Instruction Manual for SONY models including: BRC-AM7 Color Video Camera, BRC-AM7, Color Video Camera, Video Camera, Camera
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DocumentDocument5-065-330-11 (1)
Color Video Camera
free-d Integration Manual
Software Version 1.0
BRC-AM7
© 2024 Sony Corporation
Table of Contents
Overview ................................................... 3 Target Models and Firmware Version ....... 3 Supported Networking Protocol (free-d Protocol) ................................................... 4
Supported communication physical layer and transport layer .................................. 4
Supported modes ...................................... 4 Supported free-d messages ...................... 4 Supported metadata description .............. 4 Configuring Tracking Data Output Items using CGI ................................................... 6 Basic configuration scheme ...................... 6 CGI parameters .......................................... 7 Tracking Information Transmission Interval ...................................................... 8 Recommended Settings for Lens Calibration in AR/VR Environments ............................. 8 Zoom type .................................................. 8 Known Limitations .................................... 9 When the Slow & Quick Motion function is
enabled .................................................... 9 Number of destinations to which tracking
information is transmitted simultaneously ......................................... 9 Tracking information transmission when receiving an external sync signal ............ 9 When streaming video and audio simultaneously ......................................... 9 Performance degradation due to user operations ................................................ 9 Output during auto framing operation ..... 9 Trademarks ..............................................10
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Overview
This document describes detailed technical information relating to the "tracking data (free-d) output function" required for system integration with virtual studios, etc. This function allows a PTZ camera (hereinafter referred to as the camera), such as the BRC-AM7 that is primarily intended for remote shooting, to transmit the pan, tilt, zoom, and focus (hereinafter referred to as PTZF) positions of the camera in real-time. Using this function in conjunction with downstream VR/AR solutions makes possible the compositing of captured video with CG to create highly immersive images.
Target Models and Firmware Version
Model name BRC-AM7
Supported firmware version Version 1.0 and later
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Supported Networking Protocol (free-d Protocol)
The `free-d' protocol, which is widely used in virtual studio solutions, is used to transmit the tracking data comprising the PTZF position information from the camera. For a description of the free-d protocol specification, refer to the publicly available "free-d Installation Manual."
Supported communication physical layer and transport layer
Although the original free-d protocol assumes its physical communication layer as RS422/RS485 serial communication, this camera adopts to use an Ethernet-based physical layer via the LAN (RJ-45) connector on the camera. One reason for adopting UDP/IP is that many virtual studio solution providers already have ample experience using UDP/IP. The port number used for UDP data transmission can be any number in the range of 1024 to 65534.
Supported modes
The original free-d protocol specifies two modes of operation: stream mode and polled mode. This camera only supports stream mode due to its lower overhead and higher efficiency. Accordingly, the mode switching function using D0 messages is not supported. In stream mode, the "Start stream mode" command and "Stop stream mode" command of D0 messages are specified to control the transmission of tracking information. Considering this message definition, this camera supports two types of stream mode ("always" and "on-demand") which are described in detail below.
`always' mode
In this mode, the camera keeps on transmitting tracking information to the destinations specified by the camera. Typically, UDP data transfers can use ICMP messages to check if the destination is valid, but this mode works regardless of whether there is a valid destination or not. This mode requires that the destination IP address and port number be configured beforehand.
`on-demand' mode
In this mode, the camera waits for the "Start stream mode" D0 message, and then starts sending the tracking information to the sender of that message. Data transmission continues until the camera receives a "destination unreachable" ICMP error message or a "Stop stream mode" D0 message.
Supported free-d messages
According to the specification described above, the following free-d messages are supported. · D0 message: Only supports two messages:
"[00]: Stop stream mode" and "[01]: Start stream mode" · D1 message: Values are set for the following metadata. Camera pan angle Camera tilt angle Camera zoom Camera focus Iris F-number (using 16-bit user area)
Supported metadata description
This section describes the types of metadata included in the tracking information and their representation format.
