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:
Create a Raw video transcoding profile and a Raw audio transcoding profile. For instructions, see Creating New Profiles section.
Create an input stream by following the instructions in the Adding Input Streams section.
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.
Enter the unique Stream ID, which will correspond to the new transcoded input that will be added.
Under Stream Parameters, in the Output Type field, select NDI.
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 |
|---|---|
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. |
Apply audio profile for all audio PIDs | Select this checkbox to apply the selected audio profile for all PIDs. |
Output Type | Select NDI – the output will be available as NDI. When selecting NDI output, you can select the following video/audio profiles:
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Transport stream bitrate [kbps] | Specify the bitrate of the transport stream. This parameter is optional. If you do not specify a TS Bitrate, the stream will be VBR. If you specify a bitrate, the stream will be CBR. The bitrate value must be compatible with the selected profile. |
Add RTP headers | Select this checkbox to add RTP headers to the stream. RTP adds a 12-byte header, which includes a sequence number and a timestamp that can be used to detect dropped packets. The sequence number in the RTP headers can be used to do automatic reordering and the timestamps can help overcome inter-packet gaps, also known as IAT (Inter Arrival Time). However, plain RTP does not feature error recovery or error protection. By default, the RTP headers (which include the timestamps and sequences) are being used on the input side, but then they are stripped off and they no longer propagate to outputs. |
Pass all PIDs | Select this checkbox to pass-through all non-transcoded PIDs. |
Force I-Frames on SCTE-35 markers |
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Copy Closed Captions | Default selected. |
Smoothing buffer [ms] | The Smoothing feature uses a buffer to time packets according to the stream's clock. This is useful when there are bursts in the rate in which the stream arrives. The smoothing features creates a queue in the buffer, allowing smoother entry into the Broadcaster. The Smoothing parameter defines the size of the buffer in Milliseconds. A larger the buffer enables smoother entry. However, it may influence the latency rate. |
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 |
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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 https://zixidocumentation.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/116/pages/4775775545 . |
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.
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Record to Disk Parameters |
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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:
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 |
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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:
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. |