PTZ Controls

PTZ Controls v0.15.4

This is a bug fix release. It fixes a crash caused by some joysticks, and makes the power control context menu more reliable.

Please note: This release does not include the prototype ONVIF support. If you are using ONVIF then you should continue to use the v0.16.0-test release.
This is a minor release that tweaks the joystick control behaviour. For joysticks that don't centre themselves correctly, causing camera drift, there is now a slider to change the size of the joystick 'deadzone' so that it can still be used. It also adds a slider to control the speed of joystick movements. All users of v0.15.1 should upgrade.
  • Like
Reactions: GregPeatfield
This is a small release with only one change, but I think a lot of you will be excited about it. This release brings back joystick support. Please give it a try and report back on how it is working for you.
  • Like
Reactions: BenAndo
Fixes a bug where presets were not shown in the PTZ Action Source configuration dialog.
I think it is time to just make another release. Some of the things in here aren't necessarily done. The new control widget is merged, but it still needs a lot of work. Releasing now gives you all the chance to test it out and let me know how it is working for you. However the older button based interface remains so you aren't required to use the new scheme.

Many of the changes in this release are under the hood and not visible to the user. VISCA users in particular should see compatibility with more cameras and more consistent behaviour. Quite a few protocol bugs have been found and squashed. The viscaemu.py script has been enhanced to help with testing.

What is visible is a new 'touch' control scheme that can be selected by clicking the touch button in the toolbar. The touch widget controls pan and tilt based on where inside the widget is clicked. Close to the centre for slow moves, outside edge for fast. Also, speed limits can now be set on for pan, tilt, zoom and focus movements which should improve control of cameras that can move very fast. Hotkeys and PTZ Actions have been added for saving a preset.

Go forth and test!
This is a bug fix release for the v0.13.x series. All users of v0.13.0 should upgrade as it fixes many of the regressions in v0.13.0. It fixes a number of longstanding problems with the way the VISCA support was implemented. Transmit only serial connections should be usable again instead of having >1s delays in the camera responding. The unexpected drift of pan/tilt/zoom on startup is now fixed.

If you're still using v0.12.2 because you like the discrete speed control slider, then you don't need to upgrade now. However, please do at least try this release and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, you can stay on v0.12.2. I'm working on support for limiting the minimum and maximum speeds, but that work isn't ready yet.

As always, please test and let me know in the comments how this release is working for you.
Another release for you to go and try. The big change in this release is speed ramping on the controls. The speed slider has been removed entirely and the speed of movements starts small, and ramps up the longer the button is held down. This behaviour appears to be more user-friendly, but I would like to have feedback on how it is working.

The other big change is in how a PTZ device is associated with an OBS source. Instead of having to manually name the PTZ device exactly the same as the PTZ source, now there is a combo box in the settings dialog to choose which source the camera is connected to.

Finally there are a bunch of backend fixes and cleanups that make the plugin more reliable. VISCA TCP connections should automatically reconnect. Camera settings and state are kept up to date and can be viewed in the settings dialog when debug is turned on. In a future release those changes will allow some of the settings to be controlled easily.

Hopefully this will work well for all of you. As always, please test in a controlled environment before using in production, and let me know how it goes, either good or bad. I always love to hear feedback and how you're using this plugin.
  • Like
Reactions: @bronardgodines
This is a minor bug fix release. It fixes toolbar controls that weren't working, and it fixes the Windows installer to remove old versions of the plugin so that an error message isn't shown when OBS starts.
I've just released v0.12.0 which works with OBS Studio v28. Lots of bug fixes and tweaks in this one, plus binaries for MacOS, Windows and Linux. You can find the full release notes on GitHub here. Please test and report back.
  • Like
Reactions: Paul74
This is another test release. I do not recommend using it in a production environment, but please do test and let me know how it is working. Serial port support has been turned on again, so it will work for your VISCA over UART and PELCO devices.
  • Like
Reactions: GregPeatfield
Top