The NDI® protocol from NewTek is a way to publish and receive audio / video streams over a network as a way to share live feeds between systems. From within VDMX, any number of video streams can be both output to the network and input from other applications.
In this tutorial we'll looking at capturing NDI® video streams that are published from other applications on the network and use them as the source for a layer. More information can be found in the VDMX manual in the section on video inputs.
Note: See the tutorial on the NDI® Output plugin for information on how to publish video streams in VDMX for other application to use as sources.
Audio / Video streams that are published by other applications on your local area network will automatically appear as possible sources that can be accessed like other video inputs in VDMX, including the ability to add them to media bin pages as clips using the Media Browser window and to directly set them as the input for a layer from the "Use Source:" menu in the Layer Source controls panel.
Note: Though NDI® can be used to send video between applications, when available it is best to use Syphon to pass streams between software on the Mac OS.
Additional configuration options for NDI® inputs can be found in the VidIn section of the Workspace Inspector.
Enable: Turns receiving on / off for the specified NDI® a/v stream.
Receive as RGB: Requests receiving a high quality / higher bandwidth video stream.
Audio Playthru: If an audio stream is provided, allows for selecting an audio output device to use for playthru. Volume and mute controls are also provided.
Tip: Once enabled, many parts of VDMX, including the Audio Analysis, Movie Recorder, Syphon Output, BlackMagic Output and Video to DMX plugins, can work with NDI® Input streams even if they are not actively being displayed on a layer.
Tips and Notes:
Directly selecting an NDI® Input from Layer Src Controls
Though not required, NewTek provides two useful free utilities: The NDI Video Monitor and the NDI Scan Converter.
Inspecting an NDI® Input
Adding NDI® Input to Media Bin from the browser panel.