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Open source 'Pan Tilt Zoom' for Zoneminder?

W

Winston

Given the extortionate prices for decent PTZ
Ethernet cameras, this seems like a natural project
for you talented EE types.

* 'Point and Shoot' HD cameras are now in the ~U$ 100 range.
* Microcontroller boards are cheap and plentiful
* Servos are cheap and easy to get

My Google-fu has been helpless to reveal an open
source Ethernet Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera design.

Your thoughts please?

--Winston<-- Please don't suggest Foscam.
http://www.foscam.com/pro.aspx?TypeId=1
I returned the garbage they shipped. :)
 
W

Winston

Tim said:
Base it on RC-style servos and the electro-mechanical part of it is well
within the capabilities of a good hobbyist. I don't know if there's an
Ethernet Pan/Tilt standard, and if so how hard it would be to conform to
-- but assuming that either there's none or that the one out there is
easy, the Ethernet part should be reasonable, too, given a board or
processor with a pre-installed Ethernet dingus.

Get cracking!

Thanks Tim! :)

--Winston
 
W

Winston

Jim said:
Several of my recent video chip designs are in these products...

http://www.pixim.com/

But had nothing to do with pan and tilt, just video amplification,
sync separation, day/night filters and UTC data back and forth during
the VBI... that data _was_ used for pan, tilt, zoom and focus, but
those motor drivers came from other sources.

They all look very profe$$ional. :)

--Winston
 
W

Winston

Jim Thompson wrote:

(...)
It occurs to me that you could do hobby-level stuff with comparators
(such as LM339) for sync separation _and_ data. Look up Coaxitron
Protocol and UTC to see how they piggy-back the data inside the VBI
(vertical blanking interval).

Yeahbut, Power Over Ethernet would give one all the necessary
functionality without too much sweat, at least for cameras
shielded from temperature extremes.

--Winston
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

That would be helpful but I'm looking for the whole
DIY open source project, the way linuxcnc.org is for CNC for example.


Their cheapest PTZ is U$800 !

Must be a *tiny* market. :)

--Winston<-- Thanks, though. I like newegg.

I'm not impressed with the Cisco one.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
W

Winston

Spehro Pefhany wrote:

(...)
I'm not impressed with the Cisco one.

For that kind of cash, one would expect very good resolution
and aiming capability. Odd, that.

--Winston
 
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