Posted: October 29 2005 at 10:43pm | IP Logged

I am providing a solution for automated classroom recording and would like to be able to switch among 2-3 camera angles. 

In the typical deployment environment, I can get a control signal from an audio DSP such as the BSS SoundWeb.  It sends an RS-232 message to indicate which camera should be selected based on where sound is coming from in the room.  Indeed, there are external video switchers that can receive this input and do the necessary, such as those provided by Extron and Kramer.

But it would be a simpler, less expensive setup if I could programmatically switch the inputs of say an Osprey 100.  I have looked through the AVStream SDK and the control does seem to be there, but before I go out and hire a C programmer to implement my requirement, I thought the forum might be able to help me with a few preliminary queries.

- Is it the crossbar functions that I use to accomplish cuts-only switching between 2-3 composite inputs?

- Does the crossbar switch transition during the vertical interval, so that switching occurs without video signal disruption?

- Are there GPI triggers on any of the Osprey products that do the same thing without custom programming?

- Has someone else already implemented an input switching control that I could use to control the switching from a higher level language (eg- Java or VB)?

- Are the presets for contrast, luminance, and saturation in any way effected by switching (hopefully not)?

Thanks in advance.