Setting up spotter camera for ptz

[Mars Bar]

Hi all, i purchased a spotter camera from @EMPIRETECANDY and also have a PTZ from empire as well.
Can someone explain or show me how to set it up to turn the ptz when the spotter detects?
I have everything set up on both cameras with IVS, but need to know how to set the alarm or what ever to make the ptz move to the preset.

 

[wittaj]

Here is the thread I made explaining how to do it.

Using Spotter Cameras to direct a PTZ where to look in an NVR or Blue Iris and setting a spotter cam as a priority in Blue Iris

We get this question from time to time, so I thought with the recent addition to BI, it made sense to have a thread we can point to. Previously in BI, if you had more than one spotter cam, you could not make one a priority, so if spotter cam #1 triggered the PTZ and it starts tracking and...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[Mars Bar]

Here is the thread I made explaining how to do it.

Using Spotter Cameras to direct a PTZ where to look in an NVR or Blue Iris and setting a spotter cam as a priority in Blue Iris

We get this question from time to time, so I thought with the recent addition to BI, it made sense to have a thread we can point to. Previously in BI, if you had more than one spotter cam, you could not make one a priority, so if spotter cam #1 triggered the PTZ and it starts tracking and...

ipcamtalk.com

Thanks so much mate

 

[Mars Bar]

Here is the thread I made explaining how to do it.

Using Spotter Cameras to direct a PTZ where to look in an NVR or Blue Iris and setting a spotter cam as a priority in Blue Iris

We get this question from time to time, so I thought with the recent addition to BI, it made sense to have a thread we can point to. Previously in BI, if you had more than one spotter cam, you could not make one a priority, so if spotter cam #1 triggered the PTZ and it starts tracking and...

ipcamtalk.com

Will it work with the spooter camera set up for tripwire? Or will it only work with motion detection?
Fyi im using dahua nvr not Bi

 

[wittaj]

Oh OK.

@bigredfish is our expert NVR spotter cam member and can chime in with how to set it up.

 

[bigredfish]

Here's a report from part of my testing of a 6 series PTZ

This makes use of a "Spotter" camera to tell the PTZ to zoom to a tight spot at the entrance and wait there for 60 seconds to capture a license plate. The Spotter is a 6mm fixed lens 5442 bullet that looks down the street into the neighborhood from its position on the same pole as the PTZ cam.
An IVS tripwire watches for Vehicles only, traveling towards the entrance, using the object filter. When it senses a vehicle moving that direction it sends a command via the NVR to tell the PTZ to zoom in to the plate capture area (Preset#2 on the PTZ)

The magic happens at the NVR

- This assumes you have setup at least 2 presets on your PTZ.
Preset #1 is the “home” preset
Preset # 2 is the scene you want the PTZ to move to when commanded by the spotter
-On the NVR go to AI
-Then choose "Parameters" and IVS and go to the spotter camera IVS rule
-Go down to "PTZ Activation" and in the popup choose the PTZ on the left list (cam 1 for me) and enter the number on the right of the PTZ Preset you want it to go to when the IVS rule on the spotter cam is tripped (Preset 2)



Finally, once the PTZ goes to the preset (#2) based on the spotter cam IVS rule, you have to setup a Time Task on the PTZ to tell it to go back to its original "Home" preset.
So the Time task in my case says:
Once called away from your Home Preset (by the spotter cam) return to "Home" after 60 seconds. (Home being Preset 1). I've also set that time task to be just during daylight hours as I have another task for it at night.



So lets see what this all looks like on video......

Car leaving neighborhood is picked up by IVS rule on Spotter camera (5442 6mm)


Which then tells the PTZ to zoom to the entrance (preset 2) to capture the license plate


Time task on the PTZ is set at 60 seconds then tells the PTZ to go back to its "Home" preset#1

 

[Mars Bar]

Many thanks mate. Got it working. Just need to play with the settings and tripwires now.
I'm glad i can cover 90% of the the front of my house now

 

[jarrow]

This makes use of a "Spotter" camera to tell the PTZ to zoom to a tight spot at the entrance

Since I got lucky in a lottery some days ago (SD4A425DB-HNY): wondering if its also possible to make a rule where the PTZ moves to another preset and auto tracks the vehicle/person over there when a spotter cam triggers it? Any experience @bigredfish ?

So the cam always looks one way, but when a spotter cam IVS rule gets triggers it moves the other way it starts a autotracking rule.

 

[wittaj]

Since I got lucky in a lottery some days ago (SD4A425DB-HNY): wondering if its also possible to make a rule where the PTZ moves to another preset and auto tracks the vehicle/person over there when a spotter cam triggers it? Any experience @bigredfish ?

So the cam always looks one way, but when a spotter cam IVS rule gets triggers it moves the other way it starts a autotracking rule.

I literally posted a thread on how to do that in BI and NVR in Post #2 above, along with a summary for an NVR that bigredfish posted in Post #6 LOL

Using Spotter Cameras to direct a PTZ where to look in an NVR or Blue Iris and setting a spotter cam as a priority in Blue Iris

We get this question from time to time, so I thought with the recent addition to BI, it made sense to have a thread we can point to. Previously in BI, if you had more than one spotter cam, you could not make one a priority, so if spotter cam #1 triggered the PTZ and it starts tracking and...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[jarrow]

I literally posted a thread on how to do that in BI and NVR in Post #2 above, along with a summary for an NVR that bigredfish posted in Post #6 LOL

Using Spotter Cameras to direct a PTZ where to look in an NVR or Blue Iris and setting a spotter cam as a priority in Blue Iris

We get this question from time to time, so I thought with the recent addition to BI, it made sense to have a thread we can point to. Previously in BI, if you had more than one spotter cam, you could not make one a priority, so if spotter cam #1 triggered the PTZ and it starts tracking and...

ipcamtalk.com

Yea I saw that, but I specifically mean autotrack after spotter trigger with an NVR.
The NVR part of your post loops back to this thread where only moving to another preset is shown, or am I missing something?

