation which was a big help.

3) Bad Couplers: The cables that I received from HQ in Riverton had these RJ45 couplers that were then attached to a short length of CAT5e then to the green alligator-jaw connectors. This was to enable essentially any length of control cable to be "created" with the appropriate length of a patch cord. Problem here? The LAN couplers had intermittent connection problems AND one of the daisy chain cables also had a bad RJ45 clip on it. My solution (I am making these myself next time) will to be eliminate the couplers and use an RJ45 female jack and wire that to the CAT5e...a solid and reliable connection.

4) Adapters Going "Offline": The USB to RS422 adapters would need to be reset after a failed test. Meaning, while I was reconfiguring and moving stuff around and doing, "does this work?" tests, the adapters would go "offline" so to speak. I would have to unplug and re-insert to reset them. I didn't know this and this was cause for more headaches and time spent trying solutions that may have worked because the adapter was "offline".

5) Different Pin Configs:The D-Sub 9-Pin to RJ45 adapters were different pin configurations. I actually received two USB to RS422 adapters (long story here). They both had D-Sub 9-Pin to RJ45 converters attached to them and turns out they were different pin configurations! One is an RS232 to RJ45 adapter after ohm-ing out the device. I assumed that they were both for RS422...oops! :rolleyes:

6) Wiring Protocol: This next problem was more my lack of experience with RS422 communication protocols than it was an actual problem, but once the first problem occurred I began to question the pinouts and wiring. After much trial and error I couldn't get any movement. Then based on what I knew of RS232 protocols and a whim, I decided to connect TxD+ to RxD-, TxD- to RxD+, RxD+ to TxD-, and RxD- to TxD+ (rather than what is normally done). This was only from the controller to the VISCA connection on the first camera and BAM! the camera took off. Though, I still couldn't get the second camera in the daisy chain to work.

I Googled some info on this and I discovered that the "controller", depending on the controller, needs to be wired differently. I got a Sony schematic/diagram showing how an RM-B300 controller needs to be wired to the VISCA chain. I wired the RS422 adapter according to this. Now the 1st camera stopped responding, aaargh. So I put the configuration back to where the 1st camera was working, then rewired the other according to the diagram from Sony. And that did the trick! All cameras are now recognized and functioning.
[/INDENT]All in all it was a good learning experience. Probably more to hone my troubleshooting skills than anything else.

I hope this helps someone else that is trying to get this to work.

If you have questions, need ideas, or diagrams let me know. I may not be able to help every situation but doing this I know I can answer some questions.


Jim B.
ID: Jimbo3san

jimbo3san wrote:I decided to connect TxD+ to RxD-, TxD- to RxD+, RxD+ to TxD-, and RxD- to TxD+ (rather than what is normally done).

I would have expected maybe TxD+ to RxD+. Not sure why the +/- flip.

@RussellHltn:

You and me both, but it works. Any other "recommended", "common sense" or "normal way" doesn't. The only thing I can perhaps figure is that the pin-out information in the Startech documentation is wrong...Here is the URL to the user manual. Check out page 4.
[INDENT]http://www.startech.com/media/products/ ... USB422.pdf
[/INDENT]I have ohm-ed the pins 3 times just to be sure that I wasn't up in the night (though I was).

Jimbo3san,

Thanks so much for doing alot of leg work to figure out the RS422 connection issues. Is there any way you can post a picture or drawing of the daisy chain to help understand the pin out. I have a usb to rs422 adapter. It is not a startech, but a different brand and I can get it to connect to one camera, but am unsure of how to do the rest of the daisy chain. I only have 2 cameras, but would like to control them from one computer using the sony demo software.

I just bought a 422 serial port card... I need to know the pinout of the Dsub port so I can run it to my D70 camera...

Any help is appreciated.

This software is awesome! So much smoother than using the remote, thanks for creating it!

-Justin

I've installed the software, and it looks great! I initially installed with a single camera connected (COM6), but after adding 2 more cameras (COM1 and COM2), the software is only controlling the first camera connected (pressing F2 says "camera 2 not connected"), same with F3 - F7. If I plug in one camera at a time, it shows as com6 and the software will control it, so I know the cameras are all funcitoning. Are the camera COM ports stored somewhere? Any way to help the discovery process along?

Thanks,

Kevin Fredericksen
Lewisville, TX

How are you connecting the multiple cameras? I'm thinking there may be a wiring issue that prevents the other cameras from working.

Each camera is RJ45 connected, and breaks out into RCA video + USB connection at the satellite cabinet. I am plugging the 3 USB connections into my computer. The only one that works is the one that gets assigned COM6. Each of them work individually if I just plug the one in, as it gets assigned COM6.

I think the normal way to connect the control cable is to daisy-chain the RS-232/422 so they all work off of one USB converter. I haven't heard of the software being used with multiple ports.

This camera control app is great and easy to use. I'm wondering if it is still being developed or is a dead product as this point. The only thing I'd like to see modified is the camera off/on toggle having a confirmation prompt before turning off the camera. During our last web broadcast the camera was accidentally turned off by an errant mouse click. If there was a confirmation prompt "Are you sure you want to turn off the camera?" this mistake would have been prevented.

I really like this software as well thank you very much. I would like to know if there is a way to slow down the preset speed. We have received complaints of it being too fast and people getting dizzy. Anyway, thanks again.

This only works in Windows. Is there a Mac version?

Old thread but I'm curious if anyone else is still using this software and might experience a similar issue.

We just updated our machines and are now running Windows 11. D70 Commander mostly still works but the presets we use for switching between choir, chorister, and pulpit no longer work. When clicking the "Go To" preset buttons it throws an error dialog saying "Error number 2".

Anyone have a similar experience or possible suggestions on how to resolve?

Just as a guess, you might try locating the EXE, right-click, and go to the "Compatibility" tab. See if it will run if you change it to Win10.

We've switched to using OBS with the PTZ and advanced scene switcher plugins. It works with our PTZOptics and off-brand OVNIF cameras. We haven't done multi-camera, but we do have multiple sources and OBS can switch between them, trigger a scene transition to move the camera, and mute audio for the sacrament.