The new BZB Gear BG-VPTZN-HSU3 PTZ Camera offers 1080P60 resolution with HDMI, SDI and USB 3.0 connectivity, plus NDI network capability all for a price tag starting at $1,299, making it one of the cheapest NDI PTZ cameras on the market.
Does your church have a fellowship hall, classrooms, a life center, a gymnasium, a conference room, or other gathering spaces outside of your worship center? If so, I would guess that one or more of these areas could use some additional AVL technology -- namely cameras to record or stream. If you are a normal church media tech, you’ve probably utilized older gear or rigged a system that’ll do the job, somewhat. As we enter a phase of life where there is an expectation for everything to have a virtual option, it may be time to evaluate these venues.
BZB Gear has announced an updated version of one of their PTZ cameras that will be a perfect candidate for these spaces. This new PTZ camera, the BG-VPTZN-HSU3 will be a great camera “for everything else.” Now, don’t get me wrong, it could certainly be a camera you can use in your primary gathering space to use for video coverage, but I think it really shines as a camera that’s used in other spaces around the church building. Why? The new NDI version allows for access and control from anywhere on your network, not just your main worship center.
It also offers built-in streaming options, flexible mounting positions, and a mic input for audio embedding.
The BG-VPTZN-HSU3 is a standard HD PTZ camera, offering a mid-line feature set. At the high end, it offers a 1080P60 resolution through its 3G-SDI, HDMI, IP, and USB 3.0 outputs. It also offers built-in streaming options, flexible mounting positions, and a mic input for audio embedding. This camera has been available for purchase for a little while now, but the new announcement adds a highly desirable feature, NDI connectivity. All of this for a price tag starting at $1,299, making it one of the cheapest NDI PTZ cameras on the market.
As I mentioned, I can envision this camera serving churches well in secondary venues where content needs to be recorded or streamed without having to add extensive and costly video systems. You can place one or more of these cameras in those rooms, connect it to the network and utilize the camera remotely. With built-in streaming options, you can easily stream to Facebook or YouTube. Additionally, the NDI feature makes it feasible to connect to the camera to existing video systems in other parts of a building without the need for complicated cable runs.
If you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford multiple cameras to place in various rooms, you could also utilize a single camera on a tripod equipped with a wireless microphone and move it to any room where network connectivity is available. It also affords you the ability to control the camera from anywhere, if you have local network access using the BZB PTZ web interface. This interface will allow you to adjust the camera’s movement, internal settings and create a variety of presets to simplify the usage.
This camera could also make a great webcam for conference room meetings where attendees might both be virtual and in-person. Instead of the webcam being set to a static, wide shot of the conference room, this camera would allow you to move about the room and focus on the action during meetings. This small change could really help those joining virtually to stay engaged in the meeting. The USB 3.0 connection makes it easy to integrate into popular video conferencing platforms.
Sometimes, simple and affordable equipment can be the best solution to a vast array of challenges. This little camera will be a great problem solver and the NDI support really takes it to a whole new level.
