Bitfocus’ Companion is an Open Source software that is finding its way into more and more studio environments and production workflows. Its main value lies in connecting more than 200+ distinct pieces of presentation switchers, broadcasting software and more. At Seervision, we use it in conjunction with the Elgato Stream Deck to make VMix overlays, PTZ presets and more available with the tap of a button.

1. Launch Companion and navigate to the Connections tab.
2. Add a new connection, and search for Seervision Suite. If you can’t find this connection, double-check to make sure you are using Companion V2.2 or later.
3. In the newly created connection, add the IP of the Seervision server (the same IP you would also use to access the User Interface). If you like, give it a name that is easy to recognise, such as Seervision Server 1.
4. Hit Save and that should be it, Companion and the Seervision Suite should now be connected!

Through Companion, you are now able to recall containers, start or stop tracking and quite a bit more. To find out all the options that are available, either experiment in Companion, or better, just read our manual which has all the details!

This quickstart guide is aimed to help you get started in connecting a Ross robotic head to the Seervision Suite. Note that as of this writing, Seervision only supports the Ross Furio VR100 and VR600 robotic heads, as well as the CamBot 600XY.

We won’t be discussing the mounting, rigging and general setup of the robotic head, Ross Support usually handles these aspects. Below, we will only list the steps that must be taken in order for the Ross head to work with the Seervision Suite. This guide assumes that the Furio head is powered up and connected to the LAN.

The first step is to access the Furio web interface and browsing to the Status & Logging tab. Under this tab, the Firmware Version should indicate a version equal or later than 5.3. If that is not the case, first update the firmware on this head – only the firmwares after 5.3 include the changes necessary to enable our tracking.

The first step is to configure the Ross head to show additional tracking protocols in its web interface. This step will most likely have to be handled by your Ross representative, as it requires logging into the head over SSH.

1. Log in to the head via SSH
2. Modify the file under /home/vrone/Furio.properties
3. Add in the line supervisor.showExtraTrackingProtocols=true
   1. You should see similar named lines around line 50 in this file
4. Save and reboot. The Seer protocol should now be available in the Tracking tab in the web interface of the Ross robotic head

Once the Furio is on the correct firmware version and shows the additional tracking protocols, open the web interface again:

1. Navigate to the Tracking tab
2. Under the Protocol dropdown, select Seer as the protocol
3. Under the Send IP column, configure at least one of the entries to point at the IP of the Seervision server that will be controlling this Furio head
4. Make sure to tick the box next to the IP, and set the port to 10244
5. You can leave the UART box unchecked
6. Hit Save & Reboot

All that’s left is to verify that the servo of the lens is connected to the Lens Drive port on the Furio head, usually via a 10- or 20-pin cable provided by your supplier.

That’s it! The next steps would be to:

1. Connect the camera SDI to the Seervision server, see SDI and Seervision
2. Set up the Seervision server to correctly control the Furio head, see Seervision Server Setup

This quickstart is aimed to get you started specifically with the Pauli robotic head, which is sold by Seervision. Due to its nature, the quickstart is kept brief on purpose. If you would like to have more technical detail, you can always access the Pauli PDF manual here. You can also find the tech specs of the Pauli head at the bottom of this page.

You will need to have our web interface open and ready to go – if you’re not certain how to get to it, read our manual’s Getting Started chapter first.

The Pauli robotic head uses standard 3/8″ screws at the bottom of its base that are used for securely mounting it. The mounting options are standard, using a mounting plate or a ball mount. The Pauli can also be mounted upside-down, though this will need to be configured in the software after mounting.

Before mounting the camera, make sure the Pauli is in its neutral position: the Seervision logo on the base of the Pauli, as well as the lens control connectors (PDMovie, Fujinon, Canon) should be pointing towards the same direction.

A mounting plate should have been provided together with the Pauli package. Mount this plate on the bottom of the camera you wish to mount, then slide the assembly into the plate-holder on the Pauli head.

Lastly, connect the SDI Out of the camera to one of the two SDI loop-throughs on the Pauli head. Both SDI1 and SDI2 are equivalent and are directly connected to the respective SDI1 and SDI2 connectors on the base of the Pauli. For powering the camera, connect its power supply to either the D-Tap or XLR power port on the Pauli head.

Lens control (i.e. setting the zoom/focus/iris) on the Pauli can be done in two ways: either by using external lens motors (works with nearly all lenses, but is a bit more complicated) or using a digital lens protocol (only works for supported protocols, see below).

External Lens Motors (PDMovie Air motors)

Controlling the lens via external lens motors is very versatile and works with nearly all lenses, but the setup is a bit more complicated. We made a video about the process of “rigging” the PDMovies on a Pauli below.

Once you are done rigging the external lens motors as shown in the video, use the LEMO cables provided to connect them in series, and connect one of the motors to the PDMovie port on the Pauli head. With the Pauli powered on, initiate the lens motor calibration by holding the button at the bottom of the motor for 1-2 seconds. The calibration process can be interrupted anytime by a single press of the button.

