Digital Bird DB3_VISCA Pan Tilt head with support for OBS & vMix

The Digital Bird DB3 VISCA Pan Tilt head Probably the most feature rich DIY PTZ head you will find anywhere on the internet capable of performing tasks you would expect from heads costing upwards of $2000. This head can perform all the WIFI functions available on the previous Digital Bird heads but brings host of new high end features including connectivity with OBS and vMix over an IP network.

The parts allow for two variants of this head.

• WIFI and VISCA with POE
• WIFI only

 NEW FEATURES:

• 4 Axis support for Pan, Tilt, Zoom & Focus 
• VISCA support for wired connection to applications like OBS and vMix 
• WIFI Control for up to 4 Camera systems with 9 presets / camera
• 12V & 7.5V POE power through VISCA IP port
•  Tally lights front and rear allowing your talent to see which camera is live and coming next. 
• HDMI & SDI passthrough for proper PTZ cable management. 
• Faster pan & tilt.
• Encoders on all axis for manual positioning of the head in program mode. 
• Magnetic sensors on both the pan and tilt axis for accurate start points and homing. 
• 16 position memory for OBS unlimited for vMix 
• Aux power port to supply 7.5V or 12V of power to your camera (when using POE power). 
• Updated user interface to provide more tailored operation 
• The ability to mix WIFI and wired IP control simultaneously using the DB PTZ WIFI controller. 
• Supports up to 4KG payloads

Links:

Full printable Instructions can be found here: https://www.instructables.com/PTZ-PAN-TILT-HEAD-DB3-DB3-VISCA/

Non Plastics parts kits: https://digital-bird-motion-control.myshopify.com/

Credits: This project makes particular use of two main open source arduino libraries for which I am very grateful

• gin66/FastAccelStepper A great resource for controlling multiple stepper motors with acceleration control on all steppers 
• Seithan/EasyNextion Library An easy to use method of setting up and actioning commands from the Nextion displays.

April 2025

• The option of Pro or standarv versions has been removed there is now only the Pro version. Having used the Pro version now for many months, having the extra space arround the camera has been benificial regardless of the camera size. I am now recommending only the Pro version off the head. This does not effect the cost of building the system and only requires a little more plastic!
• The kits and parts also now include for an external USB port for updating the software withought having to remove the back of the head.
• The complicated wiring harness between the different small boards in the base have been simplified and attached to a new PCB board which makes building the base easier. Plastic parts 08,09,14,15 have been modified to accommodate the new layout. These modifications are not yet shown on the video build files which still need to be updated. Any new parts kits supplied after 12th April 2025 will be supplied with the new board layout.
• The main board now allows for half press focus when in PTZ mode. This is activated using the button on top off the main joystick.

There have also been some modifications to the main CPU board to allow for half press focus on the main joystick button.

13th Aug 2024

Parts 001, 002,007 have been updated to allow for better pan motor fixing through new slots in the base of 001 The kits now also have three additional M3 25mm cap head bolts for this purpose.

Update: 24th May 2024

Part 012_100 the Tilt wheel has been replaced with part 012_100_Haoge_CP-58. I am now supplying the kits with the Haoge_CP-58 Swiss clamp and have updated the tilt wheel to accommodate this. The new clamp is less obtrusive on the focus/zoom motors and the new part provides a much stronger support. This has been updated because of the growing number of people wishing to mount heavier camera systems.

New Pro version

Parts have been added allowing you to build the Pro version of the head. The pro model is for those who wish to mount larger Camera systems to the head and primarily need more height to the Tilt axis.These parts add another 40mm to the height of the Tilt allowing for larger cameras to be balanced. Only 3 parts need to be swapped out to build the pro model 003_40 should be replaced with 003_40_Pro, 004_30 should be replaced with 004_30_Pro, and 005_90_Orange should be replaced with 005_90_Orange_Pro. 

Please not you will also require a larger 440mm closed loop tilt Timing belt. Other than these changes the build for the pro version is the same as the standard model and all other features are the same. In order to obtain more space on the ‘L’ bracket I am know supplying kits with Haoge HQR swiss plates which bolt together to form the L bracket. 