Camera pan angle (bytes 2 to 4)
Bytes 2 to 4 of the tracking information (3 bytes, <PH><PM><PL> in the free-d protocol specification) contain the camera pan angle according to Appendix B.2 in the "free-d Installation Manual." The value is expressed in degrees as a 24-bit twos-complement signed number. The mostsignificant bit (bit 23) is the sign bit, the next 8 bits (bits 22 to 15) are the integer part and the remaining bits (bits 14 to 0) are the fractional part. The pan angle range is specified as 90 degrees to +90 degrees in the free-d protocol, but a value exceeding this range can be set. Due to minute fluctuations in the position holding capability of the pan/tilt drive motor, the value of the angle that is returned may slightly exceed the pan and tilt angle range.
Camera tilt angle (bytes 5 to 7)
Bytes 5 to 7 of the tracking information (3 bytes, <TH><TM><TL> in the free-d protocol specification) contain the camera tilt angle according to Appendix B.3 in the "free-d Installation Manual." The format for the angle is expressed in the same format as the camera pan angle. Note that the ceiling mount setting must be set appropriately to match the orientation of the
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camera ([off] for desktop mounting, [on] for ceiling mounting), as this setting will change the tilt angle range. In addition, the tilt angle range is specified as 90 degrees to +90 degrees in the free-d protocol, but a value exceeding this range can be set. Due to minute fluctuations in the position holding capability of the pan/tilt drive motor, the value of the angle that is returned may slightly exceed the pan and tilt angle range.
0° -30°
-175°
+175°
+210°
Figure 1. Pan/tilt angle ranges for desktop mounting
+30°
-210°
-175°
+175°
0°
Figure 2. Pan/tilt angle ranges for ceiling mounting
Camera zoom (bits 20 to 22)
Bytes 20 to 22 of the tracking information (3 bytes, <ZH><ZM><ZL> in the free-d protocol specification) contain the camera zoom information according to Appendix B.8 in the "free-d Installation Manual." The protocol
specification does not define how the information is represented. In this camera, the Wide end is represented as decimal 0 and the Tele end is represented as decimal 16384 as a 24-bit unsigned integer, as shown in Table 1.
Note
The angle of view may vary from camera to camera, even for the same free-d output value.
Table 1: Zoom information output value (reference value)
free-d output value (zoom position)
0x0000
0x4000
Remarks
Wide end Tele end
Camera focus (bits 23 to 25)
Bytes 23 to 25 of the tracking information (3 bytes, <FH><FM><FL> in the free-d protocol specification) contain the camera focus information according to Appendix B.9 in the "free-d Installation Manual." The protocol specification does not define how the information is represented. In this camera, the inverse of the focus distance is expressed as a 24-bit signed number with 16-bit fixed decimal point. An infinite focus distance is represented as 0x001000. Values lower than 0x001000 indicate the OverINF (over infinity) area. For details, see Table 2. If more detailed conversion of focus distance and focus information is required, it can be calculated using equation 1.
Focus distance = 2^16 / (Focus information 0x1000) ...........................................................................(1)
Notes
· The focus distance may vary from camera to camera, even for the same output value.
· Values lower than 001000 [hex] indicate a focus distance higher than , so equation 1 cannot be applied.
Table 2: Focus information output value and focus distance (reference value)
free-d output value [hex] 000000 to 001000 1000 2000 4000 8000 C000
Focus distance Remarks [m] OverINF
16 5.33333333 2.28571429 1.45454545
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Table 2: Focus information output value and focus distance (reference value)
free-d output value [hex] EDA5
40000 61F83
Focus distance [m] 1.0
0.25396825 0.165
Remarks
Tele end minimum focusing distance*
Wide end minimum focusing distance*
* Design value which may vary from camera to camera.
