AVKANSNDI PTZ Camera, AI-Base Auto Frame Tracking Camera, 20X Zoom HDMI PTZ with SDI USB POE for Church House of Worship Live Streaming and Recording (NDI License Included)ClimatePartner certified

After integrating the AVKANS 30X NDI PTZ Camera into our church’s live streaming setup, I’ve been thoroughly impressed with its performance. The image quality is crisp, and the 30x optical zoom captures detailed shots even from a distance. The AI auto-tracking feature works seamlessly, keeping the speaker in focus throughout the service.Setup was straightforward, and the camera’s compatibility with NDI, SDI, HDMI, and IP outputs made integration with our existing system effortless. The build quality feels robust, and the camera operates quietly, which is essential during live events.My only minor gripe is the web interface, which could be more intuitive. While functional, navigating through settings isn’t as user-friendly as I’d like. Additionally, the documentation could be more comprehensive for first-time users.Overall, this camera offers exceptional value for its price point. It’s a reliable choice for anyone looking to enhance their live streaming capabilities without breaking the bank.

I was specifically in the market for an NDI compatible PTZ camera that supports POE and didn't break the bank (since this was for a small church). This camera checks off those boxes and it also has HDMI and SDI outputs. When compared to other similarly spec'd PTZ cameras that are NDI capable and have optical zoom... this particular brand is a fantastic value. I was nervous to buy something that wasn't from one of the major PTZ manufacturers but I'm happy I went with this Minrray camera in the end. It looks and performs great!One of the awesome things about an NDI-PTZ-POE camera is that you only need one cable (CAT5 or 6) to power the device, view its stream, and control it's zoom/panning.This was also my first time with an NDI camera so there was a slight learning curve. Like all IP-based devices, it requires some knowledge of networking concepts to configure it. The camera ships with a static IP address (that's listed in the manual). In order to access it for the first time, you'll need to connect the camera directly to your computer's Ethernet port (or to a switch on the same network). You'll then need to temporarily set your computer's IPv4 settings to match the subnet of the camera. (One tip, here... disable WiFi on your computer first so Windows doesn't automatically switch to the network adapter that has an active internet connection... if you're directly connecting the camera to your computer's Ethernet port for configuration). Once you've set the IP settings to match the camera's subnet (as specified in manual), you can enter the camera's static IP address into your browser's address bar. That will take you into the camera's configuration page where you can adjust a number of settings. From there, you can change the static IP address to be on same subnet as all the other devices that on your network (if the camera's default subnet was different than your own network). Then, you can put your computer's IPv4 settings back into auto-mode and reconnect to your normal LAN.One other tip regarding the camera's browser-based settings. When you initially log into the camera's WebUI, you may find that it's in Chinese language by default. If you're hasty like me, you may have missed the language toggle on the login screen that allows you to switch the default to English. Once you're logged in, that language toggle isn't present. You'll need to log out and toggle it to English before logging back in.I tested this camera with vMix and a beta version of ManyCam (that now supports NDI cameras). I was initially having an issue with the NDI connection freezing when the camera's feed was sitting inactive in vMix's scene tray (ie, the camera feed wasn't actively set to either the Preview or Program output). It was occurring after about 30 minutes of inactivity. However, the issue may very well be with something in my home network setup (I use power-line Ethernet adapters to extend my network). Once I setup the camera in it's permanent location (on the wall of a church sanctuary with a dedicated LAN), I didn't experience this problem again. I also installed the "NDI Tools" software package (from NewTek) at one point and perhaps that added an addition driver that helped.With vMix, you're able to control the PTZ movement of this camera directly from within the application (with the appropriate version of vMix). However, I was more comfortable with ManyCam so I used that when setting up the camera for the Church's live stream. (Again, the beta version of ManyCam currently needs to be used in order to use NDI). When using ManyCam, I was still able to use the camera's browser-based preview page to control the PTZ functions and set pre-defined zooms/pan shots.With this less expensive camera, I was also pleasantly surprised by their support. I found a contact page on Minrray's website (minriglory) and "Mike" was quick to respond to my questions (Friday evening [EST] into Saturday!). He even went so far as to reach out to his contact at NewTek to help answer a question. I wasn't expecting such responsiveness from a camera manufacturer in this lower price range.Unlike one of the other reviewers, I didn't experience any problems with any NDI licensing errors. I suspect that might have something to do with software that was being used.(This review is regarding the Minrray 20X-NDI Camera)

This is an excellent PTZ camera. It's better than the Panasonic PTZ camera that I used to have that costs several times more. It's solidly made and the picture quality is excellent.There's only one catch. It isn't easy to set up the software to control the camera settings if you aren't an audio-visual expert or IT networking specialist. The first time I tried to set it up myself I failed miserably. The only way I was able to control the camera was through the remote control. This works, but it has serious limitations if you are not holding the remote control close to the camera.Fortunately, AVKANS has a very good solution to this problem: a tech support department that is remarkably friendly and helpful. I emailed their tech support asking for help setting up their camera control software; I was hoping to get a response within 24 hours. Instead I heard back from them almost immediately.Jenny from their tech support department called me, logged into my computer remotely and showed me how to set up the camera control software. She did it pretty quickly, but, frankly, I still thought it was a little complicated and I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get it to work when I moved my camera to different locations using different computer networks.I expected Jenny to brush me off and tell me that everything was now working and that her job was done. Instead, she spent another hour or so with me answering my many questions and showing me what I needed to do when I confronted various scenarios. It was basically a free tutorial, and it left me confident that I'll be able to use the camera to its full potential going forward without having to call AVKANS tech support again.I'm pretty sure that AVKANS is based in China. I haven't always had the best tech support experiences with Chinese companies, but this (probably fairly small) Chinese company puts the Fortune 500 to shame when it comes to tech support. Thanks, Jenny! And thanks, AVKANS, for making such a good product available to the market at half or even a third of the price of the big brands.