ptz vs eptz

[CaptainCrunch]

As of right now, I do not need a ptz camera. But I would like a ptz camera. We live in a small neighborhood with only 10 streets and only 2 ways in or out. There's a bit of foot and golf cart traffic. I'd like something a little inconspicuous. It would likely sit next to an overview camera. At that location, there is about a 90 degree field of view with view of the street. The right edge of that field of view is about 85 feet to the street. Straight ahead is about 75 feet. And the left edge is about 100 feet. There are a lot of cameras out there so I looked at Andy's Amazon shop to get an idea of what was currently available. I came up with the SD22204UE-GN, IPC-Color4K-T180, and SD4A425DB-HNY.

The SD22204UE is the least expensive and is a 2mp on a 1/2.8 sensor. And it's an EOL camera. The Color4K-T180 is a 4mp on a 1/1.8 sensor but is only color. It has eptz and from looking around, BI may not support eptz. The SD4A425DB is more than twice as expensive as the SD22204UE. It is above the upper limit of what I'm interested in spending for a play camera but I'm willing to consider it if the extra cost results in a comparable increase in quality and performance. It puts 4mp on the 1/2.8 sensor. But it's 25x.

How does 4mp on a 1/1.8 sensor compare to 2mp on a 1/2.8 sensor? The 2mp is an optical zoom while the 4mp should be a digital zoom. I would guess the 2mp day/night camera might have a better image than the 4mp color only camera, especially at night. Does BI support eptz and the separate viewing zones? Are there any other cameras I should consider?

 

[wittaj]

4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor is better than a 2MP on a 1/2.8" sensor....BUT....OPTICAL zoom will beat DIGITAL zoom all night long.

At 75 feet to 100 feet, you need optical zoom. A 3.6mm 4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor or even a 8MP on the 1/1.2" sensor DIGITALLY zoomed into that distance will not beat an OPTICAL zoom 2MP camera.

BI currently does not support the ePTZ function.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor is better than a 2MP on a 1/2.8" sensor....BUT....OPTICAL zoom will beat DIGITAL zoom all night long.

At 75 feet to 100 feet, you need optical zoom. A 3.6mm 4MP on a 1/1.8" sensor or even a 8MP on the 1/1.2" sensor DIGITALLY zoomed into that distance will not beat an OPTICAL zoom 2MP camera.

BI currently does not support the ePTZ function.

Thank you. It's tough sometimes comparing cameras. There are a lot of cameras and each one has a few different variables. It can be challenging trying to figure out how one set of variables compares to a completely different set. 4mp (1/2.8) 25x vs 2mp (1/2.8) 4x looking at day and night with limited experience with cameras. My gut has telling me to start small. That way a minimal investment will let me know what works and what doesn't work.

 

[bp2008]

I have never actually found a working "ePTZ" function on any of my cameras. I suspect that in most cases it is purely a client software function, and doesn't actually exist on the camera as a feature. If I am right, then there's nothing there for Blue Iris to actually support.

Blue Iris does have relatively excellent digital zoom and panning capabilities via mouse wheel and click-and-drag, but it does not really match the use case of "ePTZ" which as I understand it is to show multiple zoomed-and-panned views simultaneously from the same video feed.

 

[Phil.g00]

Eptz is currently working on the IPC-Color4K-T180, but only in the camera interface. It is intended to be included in the new EI versions of the Dahua NVRs. But it isn't available yet; awaiting a firmware upgrade.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

I have never actually found a working "ePTZ" function on any of my cameras. I suspect that in most cases it is purely a client software function, and doesn't actually exist on the camera as a feature. If I am right, then there's nothing there for Blue Iris to actually support.

Blue Iris does have relatively excellent digital zoom and panning capabilities via mouse wheel and click-and-drag, but it does not really match the use case of "ePTZ" which as I understand it is to show multiple zoomed-and-panned views simultaneously from the same video feed.

Here's a video on it. It's a pretty good feature if the outcome is effective. It looks like you can set up smaller zones for larger viewing. You can set up a box and zoom into that area like it's a separate feed from a separate camera. It's around 5:22 in the video from Andy's YouTube page. I'm thinking about this as a standalone play camera apart from the rest of the camera system.

 

[wittaj]

While it is a cool feature, it is more gimmicky and novelty than practical. Arlo has been doing this for years lol.

It is no different than digital zoom and panning the screen as something moves, except the software does it for you on a very limited platform at the moment.

 

[bp2008]

Based on that video, the camera may have been doing the object tracking because obviously they have that capability these days, but the user interface interactions were too responsive for the sub views to be created camera-side. The cropping and scaling of the sub views were all clientside (in the device that has the display attached), therefore it is likely the camera can't actually provide those views as streams that Blue Iris could pull.

 

[JDreaming]

Based on that video, the camera may have been doing the object tracking because obviously they have that capability these days, but the user interface interactions were too responsive for the sub views to be created camera-side. The cropping and scaling of the sub views were all clientside (in the device that has the display attached), therefore it is likely the camera can't actually provide those views as streams that Blue Iris could pull.

I have the IPC-Color4K-T180, but don't even plan to use this eptz function. Screen is too small and digital zoom make it pretty much useless. The video looks better without the zoom. The good thing about this camera is the night time video looks as good as the Color4K-X and can cover the whole block as an overview camera.

 

[m900mwk]

Here's a video on it. It's a pretty good feature if the outcome is effective. It looks like you can set up smaller zones for larger viewing. You can set up a box and zoom into that area like it's a separate feed from a separate camera. It's around 5:22 in the video from Andy's YouTube page. I'm thinking about this as a standalone play camera apart from the rest of the camera system.

I’ve been trying to get my T-180 to work with eptz as shown in this video. I’ve createdy tripwires and enables eptz but the camera doesn’t follow the persons movement nor is it recording the persons face.
I’m using an Empiretech NVR and it’s a different interface from Andy’s video.

I’d appreciate any help, it can’t be difficult to fix…

marty

 

[wittaj]

I’ve been trying to get my T-180 to work with eptz as shown in this video. I’ve createdy tripwires and enables eptz but the camera doesn’t follow the persons movement nor is it recording the persons face.
I’m using an Empiretech NVR and it’s a different interface from Andy’s video.

I’d appreciate any help, it can’t be difficult to fix…

marty

As of right now that is not capable on an NVR (unless the newest one came out). You can only view it in the camera GUI.

 

[m900mwk]

thanks. I didn’t realize the NVR wasn’t capable, the YouTube video is misleading.

As of right now that is not capable on an NVR (unless the newest one came out). You can only view it in the camera GUI.

 

[actran]

@m900mwk How is the YouTube video misleading? It's not about the NVR setup. It's about the camera setup, in the camera UI, no?

 

[looney2ns]

thanks. I didn’t realize the NVR wasn’t capable, the YouTube video is misleading.

No it's not misleading.