Once the LEDs on the motors light up, verify that:

• The motor for the Zoom control has a red color that is not blinking
• The motor for the Focus control has a green color that is not blinking
• The motor for Iris control has a blue color that is not blinking

If one of the colors is not correct, press the button at the bottom of the motor twice in a row until the correct color shows. To stop the LEDs from blinking, press the bottom button five times until the lighting is constant.

If you are running a Pauli V2 (all Paulis shipped after Q1 2021), verify in its web interface that the lens control is set to PDMOVIE. If you are running an older Pauli, these are configured by default to use the PD Movie protocol. In case you aren’t certain, just shoot us an email and we can check it out.

Digital Lens Protocol (Canon/Fujinon)

The Pauli robotic head also supports steering over digital lens protocols. It can be set up as follows:

1. Make sure that the lens supports the digital protocol you want to use. This can be verified by looking up the lens specs, or contacting your Fujinon/Canon representative. If it does not support the protocol, this lens control won’t work, so make sure to double-check!
2. Use a 10- or 20-pin connector to connect the EXT port of the servo to the Fujinon/Canon port of the Pauli head. These connectors are often provided by us on-demand, or by other suppliers
3. Connect the servo power cable to the power port on the camera
4. Make sure that all controls on the servo are set to S (for servo) and not M (for manual)
5. If you are using a Pauli V2 (all Paulis shipped in Q1 2021 and later), set its lens control to Fujinon/Canon mode in the head’s web interface. You can access this web interface through your browser on the head’s IP and port 3000.

At this stage, you should have a powered-up Pauli, with a camera, lens and lens actuation configured. The next steps are

1. Connect the Pauli to LAN so that it can communicate with the Seervision server
2. Route the SDI1 or SDI2 (depending on your choice) to the Seervision server (for more details on how we use SDI, see SDI and Seervision)
3. Double-check that you have configured the correct lens protocol on the Pauli in its web interface on port 3000 (only for new Paulis).
4. Configure the Seervision server to control this Pauli head (see Seervision Server Setup)

This page will guide you through the setup of your robotic head.

What you’ll need:

• A Seervision server
• A robotic head (for the list of integrations, see our integrations page). We also have dedicated pages for the Seervision Pauli head, and one for the Ross Furio heads.
• A camera and lens, as well as a way to control that lens

Getting set up:

1. Power up and connect the robotic head to your LAN
2. Power up and connect the Seervision server to your LAN

If you’ve got a robotic head that serves a configuration interface via the LAN, you should at this point be able to access it. That’s a good way to verify that you’ve connected everything correctly,

On robotic heads, lens control is usually handled by the robotic head itself. We just send zoom/focus/iris commands to the robotic head, which will then take care of translating and communicating with the lens itself.

There’s sometimes exceptions, but we list those on the page of the respective robotic heads in this knowledge base (here are quick links for the Seervision Pauli and Ross heads).

With this, your robotic head setup should be complete! The next thing you’ll want to do is hook up the SDI feed to the Seervision server, we go into more depth on that here: SDI and Seervision. If you’ve already handled that, then just directly go to the Seervision Server Setup page.

This page will guide you through getting set up with a PTZ that is controlled via the VISCA protocol.

In order to connect everything, you will need our interface up and running. If you are not sure on how to do that, see our Getting Started chapter first.

There are many different PTZs that can be controlled by the VISCA protocol, so setup may vary from model to model. We won’t go into detail for all of them, there’s only two requirements from our side:

1. The PTZ accepts control over VISCA (for 99% of the PTZs, this is enabled by default)
2. You know the IP of the PTZ (we will need this in order to communicate with it)

To enable the Seervision server to control the PTZ, go into the Operations Server and create a new configuration.

1. Give it a name that is easy to remember, this can be anything you like
2. For the PTU, select the relevant PTU driver from the dropdown which corresponds to the model you wish to control. If the PTZ isn’t listed, contact Seervision and we will help you on your way.
3. Under IP, add the IP of the PTZ
4. Under Model and Lens, again select the names that are relevant for your model of PTZ
5. Hit Save, then launch or re-launch the system, depending on whether it’s running

Free-D is a protocol that outputs tracking data in a standardised format, which helps us improve performance. We will inform you if your model supports Free-D, in which case you’ll have to enable it as follows:

1. Open up the web interface of the PTZ camera and log in
2. Find the section that refers to Free-D (this changes from model to model, but it can usually be found in Network Settings, IP Out, or Tracking Data Output)
3. Enable the FreeD output, set the port to 40000 and set the destination IP to the IP of the Seervision server. If there are any other settings, you can leave them as default
4. Hit Save & Apply

That’s it for the technical configuration. The next thing you should do is connect the SDI feed to the Seervision server, we go more in depth on that here: SDI and Seervision. If that’s already done, you should be good to go!

This page guides the user through the setup of a new Seervision Server to control a Birddog PTZ. If you have a robotic head, see Quickstart for Robotic Heads instead.

