PTZ Presets is a professional iPad and iPhone app that maps person names to PTZ camera preset numbers on a visual, interactive seating layout. Color-coded daily status, drag-and-drop seat assignments, and export-ready configurations — built for the people who run cameras live.
In live production environments — broadcast studios, conference rooms, houses of worship — PTZ cameras are assigned preset numbers that correspond to specific seats or positions. But keeping track of who is sitting where, and whether your preset for them is current, is a constant challenge.
PTZ Presets solves this by giving you a visual map of your auditorium or venue. Every seat can be assigned a person and a camera preset number. When you verify a preset, you mark it green. At the start of each new day, all statuses reset to orange automatically — so you always know what’s been checked today and what still needs attention.
Everything runs on your iPhone or iPad, offline, with no accounts or cloud required. Export
full configurations as .ptzsetup
files for backup or sharing with team members.
PTZ Presets is purpose-built for AV technicians who need precision and speed during live events.
See your entire venue at a glance. Each section and row is laid out visually so you can orient yourself exactly as you would standing in the room. Configurable to match your specific floor plan with rows, sections, and auxiliary zones.
Tap any seat to assign a person from your roster. The seat tile displays the person’s name and their preset number side by side. Add as many people as your venue has seats. Manage your full roster from the List view.
Every morning, all preset statuses automatically reset from green back to orange. You start each event with a clean slate — no manual clearing needed. This ensures you never accidentally rely on a yesterday’s confirmation.
Long-press any occupied seat to enter Move Mode. A purple banner appears and you can tap any other seat to move or swap that person’s position. Perfect for days when regular attendees sit in different spots.
Export your full setup as a .ptzsetup
JSON file for backup or sharing with your team. Export your people roster as a
.csv for use in
other systems. Import a .ptzsetup
file to restore a full configuration instantly.
Switch to the List tab to see everyone in your roster sorted by name, split between seated attendees and people in the waiting room (not yet assigned a seat). Each row shows the person’s preset number and today’s confirmation status at a glance.
Use the Layout Config settings to define the number of rows, columns, and sections in your auditorium. Name each section (e.g., “Main Floor,” “Balcony,” “Choir Loft”) and add auxiliary areas like a stage or overflow room.
No account required. No internet connection needed. All data lives on your device. PTZ Presets never connects to external servers, never uploads your roster, and contains no advertising or analytics SDKs. What’s in the app stays in the app.
People in your roster who haven’t been assigned a seat yet appear in the Waiting Room — a chip panel at the bottom of the Map view. Drag or tap to place them when they arrive. Their preset number stays with them regardless of seat.
Any environment with PTZ cameras pointed at named individuals benefits from a visual, trackable preset map.
Venues with regular attendees in fixed seats are a natural fit. Map each person to their seat and preset number, then verify framing before the event starts.
Panel shows, live Q&A sessions, talk shows, and game shows with a studio audience all require tight camera control. Use PTZ Presets to manage your panelists or audience seating layout, verify tight head shots before going live, and quickly hand off the configuration to the next shift’s camera operator.
Multi-day conferences, symposiums, and corporate town halls with assigned speaker seating
or reserved press rows benefit from a persistent seating map. Import a fresh
.ptzsetup for each day’s
configuration, verify speakers before sessions start, and archive configurations at day’s end.
Recording classrooms, lecture halls, and hybrid learning environments with PTZ cameras are increasingly common. For AV teams managing lecture capture, PTZ Presets gives a clear view of which professor or student panels are assigned to which camera position — useful for hybrid lectures with assigned seating zones.
Common scenarios explained from start to finish.
Follow these steps when you first open the app to configure your venue layout and get your roster entered before your first live event.
Navigate to the Settings tab and tap “Layout Config.” Here you define how many sections your auditorium has, and for each section how many rows and columns of seats. Name each section (e.g., “Left Wing,” “Center,” “Right Wing”). Add auxiliary zones if needed (stage, overflow room, balcony). Tap Save when done.
Go to the List tab and tap the “+” button to add your first person. Enter their name and the PTZ camera preset number assigned to their usual seat. Repeat for everyone you regularly track with your camera system. They’ll appear in the Waiting Room until assigned a seat.
Switch to the Map tab. You’ll see your auditorium layout with all seats empty (blue). The Waiting Room chip panel at the bottom shows everyone you added. Tap an empty seat, then select the person to assign them. The seat tile will update to show their name and preset number, now in orange (not yet verified today).
Tap an occupied seat to open the Person Detail sheet. Tap “Mark Preset Updated” to turn that seat green. This records today’s date as the last verification time. Walk through your auditorium and mark each preset green as you verify the camera framing.
Go to Settings → Data and tap “Export Configuration.” Save the
.ptzsetup file to
Files, iCloud, or share via AirDrop to a teammate. This is your full setup — layout
config, all people, and seat assignments.
The bread-and-butter workflow for any regular event team. Takes about 5–15 minutes depending on venue size.
Because it’s a new day, all occupied seats show orange automatically. This is your checklist for the morning — orange means unverified, green means done.
