BirdDog P200 Eyez PTZ Camera Datasheet
- June 8, 2024
- BirdDog
Table of Contents
BirdDog P200 Eyez PTZ Camera Datasheet
NOTE: Due to internal BirdDog requirements, our firmware releases don’t always have sequential numbering. However, all our public releases are listed in this Release Notes document.
IMPORTANT! To upgrade the firmware, please follow the Firmware Upgrade Instructions located in your firmware download folder. Firmware can be downloaded from our website via the following link: Firmware Updates
Firmware 4.5.3418-LTS
This release includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- Added green Tally light for preview Tally.
- Added Low Latency mode in the Web UI.
- Fixed an issue with PTZ control delay.
- Fixed an issue with the Sharpness value changing with Preset recall.
- Fixed an issue with the status LED blinking without any input command.
Known limitations
- Presets need to be re-saved.
- Image properties need to be reset on the Web UI on the first run after the update.
PREVIOUS RELEASE NOTES
Firmware 4.5.3414-LTS
This release includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- Camera feature settings redesigned to align with current OSD (On Screen Display) and latest camera capabilities.
- Fixes an issue with 1080p25/1080p29.97/1080p30 formats not working correctly.
- Fixes an issue with the camera changing the default settings on start-up.
- Fixes an issue causing the status LED to blink randomly.
- Fixed an issue with displayed iris values not matching the camera head.
Firmware 21.01.3384
This firmware version 21.01.3384 requires that the camera MCU (baseboard) firmware be updated as well. This release includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- New Colour Matrix.
- Gamma adjustment has been expanded to 72 steps.
- New video enhancement tools.
- New detail enhancement tools.
- New exposure enhancement tools.
- New codec engine.
- New control engine.
- Adds a Factory Reset button to the Web UI .
- Tighter integration with BirdDog CamControl 2.0.
Firmware 3.3
This firmware version 3.3 requires that the camera MCU (baseboard) firmware be 0.6 or above. This release includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- Number of presets increased to 250.
- Under the hood performance and stability enhancements.
Firmware 3.1
This firmware version 3.1 requires that the camera MCU (baseboard) firmware be 0.6 or above. This release includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- NDI v4.5 support
- This version of firmware includes the latest NDI libraries which offer a significant performance boost.
- Updates within Web UI
- OSD is now enabled in the Web UI. This allows the majority of functions previously accessed from the remote control to be now accessed remotely.
Firmware 3.0
Version 3.0 firmware brings some substantial new features and enhancements to
the BirdDog P200.
This release includes the following new features and bug fixes:
- NDI v4.1 support
- This version of firmware includes the latest NDI libraries allowing for greater compatibility, higher performance NDI source discovery and new network operating modes.
- Supports NDI 4.x Discovery server for larger deployments.
- Added MultiTCP support.
- Updated Web UI
- Since there are many more options in v3.0 firmware, the Web UI has been updated to accommodate a drawer arrangement for the A/V Setup making it cleaner and easier to understand.
- Dynamic feedback is now included in the WebUI where any setting is correctly reflected in the WebUI even after the unit is rebooted.
- NDI Bandwidth management
- User-selectable NDI bandwidth target bitrate which allows users to increase or decrease the amount of network bandwidth the BirdDog Eyes P200 uses. This is selectable between 80Mbps and 180Mbps.
- Audio Gain adjustment
- User selectable gain for the headset microphone and speaker output which allows support for many more devices for use with BirdDog Comms or for analogue audio output in Decode mode.
- RESTful API support
- Eyes P200 is now controllable from any device that allows RESTful commands, allowing for automation systems to take full control of the BirdDog Eyes P200 and retrieve system status information.
- More information on BirdDog RESTful API is available at https://desk.zoho.com/portal/birddogtv/en/kb/articles/restful-api-1-0-crestron-ibraries
- BirdDog Comms Pro/Comms Lite 1.2 support
- This firmware supports the updated BirdDog Comms Pro and Comms Lite applications which offer significantly higher performance and useability. Comms software is available via a separate download and release notes of changes in this version are included in the download package.