You will need to have our web interface open and ready to go – if you’re not certain how to get to it, read our manual’s Getting Started chapter first.

Before you configure the machine, make sure your Birddog is running the latest firmware, at the very least 5.5.094 or later.

For improved performance, we take advantage of the FreeD output of Birddog PTZs. This needs to be configured via the web interface of the relevant Birddog PTZ through the following steps:

1. Open up the Birddog PTZ web interface, and navigate to Cam Control > FreeD tab.
2. Make sure FreeD is set to Enable
3. Set IP Address to the IP address of the Seervision server
4. Set Port to 40000, or, if you are planning to control the PTZ through the second instance of the SV Suite on your Seervision server, set the port to 40001.
5. Hit Apply

You can now continue with the configuration of this PTZ as if it were a standard VISCA PTZ by following our guide for VISCA PTZs.

This page guides the user through the setup of a new Seervision Server to control a Canon PTZ. If you have a robotic head, see Quickstart for Robotic Heads instead.

You will need to have our web interface open and ready to go – if you’re not certain how to get to it, read our manual’s Getting Started chapter first.

For successful communication between the Seervision server and the Canon PTZ, the relevant ports need to be configured through the following steps:

1. Open up the Admin interface of the Canon PTZ by accessing its IP in your web browser
2. Make sure the firmware of the device is v1.2.0 or later
3. Navigate to System > Communication > External Connection (IP) > Response Port Number, and set its value to Source Port Number
4. Next, scroll down to the section Output Tracking Data
   1. Make sure it is set to Enable
   2. Set the Client IP Address to the IP of the Seervision server
   3. Set the port to 40000 or, if you intend to control the PTZ with the second instance on your Seervision server, set the port to 40001.
   4. Leave all other settings here to default.

You can now continue with the configuration of this PTZ as if it were a standard VISCA PTZ by following our guide for VISCA PTZs.

This page guides the user through the setup of a new Seervision Server to control a Panasonic PTZ. If you have a different PTZ or robotic head, see our other Quickstart articles instead.

You will need to have our web interface open and ready to go – if you’re not certain how to get to it, read our manual’s Getting Started chapter first.

To enable the Seervision server to control the Panasonic PTZ, go into the Operations Server of the Seervision server and create a new configuration.

1. Give it a Name that is easy to remember
2. For PTU, select the relevant PTU driver from the dropdown, which should correspond to the model you wish to control
3. Under IP, add the IP of the PTZ
4. Under Model and Lens, make sure to select the relevant model and corresponding lens to get the best tracking and control performance
5. Hit Save, and launch or re-launch the system if necessary to load the configuration

That’s it!

If you have a Panasonic model released after 2019 (AW-UE100, AW-UE150, AW-UE80), you’ll need to modify a couple more settings on the PTZ itself, all of which can be found under the Setup tab of its web interface.

• In the left-hand menu, under Basic, navigate to System > Pan / Tilt
  
• Make sure the Install Position is set to what you’re using (hanging or standing). This is important for the flipping of the output feed (which we process)
• Change the P/T Speed Mode to the fastest available
• Set Speed with Zoom Position to OFF
• Only for AW-UE100: Make sure that Focus Adjust with PTZ is set to off
• Navigate to Tracking Data Output > Connection Type and double-check that the Serial column is set to Off (it should be by default)
• Only if you want the SV Suite to control the focus (not recommended): Navigate to the Image/Audio pane in the left-hand menu bar, select the Lens option, and change Focus Mode to Manual

Both the AW-UE100 and the AW-UE150 from the Panasonic PTZ line are the fastest devices available, and offer substantially better tracking performance than the older models. They require some additional configuration of the FreeD protocol, which the older models don’t support.

What you’ll need:

• A Seervision server
• A PTZ (AW-UE150 or AW-UE100), connected to the same LAN as the Seervision server, updated to the latest Pansonic firmware
• Make sure that both the PTZ and the Seervision server are on the same LAN, i.e. they can “see” eachother via IP

Getting set up:

1. Enable FreeD on the PTZ. Navigate to the PTZ’s configuration interface, then to Tracking Data Output > IP Out. There, enable any of the output clients, and configure the enabled output client to point to the LAN IP of the Seervision server and set the port to 1112.
   

1. Under Tracking Data Output > Connection Type make sure that IP Communication is enabled.
2. Double-check that the Seervision server is trying to connect to the correct PTZ IP. You can do this by opening up the Operations Server on the server and verifying that the PTU IP field is set to the correct PTZ IP.
3. Re-launch the Seervision Suite from the Operations Server to make sure it picks up the FreeD packets.

That should be it from a hardware perspective. The next thing you’ll want to do is hook up the SDI or NDI® feed to the Seervision server, we go into more depth on that here: SDI/NDI® and Seervision. If you’ve already handled that, then just directly go to the Seervision Server Setup page.

Disclaimers: NDI® is a registered trademark of Vizrt Group.