If a regular attendee is sitting somewhere different today, long-press their current seat to enter Move Mode, then tap the seat they moved to. Their assignment follows them. Their preset number is still theirs — update it in their profile if the new seat requires a different preset.
Go to your PTZ controller, call up Preset 1, verify the framing. On the app, tap that person’s seat and mark it green. Move to Preset 2. Repeat until all seats are green. Any seat still orange at service time is a flag for your camera operator.
The List tab sorts everyone alphabetically. If a director calls out “get a shot of Maria,” quickly search the list, see her preset number, and dial it up on your controller.
If someone moved permanently, finalize their seat assignment and update their preset
number if needed. Export a fresh
.ptzsetup to keep
your backup current.
When a new regular attendee starts sitting in a tracked seat, or when you add a new camera preset position.
Open the List tab and tap the plus icon in the top-right corner. The “Add Person” sheet slides up.
Type the person’s name and the PTZ preset number on your camera controller that is (or will be) configured to frame their seat. Tap Save. They’re added to the Waiting Room.
Switch to the Map tab. Find their intended seat (blue = empty). Tap it, then select their name from the assign sheet. Their seat tile now shows their name and preset number in orange until you verify it.
Go to your PTZ camera controller, physically frame the shot for that person’s seat, and save the preset to the number you entered. Come back to the app, tap their seat, and mark it green to confirm.
Always export a new .ptzsetup
after adding roster changes so your backup reflects the current state.
PTZ Presets supports two export formats: a full configuration file and a CSV roster export.
.ptzsetup
— Full configuration export
This is a JSON file containing your complete setup: layout configuration (sections, rows, columns), your full person roster with preset numbers, and all seat assignments. Use this for:
.csv
— People/roster export
Exports only the people in your roster (names and preset numbers) as a CSV file. Use this for:
Go to the Settings tab → Data.
Tap “Export Configuration” for the .ptzsetup
file, or “Export Roster CSV” for the CSV. Your device’s standard share sheet
will appear — save to Files, send via AirDrop, email, or any other app on your device.
To restore or load a different configuration, go to Settings → Data →
“Import Configuration.” Select a .ptzsetup
file from your Files app. The import will replace your current layout and roster with the
contents of the file. Tip: export your current config first as a backup before importing.
People sit in different spots. Here’s how to handle both temporary and permanent moves.
On the Map tab, long-press the person’s original seat. A purple “Move Mode” banner appears at the top of the screen.
Tap the seat they’re now sitting in. If it’s empty, the person moves there. If it’s occupied by someone else, the two swap seats.
Tap the person’s new seat and mark it green once you’ve confirmed the camera framing is correct. Note: their preset number travels with them — if the new seat needs a different preset, update it from the Edit Person sheet.
After the event, move them back to their regular seat using Move Mode again, so the configuration is ready for next time.
Use Move Mode to place the person in their new permanent seat.
Tap their seat to open the Person Detail sheet. Tap “Edit” to update their preset number if the new seat requires a different camera preset.
Update the actual PTZ preset on your camera controller to frame the new seat correctly, then mark the seat green to confirm.
Export a new .ptzsetup to save the updated configuration as your new baseline.
Have a question about PTZ Presets? Submit it below. I review every question and post my answers here publicly so everyone benefits. Feature requests welcome too.
No user-to-user discussion. All responses come directly from the developer.
The current version holds one active configuration at a time — one layout, one roster, one
set of seat assignments. However, you can maintain multiple configurations by saving them as
separate .ptzsetup files.
For example: save “Main Sanctuary.ptzsetup” and “Fellowship Hall.ptzsetup” to your Files app. When you switch venues, go to Settings → Data → Import and load the appropriate file. This takes just a few seconds. A built-in configuration switcher is on the feature request list.
Yes, absolutely — that’s one of the primary reasons the export feature exists. Export your
.ptzsetup file and
send it via AirDrop, iMessage, email, Slack, or any file transfer method. The recipient opens
the file on their iPhone or iPad, PTZ Presets will handle the import, and they’ll have
your exact layout and roster.
Note that preset status (green/orange) resets daily per device — so each operator is tracking their own verification independently, which is usually what you want.
If you transfer to a new iPhone using an iCloud or encrypted iTunes/Finder backup, app data is typically included and your PTZ Presets configuration should carry over automatically.
That said, I always recommend exporting a .ptzsetup
backup before any device transfer and keeping a copy in iCloud Drive. That way, even if the
transfer doesn’t include app data, you can restore your full configuration in seconds with an import.
Great request — this is something I’ve heard a few times now and it’s officially on the roadmap. The plan is to add a freeform notes field visible in the Person Detail sheet (tap a seat to view it) and also displayed on the Edit Person screen.
Notes will also be included in .ptzsetup
exports so they carry over when you share configs with teammates. No ETA yet but it’s
a planned feature for an upcoming release.
PTZ Presets is a reference and tracking tool — it does not send any commands to camera hardware. It does not connect to your camera controller, PTZ head, video switcher, or network.
The app is intentionally a “brain layer” that sits alongside your camera system: you use PTZ Presets to know which preset to call up, then you call it up on your actual PTZ controller (joystick panel, control system, etc.) manually. This makes the app universal — it works with any PTZ system from any manufacturer.
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