Iris F-number and frame count (bytes 26
to 27)
After considering use cases in a virtual studio, it was decided that iris information would also be useful in addition to PTZF information, so it has been included as part of the tracking information. The addition of iris information makes it possible to appropriately correct the brightness of CG objects composited into the captured image. The iris information (bits 26 to 27) of the tracking information (2 bytes, <SH><SL> in the free-d protocol specification) contains a value 100-times the F-number as a positive unsigned number in the lower 12 bits. For example, a value of 0x118 (<SH>=0x01, <SL>=0x18) represents a decimal value of 280, or an F-number of F2.8. The larger the value, the darker the lens iris. A closed iris is represented as 0x0FFF. In addition, the upper 4 bits of the <SH> area are set successively to a number from 0 to 15 as the frame count. This is useful for determining which video frame the tracking information corresponds to when the UDP packet arrival time fluctuates due to the network environment, the processing load in the camera, or other reasons.
Configuring Tracking Data Output Items using CGI
This section describes the CGI parameters for configuring tracking data output items. The mechanism for configuring various settings makes use of the existing CGI mechanism of the camera to configure items using CGI from the Web App.
Basic configuration scheme
This section describes how to acquire and change various settings related to the tracking data output function using HTTP.
Acquiring the current configuration
You can acquire various settings related to the tracking data output function using the following HTTP URI. You can select either normal format or JavaScript parameter format as the acquisition method.
[Normal format]
http://<ip_address>/command/ inquiry.cgi?inq=freedconfig
[JavaScript parameter format]
http://<ip_address>/command/ inquiry.cgi?inqjs=freedconfig
GET is the only HTTP method supported when accessing information using these URIs. Authentication is performed using HTTP digest authentication (RFC 2167), and administrator privileges for the camera are required.
Changing the configuration
You can change various settings related to the tracking data output function using the following HTTP URI.
http://<ip_address>/command/ freedconfig.cgi?<parameter1>=<value1>[&<parameter2 >=<value2>&...]
The "/command/freedconfig.cgi" URI path is a new path introduced for the tracking data output function. Multiple parameters can be changed simultaneously by concatenating "<parameter>=<value>" strings with an "&" character according to the HTTP query string specification. Similarly, GET is the only HTTP method supported when accessing this URI. Authentication is performed using HTTP digest authentication,
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and administrator privileges for the camera are required. The main parameter is called "FreeDTransfer." Setting this parameter to "always" or "ondemand" enables the transmission of tracking information, but it is recommended that other required parameters be configured appropriately beforehand.
CGI parameters
This section describes the CGI parameters corresponding to the items related to the tracking data output function.
FreeDTransferMode
This parameter is used to control the transmission of tracking information. It is used to disable transmission or to set the transfer mode to "always" or "on-demand" mode. For details, see "`always' mode" (page 4) and "`on-demand' mode" (page 4).
Parameter Value
FreeDTransfe "always" /
rMode
"ondemand" /
"off"
(Default value:
"off")
Description
Disables the transmission of tracking information or enables the transmission in "always" or "ondemand" mode
FreeDCameraID
This parameter is used to acquire/set the camera ID using the free-d protocol (<CA>, 1st byte in D1 message).
Parameter Value
FreeDCamer 0 to 255
aID
(Default value:
"255")
Description
Specifies the camera ID (<CA>) as a decimal value.
FreeDOutputNum
This parameter is used to acquire the number of destinations to which tracking information can be transmitted simultaneously in normal mode. This is a read-only parameter.
Parameter Value
Description
FreeDOutput 1 or higher
Num
(read-only)
Maximum number of simultaneous destinations
In BRC-AM7 version 1.0, this parameter always returns 1.
FreeDDestination
In "always" mode, this parameter is used to acquire or set whether to transmit tracking information to each destination.
Parameter Value
Description
FreeDDestin "on" / "off" ation<N> (Default value:
"on")
Sets whether to transmit tracking information to the Nth client
<N> is a positive integer in the range 1 to FreeDOutputNum.
FreeDDestinationAddress
In "always" mode, this parameter is used to acquire or set the address of each destination.
Parameter Value
FreeDDestin ationAddres s<N>
IPv4 address format character string (Default value: blank)
Description
Specifies the address of the Nth destination
<N> is a positive integer in the range 1 to FreeDOutputNum.
