Lesson 14: Automating ZoomISO for live shows

Lesson 14 of 14

This final lesson is the advanced one. ZoomISO can be controlled by other systems over a network, so a show desk, a stream deck, or a custom panel can drive it automatically. The technology is called OSC. Most people never need it, but knowing it exists, and what it can do, completes the picture.

What OSC is

OSC stands for Open Sound Control. Despite the name, it is a general way for one device or program to send commands to another across a network. In live events it is the common language of show-control and automation systems. With OSC, a single button on a control surface can tell ZoomISO to do several things at once, with no one touching the ZoomISO computer.

ZoomISO understands the full command set of its sibling product ZoomOSC, plus its own commands for the media features you have learned in this course. For the complete list and exact syntax, the makers point you to the ZoomOSC documentation; here we focus on what is specific to ZoomISO.

Version 3 change worth knowing. In ZoomISO version 3, the old “targetID” has been replaced by “pID”, and the commands that used to give a number for the target now give a short piece of text instead. If you are updating older automation, this is the key change to make.

Setting OSC up

You configure OSC under its own tab in Settings. The main controls are:

  • Enable OSC: switches on listening for incoming commands and sending outgoing ones.
  • Transmission IP and Transmission Port: the address and port ZoomISO sends its outgoing messages to.
  • Receiving Port: the port ZoomISO listens on for incoming commands.
  • Listen to interface: which network connection to listen on, or All for every one.
  • OSC Control Allow List: a safety list of the device addresses allowed to control ZoomISO, so only trusted machines can send commands. You can also upload this list as a simple text file, one address per line.
  • OSC Baud rate: the top speed at which ZoomISO will send messages.
  • OSC Address Header: a prefix on ZoomISO’s outgoing messages, useful for telling several devices apart when they send to the same place.
  • Subscribe To: which group of participants to watch when sending out event messages.

There is a Logs tab for watching OSC traffic come and go, and a Commands tab that will offer an interactive browser of commands in a future release.

A taste of the commands

You do not need to memorise these. They are here so you recognise the shape of what is possible. They fall into a few groups.

Per-participant routing

  • outputISO, with an output number: send a participant’s video to that output. Output numbers start at 1.
  • audioISO, with a channel number: send a participant to that audio channel.

Running the engine

  • startISOEngine and stopISOEngine: start and stop the Capture Engine.
  • requestCapturePermission: ask the host for the permission your Capture Mode needs, via a pop-up on their device.

Managing outputs

  • setOutputCount: set how many video outputs exist. addOutput and deleteOutput add or remove one.
  • enableOutput and disableOutput: switch a feed on, or set it to its Video Loss mode, by its number or its name.
  • setOutputMode: change what an output shows. setOutputName: rename it.
  • setVideoLossMode: choose what a feed shows when it loses signal, by name, such as Black, Freeze, Transparent, Image, or Testcard.
  • setAudioMode: set the mode of an audio output.

Asking ZoomISO for information

Commands such as getEngineState, getAudioLevels, getOutputRouting, and getAudioRouting ask ZoomISO to report back. In reply, ZoomISO sends out messages describing the engine state, where each output is routed, audio levels on each channel, and so on. A control system can use these replies to keep its own buttons and displays in step with the real state of ZoomISO.

What this unlocks

Put together, OSC means you can pre-programme a show. One press might start the engine, route the keynote speaker to output one, name that output, and put every other feed into a tidy holding state, all in an instant. For repeatable productions, that reliability is the whole point.

In short

OSC lets external show-control systems drive ZoomISO over a network. Enable it and set the ports and an allow list in Settings. Commands cover routing people to feeds, starting the engine, managing outputs, and reading back the current state. Remember that version 3 swapped targetID for pID. It is advanced, optional, and powerful.