JVC PTZ Cameras: Motion Tracking, Wide Angle, Remote Ready

The latest JVC PTZ KY-series camera, released earlier this year, deserves your attention. While recent PTZ camera news has been all about full sensors, JVC has quietly released one of the most useful, featured-packed, easy-to-use cameras that make a lot of sense for most budget-conscious productions.

In as few words as possible, the flagship JVC PTZ KY-510 camera has a 12x zoom and outputs up to 4K 60P resolution. Three main components stand out: a wide 81-degree lens helping capture those full-room shots. Dual remote-ready (REMI) bidirectional encoders allow simultaneous output of NDI, SRT, and RTMPS. Making setting up and controlling remote cameras easy. Lastly, a smart object tracking feature allows a camera to follow presenters automatically.

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Video: JVC PTZ KY-Series Camera Overview | Game Changer For Remote & Auto Tracking

A Quality PTZ Camera That Can Be Controlled From Anywhere

The PTZ Camera market is hot right now, with partners like BirdDog, NewTek, Panasonic, and AVer having great products and features. JVC PTZ has chosen to differentiate itself with its ease of use for remote operators, talent setup, and object tracking. Let’s dive into what makes the JVC PTZ camera family worth considering.

Video Over IP

These are the first JVC PTZ Camera that can output NDI HX, SRT, and RTMP, while simultaneously outputting HDMI or SDI locally. With NDI and SRT being the two most common IP protocols for local and remote production, your team has the flexibility to meet the most common job requirements. Both H.264 and HEVC codecs are supported.

What’s truly unique is JVC added two encoders, so two IP outputs can be distributed simultaneously. You can have the SRT stream send its feed to a remote control room while the NDI feed is sent directly to YouTube. Having two encoders in a single JVC PTZ camera opens the doors to unique remote workflows.

PTZ Control Over IP

The JVC KY-series camera comes with an optional LAN-based remote controller. The touchscreen RM-LP100 can manage up to 99 remote cameras with up to 99 presets. Ideal if you need to control PTZ, Focus, Exposure / Iris / Gain, Shutter, or white balance from any remote location over an internet connection.

The KY-series PTZ cameras can also be connected and controlled to any IP-based video switcher, including the NewTek TriCaster, vMix, Wirecast, or your switcher of choice. There is a very little delay- however, we would still recommend you create preset locations before your live production.

Lastly, you don’t need any control thanks to JVC’s web browser application. Works great in Chrome Browser; your production staff can make corrections or control any local or remote JVC PTZ cameras set up in the system.

USB Output For Webcam

The KY-200 and KY-510 have a USB output that can be used as a camera device for most video conference software- Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meets, etc.

Let’s think about this. Your talent must plug the device into their computer and open a Zoom Video Conference. At the same time, your production staff can remotely control the pan-tilt-zoom of the camera, white balance, and another setup without any need to be onsite. Completely dummy proof!

Object Tracking

The JVC KY-510 PTZ camera comes with object tracking. We tested this out locally and remotely- and it worked well. Once an object- for example, a college professor, is identified, the camera can lock focus on the presenter as they walk around the room, panning, zooming, and tilting automatically to keep the subject in focus.

We could see this being a game-changing feature when combined with the ease of use for remote users. You can have a PTZ camera automatically following a subject, completely remote from the show’s production team.

Breaking Down the JVC KY Series Models

Let’s start with what all the JVC PTZ cameras have in common. All KY-series cameras come with a 3G-SDI 1080 60P SDI out. All cameras come with built-in SRT with an H.264 or HEVC codec. Each camera model has an NDI and non-NDI version (be careful to order the right version). All models of the JVC KY PTZ come with standard PoE power, while the PZ-510 uses PoE+.

The 4K ready cameras (PZ-400 & PZ-510) have UHD available on HDMI only. The KY-PZ200 and KY-PZ510 models also come with a USB output that can be used as a webcam for any video conferencing software (Zoom, Teams, etc.).

PZ-200

The PZ200 is a 1080p 60P camera with a 1/2.8” sensor. It has a 20x Zoom lens and a 61° wide angle lens.

PZ-400

The PZ-400 is a 4K 30P camera with a 1/2.5” sensor. It has a 12x Zoom lens and a 71° wide angle lens.

PZ-510

The PZ-510 is a 4K 60P camera with a 1/2.8” sensor. It has a 12x Zoom lens and a 81° wide angle lens.