NewTek NDI is a game-changing piece of technology and it’s only going to get better!
The following article will give you an insight into my eBook, ‘Your Guide to NDI’. Which offers an in-depth look at the technology and its uses for every level of digital video professional.
You can download a free sample copy of the book right now by subscribing to our newsletter in the pop up form or by using the sign up at the bottom of this post.
The full eBook, containing 14 chapters on NewTek NDI’s implementations is available at the DigiProTips shop.
An Introduction to NewTek NDI
I have used NewTek NDI since it’s early inception in 2015, when I was lucky enough to be an early adopter of the NewTek Tricaster media switcher systems. Running a mark one version of the Tricaster Mini-HD4, I successfully used NDI to incorporate weather graphics over my live feeds to create a full VT package, in-studio, for the weather station that I was working for at the time. These weather graphics were being fed from a comprehensive system on a completely separate PC, in another office, on the same Local Area Network (LAN). As weather changes pretty rapidly, it would take too long to re-export those graphics every time there was a change before going to record with the newscaster. Using a primitive version of what is now called ‘Screen Capture’ I could mirror the playout of the weather graphics system into my Tricaster and not have to bother ever exporting from it again.
After I learnt what it was capable of in those early days, I was sold. NewTek NDI was going to change the game in studio and video production workflows.
I went on to take NDI and the NewTek ecosystem with me to each job role I had after that. Using it to produce in-house, live, multi-cam broadcasts and on-the-road, live, multi-cam vod-cast recordings for imminent publishing mere hours after recording.
If there was something that I needed to do that I couldn’t find a possible way of doing traditionally through SDI, HDMI, or other physical cabling and hardware, then I was sure to find a way with NDI.
To add to the already impressive collection of official applications that it had to offer I found that there were also third party/underground developers working on applications for it. You see, NewTek made NDI open source, they knew how transformative this technology was going to be. So, instead of capitalising on it and creating a monopoly, they opened the playing field to push the boundaries and the limits of the technology as far as it could go.
I can pretty much guarantee that by the end of the eBook you will not only be implementing NewTek NDI in some capacity in your production workflow but that you will also be an ambassador for the technology.
But enough about my fandom for it, here’s what you can expect to find out in my eBook ‘Your Guide to NDI’.
What Is NewTek NDI?
Think of NDI as the ability to send audio and video signals from SDI or HDMI over ethernet or wirelessly across your network. Not only this but also the ability to transmit tally information, PTZ NDI camera controls, alpha channel and metadata all in one signal.
In this first chapter you’ll discover what NDI is, where it came from and what you can use it for.
What Do You Need To Be Able To Utilise NDI?
NDI is fairly simple to set up and you could be up and running in minutes but there are some fundamental basics that are required for this technology to work in your existing production/workflow.
These include network, hardware and software components that need to be factored in. I’ll cover all the bases you need to get your production off to the right start. That includes producing NDI content in 4K over your local network connection.
Getting Started With NDI – NewTek NDI Tools
Once you have your basic components in place there is a software package from the makers of NDI themselves, NewTek, that every digital production professional needs to install, the NDI Tools package.
In this chapter I break down each application further to explain what it is and how it could be used in your production. There are some powerful free applications in this package so don’t miss out on these tools!
Recording NDI Inputs and Outputs
Every production, whether it’s streaming to YouTube or broadcasting to a TV network, needs the ability to record its inputs and output separately from one another. NDI has a few different options available to it and depending on your operating system of choice, this changes the mode of recording available to you.
Through this chapter you’ll find out what resources are necessary to record your inputs and outputs and how to do it.
NDI OBS Studio Integration
I’ve covered this topic in a couple of NDI related posts but the NDI OBS combination is a very popular one for streamers or digital video professionals with smaller production budgets.
The NDI OBS integration is quite a simple process and it allows OBS users to add far more inputs to their set up than they previously could without capture cards and using precious computer resources. However, there are a few tips that I need to share with you to have the flawless NDI OBS set up you desire.
NDI for Adobe Creative Cloud
NewTek NDI and Adobe are a TV studio’s match made in heaven. No longer are the days of waiting for a VT package to export and upload for the gallery/media director to input into the switcher.
With NDI for Adobe Creative Cloud you can send live outputs of your Premiere Pro or After Effects timelines straight to an input on your media switcher.
NDI-Enabling Your Older Camera Tech
NewTek NDI isn’t just for brand new NDI cameras either. With NDI the possibility of updating your existing cameras to work with your NDI production setup is very simple with existing kit.
In this chapter I show you three ways you can integrate your current production cameras to act as NDI cameras on your network.
NDI Cloud Transmission
As we get deeper into the rabbit hole, NDI starts to offer up some of its more technically proficient abilities in the form of remote cloud-based transmission.
This is incredibly useful for remote teams looking to have a live feed direct to a TV studio’s tech gallery from a remote location. Or for clients and post-houses working remotely from one another. Or any other situation that needs remote access to live NDI feeds for that matter.
NDI in Tricaster
NDI was made by the founders of the Tricaster systems, NewTek. It is only apt that their ecosystem be the best for utilising NDI into your productions.
There are a myriad of ways that you can add NDI into your setup with Tricaster and if you’re new to Tricaster then this chapter will help you greatly in understanding how to get the most out of it.
NDI for Mobile
As mobile tech gets more powerful the opportunities for combining NDI technology and mobile computing power grow. You can now use your smartphones as NDI cameras, screen sharing devices or as remote monitoring viewers.
I’ll go through the different options for you and how you set each one up.
Sienna.tv
NewTek aren’t the only players in the game anymore. NewTek made NDI to be open source so that the technology could be adopted world wide and be improved upon. Sienna.tv is one of the key players in NDI for Mac users.
If you own a Mac and want to use NDI but feel slightly restricted by the largely Windows ecosystem then Sienna has solution for every possible need. Making NDI accessible to everyone.
Getting the Most From NDI
The possibilities with NDI are far reaching and there are too many to be able to showcase them all in the eBook but I have chosen the ones that I have tried and tested and know to work in high-level broadcast production environments.
To get the most out of the technology there are some basic principles you need to adhere too. I outline them for you so that you don’t need to go through the same trial and error processes I did.
‘Your Guide to NDI‘ Is Available Now
For all of the above chapters head to the DigiProTips shop and download a copy.
If you would like to sample a few chapters first then I have a sample copy available with a subscription to our newsletter. Use the sign up for under this post to get your free copy now.
For more NewTek NDI related content you can read our guide to using your smartphone as and NDI camera:
Or how to send any screen from any operating software as an NDI source:
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