Adding a Source - NDI

ZEN Master can receive a Source directly from an NDI input. Because NDI streams are provided to the Broadcaster as raw video frames, you need to encode the stream by selecting a Transcoding Profile that encodes both the video and audio (i.e. doesn't pass through either the video or audio).

The following procedure describes how to add an NDI Source in ZEN Master. In addition, an explanation of each of the configuration parameters is given in the table below.

To add an NDI Source: 

1. In the main navigation, click Sources.
2. Click + Add.
   The Create New Source window is displayed.
   
3. Click NDI.
   The Create New NDI window opens.
   
4.  In the Info section, in the Name field, enter a unique name to identify this Source in the system.
5. In the Tags field, select one or more of the predefined Tags from the drop-down list.
   Tags are used for access control. By selecting a Tag, you are relating this Source to that Tag. Tags are associated with certain roles (through the Users & Roles screen), and roles, in turn, are associated with users and user groups. If you would like to create a new Tag, see Creating a Tag.

6. In the Events Configuration Profile field, select from the dropdown list the profile that you would like to apply to this Source. By default, the Default profile is applied.

   Events Profiles consist of a series of rules that determine precisely how various types of Events are logged and what results they trigger.

7. The Source's location is used to represent it in the proper position in the Map display (see Maps). By default, the location is determined automatically based on the Source's IP. If you would like to manually set the location of the Source (Optional), use the following procedure:
   1. Click on the Edit icon next to the Location field.
      A search box is shown below the Location field.
   2. Enter identifying info for the location (e.g. street address, zip code, coordinates).
      Search results are displayed below the search box as you type.
   3. Click on the desired location.
      The selected location populates the Location field.
8. In the Configuration section, in the Ingest Cluster field, select from the drop-down list one of the available Ingest Clusters as the destination for the Source.

9. In the Target Broadcaster/s field, select your broadcaster preference. Either select a specific broadcaster to be used OR specify your preference for using primary vs. backup broadcasters, options are: Prefer Primary Broadcasters, Primary Broadcasters only, Backup Broadcasters only or Prefer Backup Broadcasters.

   For managed clusters, it is not recommended to select a specific broadcaster, as the broadcaster's availability may not remain stable.

10.  In the NDI Stream field, select from the drop-down list the desired NDI stream on the local network where the Broadcaster is hosted.

11. In the Profile field, select one of the pre-configured Profiles to apply to this Source. If you would like to create a new transcoding profile, see Adding Transcoding Profiles.

    You must select a Transcoding Profile that either encodes both the video and audio or transcodes one and removes the other. A profile that passes through either the video or audio cannot be used.

12. If you would like to assign the transcoding process to a multi GPU Broadcaster, select the Assign to GPU checkbox, and then select from the drop-down list the desired GPU instance. Options are: 0(default), 1, 2 and 3.

    This feature is useful if you are running several heavy transcoding activities, as it enables you to distribute the load among several different GPUs.

13. In the Pad to CBR field, enter the amount of CBR padding to be added (in kbps).
14. In the Audio Reference Level field, enter the audio reference level (0-20).
15. If you would like to generate email notifications whenever a PID change is detected, select the Alert on PID changes checkbox.
16. In the Public Output field, if you would like to allow access to the stream directly through a supported player, select the Allow checkbox.
17. If you selected the Allow checkbox, then enter a password in the Password field to authenticate access to the stream.

18. If you would like to enable Content Analysis (CQA), verify that the Enable Content Analysis checkbox is selected (default).

    It is generally recommended to enable Content Analysis unless it is causing technical problems. If Content Analysis is disabled, the system won’t detect errors in the video and audio content of the stream and won’t generate warnings for such events. Even when Content Analysis is disabled the system will still detect TR101 errors in the stream.

19. If you would like to monitor CEA-608/CEA-708 closed captions, select the Monitor CEA-608/CEA-708 checkbox.

    Monitoring CEA-608/CEA-708 Closed Captions requires using a version 14.4 or newer Broadcaster.

20. If you would like to disable auto-pull, select the Disable Auto-Pull checkbox.

    Disabling Auto-Pull will lock Channels using this Source to the Source’s Ingest Cluster and Targets to the Source’s current active Broadcaster. This setting applies only to Pass-Through Channels.

21. If Auto-Pull is enabled, in the Auto-Pull Latency [ms] field, specify the desired latency for auto-pull actions. (Default: 1000 ms)

22. In the WebRTC Playback section, select the desired playback method.

    WebRTC enables you to monitor the stream via web browsers and mobile applications with real-time communication (RTC). WebRTC needs to be activated independently for each Source in ZEN Master (by default it is disabled).

    
    Select one of the following options:

    • Disabled - users will not be able to view this Source using WebRTC (default)
    • Pass-Through - passes the stream through to WebRTC without transcoding. This option can only be used if the input stream is already in a WebRTC compliant format (video - H.264 codec with Baseline or Main profile and no B frames, Audio - Opus codec).

    • Auto - ZEN Master automatically transcodes the stream using the optimal profile for each specific user. In this option Zixi Broadcaster will decode the video, transforming it into RAW frames, which will be passed to the WebRTC library, where it will be re-encoded for each individual user.

      Best quality. However, if monitored by multiple users this can consume extensive resources.

    • 1080p/720p/480p/360p - ZEN Master transcodes the stream to a WebRTC compliant  profile with the specified resolution. The transcoding is done by Zixi Broadcaster's transcoder.

      This method requires a Zixi Broadcaster with X264 or Nvidia for transcoding. This method allows many users to monitor the stream without encoding separately for each individual user, which saves CPU capacity. Since there is only one stream version, it is recommended to encode to a low resolution and low bitrate so that the stream will be viewable by all users monitoring the stream.

23. In the Initial State section, select the Disabled checkbox if you would like to disable this Source upon initial configuration.

24. Select the Muted checkbox if you would like to disable error/recovery notifications for this Source upon initial configuration.

    You can Enable/Unmute the Source at any time.

25. If you would like to adjust the advanced settings, click Advanced.
    The Advanced settings fields are displayed:
    
    
26. If you would like to track usage for this Source, enter your Billing Code details. See Billing Codes.
27. In the Auto Pull MTU field, specify the maximum transmission unit (largest data packet that a network-connected device will accept) in bytes for the Auto Pull.
28. To set the detection of frozen video, in the Frozen Video Minimal Duration field, specify the default minimal duration in seconds of frozen video after which the Broadcaster will trigger a Frozen video alert. Default: 10 seconds. This setting is supported for Broadcaster version 16.3 and higher. 
29. To set the detection of blank video, in the Blank Video Minimal Duration field, specify the default minimal duration in seconds of blank video after which the Broadcaster will trigger a Blank video alert. Default: 10 seconds. This setting is supported for Broadcaster version 16.3 and higher. 
30. Click Save.

NDI Source Configuration Parameters Table