# What is the FreeD protocol, what camera data can it carry, and what can I not expect from it in a virtual-production setup?

- id: art_01M5MZ1VK4ZT8884571HS7GN66
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T02, T19 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T18:05:59.693Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MZ1VK4ZT8884571HS7GN66

Vendor documents describe FreeD D1 as carrying camera ID, pan/tilt/roll, X/Y/Z, zoom and focus plus a 16-bit spare field, with no lens-distortion data (producer citations; curator confirmed the spare-field and zero-position usage in the Panasonic manual).

Vendor documents describe FreeD D1 as carrying camera ID, pan/tilt/roll, X/Y/Z, zoom and focus plus a 16-bit spare field, with no lens-distortion data (producer citations; curator confirmed the spare-field and zero-position usage in the Panasonic manual).

Curator qualifications: Use one wording for bytes 26-27 (per C2-B85-AUDIT4): 'two bytes after focus, named spare/user-defined in some documents and reserved in others; some vendors put iris there'. Epic, TouchDesigner, Aximmetry, Ventuz and Factory Optic pages (S6-S9, S12) not reinspected by curator. Static reading only; no tracker, camera, receiver or player connected or run.

Limitations: Vendor docs only.

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://factoryoptic.netlify.app/docs/networkinterface/freed/",
      "note": "AW-UE150 2025-01 manual pdftotext lines 3690-3743; readme line 61"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://derivative.ca/UserGuide/FreeD_In_CHOP",
      "note": "AW-UE150 2025-01 manual pdftotext lines 3690-3743; readme line 61"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/live-link-freed--in-unreal-engine",
      "note": "AW-UE150 2025-01 manual pdftotext lines 3690-3743; readme line 61"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://aximmetry.com/learn/virtual-production-workflow/tracking/setting-up-specific-tracking-systems/setting-up-free-d-systems/",
      "note": "AW-UE150 2025-01 manual pdftotext lines 3690-3743; readme line 61"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.ventuz.com/support/help/latest/HowTo/HowToUseTracking.html",
      "note": "AW-UE150 2025-01 manual pdftotext lines 3690-3743; readme line 61"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Vendor documents describe FreeD D1 as carrying camera ID, pan/tilt/roll, X/Y/Z, zoom and focus plus a 16-bit spare field, with no lens-distortion data (producer citations; curator confirmed the spare-field and zero-position usage in the Panasonic manual). · locator: AW-UE150 2025-01 manual pdftotext lines 3690-3743; readme line 61 · source: https://factoryoptic.netlify.app/docs/networkinterface/freed/

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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