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PTZ cameras
NewTek PTZ camera control for visual radio
NewTek's NDI|HX PTZ cameras carry picture and control over the network, and VRA uses both. It controls the PTZ1, PTZ2, PTZ3 and the UHD models over NDI, recalls an angle when a mic opens and frames it before the camera goes on air.
What VRA does with NewTek.
Set to NDI control
Every NewTek model in the list is set to NDI control when you pick it. Its preview is the camera's NDI source, picked from what your studio machines see on the network.
Older and newer side by side
The PTZ1 from 2017 and the PTZ3 UHD from 2022 run on the same NDI control in VRA, so an older NewTek can stay in the studio next to a newer one.
The same angle from a mic or a button
An angle stores a camera position and the command that takes it to air. An Audio Manager trigger, a macro or a dashboard button all run the same angle.
The next shot is framed off air
After calibration, Camera Assist frames a camera that is not on air to the shot size and face count you set per angle, from close up to wide. When the switcher takes it, the picture is already right.
Only from the model list
NewTek has no entry in VRA's manual camera list, and NDI control can only be set from the model list. A NewTek camera that is not in the list cannot be controlled until we add it.
How to set it up.
Requirements
- Camera Assist running on the same network as the camera.
- The camera's IP address, plus its username and password if it uses them.
- A preview source if you want pictures in VRA Cloud.
- A video switcher connected to VRA. Camera Assist moves and frames the camera; the switcher makes the cut.
Install Camera Assist on a machine in the studio network.
On the Cameras page, choose Add new camera, then PTZ camera, and pick your NewTek model from the list. The model fills in the protocol, the port and the lens data.
Enter the camera's host and, if it asks for them, a username and password. Add a preview: an NDI source, a stream URL or, where the model has one, the camera's own stream.
Set the PGM trigger, the switcher command that takes this camera to air. Save, and check that Camera Assist reports the camera as connected.
Build angles from preset slots or captured positions. Run calibration before you switch on AI framing.
NewTek questions
Are NewTek and Vizrt cameras the same in VRA? +
They have separate entries. The NewTek NDI|HX models and the Vizrt PTZ3 PLUS models are listed under their own brand names, and both are set to NDI control.
Is my NewTek model supported? +
Look for it in the model list when you add a camera. The entry sets the protocol and lens data, and badges show which models have PTZ and NDI. If yours is missing, send us the model and firmware before you fall back on a generic profile.
Does VRA replace my video switcher? +
No. Camera Assist moves and frames the camera. The angle's PGM trigger tells your switcher to take it to air, so the switcher still makes the cut.
Can I mix in a fixed camera? +
Yes. A fixed camera gets a preview and a PGM trigger, so it can go on air like the others. It has no movement and no AI framing.
Vizrt
About NewTek.
NewTek, now part of Vizrt, built its PTZ cameras around NDI|HX. VRA's model list has the NDI|HX-PTZ1, PTZ2 and PTZUHD, and the NDI|HX3 PTZ3 and PTZ3 UHD.
What you can do with this connection
Automated camera switching for radio
Switch cameras from microphone activity and prepare PTZ shots off air.
More infoThe products behind it.
More integrations.
BirdDog
BirdDog PTZ cameras run on NDI, and VRA automates them over NDI too. Eyes, P and X series cameras recall their angles when a presenter starts talking.
Vizrt
Vizrt released the PTZ3 PLUS and PTZ3 UHD PLUS in 2024 as NDI|HX3 PTZ cameras. VRA automates both over NDI and frames the next shot while it is off air.
PTZOptics
PTZOptics Move, Studio and NDI cameras speak VISCA over IP or NDI, by model. VRA automates each one over its own protocol and frames the next shot off air.
Check your studio setup with us.
Tell us your camera models, video switcher and radio automation. We will check the connections and show you the workflow that fits your station.