Camera controls in Teams Rooms

Microsoft Teams Rooms gives people manual control over the room camera in addition to the automatic framing features that run on the camera or in the cloud. This article describes the manual control surfaces, which cameras support them, how to manage them, and what to expect when controls aren't available.

Teams Rooms provides two manual camera control surfaces:

• Local pan, tilt, and zoom (PTZ) controls let people in the room adjust the camera from the room console.
• Camera switching lets people in the room change which connected camera is sending video.

These controls work alongside the console's Enhanced framing setting, which is the toggle that turns the room's automatic framing on and off. When Enhanced framing is on, the camera or the cloud reframes the room automatically using one of the available framing modes — IntelliFrame, Active speaker, or Group framing. Manual pan, tilt, and zoom controls are available when Enhanced framing is off. For information about the framing modes themselves, see Cloud IntelliFrame and Multi-Stream IntelliFrame.

Availability across devices

For the complete platform matrix, see Teams Rooms and Devices feature comparison.

Prerequisites

• A Teams Rooms device running a supported version of the Teams Rooms app.
• A camera connected to the Teams Rooms device and selected as the room camera. Not every camera supports local PTZ controls. For details, see Which cameras support local PTZ controls.

Local pan, tilt, and zoom controls

Local PTZ controls appear in Camera settings on the room console. People in the room use a directional pad to pan and tilt the camera, zoom controls to adjust the field of view, and Reset to undo their adjustments.

Local PTZ controls are designed for rooms where the default camera position doesn't suit the way the space is being used — for example, a camera aimed at a table when the discussion has moved to a whiteboard.

Which cameras support local PTZ controls

Local PTZ controls appear only when Teams Rooms can confirm that the camera isn't independently framing the room. This requirement exists because a camera that is automatically reframing while someone is manually panning produces unpredictable results — the camera moves, then corrects itself.

Teams Rooms confirms this in one of two ways. A camera qualifies if either condition is true:

• The camera is a Cloud IntelliFrame supported camera. These cameras have no built-in framing intelligence of their own, so Teams Rooms knows nothing else is moving the image. For the current list, see Cameras enabled by default.
• The camera reports its framing state to Teams Rooms. Cameras that implement framing reporting let Teams Rooms confirm that the camera's own framing is switched off before offering manual controls.

Whether the camera moves a physical lens or crops the image digitally doesn't affect eligibility. Both kinds of camera show local PTZ controls when they meet one of the preceding conditions.

A camera that meets neither condition doesn't show local PTZ controls, even if it has a motorized lens. Cameras with built-in framing that doesn't report its state fall into this category.

The following diagram shows the full sequence of checks.

Use local PTZ controls

1. On the room console, select the chevron next to the camera icon to open Camera settings. Selecting the camera icon itself turns the room camera on or off instead of opening the dialog.
2. If Enhanced framing is on, turn it off. The Pan, tilt, and zoom controls appear when it's off.
3. Use the directional pad to pan and tilt the camera, and the zoom controls to adjust the field of view.
4. Select Reset to undo your adjustments.

To close Camera settings, select anywhere outside the dialog. The dialog also closes on its own after a short period of inactivity. Camera adjustments persist for the remainder of the meeting.

Manage local PTZ controls

Local PTZ controls are on by default. Administrators can turn them off for a room using an XML configuration file.

1. Create an XML configuration file by following the steps in Manage settings with an XML file.

2. Add the following element to the SkypeSettings.xml file.

   <LocalPtzControlsEnabled>false</LocalPtzControlsEnabled>
   

3. Restart the console for the configuration change to take effect.

When local PTZ controls aren't shown

Switch between in-room cameras

When more than one camera is connected, people in the room can change which camera sends video by selecting a different camera under Source in Camera settings. Camera selection persists for the remainder of the meeting.

To send video from multiple cameras at the same time rather than switching between them, see Multiple camera view.

Expected behavior and known limitations

• Manual controls and automatic framing are mutually exclusive. Local PTZ controls are hidden while Enhanced framing is on. This is by design — allowing both at once produces a camera that corrects away from the position a person just set.
• Certification doesn't determine camera control support. A camera being certified for Teams Rooms doesn't by itself mean it supports local PTZ controls. Support is determined by the conditions described in Which cameras support local PTZ controls.
• Multiple camera view takes precedence. Local PTZ controls aren't offered while multiple camera view is active.

Related articles

• Multiple camera view
• Content cameras
• Cloud IntelliFrame
• Multi-Stream IntelliFrame
• Manage settings with an XML file
• Teams Rooms and Devices feature comparison