JVC KY-PZ100 PTZ camera

JVC Professional Video KY-PZ100 PTZ Camera:

MSRP: $3,195.00 USD (Stream Dudes priced at $2,495.00 with $700.00 USD limited-time rebate from JVC)

Key Features:
  • 30x Optical zoom (4.3-129mm, f/1.6 to 4.7)
  • 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor (2.2 MP)
  • Advanced IP streaming w/SMPTE 2022 forward error correction
  • USB host controller for WiFi or 4G LTE adaptors
  • Control via IP, RS-232, or RS-422
  • Onboard recording via MicroSDHC/SDXC
  • Simultaneous 3G-SDI, HDMI and streaming outputs
Impressions:

Let us first be open and honest when we say that we really know this camera. Our COO, John Basile, was one of the product specialists enlisted by JVC to help raise awareness of this PTZ camera. Despite this intimate relationship, this camera was reviewed with an unbiased eye.

Yes, there is much to genuinely like about this camera. Out-of-the-box and with factory default settings, the JVC KY-PZ100 featured nice, evenly saturated colors. Although the colors didn’t leap out of the monitor, the image was clear and represented truer to life hues than most of the competition.

Manually-Adjusted Settings

When it came to manual setting adjustments, the PZ100 offers a LOT in the way of control. In fact, we found the JVC to have the most robust control over colors and features. We found that it only took a few small adjustments to get the colors to look great and best match “what the eye sees.”

Making any adjustments are relatively straightforward. You can either use the IR remote (which is the smallest in this group) to access an on-screen menu or use the browser interface. Believe us when we say: you are going to want to spend the extra few moments setting up the JVC KY-PZ100 PTZ Camera on your network.

“You are going to want to spend the extra few moments setting up the JVC KY-PZ100 PTZ Camera on your network.”

Networking

Speaking of networking, the JVC KY-PZ100 PTZ camera has the most advanced feature set for streaming an IP workflow integration. RTMP, RTSP, MPEG-TS and even Zixi streaming all are available. The biggest absence, feature-wise, is the lack of NDI and native control with vMix. These could be deal-breakers for a many of our clients.

We also found that the amount of adjustments one could make could be intimidating to a novice. Although there are a multitude of professional-grade features packed into this camera, we wish JVC could have made it a bit more, user-friendly. This also was apparent when using the IR remote for any movements.

“Although the direct drive allowed for very smooth action, trying to get the camera to move where we wanted with the IR remote was beyond frustrating.”

Although the direct drive (the only camera here with that feature), allowed for very smooth action, trying to get the camera to move where we wanted with the IR remote was beyond frustrating. Even after adjusting some settings within the camera, the IR control was still in its own world.

TL; DR

The JVC KY-PZ100 produces a great image, packs in professional-grade features, but suffers from a lack of NDI and novice user-friendliness.

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