Camera Controller Software

Resources

Camera control home page

Once the camera control application is opened, a control window with a camera preview will launch. The camera controller software has a page for video and a settings page. Preset controls are available on both pages. Available selections from Settings page will only show if available for the connected device. If unavailable the feature will be grayed out.

Note: Not all functions and settings are cross compatible with Vidi camera and all Parlé conference bar models.

• Video Page 

  • Autoframe: on/off - red indicates ON. The Zoom controls are not available when Autoframe is on. 
  • Zoom: Adjust the Zoom and pan/tilt using the slider bar and direction buttons. Autoframe must be off for the Zoom controls to be enabled.
  • Presets: Set the pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ) preferences and use the "Save as Preset" button to save up to 3 different presets. Saves a thumbnail image of stored preset for easy reference.   Note: Settings saved to a preset will automatically overwrite any previous setting information without a warning. 

                                                                  

• Settings page  (updated in version 1.8.0 and later) 
  • General
    • UC Profile selection: (Generic UC, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Zoom, Custom) 
  • Audio 
    • Audio input source: USB, Auxiliary, USB + Auxiliary (VBC 2800 only)
    • ALS Output Source: Disabled, Far End Only, Near End Only, or Far and Near End Mix
    • Microphone on/off:  (Vidi 250/Vidi 280 only)
  • Video
    • Backlight compensation: On/Off - red indicates ON.
    • Refresh rate: 50Hz/60Hz
    • Image flip: for under-display mounting: (Vidi 250/Vidi 280 only) 
      • Note: Vidi 280 cameras have a sensor that will detect if the camera is mounted upside down and will automatically flip the image without using the "Flip" feature. 
    • Image mirror: on/off - red indicates ON.
    • Max Zoom setting: (varies by device type)  
    • Lens Choice: Vidi 280 and VBC 2800 allow selection of "Automatic" or specifically choose the 8M or 50M lens.
  • Advanced Video
    • (Brightness, Contrast, Hue, Saturation, Sharpness, Gamma, and White Balance). Changing any of those settings will result in "Custom" showing in the UC Profile window. They will be persistent until the UC profile is changed.  
    • Default Video Settings reset
  • Network/ Network Control: (VBC 2800 only) 
    • SSH Enabled/Disabled - Enabled by default, enables or disables SSH services. If the service is disabled while a control user is logged in their session should be ended. 
    • Telnet Enabled/Disabled - Disabled by default, enables or disables Telnet services. If the service is disabled while a control user is logged in their session should be ended. 
    • Enabling either SSH or Telnet will enable the control user.
    • Disabling both SSH and Telnet will disable the control user.
  • Connection 
    • USB connection speed and type of the managed device.
  • Device & Firmware
    • Current FW version
    • Firmware upgrade (Unavailable when UC profile is set to Teams)
    • Windows Firmware Updates (added in v1.5.1, Unavailable when UC profile is set to Teams)

 

                                

 

 

Note: For setups where the max bar SPL capabilities are required, it is recommended to set the application for "Generic" in the UC profile. Other profiles have taken into account specific UC platform certification criteria that in some cases may change the max SPL or microphone array settings of the ABC 2500 and VBC 2500a/2800. 

When the UC profile is set to Teams, the options for upgrade firmware and Automatic firmware updates will be grayed out. These are done within the Teams platform when this profile is selected.

 

 

Presets

Up to 3 camera presets are available to store via the controller software. To allow for preset store and recall to be available, the autoframe mode must be set to the off position. When autoframe is enabled, you will see that the preset buttons, and save as preset selections are grayed out and disabled. Autoframe mode also disables the zoom and pan controls in controller software while leaving the flip option available. 

Biamp Camera Controller Version 1.8.0 introduces a new feature that allows users to store image thumbnails of preset views for easy reference.

To store a preset, use the zoom and pan controls to position the camera view to the desired location. Then by selecting the "save as preset" option you will be given the choice on a pop-up window to update the preset. Select the desired preset store location and the select Save. Repeat the process to save up to 3 custom camera views. An image thumbnail will be stored for each of the saved presets.

                                           

            

To recall the saved presets, select from the left side preset locations to instantly recall your saved camera view. Presets can also include camera flip orientation for setups that sometimes require the camera to be inverted, to allow for easy recall of views based on camera positioning. 

 

UC Profile

Selecting Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom will configure the audio and video settings consistent with that platform. Users may notice differences in audio/video performance depending on the profile setting selected. Each profile is customized to comply with the requirements of that platform. 

Note: Audio UC profiles for the Parlé ABC 2500/2500a and Parlé VBC 2500/2500a were incorporated with BCC App v1.4.0 and Parlé bar firmware v1.1.0. VBC 2800 and Vidi 280 will support the same profiles going forward. 

 

 

Firmware updates

In addition to real time camera control functionality, the control software is also used for firmware updates. This uses athe .pfa firmware update for VBC 2800/2500a and ABC 2500 hardware. All Vidi camera products firmware update use a .bin file extension. 

Version 1.5.0 adds the feature to enable Windows firmware updates via the Biamp camera controller application. When selected, the manual firmware upgrade process and corresponding button will be grayed out and unavailable until toggling the "Windows Firmware Updates" slider. 

When the UC profile is set to Teams, the options for upgrade firmware and Automatic firmware updates will be grayed out. These are done within the Teams platform when this profile is selected.

 

Note: Although the ABC 2500 is not a camera-based device, it also uses the camera control application for updating firmware.

Parlé conferencing bar and Vidi camera firmware files are available to download from Biamp.com as well as this link on Cornerstone. Once downloaded to the local machine, select upgrade firmware from the settings page. A pop-up will show the current device firmware and allow you to navigate to the download location. 

     

 

Once a .pfa file has been added, select Start Upgrade to begin the process.

Parlé conferencing bars use the .pfa file extension. 

     

 

During the upgrade process, the firmware will be uploaded and installed, followed by a restart. The status bar will indicate the level of progress. 

 

 

An Update complete window in the  Biamp Camera Controller application indicates the process has finished successfully.

    

 

• Parlé Software and Firmware updates

 

Windows Firmware Updates

Biamp Camera Controller allows for Windows Firmware Updates to automatically be updated by Microsoft updates. This is enabled in the application when the Teams UC profile is selected or the Windows Firmware Updates slider is in the on position. 

 

 

 

During the Windows Firmware Update process, the conference bar may go through a few reboots while the firmware is being applied. Windows notification will advise that the bar firmware update is in progress. In the USB Tree Viewer application, the Biamp VBC/ABC will show in a "Bootloader" state while  the update is underway. 

 

Windows notifications will advise when the process is complete. 

 

 

UVC Control

 

The VBC 2800/2500 and Vidi 280/250 both support the UVC protocol standard. This protocol is used by many UC systems for 3rd party camera control via USB connection. If a UC client supports UVC control, it can be used with our camera products. 

• Zoom Rooms support and utilize this today.
• Teams Rooms have this feature road-mapped.

 

 

 

 

 

Further reading

• Conferencing Cameras
• Parlé Conferencing Bars
• Parlé VBC 2800 overview
• Parlé VBC 2500 overview
• Vidi 280 overview
• Vidi 250 overview
• Vidi 250 application diagrams
• Camera Controller Software Help
• UsbTreeView_x64.zip