Automatic Camera Tracking Can Enhance Video Calls – With Help From The MXA925 and MXA901 

Key Takeaways

• Getting professional-looking results from a camera control system makes it essential that the microphone delivers accurate information about who is talking and where they are.
• Delays and errors in microphone activation or direction don’t just result in poor sound; they cause errors in camera activation or positioning.
• The Shure MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphones provide accurate talker location information for your camera system, even with multiple talkers who move around the room.
• In larger rooms with multiple microphones, up to four array microphones can combine and optimize their talker location data for even better accuracy. 

How Automatic Camera Tracking Works 

Premium meeting room solutions use microphone-based camera control to deliver a more natural meeting experience. These systems receive positional data from the microphone(s) that indicates where the talker is in the room. But it is critical that the location information provided by the microphone is accurate and updated in real time. Shure MXA microphones can actually use two different methods of Camera Tracking to provide the talker’s location to the camera system. 

With XYZ-based Camera Tracking, the microphone sends real-time coordinates for the talker’s position (measured along X, Y, and Z axes relative to the microphone) to the camera. The MXA925 and MXA901 are able to identify up to eight different talkers simultaneously and send eight sets of coordinates. The rate at which coordinates are sent and how sensitive the microphone is to talker movement are adjustable. XYZ-based Camera Tracking can be used on the MXA925 or MXA901 when Automatic Coverage is turned on.

With Gating-based Camera Tracking, the microphone tells the camera which pickup lobe has been activated. Camera angles are programmed to correspond to where each pickup lobe is pointing. Gating Based Camera Tracking is simple and works well when only a few different camera angles are required. Gating Based Camera Tracking can be used when Automatic Coverage Mode is turned off and Steerable Coverage is being used on either the MXA901 or MXA925. MXA320 and MXA710 also support this type of tracking. 

Can Automatic Camera Tracking Work With Multiple Ceiling Array Microphones? 

The MXA925 and MXA901 (with firmware 6.9 and up) also include the Optimize Tracking feature, which allows up to four microphones to share location data to more accurately triangulate talker positions. With Optimize Tracking enabled, one microphone (designated as the “Reporter”) aggregates the positional information from up to three other mics (designated as “Followers”) and sends the result to the camera through a single Command Line connection (instead of four), simplifying configuration. 

How Does the Camera Know Who is Speaking?

The camera system knows who is speaking because the MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphones detect where the talker is in the room and send precise coordinates for that location to the camera in less than a second to ensure fast and reliable activation.

What Happens When Two People Speak at Once?

The MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphones have advanced digital signal processing that is able to identify the location of multiple talkers at the same time and report these to the camera system within 300 milliseconds. The camera system can usually be programmed to show a split-screen view of both talkers or alternate between the talkers.

What If Someone Who Is Not a Meeting Participant Speaks?

The MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphones do not report the positions of talkers who are outside of the defined coverage areas. Someone sitting along the wall to simply observe the meeting will not trigger a camera movement if they speak.

Does the Camera Move When Someone Makes a Brief Noise?

The MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphones use state-of-the-art Voice Activity Detection to ensure that the microphone only responds to voices and not to random noises in the room, like someone typing on a keyboard or opening a bag of chips. This prevents cameras from reacting to non-voice sounds and showing a person who is not actually speaking.

Can The Camera Follow Someone Who Moves Around the Room?

The MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphone’s localization algorithm can track the talker’s movements and send updated position coordinates to the camera.  This allows the camera to adjust its direction to keep the talker in the frame.

Is it Possible to See Just One Person or a Group of People?

The MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphones provide real-time indication of which coverage area each talker is in, which pickup lobe is covering them, and X/Y/Z-axis coordinates for each talker’s location.  These can allow a camera system to show an individual, a group of people, or a section of the room, depending on the camera system’s capabilities.

How the MXA925 and MXA901 Enables Better Camera Tracking

When natural interactivity is important, microphone-based camera control demands fast, accurate talker location data from the microphone system.  Whether you’re outfitting an executive board room or a university lecture hall, the MXA925 and MXA901 ceiling array microphones blend natural, intelligible audio with superior talker location information to enable automated camera tracking that enhances videoconferences. 

Talk to a product specialist about the MXA925 or MXA901 and microphone-based camera control, or learn more about the MXA's Camera Tracking capabilities.