This page describes how to send a playout to other computers over the network. You do not need a cable or a card, because the picture appears as a source on every NDI receiver on the same network, such as a mixer, a second computer or a monitor.
The settings
These settings are under Settings → Outputs, when the type is NDI:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| NDI name | The name that receivers see. Choose a clear name, for example Hall screen and not Output 1. |
| NDI group(s) | The groups that this source belongs to, separated by commas. |
Groups
A receiver sees only the groups that it is set to, and by default this is Public.
So leave Public in the list, unless every receiver in the building is set to your own group. A source in a private group is invisible to receivers that do not use that group, and it then looks exactly like a source that does not work.
A second group is useful to distinguish several playouts on one network. If you leave the field empty, the program uses Public,Ultimate Playout.
What you need to install
NDI needs the DistroAV plugin and the NDI runtime, and both must be installed on the computer.
Without DistroAV, NDI is not available under Video output. A playout that was already set to NDI then does not start, and the status tooltip asks: are the DistroAV plugin and the NDI runtime installed? That is almost always the cause.
What NDI costs
NDI uses a lot of network capacity. An NDI stream at full resolution is a heavy load. One playout on a gigabit network is not a problem, but several playouts on a shared office network are.
If NDI stutters while the computer is not busy, check the network. The cause may be a switch, a shared uplink or a wireless connection on the route.
Alpha
NDI can carry transparency. This makes it the simplest way to supply graphics that a vision mixer places over its own picture, such as a PNG with transparency, a scene, or a web page with a transparent background, because you do not need a card with fill and key.