Creating an NDI Output

Zixi Broadcaster can transcode a TS stream Input into an NDI output using Raw video and audio profiles. The NDI output is configured in the transcoding profile itself, so there is no need to create an NDI Output from the Zixi Broadcaster Outputs screen. The Raw video profile can be configured to modify the stream's resolution (i.e. upscale/downscale) and frame rates per second. When the input stream is transcoded, it becomes available to be pulled by NDI enabled devices.

To Create an NDI Output:

  1. Create a Raw video transcoding profile and a Raw audio transcoding profile. For instructions, see Creating New Profiles section.

  2. Create an input stream by following the instructions in the Adding Input Streams section.

  3. Click Actions button on the right end of the input stream row and then Transcode. The Transcode <input stream name> window with the settings of the selected input stream is displayed.

  4. Enter the unique Stream ID., which will correspond to the new transcoded input that will be added.

  5. Under Stream Parameters, in the Output Type field, select NDI.

     

  6. Under Stream Parameters, in the Video profile and Audio profile fields, do one of the following:

  • Select the Raw Video profile and Raw Audio Profile that you have configured.

  • Select Remove stream – you can use the transcoder to remove the video or audio track from the stream. 

7. Fill in additional fields (see table below for additional parameters).

8. Click OK. The transcoded input stream is created and appears in an embedded window labeled Transcoded sources under the original input stream from which it was created.

Parameter

Description

Parameter

Description

Video Profile

Select an existing Raw Video profile, or select Remove stream if you want to remove the video track.

Audio Profile

Select an existing Raw Audio profile, or select Remove stream if you want to remove the audio track.

Use Intel Hardware Acceleration (if available)

Select this checkbox to use hardware acceleration component if it has been installed. When using an Nvidia profile, this setting will be disabled.

Crop Parameters

Select this checkbox to set the cropping parameters.

Cropping Mode

Set the units used for defining the crop. Options are: Pixels or Percentages.

Note: Depending on the type of content, in some cases using different crop values for low resolution outputs might be appropriate.  For example, if the content includes both video content and textual content, the text would not be readable at lower resolutions and thus might be better to exclude.  Another use case for using different crop values for each output would be to slice a 360 or VR input video.

Left, Top

Specify the left and top positions for the crop.

Width x Height

Specify the width and height values for the crop.

Enable time shift

 

Maximum delay [hh:mm:ss]

Specify the time of the delayed transmission of this stream. Maximum: 24 hours.

Transmit as multicast

Selecting this checkbox enables the transmission of this stream’s outputs as multicast. A Zixi receiver that will pull the stream will receive it in multicast. By default, Zixi Broadcaster is configured to allow transparent fallback to unicast if it is out of the LAN. Requires enabling Multicast Pull in the Settings. This setting requires enabling Multicast Pool (Settings > Multicast Pool).

Multicast Only

Selecting this checkbox will force the transmission of this stream only in multicast.

Enable Encryption

Select this checkbox to encrypt the Input stream. For more information, see Encrypting an Input Stream in Zixi Broadcaster .

Encryption type (for Encryption enabled)

Specify the type of Encryption (AES 128/192/256).

Encryption key (for encryption enabled)

Click Generate to generate an encryption key. The generated encryption key must be sent to the end-user to decipher the received encoded stream.

Recording parameters

Select this checkbox to customize the recording parameters.

Destination Type

Select the radio button for the desired storage type and then fill in the relevant parameters.

  • Record to disk – the recording is saved on the local disk.

  • Record to S3 – the file is saved to your AWS S3 Bucket.

Record to Disk Parameters

 

File Name Template

Specify the file name pattern that Zixi will use to generate when saving the recorded content. A separate file will be generated for each recording up to the time specified in the Max recorded file duration parameter (see above). After this duration a new file will be generated.

The file name pattern can include any string and up to five variables listed below. Only the %T=HH.MM.SS creation time is mandatory. You can change the order of these variables and add text as long as you maintain the legitimate structure of the file in Linux and Windows:

  • %S=stream id - optional.

  • %Y=year - optional

  • %M=month - optional

  • %D=day - optional

  • %T=HH.MM.SS creation time - mandatory

For example, the following pattern %Y_recording%T.ts will generate the following file name 2017_recording15:32:35.ts.

Max recorded file duration [hours]

Specify the maximum time allotted for recording a video stream. Default: 2 hours

Keep recorded files for [hours]

Specify the maximum time for storing the recording. Default: 0 hours

Custom Path

Optionally specify a storage location for the recorded files that is relative to the root folder. This location bypasses the location specified as the root folder in the Settings > General screen.

Record to S3 Parameters

 

File Name Template

Specify the file name pattern that Zixi will use to generate when saving the recorded content. A separate file will be generated for each recording up to the time specified in the Max recorded file duration parameter (see above). After this duration a new file will be generated.

The file name pattern can include any string and up to five variables listed below. Only the %T=HH.MM.SS creation time is mandatory. You can change the order of these variables and add text as long as you maintain the legitimate structure of the file in Linux and Windows:

  • %S=stream id - optional.

  • %Y=year - optional

  • %M=month - optional

  • %D=day - optional

  • %T=HH.MM.SS creation time - mandatory

For example, the following pattern %Y_recording%T.ts will generate the following file name 2017_recording15:32:35.ts.

Max recorded file duration [hours]

Specify the maximum time allotted for recording a video stream. Default: 2 hours

URL

Specify the URL of the S3 bucket.

Ignore TLS certificate errors

TLS certificate for S3 bucket might be detected as faulty if bucket name contains dot[s]. When this option is selected, Zixi Broadcaster will ignore the TLS certificate errors and transmit the stream to its destination.

Access Key

The access key that is used for accessing the S3 bucket.

Secret Key

The secret key that is used for accessing the S3 bucket.

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