Review: Panasonic LiveCTRL Multicamera Live-Switching PTZ iOS App

当涉及到多摄像机现场制作, there’s any number of broadcast-level companies willing to fulfill your needs. From Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Canon, Hitachi, 致所有制作视频混音器的公司, recorders, 流媒体设备. 不缺能填满一辆拖车的解决方案.

There are also several companies making integrated solutions, 比如NewTek Tricaster, and other software-based video mixing solutions like vMix, Wirecast, OBS, mimoLive, and others. 这些寻求整合混合, titles, 视频播放, graphics, recording, 流到一个紧凑的设备.

The latest iteration of this are the iOS-based live video production solutions that I’ve written about: Switcher Studio, Teradek Live:Air Action, and Cinamaker. These offer many of the same integrated production features in an iPad Pro-based solution. 但现在，又多了一个:松下LiveCTRL (Figure 1).

Figure 1. 松下LiveCRTL

Panasonic itself has released an iOS app to produce multi-camera live production on an iPad. 这并不是一个全新的解决方案. 它是基于Cinamaker (Figure 2), and you need a Cinamaker license to add additional sources to the app, but Panasonic LiveCTRL does what no other iOS-based solution does: it directly interfaces with Panasonic's broadcast-level Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) cameras.

Figure 2. Cinamaker

This is a huge differentiation compared to solutions that are using cell phones as sources. While there's nothing inherently wrong with cell phones, 它们能产生非常好的图像, 它们受到固定焦距镜头的限制, 以及微小的传感器提供的深度聚焦. Put side by side with a prosumer camcorder, DSLR, or PTZ camera, the difference is immediately clear.

松下的LiveCTRL

Panasonic's LiveCTRL is written to interface with Panasonic's own Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras, naturally. These cameras deliver broadcast level optics and capability: up to 30x optical zoom, 真实虹膜控制, 手动增益控制, 内部记录, 以及PTZ头上可靠的I/O, 包括全尺寸HDMI或SDI, Ethernet with the capability for Power over Ethernet (PoE) that means you can run one cable to the PTZ head and it powers the head, 发送定位命令, 并将视频传回混音设备. 这对于快速简单的部署非常方便.

I had an opportunity to test the LiveCTRL software with Panasonic’s HE40HW PTZ head (Figure 3), which has a street price of about $2,200 for the HDMI version. 这比iPhone贵多了. 但是，正如我在我的 iOS应用质量比较文章, the quality of the video you deliver is directly related to the quality of the camera you use. Using a broadcast-level camera delivers better video than a cell phone, period. No question.

Figure 3. 松下HE40HW PTZ

Moreover, using LiveCTRL to manage several PTZ cameras lets you use one camera for a wide shot, medium shot, close up, 还有五个不同的观众反应镜头, etc. (Figure 4). 这不仅仅是手机所能拍摄的一张照片. I used one PTZ in the middle of a stage to deliver multiple audience shots, multiple “over the shoulder” shots of the minister and the audience, 两张不同的合唱照片, 钢琴演奏者的两张不同的照片, 还有观众中嘉宾麦克风的特写镜头. 一个PTZ就能实现这一切.

Figure 4. 使用LiveCTRL应用程序

For my test, I was loaned the Panasonic HE40 to do the review and was using a fully enabled version of LiveCTRL on a 2017 iPad Pro I already use for my other iOS-based productions. This is not the latest iPad Pros with the USB-C connector. I took the lightning port of my iPad to Apple's Lighting-to-HDMI adapter so I could capture the screen with a HDMI hardware interface from Cinamaker.

My network consisted of a single WiFi router/access point, which was the bridge between the wired connection to the HDMI interface, 和PTZ头, as well as the wireless connection to the iPhone and the iPad. HE400由外部电源适配器供电. I did stream it from the iPad, and recorded it internally on the iPad.

I used an iPhone to show the aspects of the app that I can’t demonstrate while the app produces a show. These other features include the ability to start a new session, 或恢复现有会话, with all the presets and media left in place from where you last used them. 这些“会话”就像项目文件. This ability is pretty unique to the iOS space when it comes to live production apps.

Free

合资格订户

现在就订阅最新一期 Past Issues

买家指南:PTZ相机

Today's professional PTZ cameras are nothing like their security camera predecessors. Now you can find models with all the professional features, technology, and hardware that you find on professional camcorders and digital cine cameras. 在此PTZ买家指南, I'll explain many of these features so you can make informed decisions when evaluating PTZ cameras in your own video production workflows.

31 Mar 2023

评测:佳能N500 PTZ相机

At $5,399, the Canon N500 is a bargain compared to other 1" sensor PTZ video cameras. 支持4K/30P和NDI|HX2, it has a long 15x optical zoom lens and dual XLR audio inputs, 支持低功耗POE+标准.

2022年9月5日

Religious Organizations Take Streaming to the Next Level

Streaming video is helping houses of worship maintain and grow communities of believers in uncertain times. Here's how Jewish Broadcasting Service, Southeast Christian Church in Kentucky, St. 纽约第五大道的托马斯教堂, and Preaching Christ Church in Tennessee are doing it.

09 Nov 2021