What is NDI?
NDI (Network Device Interface) is a protocol that was developed by NewTek to share video and audio data over a network. It has become one of the industry standards for video over a network.
NDI is commonly used as a broadcast software, remote desktop software and in streaming video applications. It is also used in live production, such as concerts, sporting events and conferences.
Applications
NDI was originally built for NewTek’s Tricaster ecosystem, but has since been licensed to other manufacturers such as BirdDog, Panasonic, and more.
Most software switchers, such as OBS and VMix, provides support for ingesting and outputting NDI feeds. Many broadcast graphics software solutions also has support for NDI in some way such as Ross Xpression, NewBlue Titler Live, and LiveText.
Hardware manufacturers such as BirdDog have created their own NDI based solutions such as their network based comms system that are built into their SDI/HDMI to NDI converters.
Cameras, such as PTZ cameras, have started to embrace the NDI ecosystem. With NDI, it’s easy to ingest and control PTZ cameras.
The Future
NDI and IP based A/V as a whole is the future. The broadcast engineers of the future are going to look a lot more like IT professionals and network engineers. Manufacturers such as NewTek and BirdDog are starting to invest in the NDI infrastructure, releasing tools for network administrators and broadcast engineers that are freely available that is going to make NDI well documented, easy to learn, and easy to implement.
Check out NewTek’s NDI website to learn more at NDI.tv.
