How to setup tracking zones

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Got a wide stage covered by multiple PTZ cameras? This guide explains how to divide the stage into tracking zones, assign each zone to a camera, and let MiruSuite automatically switch to the correct camera as the target person moves across the stage.

Overview

In this scenario you have a wide stage covered by two or more PTZ cameras, e.g. Camera Left, Camera Center, and Camera Right. Each camera is responsible for tracking the target person within its assigned zone. When the person moves into a new zone, MiruSuite automatically cuts to the corresponding camera on the switcher. Cameras whose zone the person has left return to their home position.

Two components work together to make this happen:

• Head Tracking Director — tracks the target person by moving the camera, and uses border limits to keep each camera within its assigned zone.
• Positional Trigger — watches the target person's position in PTZ space and fires a switcher cut when the person enters the defined trigger area.

Zone design principles

The setup follows two important design rules that together ensure reliable, glitch-free transitions:

1. Tracking zones slightly overlap — the border limits of adjacent cameras overlap by some margin. When the person is crossing from one zone to another, both cameras track them simultaneously during the transition. The camera that receives the cut is already on-target before the switch happens.

2. Trigger areas do not overlap and are smaller than the tracking zones — the Positional Trigger area for each camera sits well inside the camera's tracking zone, away from the shared overlap region. A switch only fires when the person is clearly inside the target zone, preventing accidental cuts near the boundaries.

The diagram below illustrates this relationship for a three-camera setup:

Zone layout: tracking zones overlap at the boundaries; trigger areas are smaller and do not overlap

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• Set up a project in MiruSuite.
• A switcher connected to MiruSuite, with a dedicated switcher input assigned to each of the three camera devices.
• Three (or two or more) PTZ camera devices set up in MiruSuite, each with a Video Input, a Person Tracker, a Head Tracking Director, and a PTZ Controller component. See How to setup person tracking if you haven't done this yet.

Step 1 — Configure the Head Tracking Director on each camera

The Head Tracking Director tracks the target person and enforces border limits that define the camera's tracking zone. Configure each camera's director to cover its part of the stage, with the border limits extending slightly into the adjacent zone to create the required overlap.

TIP

Set the Panic behavior of every director to Return to home. When the target person leaves a camera's tracking zone, that camera automatically returns to its home position and is ready for the next time the person enters its zone.

Camera Setup

1. Move the camera so that it captures the full left tracking zone.
2. Set the camera's home position in the PTZ Controller settings.
3. Configure the Head Tracking Director's Shot size and Sensitivity to your preference.
4. Set Panic behavior to Return to home.
5. Learn the border limits: Click Left border and Right border to store both borders. Optionally set top and bottom borders to prevent the camera from tilting into the audience or ceiling.

Repeat these steps with all other camera (in our example, the center camera with the center tracking zone and the right camera with the right tracking zone). Make sure your tracking zones overlap for good transitions between cameras.

WARNING

Border limits are learned from the current camera position in PTZ angle space — not from the person's position. Make sure the camera is physically aimed at the intended stage boundary when you click each learn button. Use the camera's live feed as a visual reference.

Step 2 — Add the Positional Trigger to each camera

Now add a Positional Trigger component to each camera device and configure the trigger area. The trigger areas must sit clearly within the exclusive (non-overlapping) portion of each camera's zone and must not overlap with the trigger areas of adjacent cameras.

Add the component

For each camera device:

1. Open the device card.
2. Click Add component and select Positional Trigger.
3. Open the component settings and confirm that the correct switcher input is listed. If not, assign it right in the component settings.

Learn the trigger area

TIP

A reliable rule of thumb: set each trigger area to roughly 60–70% of the tracking zone width, positioned in the clearly assigned — non-overlapping — part of the zone.

Repeat the following for each camera:

1. Open the Positional Trigger settings (gear icon).
2. Move the camera such that it completely captures the trigger area. Click Left border and Right border under Learn trigger area to store both borders.
3. Set a Delay of 1–2 seconds to prevent accidental cuts when the person briefly crosses into this area.

WARNING

Just like border limits, trigger area boundaries are learned from the current camera angle — not the person's position. Make sure the camera is pointing at the desired stage position when clicking each Learn button.

Step 3 — Enable all components

Once all three cameras are fully configured:

1. Enable every component on each device (Video Input, Person Tracker, Head Tracking Director, Positional Trigger) by toggling the power button at the top left of the page.
2. Verify that the Person Tracker is detecting the target person on each camera.

How it behaves

With everything running:

• All three cameras track the target person simultaneously within their respective border limits.
• When the person walks into a trigger area, MiruSuite waits for the configured delay and then switches the switcher to that camera's input.
• When the person moves beyond a camera's border limit, the Head Tracking Director returns that camera to its home position so it is ready for the next time the person enters its zone.
• During a transition, both the outgoing and incoming cameras are tracking the person simultaneously (thanks to the tracking zone overlap), so the incoming camera is already on-target when the cut fires.

INFO

Non-live cameras do not pause tracking — they continue following the person within their border limits at all times. This ensures every camera is framed correctly the moment it becomes live.

Avoiding unwanted detections

If your cameras' home positions are set too wide, the Person Tracker may accidentally pick up people from the audience instead of your target subject. To avoid this, set the Person Tracker's detection limits.

Configuration reference

• Head Tracking Director — all settings
• Positional Trigger — all settings

Congratulations! Your multi-camera tracking zone setup is ready. MiruSuite will now handle stage coverage automatically, switching to whichever camera covers the zone the person is in. Fine-tune the overlap width and trigger delay to get exactly the transition feel your production needs.