PTZ Cameras lag too much

[JaspreetSingh]

I have purchased 3 PTZ Optics PTZ cameras and a superjoy controller. I am running them over IP with a switch and trying to use OBS. When I have 1 camera up and running there isnt much of a lag. I am controlling them from the superjoy controller. When I plug all 3, it lags almost 2 seconds.
I understand the lag from joystick to controller to move the camera but not for the video. But even though, should there be such a lag while running eveything over IP and CAT6 wire? Anyway to fix it?
My audio will be coming from a soundcraft si impact directly into the computer. I don't want the audio and visual to be off at all.

Thank you in advance, looking forward for the knowledge

 

[AaronD]

You'll need to use the Sync Delay in Advanced Audio Properties to line up the audio. Trial and error there, and it happens just before the encoder, which means you can't use the Monitor to adjust it. Or you can delay it in the external mixer if it'll do that.

To minimize the video delay, I'd recommend a dedicated wire for each video signal, that runs into a capture card. Use the Cat 5/6 for power (PoE) and control, but not video, even though it'll technically do that.

I like these:

ACASIS PCIe Capture Card

Acasis PCIe capture card supports multiple HD resolutions (such as 4K60Hz), bringing crystal-clear visual effects to the audience. It also supports quad HDMI or SDI simultaneous input, allowing you to flexibly adjust between different camera angles or input devices. Solve your professional video...

www.acasis.com

ACASIS CAPTURE CARD DRIVERS

PCIE CAPTURE CARD AC-4HDMI (Quad HDMI-1080P60).zip AC-4SDI (Quad SDI-1080P60).zip AC-4HDMI PLUS (Quad HDMI-1080P60).zip AC-4SDI PLUS (Quad SDI-1080P60).zip AC-VS2583 (2 HDMI-4K60).zip AC-VS2584 (1HDMI+1SDI-1080P60).zip AC-VS007 (Dual HDMI-1080P60).zip AC-VS014 (2HDMI+2SDI-1080P60).zip AC-VS049...

www.acasis.com

The trouble with a lot of multi-input capture cards is that they're designed for security, not live production, and so they only have a single converter and a quick-and-dirty switch to connect that single converter to each input in turn. It's cheaper that way. The ones that I linked here, actually have a dedicated converter for each input, so that you *can* use them all simultaneously.

If you're going more than 25 feet or so, HDMI is probably not going to work. SDI is designed for 300 feet or so, so you'd get that version of the capture card, some TV antenna cable, and BNC connectors.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

There are a number of videos which can help with audio/video sync. I played video on tablet/laptop, with camera pointed at screen

• Paul Richards of PTZ Optics/StreamGeeks video I use https://streamgeeks.us/how-to-fix-obs-audio-and-video-sync-issue-with-a-new-tool/
• https://streamshark.io/obs-guide/audio-delay

Personally, I love running a single PoE Ethernet cable (CAT5e or better is fine, none of these cameras are more than 1GbE) to NDI PTZ cameras. The single cable, and ease of management, etc is great, BUT, it does mean you have to be attentive to the network (not assuming it 'should' work)... the old adage of putting all your eggs in one basket, and then watching that basket carefully. And then being careful with Ethernet cable runs (following specs. not running close and parallel to power line, etc)... using shielded cables can sometimes help in tricky/troublesome/electrically noisy environments

The issue with video lag, I'm suspecting with your description, is your computer not being able to handle the multiple video signal input
So, basic troubleshooting means doing a little hardware resource utilization monitoring (Task Manager (Performance)/Resource Monitor)
Are you using NDI for the video feed?
are the cameras sending at 60fps and you only need 30fps?
different video encoding selections on the camera can have different CPU/GPU impact on decode on OBS Studio PC.
Are all of the cameras, and the OBS PC on the same switch? Is that a decent (not TP-link or similar) switch? Is the switch properly configured for the required traffic throughput? no router/wifi, ACLs, or similar causing latency?
are you running any CPU intensive filters/effects on the video feeds (like chroma-keying or similar)

And unless you have a bad network card, or something 'wrong' (ex Killer Networks driver) at network layer [ex. security software not configured in a manner compatible with low-latency processing of incoming video traffic], changing video path/tech (SDI/HDMI, USB, etc) probably won't make any difference if computer is simply overwhelmed with processing 3 video inputs simultaneously.