- VISCA over IP improvements
- Included in Firmware 3.0 is an improved VISCA over IP implementation that allows bidirectional feedback for interactive control.
- Improved compatibility with 3rd party applications that employ VISCA over IP protocols including vMix and Wirecast.
- Colour control or Camera Shading capabilities with BirdDog PTZ Keyboard
- This release includes support for advanced colour features and control within the camera to be directly controlled by the BirdDog PTZ Keyboard.
NDI 4.1 Support
The latest NDI version includes many performance improvements in the
networking stack of the NDI protocol. This results in faster discovery of NDI
sources, better handles poor networking performance, and includes new features
including MultiTCP protocol and NDI Discovery Server.
Firmware 3.0 employs new methodologies to better handle poor networking performance on a single receiver. For example, if one receiver on WIFI attempting to recevive an NDI stream could drop frames owing to the receiver holding onto the frame buffer within NDI. BirdDog now serves out individual buffers to each receiver, which means a single poorly performing device will not affect other receivers on the network.
MultiTCP
MultiTCP is a new NDI transport method that allows NDI video to be sent over
poor network topography such as WAN (Wide Area Networks) without experiencing
issues such as packet loss and lost frames. Previously, UDP transport was the
only available option to send NDI video over a WAN. UDP solved some issues of
WAN applications by allowing the NDI video to travel without dropping many
frames but results in dropped packets being missed which could result in
unstable video. UDP also places more performance demands on devices sending
and receiving the signal.
MultiTCP employs a new method of sending TCP packets whereby it opens many TCP
connections over the WAN and uses them in a `round robin’ manner. This allows
each individual TCP connection sufficient time to acknowledge the receiving
packet, confirm nothing is lost and prepare for the next. This is a similar to
the advantages offered by a RAID in traditional storage.
NDI Discovery Server
NDI 4.1 has a new, optional NDI discovery method called NDI Discovery Server.
NDI Discovery server is designed for large environments with many hundreds of
NDI sources. In these cases, the act of searching for NDI sources can easily
overwhelm even a high-powered computer. In addition to this, the regular NDI
discovery method does not pass source information over network subnets or
VLANS.
NDI Discovery Server has two components. The NDI Discovery SERVER software available as part of the NDI SDK from www.ndi.tv, which must be run on a single computer on the network. Once NDI Discovery SERVER software is operational, you can enrol individual devices to the NDI Discovery Server. In BirdDog devices this can be done in the Settings tab. Ensure the NDI Discovery Server option is set to ON and the correct IP Address is listed in the NDI Discovery Server address.
Once this is configured the next time the BirdDog Device is rebooted, or video is restarted the BirdDog unit will switch its discovery protocol to NDI Discovery Server. Note these methods are mutually exclusive you cannot operate in a hybrid of NDI Discovery Server and regular NDI discovery mode on a single network successfully.
NDI Bandwidth management
NDI encoding in BirdDog Eyes P200 firmware v3.0 allows you to select the target bitrate of the NDI stream. As NDI is variable bitrate, this setting is the maximum desired bitrate (in mbps). Encoded streams may not always be at this rate – depending on the contents of the video frame it may result in a lower than desired bandwidth stream.
Audio Gain adjustment
Audio gain is now independently adjustable for both analog (mic) inputs and outputs. This allows for a wider variety of headsets to be used with BirdDog Comms along with giving the ability to adjust the volume of the Analog audio output when in NDI Decode mode.
BirdDog Comms Lite/Comms Pro 1.2 support
In conjunction with the latest release of BirdDog Comms software, the P200
firmware allows you to choose between inserting audio into the main NDI stream
or utilising the audio connectors on the device for BirdDog Comms.
To change the settings between Comms/Main audio, adjust the NDI Audio
Selection setting in the A/V SETUP tab on the Web UI.
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