1. What is all about?<\/p>\n
Starting with Corona I have been streaming\u00a0 lectures<\/strong> and\u00a0church concerts<\/strong>. A Macbook and a n old Chromebook, some old iPhones and Nikon DSLR cameras were connected by HDMI cables to a Blackmagic ATEM<\/a> mini pro. This worked well\u00a0 although there are many shortcomings of HDMI<\/a> as it is basically a protocol to connect just screens to a computer and not devices in a large nave.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. What are the options?<\/p>\n WIFI transmission would be nice but is probably not the first choice for video transmission in a crowded space with even considerable latency in the range of 200ms.\u00a0 SDI is an IP industry standard for video but this would require dedicated and expensive cabling<\/strong> for each video sources including expensive transceivers.\u00a0\u00a0The NDI protocol (network device interface) can use existing ethernet networks and WIFI<\/strong> to transmit video and audio signals. NDI enabled devices started slowly due to copyright and license issues but is expected to be a future market leader<\/a> due to its high performance and low latency.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. Is there any low-cost but high quality NDI solution?<\/p>\n NDI producing videocameras with PTZ (pan(tilt\/zoom) movements are expensive in the range of 1,000-20,000\u20ac. But there are NDI encoder for existing hardware like DSLRs or mobile phones. These encoders are sometimes difficult to find, I am listing below what I have been used so far. Whenever a signal is live, it can be easily displayed and organized by Open Broadcaster Software<\/strong>\u00a0 running on MacOS,\u00a0 Linux or Windows. There are even apps for iOS and Android that can send and receive NDI data replacing now whole broadcasting vehicles ;-)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. What do I need to buy?<\/p>\n Assuming that you already have some camera equipment that can produce clean HDMI out (Android needs\u00a0 an USB to HDMI and iPhones a Lightning to HDMI cable), you will need<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5. Which devices did you test and which do you currently use?<\/p>\n The Teltonika router and the two Zowietek converter cost you less than 500\u20ac, the\u00a0 Obsbot also comes at less than 500\u20ac while this setup allows for semi-professional grade live streams.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 6. Tell me a bit more about your DSLR cameras and the iPhones please.<\/p>\n There is nothing particular, some old Nikon<\/strong> D4s, a Z6 and a Z8, all with good glass and an outdated\u00a0 iPhone 12 mini without SIM card.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 7. Have you ever tried live streaming directly from a camera like the Insta 360 X3?<\/p>\n No.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 8. What computer hardware and\u00a0 software do you use for streaming and does this integrate PTZ control?<\/p>\n I use now a 2017 Macbook (which showed some advantage over a Linux\u00a0 notebook).\u00a0 NDI Video has to be delayed due to the latency of other NDI remote sources. I usually sync direct sound and NDI video with the sound being delayed with +450ms in OBS<\/strong>. <\/p>\n 9. How much setup time do you need?<\/p>\n Setting up 2 DSLR cameras and 1 PTZ on tripods with cables takes 30-60-90 minutes<\/strong> . OBS configuration and Youtube setup takes another 15 minutes<\/strong> if everything goes well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n 1. What is all about? Starting with Corona I have been streaming\u00a0 lectures and\u00a0church concerts. A Macbook and a n old Chromebook, some old iPhones and Nikon DSLR cameras were connected by HDMI cables to a Blackmagic ATEM mini pro. This worked well\u00a0 although there are many shortcomings of HDMI as it is basically a … Continue reading FAQ: From HDMI to NDI<\/span> \n
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\nRight now I am testing also an iPad app called TopDirector<\/a>. The app looks promising but haven’t tested it so much in the wild.
\nPTZ control can be managed by an OBS plugin, while TopDirector has PTZ controls already built in.<\/p>\n