Canon PTZ Cameras Firmware Updates and Add-on applications

Unlock the potential to track the main speaker with face/head detection as they move around the stage, automatically. Harness the power of excellent 4K PTZ imagery with effortless automation to add a new dimension to your productions. Auto Tracking is a built-in (edge) application and not PC based, meaning easy installation without the need for powerful processing PCs.

Smooth and precise tracking
Canon’s advanced drive mechanism enable the PTZ camera to track people at a variety of speeds from slow to rapid movements.

Priority display area
Tracks the subject but ensures boards, slides or displays are still always in the angle of view.

Pan/Tilt halting area
Prevents unwanted Pan, Tilt control that would track small swaying movements of a subject in their location.

Flexible composition
Adjust the composition of the tracking subject such as body size to ensure the perfect angle.

Fixed viewing angle area
Select an area to stop tracking when target is in that zone to maintain a specific angle.

Initial position reset
Moves the angle of view to a pre-set initial position when the tracking subject is lost to ensure something relevant is always captured.

Dynamic tracking sensitivity
Finely adjust the 10 levels of sensitivity for slow or quick movements; the higher the number the more agile the PTZ camera tracking is meaning even dynamic movements can be captured.

Intelligent human detection
Automatically selects a human body present within a set area as the tracking subject for quick subject identification whilst manual target selection can also be initialized for more precise detection.

Auto select exclusion area
Create exclusion zones to ensure unwanted people aren’t tracked, this ensures the focus is on the desired tracking subject.

Auto Tracking Application is available on the CR-N700 from April 2023 and expected on the CR-N500 & CR-N300 in Q3 2023.

Please contact your local Canon dealer or local Canon office for information on how to purchase the Auto Tracking application.

Programme repeated camera pan, tilt, and zoom movements to track repeated live action, consistently and accurately without the need of a camera operator. Auto Loop is a built-in (edge) application and not PC based, meaning easy installation without the need for powerful processing PCs.

Flexibility of programming of movements
Able to initialize a Loop back and forth as programmed movement meaning no camera operator is required.

Smooth and precise control
Harnessing the power of Canon’s advanced drive mechanism, the Auto Loop function enables precise automated control of movements of the PTZ camera.

Adaptable positions and routes
Set five separate pre-programmed loops each one of which can have a maximum of 4 positions making it ideal for a variety of live and recorded productions.

Two intuitive Loop modes
Continuous and reciprocal loop modes enable full flexibility of how the camera to moves. Continuous loop enables the camera to move from position A-B-C continuously on a loop whereas reciprocal loop allows the camera to move from position A-B-C- to position B-A-B to C-B-A.

Easy setting UI
Five automatic movements routes can be registered and easy to create/customize them from UI with preview video.

Auto Loop Application is available on the CR-N700 from April 2023 and on the CR-N500 and CR-X300 expected in Q3 2023.

Please contact your local Canon dealer or local Canon office for information on how to purchase the Auto Loop Application.

Two new protocols have also arrived to the Canon PTZ range which makes integrating them into workflows which rely heavily on Broadcast and VR/AR easy and seamless. The firmware is available for download for the CR-N300 and CR-N500 PTZ Cameras with the CR-X300 being available later in 2023.

SRT
The SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) protocol is a video transmission protocol that has gained a high reputation from the remote production market and is capable of high-quality, low-latency, and secure video transmission, even in unpredictable network conditions. This is a widely used protocol in the broadcast industry and is currently applicable to Canon’s CR-N300, CR-N500 and CR-X300 PTZ Cameras.

FreeD
The FreeD protocol is widely used in virtual studios and in VR/AR productions. Canon’s CR-N500, CR-N300 and CR-X300 can now be easily integrated in virtual production applications such as news, weather forecasts, sports and live events thanks to this protocol, which enables them to directly feed in real time the Pan, Tilt, Zoom, Focus and Iris, as well as the position of the PTZ Camera into a virtual platform such as unreal engine.

The demand for remote cameras to stream live events, plus video conferencing in office and corporate environments, has rocketed massively since the pandemic. Many sectors have embraced the new possibilities offered by a PTZ infrastructure including higher education, concerts, theatre and houses of worship.

Thanks to Canon’s new Webcam Driver¹, which is available on Windows OS, it’s easy to set up PTZ cameras for high quality streaming, webcam functionality, longer cabling options via LAN, auto camera detection and the ability to register multiple cameras.

4K 30p output
Via LAN and the new USB driver, users can now utilise the CR-N300, CR-N500 and CR-X300 for video streaming up to 4K 30p², with further flexibility of where the camera can be located when connected to a PC.

Automatic Camera Detection
The new software will detect compatible Canon PTZ cameras that are on the same network as the PC. This enables easy set-up of the cameras for users to identify which cameras they’d like to register to the software.

Register multiple cameras
You can register up to five cameras to the software, so depending on the installation it’s possible to easily select which one to use from the PC.

4K 30P² image quality is now a real possibility thanks to output via LAN. USB is limited because of the maximum length of the cable (usually 3m). On the other hand, a LAN connection has a substantianlly longer cable run, making it ideal for larger venues in the professional AV space. Take a university for example: instead of being limited to a 3m USB connection from a laptop to PTZ camera, thanks to Canon’s new webcam driver users can install it at the back a large auditorium without sacrificing reliability or quality.