Q-SYS Core trigger help
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hi there all
I’m working on a show and trying to send commands to a QSC Q-SYS core to trigger the loading of different snapshots.
We have two PTZ cameras connected to the core and they have been programmed with different positions as snapshots and I’m trying to automate the recall.
I’ve been trying several different actors and methods and can’t figure out how to make it work.
Any help is appreciated. 🙏
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Wanted to add some more info in case anyone has any ideas -
The protocol Q-sys uses is called ‘External Control Protocol’ Info here - https://q-syshelp.qsc.com/Content/External_Control_APIs/ECP/ECP_Overview.htm
It uses the IP address using a TCP/IP connection on port 1702 and sends a message. One tricky thing is that it requires a message be sent to keep the connection alive once every 60 seconds or the connection is dropped.
Here’s some video documentation for sending commands to Q-Sys - https://training.qsc.com/mod/book/view.php?id=390
The command I am trying to make work is ‘load snapshot’ and there is more documentation on the command library here - https://q-syshelp.qsc.com/Content/External_Control_APIs/ECP/ECP_Commands.htm
Snapshot Load
Purpose: Load a snapshot. The RAMP_TIME_LOAD argument is a floating point number for the load ramp time in seconds.
Syntax: ssl SNAPSHOT_BANK SNAPSHOT_NUMBER FLOATING_POINT_NUMBER
Example: ssl snapshot1 2 5
Response: none
Tip: The floating point number here specifies the ramp time in seconds for loading a snapshot, which means how quickly or slowly the snapshot settings should be applied. The example ssl snapshot1 2 5 uses 5 as the floating point number, indicating that the snapshot should be loaded with a ramp time of 5 seconds. If you wanted a more gradual change, you could use a larger number, or for a quicker change, a smaller number, including decimals for more precision, like 2.5 seconds.It would be amazing if Isadora had an actor that would allow the snapshots to load you could specify the IP Address and keep alive command frequency etc.
This I’m sure would be a useful thing for others as it is beneficial if it can be made to work with Isadora.
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@puppetisto said:
https://training.qsc.com/mod/b...
Hi there,
This would require some research on our personal time to assist you in this matter. I just want to drop that we just released Isadora 4, which has a PTZ actor that you can use to control camera's over the network.
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@juriaan Unfortunately we are unable to use the new actor as our video inputs are already maxed out. We are hoping to just find a way to trigger the text message from Izzy to the Q-Sys Core so we can manage things that way.
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Hi,
The documentation says that messages have to be terminated with an EOM character. Maybe that's what you're missing. If it's an ASCII message, you can try sending it like this in the TCP Send Data actor: "ssl snapshot1 2 5\n" (keeping the quotes).
Maybe this can help you.Best
Javi
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I don't know your specific setup, but using the Visca actors @Juriaan mentioned, those cameras doesn't nessesarily need to be connected to an input. The network connection does work completly independent.
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@dillthekraut Unfortunately with our setup we are routing multiple cameras through the core and using the video switcher in the core to output the desired video to Isadora (via Qlab / Syphon connection). Recalling the snapshots in the core allows us to both change the camera position and focus but also control what camera feeds are being routed into the output via the single ethernet cable to USB video out setup of the core.
I'll report back here if I find a solution so it can be documented.
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@jandraka Thank you so much! I'll give this a go today and report back. Maybe not having the return has been the culprit.
