Camera Corps Introduces Multi Camera Keypad Control Unit

Camera Corps' new Multi Camera Keypad Control Unit increases from five to 96 the number of remote camera heads that can be operated via the company's Joystick Control or CCU Panel.
The keypad can also be used with Camera Corp's Multi Camera Combiner unit to allow up to four Joystick operators and up to four CCU engineers to control the 96 cameras and pan & tilt heads simultaneously using just a single data line.
An output is provided to drive many different types of video router, enabling the picture monitor to follow camera selection at any of the eight operator positions. Up to 255 channel numbers and routing-matrix assignment numbers can be selected via the keypad for easy integration of the 96 camera sources with existing camera channel configurations on video matrices with up to 256 inputs.
The keypad uses a basic three-digit entry system. This can be shortened by ending the entry sequence with the ENTER button. UP and DOWN buttons can be used to step up and down through the channel numbers. LEFT and RIGHT buttons will step through a sequence of the most recent eight channels used. Four MIX buttons on the keypad can be preset to any four channel numbers as a means of quickly displaying up to four 'stream' or 'mixer' outputs. Up to eight channel numbers (any of the 255 available) can be pre-assigned to the Joystick panel's own selector buttons.
Camera Corps' Technical Director Jim Daniels said: "The keypad was designed in response to demand from programme producers and directors requiring larger remote control camera systems than can be handled by conventional means, particularly for reality-style shows. It is compatible with cameras of many different types and particularly ideal for operation with the Q-Ball ultra-compact robotic system. Connection is quick and easy via a highly robust interface which encodes control data onto a standard audio line at user-selectable bit-rates of 4.8, 2.4 or 1.2 kilobaud."
Camera Corps will introduce and demonstrate the Multi Camera Keypad Control Unit on Stand 10.C49 at IBC 2010 as part of a fully operational robotic programme production system.
(KMcA)