Updates: 1st Nov 2023

D-Tap Power

The way the D-Tap power operates has been changed. The D-Taps are primarily there to allow for larger more power hungry camera systems however the 12v supply from the POE splitter can only deliver 30W max which is enough to power the head but in most cases not the head and the camera together. If you wish to power the head and the camera system from the same power source. The best way to do this for larger cameras is power the system from a larger V-mount batteries or a 12-18v external power supply delivered through the D-Tap on the base. On the original system the D-Tap power was not used to power the head only supply power to the upper D-Tap port. Under the new system the lower D-Tap port can also power the complete head including supplying whatever voltage you require to the camera. 

This has a number of advantages:

1. You can know power the complete head and your camera system from a V-mount battery with a much longer battery life.
2. If you are building the WIFI only variant without the VISCA electronics having the assurance that you have adequate battery life is often very important on location. Being able to power the camera and head from a V-mount is a great option to have.
3. There is less chance of confusion about what power is coming from the D-Tap port. 12-18V in at the base the same coming out at the D-Tap at the top.
4. An additional buck converter in the upper head running from the D-Tap power supply allows the upper head to also be powered from the lower D-Tap port. This needs to be tuned to deliver 7.5-8v to the head main board and the DC barrel port.

Note: The head can still be powered completely using POE including supplying 7.5v power to the camera system through the Barrell Aux port this has not changed but the limitation with POE is the Max 30W draw.

The parts now allow for two variants of this head.

• WIFI and VISCA with POE
• WIFI only no VISCA electronics in the base but maintaining the video passthroughs and D-tap power supply options

General

Some of the parts have been updated to accommodate the above changes. Another change has been an improved tilt belt tensioner pulley mechanism. The two small bearings have been replaced by a small idler pulley and the supporting plastics have been strengthened.

Release 6 of the digital bird firmware .

• Release 6 is now available from GitHub and effects all parts of the digital Bird Software. key new features include the following.
• WIFI PTZ control for an additional camera system. You can know control 4 camera systems from the Digital Bird WIFI controller. Remember a camera system may include a slider or a JIB combined with a PTZ head.
• An additional 3 preset positions for each camera system you now have 9 presets per camera system.
• You can know utilise the two main program modes A-B and Sequencer as presets which can be accessed either from the Digital Bird WIFI controller or by calling preset 15 and 16 from OBS or vMix through VISCA. In order to use this new functionality you must first setup your programmed moves using the WIFI controller as you normally would. That done you simply call preset 15 or 16 either using the new buttons on the WIFI controller or through VISCA. You can also set these up in bounce mode to run in a loop.
• We now have an additional feature in the PTZ menu [ALL TO] This allows you to send all 4 cameras to a specific preset at the press of a button.  Very handy when you want all the cameras to place there attention on a specific actor.
• The settings menu now gives you the ability to set the length of pause you desire both at the start and end of bounce moves and before the system returns to home at the end of programmed moves. The default is 1" but you can know configure this from 1-10"
• Various small bugs and fixes have been addressed however there always seems to be more work to do. As always let me no if you experience problems.

Video Introduction

Build Videos

So why build this system, and not just go out and purchase a cheap $800 PTZ head?

1) Camera quality.

• A cheap PTZ head will probably come with a cheap camera which can only be used for one purpose. With the Digital Bird system I can mount a vastly superior camera system with any glass I choose.

2) Flexibility:  

• The next day I can use the same camera system for a completely different task.  Nothing is restricting my choices and I am investing in systems which can multitask. 
• The Digital Bird system is just as much at home making product videos as it is filming on a live set or outside shooting timelapse. The same cannot be said for most stock PTZ cameras.

3) Expandability:

• The ability to build the Digital Bird head into larger more dynamic motion control systems using the mini Jib or slider and have them all work together as a much larger system offers so much more flexibility and is a feature many systems costing more than $3000 cannot match.