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Inquiries

VISCA inquiries read the current state or value of a camera setting.

An inquiry returns one data-bearing completion message. It does not return a separate acknowledgement. See Responses for the general reply and error formats.

Packet Notation​

SymbolMeaning
81Controller-to-camera header used by these PTZOptics examples. It addresses camera 1; VISCA over IP fixes the VISCA destination at 1.
09Identifies the packet as an inquiry.
yReply-address nibble. y is 9 for VISCA over IP and the camera address plus 8 for serial VISCA.
50An inquiry does not allocate a VISCA command socket and does not return a separate ACK. A successful inquiry returns its data directly in a completion reply whose socket-number field is 0: y0 50 ... FF
p, q, r, sHexadecimal value nibbles. Each placeholder represents one hexadecimal digit.
0pOne byte whose high nibble is zero and whose low nibble is the value of p.
FFPacket terminator.

When a reply contains 0p 0q 0r 0s, concatenate the four low nibbles to recover the value pqrs. For example, 90 50 01 02 03 04 FF contains p=1, q=2, r=3, and s=4, so the returned value is 0x1234.

The packets below use concrete 81 inquiry headers and symbolic y0 response headers. For VISCA over IP, replace y0 with 90.

State and Mode Inquiries​

InquiryInquiry packetResponse packetReturned value
CAM_PowerInq81 09 04 00 FFy0 50 02 FFOn
*81 09 04 00 FFy0 50 03 FFOff (standby)
*81 09 04 00 FFy0 50 04 FFInternal power circuit error
CAM_FocusAFModeInq81 09 04 38 FFy0 50 02 FFAuto focus
*81 09 04 38 FFy0 50 03 FFManual focus
CAM_WBModeInq81 09 04 35 FFy0 50 00 FFAuto
*81 09 04 35 FFy0 50 01 FFIndoor
*81 09 04 35 FFy0 50 02 FFOutdoor
*81 09 04 35 FFy0 50 03 FFOne Push
*81 09 04 35 FFy0 50 05 FFManual
*81 09 04 35 FFy0 50 20 FFColor Temperature
CAM_AEModeInq81 09 04 39 FFy0 50 00 FFFull Auto
*81 09 04 39 FFy0 50 03 FFManual
*81 09 04 39 FFy0 50 0A FFShutter Priority
*81 09 04 39 FFy0 50 0B FFIris Priority
*81 09 04 39 FFy0 50 0D FFBright
CAM_ExpCompModeInq81 09 04 3E FFy0 50 02 FFOn
*81 09 04 3E FFy0 50 03 FFOff
CAM_BacklightModeInq81 09 04 33 FFy0 50 02 FFOn
*81 09 04 33 FFy0 50 03 FFOff
CAM_Noise2DModeModeInq81 09 04 50 FFy0 50 02 FFAuto
*81 09 04 50 FFy0 50 03 FFManual
CAM_FlickerModeInq81 09 04 55 FFy0 50 00 FFOff
*81 09 04 55 FFy0 50 01 FF50 Hz
*81 09 04 55 FFy0 50 02 FF60 Hz
CAM_ApertureModeInq (Sharpness)81 09 04 05 FFy0 50 02 FFAuto
*81 09 04 05 FFy0 50 03 FFManual
CAM_MenuModeInq81 09 06 06 FFy0 50 02 FFOn
*81 09 06 06 FFy0 50 03 FFOff
CAM_PictureEffectModeInq81 09 04 63 FFy0 50 02 FFOff
*81 09 04 63 FFy0 50 04 FFBlack and white

Numeric and Position Inquiries​

InquiryInquiry packetResponse packetReturned value
CAM_ZoomPosInq81 09 04 47 FFy0 50 0p 0q 0r 0s FFZoom position pqrs
CAM_FocusPosInq81 09 04 48 FFy0 50 0p 0q 0r 0s FFFocus position pqrs
CAM_RGainInq81 09 04 43 FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFRed gain pq
CAM_BGainInq81 09 04 44 FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFBlue gain pq
CAM_ColorTempInq81 09 04 20 FFy0 50 pq FFColor-temperature position pq
CAM_RTuningInq81 09 04 12 FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFRed tuning pq, from 0x00 through 0x14
CAM_BTuningInq81 09 04 13 FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFBlue tuning pq, from 0x00 through 0x14
CAM_ShutterPosInq81 09 04 4A FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFShutter position pq
CAM_IrisPosInq81 09 04 4B FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFIris position pq
CAM_BrightPositionInq81 09 04 4D FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFBright position pq
CAM_ExpCompPosInq81 09 04 4E FFy0 50 00 00 0p 0q FFExposure-compensation position pq
CAM_Noise2DLevel81 09 04 53 FFy0 50 0p FF2D noise-reduction level p, from 0 through 5
CAM_Noise3DLevel81 09 04 54 FFy0 50 0p FF3D noise-reduction level p, from 0 through 8

Compatibility​

Inquiry support and value ranges can vary by PTZOptics model and firmware version. Confirm availability against the documentation for the target camera.

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