TECHNOLOGY
Audiovisual content that can be enjoyed on various large-format displays by the attendees to the event. Live events have to make the most of the spaces within the stages and manage tight budgets, as well as hire the right human team to operate the different cameras. In this historical, social and economic context, PTZ (an acronym for pantilt-zoom) cameras became a major asset in television programming, entertainment and live shows. A PTZ is a remotely-controlled video camera that is compact in size (+/- width: 158.4 x height: 177.5 x depth: 200.2 mm), lightweight (1.5Kg to 5 Kg) and having a wide range of possibilities for planning due to its smooth and silent PAN (P), TILT (T) and zoom (Z) movements. PAN is a horizontal movement of the camera body (from left to right or vice versa) on its own central axis and without physical movement of the camera. TILT shares the same characteristics but it 62
is a movement of the camera body in a vertical direction (from top to bottom or vice versa). And ZOOM is the internal movement of the lenses within the camera optics that allows us to have different focal lengths without changing the lens, thus being able to go from a wide angle to a normal focal length or to a telephoto lens (various combinations that depend on the type and design made by the manufacturer of the broadcast optics). Therefore, PTZ cameras neither are nor are called IP cameras, POV cameras, Bullet cameras, Robotic cameras, PoE (Power over Ethernet) cameras, Built-in Webcams, Standalone Webcams, Pencil cameras, or action cameras; although they all share quite a few technical specifications and protocols in common. It now is time to learn a little more about PTZ cameras. Let's see their specifications in aspects such as the cameras themselves and lenses, video format, system requirements, interface,
add-ons and accessories required. High-end PTZ cameras in the audiovisual industry have the same features or operations as any other type of camera used in this sector (an ENG Electronic News Gathering- camera, for instance), as follows: front and rear tally, iris control, focus control (including face detection and tracking), ND filter, color bars, scene files, optical image stabilizer (OIS), electronic image stabilization system (EIS), changes in shutter speed, gain control, white balance, gamma, knee and detail settings, synchro scan and variable frame rate (VFR), among others. We can even find camera models that support HDR (Canon CR-X500) and both BT.709 and BT2020 color spaces. PTZs are a great integrated solution without complications when it comes to cabling, without added technical elements (such as deploying robotics for camera movements) with
