Feedback is a word that makes most audio people have a visceral response in their lower spine, so I wanted to give all you audiophiles a heads up because feedback will come up a lot in this review. Mainly because the PTZOptics SuperJoy PTZ controller seems to be built to maximize feedback to the user. In this particular case, I am talking about the good type of feedback, either visual or tactile response, to confirm that you have issued a command from the controller. On many controllers, this feedback is a click or a color change or both, and my guess is we have all used some input device that has terrible feedback and leaves you wondering if you hit the button or not. This isn’t the case with the SuperJoy controller; if you think you pushed a button on this controller, rest assured, you did.
Personal feedback
This controller is stout. It’s heavy and feels like either a strong composite or metal chassis. The buttons have a tremendous rubberized texture, but unlike many rubberized buttons, these have a great tactile feel and they don’t have enough play in them to give you false positive feedback. Many rubber buttons on similar control surfaces are guilty of this, either having too much room in the chassis or having a gap that compresses and makes you think you pushed the button—when in actuality, you didn’t push it far enough to engage the command. The buttons are also backlit green and only light up when employing those controls. For instance, when setting presets when you hit SET, all of the numerical buttons light up. Once you assign the preset, they shut off. I think this level of visual feedback is fantastic. Visually it forces you to look at the portion of the controller lighting up, which is where your attention should be. It looks sharp, too. I think this is the best-looking PTZ controller I have ever used. I know that doesn’t count for much, but in my book, aesthetics matter.
It handles complicated moves with ease, and a pan, tilt, and zoom can be achieved with one hand on the joystick of this controller.
The focus and zoom dials are spring-loaded and variable, which is just a brilliant design move. I don’t think I have seen that in other controllers, but the spring-loaded dials give the dials a great feel. The resistance makes using the dials intuitive, and ups the tactile feedback the control provides to the user. They also help smooth out the zoom and focus moves, which tend to look robotic on many PTZs.
The controller works with many different protocols such as NDI, VISCA, VISCA-over-IP, Pelco-P, and Pelco-D protocols over IP and serial RS-232, and RS-422. The SuperJoy Controller can control many different brands of cameras, as well, including HuddleCamHD, Sony, PTZOptics, BirdDog, and NewTek, or combinations thereof. While the brand list is impressive, the controller can control up to 28 cameras (four groups of seven), and you can import and export configurations using IP or via the USB port.
A super joy to use
To test this controller, I was loaned a PTZOptics 12x 3G-SDI Gen 2. I include that information because I ran into some things that may be a function of the camera or may be a part of the controller in my testing. For example, there is a slight ramp in the moves I tested; the actions start a little slow and ramp up to speed. This results in a smoother start to actions, but I don’t know if I should attribute that to the controller or the camera.
The controller can control up to 28 cameras(four groups of seven), and you can import and export configurations using IP or via the USB port.
Some controllers have problems handling multi-dimensional moves; for example, trying to pan, zoom, and tilt at the same time is not possible with some PTZ controllers. Sometimes it’s because you don’t have enough hands to cover all the controls, and sometimes some of those moves take priority. For example, if you are panning and start zooming, your pan motion stops. This is not the case with the SuperJoy. It handles complicated moves with ease, and a pan, tilt, and zoom can be achieved with one hand on the joystick of this controller. The high middle of the controller is dominated by a large screen which status and also feedback. When you are pressing a button, the lower left of the screen tells you what button you are pressing, and the visual confirmation is appreciated.
To sum up, using the SuperJoy PTZ controller was … again, a super joy. With a street price of $899, there is a lot of bang for the buck on this controller, especially if you have PTZs from multiple manufacturers. I liked the feel and the aesthetics, and the constant feedback from the controller makes using it fun. I think it is fantastic for volunteers, as well, because in my experience, when they are having fun, they perform at their best. So if you are looking for a PTZ controller that sets your volunteers up to succeed, I strongly recommend the PTZOptics SuperJoy PTZ controller.
Mark Hanna is a video professional and a regular contributor to Church Production Magazine. ■
