NDI input

Network inputs/NDI input

Network Device Interface (NDI) is a royalty-free software standard developed by NewTek to enable video-compatible products to communicate, deliver, and receive high-definition video over a computer network in a high-quality, low-latency manner that is frame accurate and suitable for switching in a live production environment.

NDI is designed to run over gigabit Ethernet, with the NDI codec expected to deliver 1080p HD video at VBR data rates typically around 100 Mbit/s.

Composer supports NDI sources via the NDI input and can render NDI output via the NDI Target component.

When Composer is launched, the built-in NDI discovery service searches for NDI sources. As sources are being discovered, they are added to the Source dropdown.

• Show advanced options - show/hide advanced options
• Available NDI Sources - List of available NDI sources
• Selected Source - The selected NDI source
• PlaybackState - Connection status
• Commands:
  • Start NDI receiver - starts the NDI capture
  • Stop NDI receiver - stops the NDI capture
• Configuration:
  • Automatic reconnect after lost connection - if this option is active, a lost NDI connection will be reconnected when the NDI source reappears on the network.
  • Ignore hostname when reconnecting - This will ignore the hostname of the NDI source and only use the name when connecting to the source
  • Log error on lost connection - Make a log entry in Composer log if the connection is lost.
  • Preferred bandwidth - Select preferred received NDI bandwidth (quality)
• Performance and properties
  • Width - NDI source video width (pixels)
  • Height - NDI source video height (pixels)
  • Message - discovery connection status message. When trying to reconnect to a previously connected NDI source, the status changes to Searching.
  • Last Running Source - The last NDI source used
• Icon text - short descriptive text used in the input list. Limited to 5 characters.
• Hide in the audio mixer - if this option is set, the input will not appear in the audio mixer.
• Render Options - These options, together with Render Tuning (see Performance and Options), help optimize performance by letting Composer automatically decide whether the input should be rendered.
  When your project’s Render Tuning option is active, Composer manages each input’s rendering automatically for best performance.
  These options allow you to override that behavior and manually decide if this input should be rendered or excluded from the scene.
  Render Tuning vs Render Options

  • Render Tuning works at the project level (see Performance and Options), automatically managing which inputs are rendered across all Scenes for optimal performance.
  • Render Options work at the input level, letting you manually override or fine-tune how a specific input behaves within Composer’s automatic rendering process.

  Additional performance tips

  Beyond the settings covered above, the following resources provide additional guidance on optimizing Composer's performance on your system:

  • Tuning for Maximum Performance
  • Performance and optimization
  • Performance Mode
  • Performance Report

  • Invisible (do not render in scene) - The input will not produce any visible output in the scene, regardless of whether Render Tuning is enabled at the project level.

  • Do not render input
    • Let Composer decide (default) - Composer automatically decides whether the input should be rendered, based on the active Scene, and if Render Tuning is enabled.
    • Manual configuration - Allows you to manually control rendering behavior using the Render switch (see below).
  • Render - A toggle switch is available only when Manual configuration is selected.
• Optional TAGS
  • TAGS - Add a "tag"  that can be used in the input smart search function. It is possible to add several tags by separating them with a SPACE character.

Audio Configuration and Processing Options

For inputs capable of processing audio, additional audio configuration and processing options are available through the Audio Mixer and the Channel Strip Inspector.

• Audio Mixer — Monitor levels, adjust gain and pan, mute/solo inputs, and configure auxiliary sends to Audio Channel Strips—all from a centralized mixer-style interface.
• Channel Strip Inspector— Access advanced audio processing options by selecting the input's mixer strip:
  • Input trim, stereo remapping, and audio delay
  • Channel mapping
  • Gate
  • Low cut filter
  • Equalizer (5-band parametric EQ)
  • Compressor
  • Limiter

See Audio Mixer and the Channel Strip Inspector for more detailed information.