A variety of tools from NewTek, downloadable at https://ndi.tv/tools/, are available to create and monitor NDI streams. The tools package is available for Windows and Mac.
Inside the tools package is a Test Pattern program that will publish an NDI stream with various test patterns on the network. These test patterns are 1 FPS so they are not so useful for testing realistic video workflows, but the Test Pattern program is useful for verifying that mDNS is working on the network and on the Linux host where the Broadcaster is installed.
Below is a description of some of the tools that can be installed as part of the tools package.
Creating Streams Using VLC
For full motion NDI test streams, the tools package includes a VLC plugin that will render any video played in VLC to an NDI stream instead of the display. To use the VLC plugin, make sure VLC is not open on your device and select VLC Plugin during the tools package installation.
To create a stream using VLC:
Open VLC on your device.
In the main navigation, select Tools and then click on Preferences.
The Simple Preferences window is displayed.In the navigation, click Audio.
The Audio Settings are displayed.
In the Output Module field, select NDI audio output from the drop-down list.
Click Save.
In the navigation, click Video.
The Video Settings are displayed.
In the Output field, select NDI video output from the drop-down list.
Click Save.
Close and reopen VLC.
Any video played now in VLC will be rendered as and NDI stream and the VLC window will display a black screen.