 

[wittaj]

Yea I saw that, but I specifically mean autotrack after spotter trigger with an NVR.
The NVR part of your post loops back to this thread where only moving to another preset is shown, or am I missing something?

Autotracking is not a part of the NVR or Blue Iris - it is part of the PTZ camera. After whatever VMS system one is using spots the PTZ camera to a PTZ preset, it is the camera at that point that is doing the autotracking.

You have to set it up within the camera GUI itself.

You have to set up Smart Plan and IVS rule and autotrack for each preset that you will have the spotter camera spot it to. At that point, it is the camera that is doing the autotracking not the NVR or BI or any other VMS system.

Here is a video on how to set it up with the new GUI and more specifically on this camera:

 

[bigredfish]

Since I got lucky in a lottery some days ago (SD4A425DB-HNY): wondering if its also possible to make a rule where the PTZ moves to another preset and auto tracks the vehicle/person over there when a spotter cam triggers it? Any experience @bigredfish ?

So the cam always looks one way, but when a spotter cam IVS rule gets triggers it moves the other way it starts a autotracking rule.

Yes,
Here's two examples.

The PTZ is in its "Home" Preset#1, watching via its own IVS rules, for Humans only.

Another camera, a fixed 5442 Overview camera, is watching for Vehicles and also acts as a spotter with a tripwire placed to alert on vehicles entering the culdesac ("Behind" the PTZ home Preset)



-The vehicle passes through the PTZ IVS rules without activating as they are set to human only.
-The 5442 picks up the vehicle just after it passes out of the FOV of the PTZ and tells it to go to its Preset #2
-The PTZ then goes to its Preset #2 with a new set of IVS rules for that Preset watching for Humans only

-The PTZ picks up the Human and tracks until it loses him

The PTZ remains at Preset #2 for 120 seconds watching for additional Human movement, before it returns to its Home Preset#1

View attachment HOA Rear_ch1_20211005170709_20211005170847.mp4
View attachment HOA Rear_ch1_20220126100916_20220126101019.mp4

 

[actran]

@bigredfish I apologize if you explained it before but what was your reasoning on configuring a zig zag tripwire for PTZ preset #1?

 

[bigredfish]

I use that on a lot of cameras/scenes. Its really because a single tripwire doesnt always pick up your target given the scene and the sometimes difficult to visualize "3D" effect of drawing a two dimensional line on a 3D scene. I find the zigzag helps fill in the gaps and provides redundancy, and its free!

 

[bigredfish]

Here's an example of why I like ZigZag tripwires.

Notice the PTZ loses the target as she goes behind a car. So PTZ goes back to its home preset.

Now notice she passes "under" a tripwire line without detection (that 3D effect) but the next one catches her and activates the PTZ tracking once again.

View attachment HOA Rear VPN_ch1_20230329113511_20230329113611.mp4
















Now I could just draw multiple single line Tripwire rules (Like 10 0f them) but it’s easier for me to visualize a taget path by drawing one continuous zigzag with one set of rules. The other option is to draw a box "Intrusion" rule, but Ive found given complex scenes like this one with many shadows and obstacles, it works poorly compared to multiple tripwire lines.

 

[jarrow]

Yes,
Here's two examples.

Perfect! Thanks a lot, exactly what I was looking for.
We have two seperate driveways on both sides of the house going to the back (each driveway already has its own cam) so I want to use the PTZ to look and autotrack at the driveway where the spotter cams pick something up.

 

[bigredfish]

Remember that you'll need to set a time task on the PTZ to tell it to return to its "Home Preset#1" after a period of time (mine are 120 seconds) once its called away by a spotter camera

 

[dasdasdas]

Here's an example of why I like ZigZag tripwires.

Notice the PTZ loses the target as she goes behind a car. So PTZ goes back to its home preset.

Now notice she passes "under" a tripwire line without detection (that 3D effect) but the next one catches her and activates the PTZ tracking once again.
View attachment 158511
View attachment 158510
















Now I could just draw multiple single line Tripwire rules (Like 10 0f them) but it’s easier for me to visualize a taget path by drawing one continuous zigzag with one set of rules. The other option is to draw a box "Intrusion" rule, but Ive found given complex scenes like this one with many shadows and obstacles, it works poorly compared to multiple tripwire lines.

the successive zooms, how did you set that up?

 

[wittaj]

the successive zooms, how did you set that up?

That is the PTZ camera doing it automatically as it tracks based on what the track target ratio number is.

One of the reasons why we recommended in your other thread to stay away from toy PTZs and get the real deal!

 

[riot2024]

That is the PTZ camera doing it automatically as it tracks based on what the track target ratio number is.

One of the reasons why we recommended in your other thread to stay away from toy PTZs and get the real deal!

i know this is a old post, I also was blown away how it would zoom in multi times as she walked. You mention that toy ptz would not have this function. If I wanted to look for some ptz that are able to do this, what wording am I looking for? Meaning, would the specs on a ptz say something along the lines, "track targets based on ratio" and then I would know it handles that level of zooming. Thanks in advance for any advice or tips