All In On NDI

网络视频是下一波生产浪潮. IP视频是atsc3的一部分.0广播传送规范, so there will be no escaping the migration away from video signals to data packets anywhere in the broadcast chain.

网络设备接口(NDI), developed by NewTek, 是否有一个能够使用高质量的标准, 低延迟视频在现有的和标准的IP网络. With NDI, video becomes data that can be shared over a network using off-the-shelf computer networking hardware. In the short run, 这不会有太大变化, because you can run an Ethernet cable to each camera or converter box just as you’d run an SDI cable. 但NDI实现的远不止这些.

It could be as simple as running just one cable to the front of a conference room where a switch connects it to six different devices, 而不是必须运行6根SDI电缆. It could be as complex as leveraging your existing network and deploying dozens of cameras across multiple campuses, 所有这些都反馈到一个中央生产中心. 这意味着没有人再需要把所有的装备都推来推去了. 这也意味着你可以调用任何摄像头, any audio source, 或任何混合装置，以产生任意数量的节目，在同一时间.

此外，这种能力还扩展到了互联网本身. A producer could leverage a graphics artist in another city and cameras from around the world in a live show that would otherwise require a dozen outside broadcasting trucks, 昂贵的卫星时间, and a wide range of experts in each aspect of the production chain to help make it come together.

Case Study Lessons

Leveraging NDI today can start as simply as adding some on-camera converters to cameras you already have. 基于软件的视频混频器已经迅速融入了NDI, so your TriCaster, vMix, Wirecast, OBS, Livestream, etc.，都准备好添加NDI源的混合. There are also numerous converters available from the likes of BirdDog, NewTek, Magewell (Figure 1, below), and Kiloview. 如果你需要一个泛倾斜变焦(PTZ)相机头, 这些公司的ndi模式已经有一段时间了. 这些NDI头还接受以太网供电(PoE)。, so with one cable, you can have power, video, audio, camera control, 以及额外的能力. For instance, BirdDog has software to offer crew communications (coms) across the NDI backbone as well.

Figure 1. 将NDI转换为HDMI

I was tasked with putting together a forward-looking solution for GM Financial’s in-house video production team (Figure 2, below). We settled on the TriCaster as the mixer because it has a similar operational look and feel to the hardware video mixers they already use. 我们选择了新的4K迷你TriCaster, 它提供四个内置PoE端口, 以及另外两个用于联网的以太网端口. Each port is its own network interface card (NIC), so there’s no communication between them. 而TriCaster本身可以看到所有连接的设备, 您无法使用内置PoE端口, say, 每个摄像头都有一个“鸟狗”通讯系统.

Figure 2. 我为通用汽车金融公司制造的ndi驱动钻机的组件

Realizing this brought to light one key aspect of NDI that you might not expect: It is as liberated, and as limited, 就像任何网络设备和网络基础设施一样. As a result, 你需要对网络有更多的了解, IP setup, DHCP, or manual addressing. 对于传统的“即插即用”视频专业人士, 这完全是另一个世界, 所以转向NDI有一个学习曲线. 也就是说，好处远远超过了额外的理解所需要的.

为了这个套件，我们买了三台松下的AG-CX350摄像机(Figure 3, below). These are the first camcorders to offer built-in NDI capability (with an additional license purchase and activation). 作为网络摄像机, 他们可以做很多事情, NDI只是一个联网功能, 所以他们没有准备好开箱即用的NDI. You have to adjust several in-camera networking settings before you even attempt to activate the NDI on the camera. 同样，这并不像插入SDI电缆并输出视频那么简单.

Figure 3. 松下AG-CX350

Additionally, 在公司环境中, 您将面临进一步的障碍，即一个封闭的网络环境. 我们一打开TriCaster Mini就受到了影响. We had to register the license in order to be able to use the TriCaster at all. 要做到这一点需要互联网连接. We couldn’t just plug the TriCaster into the GM Financial Ethernet network because it was not an approved device. For security and protection of all of the devices within the company, unknown devices get nothing. I know other companies that had to send their TriCaster to the IT department to have the corporate software installed on the machine so they could plug into the corporate network for internet connectivity. This corporate software can have an adverse effect on the performance of the tools.

We managed to get ours activated by using a smartphone USB tethered to a new router we purchased, which then shared the connection to the TriCaster and to the other connected devices. This is key, because getting the NDI license for the Panasonic cameras also requires an unrestricted connection to the internet.

You’ll need a computer with NDI Tools and NDI Studio Monitor to access the Panasonic over your own local area network (LAN). Then, 当你点击注册按钮时, 它会带你到新科技网上商店, 在哪里可以购买NDI许可证. Next, 在NDI工作室监视器, 导航到CX350的窗口并在那里输入激活码. 它将再次通过互联网重新验证一切. Now your camera is activated and able to deliver NDI video without an internet connection.

The takeaway is that you should be prepared to spend some time setting things up initially with any of the new network-reliant tools. Have a direct connection to the outside internet in order to get your gear set up to work within your intranet.