Using a USB Joystick with DW Spectrum

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Affected Roles: Owner, Administrator

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum IPVMS

Last Edit: October 4, 2024

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Joystick Control

A joystick is a peripheral device that provides programmable hotkeys and accurate analog control over the pan, tilt, and zoom functions of compatible PTZ cameras in DW Spectrum. While users are provided a virtual interface for PTZ control when using the desktop client, some may prefer to use a control board instead of a mouse.

This article will outline how to initially install and use a USB joystick in DW Spectrum.

**NOTE: For more information on PTZ camera control, refer to DW Spectrum – PTZ Auto Focus and Camera Control.

Officially Supported Joysticks

Axis T8311
Hanwha Techwin SPC-2000

Setup Guide

Installing the Joystick Hardware

After unboxing and making any necessary assembly to the joystick:

Connect the USB cable to a USB port on the computer.
Follow the onscreen instructions to install the necessary drivers.

**NOTE: The joystick will appear as a game controller/device in Windows.

Start the supporting application software (e.g. DW Spectrum IPVMS), which will detect the device.

Using the Joystick

After opening the DW Spectrum Desktop Client, you can call a PTZ camera to view and click on the PTZ icon with your mouse.

You can use the joystick to pan, tilt, and zoom the camera:

Stick movement – controls PTZ
Stick rotation – controls zoom in/out.

**NOTE: When controlling a PTZ IP camera via analog joystick controls, expect latency from physical movement of the joystick to the resulting PTZ action of the camera. PTZ actions are only applied to items that are selected on the scene in the Desktop Client.

Advanced Configuration

Supported joysticks can access additional configuration settings in the Desktop Client (Main Menu > Joystick Settings).

Joystick Settings contains two tabs:

Basic Actions
With Modifier.

Basic Actions

You can adjust PTZ sensitivity and configure joystick buttons in this tab. To adjust the sensitivity of PTZ controls, move the slider to the left to reduce sensitivity and move the slider to the right to increase sensitivity.

**NOTE: If the joystick has only two axes (X-axis & Y-axis), Zoom sensitivity control will not be shown.

Each joystick button has a drop-down menu associated with it where you can assign one of the following actions to the button:

Focus Near
Focus Far
Autofocus
Go to PTZ position (requires you to select the hotkey/PTZ position)
Open Layout (requires you to select a specific layout)
Set to Fullscreen
Next Camera on Layout
Previous Camera on Layout
Modifier (requires additional configuration in the With Modifier tab)

**NOTE: All changes must be saved by clicking “Apply” or “OK” before exiting the settings dialog.

With Modifier

The “With Modifier” tab is disabled unless at least one of the joystick buttons is set as a modifier in the “Basic Actions” tab.

You can select a secondary action for each joystick button in this tab. The secondary action will activate while the modifier button is held down.

For example, if you set Button 11 as a modifier and open the “With Modifier” tab, you can configure Button 1 to open a layout any time Button 11 is held down. Button 1 will still retain its standard action of going to a PTZ position when Button 11 is not held down.

**NOTE: All changes must be saved by clicking “Apply” or “OK” before exiting the settings dialog.

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