FreeDDestinationPort
In "always" mode, this parameter is used to acquire or set the UDP port number of each destination.
Parameter Value
FreeDDestin 1024 to 65534
ationPort (Default value:
<N>
"40000")
Description
Specifies the UDP port number of the Nth destination
<N> is a positive integer in the range 1 to FreeDOutputNum.
FreeDListenPort
In "always" mode, this parameter is used to acquire or set the UDP port number on which to listen for D0 "Start stream mode" requests.
Parameter Value
FreeDListenP 1024 to 65534
ort
(Default value:
"0000")
Description
Specifies the UDP port number on which the camera listens for requests
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Tracking Information Transmission Interval
Table 3 shows the transmission interval for tracking information. The transmission interval varies depending on the configured system frequency and SDI1 output format.
Table 3: System frequency, SDI1 output format, and tracking information transmission interval
System frequency
119.88Hz 100Hz 59.94Hz 50Hz 29.97Hz
25Hz
23.98Hz
SDI1 output format
(All) (All) (All) (All) 1920×1080PsF Other than above 1920×1080PsF Other than above 1920×1080PsF Other than above
Tracking information transmission interval [msec] 16.68 20.00 16.68 20.00 16.68 33.37
20.00 40.00
20.85 41.70
Recommended Settings for Lens Calibration in AR/VR Environments
This section describes the recommended settings for lens calibration in AR/VR environments. On this camera, auto distortion compensation is always enabled.
Zoom type
Set [Technical] > [Zoom] > [Zoom Type] to [Optical Zoom Only] in the camera menu.
Table 4: Zoom type setting
Item
Sub-item setting
[Zoom Type] [Optical Zoom Only]
Factory default
[Optical Zoom Only]
Description
Sets the type of zoom
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Known Limitations
This sections describes some known limitations.
When the Slow & Quick Motion function is enabled
When the Slow & Quick Motion function is enabled, there may be a time lag between when tracking information changes occur and when the information is transmitted. As a result, in situations where the actual tracking information changes at a constant rate, the rate of change in the tracking information that is transmitted may not be constant but will fluctuate.
Number of destinations to which tracking information is transmitted simultaneously
Currently, only one tracking information destination is supported. In "on-demand" mode, if a D0 "Start stream mode" request is received from a client while tracking information is being transmitted to another client, the destination switches to the client that sent the latest request, and tracking information is no longer transmitted to the first client.
Tracking information transmission when receiving an external sync signal
If the camera receives a sync signal on the GENLOCK connector, it cannot transmit tracking information while the camera is synchronizing to the reference signal. When synchronization is established, the transmission of tracking information will resume.
When streaming video and audio simultaneously
The camera supports video and audio streaming, which requires considerable network bandwidth and processing. When streaming, delays may occur in the transmission of tracking information causing fluctuations in the transmission interval.
Performance degradation due to user operations
The output of tracking information may be delayed or the output content may not be updated in the following cases. · When displaying the setup menu of the camera · When displaying the thumbnail list of recorded
clips · When playing recorded clips · When changing various settings or executing
some processes on the Web App settings screen
Output during auto framing operation
If the free-d output function is turned on during auto framing operation, free-d information may occasionally not be output under conditions of heavy processing load.
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Trademarks
· XAVC and
are registered trademarks of
Sony Group Corporation.
· The terms
HDMI, HDMI High-
Definition Multimedia Interface, HDMI Trade
dress and the HDMI Logos are trademarks or
registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing
Administrator, Inc.
· JavaScript is a registered trademark of Oracle
and/or its affiliates.
· All other company names and product names
are registered trademarks or trademarks of
their respective owners. Trademarked items
are not indicated by TM or ® symbols in this
document.
· This document, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced or transferred for any purpose without prior written approval from Sony Corporation.
· Sony Corporation reserves the right to make any modification to this document or the information contained herein at any time without notice.
· Sony Corporation shall not bear any responsibility or liability for any damage, lost earning, and third-party claim, resulting from the products and related documents.
· This document contains registered trademarks and trademarks that are owned by their respective companies.
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