Check out these Free NewTek NDI Applications!
Revised: July 27, 2017
NewTek provides several NDI applications for all NDI users at no charge. Some are watermarked trial products, but for this article we will look strictly at those that are fully-functional free applications. These will assist any production workflow that uses products that are NDI-enabled. Such workflows include NewTek IP Series, TriCaster and 3Play, of course, but today there are NDI-enabled video production systems and software from many other manufacturers as well.
Some of the free tools are applications that provide a subset of the functions of professional editions that are available. The others are free-standing tools built around the NDI protocol, and provided together in the NewTek NDI Tools Pack.
NDI Tools Pack Applications:
NewTek NDI for Adobe Creative Cloud: Allows users to send full-resolution, real-time video with audio and transparency from Adobe applications across the network, saving valuable time by eliminating the need to render and upload. Content designed in the Adobe Creative Cloud suite, including Adobe Premiere® Pro CC and Adobe After Effects® CC, can go to any NDI-enabled receiving device—directly from the application timeline. This can streamline the review and approval process, and also allow Adobe applications to directly contribute content to live productions.
This is the latest free application to be added to the NewTek NDI Tools pack.
NewTek NDI Test Patterns: Generates a variety of professional video test patterns and audio tones as an NDI source from a standard PC. Users can then calibrate audio and video on any networked device to broadcast standards. This is a free application in the NewTek NDI Tools Pack.
NewTek NDI Video Monitor: Enables any standard PC to view any available NDI source on the network in a dedicated window. This is also free in the NewTek NDI Tools Pack.
NewTek NDI Scan Converter: Enables any combination of windows, applications, webcams, or the entire screen on the system where it is installed to become available as switchable video sources, without affecting other actions on those computers during production. Free application in the NewTek NDI Tools Pack.
NewTek NDI VLC Plugin: VLC Media Player can send output to this plugin, which outputs the content as NDI. Transcoding is handled by the plugin on the fly so that any file format VLC can play is immediately and transparently available on the network. Important note: The VLC Media Player installer will install the 32-bit version by default. If you have a 64-bit OS, be sure to set the VLC installer to place the 64-bit version for better performance, as NDI is up to 4 times faster on 64-bit.
NewTek NDI Access Manager: A strength of NDI is the virtually unlimited number of sources that can be made available for video production use. These include not just the traditional video sources, but any computer display, most mobile device displays and most applications, including Powerpoint, web browsers, media players, etc. With so many possible sources, you need something to organize things, and that’s where NDI Access Manager comes in. Create groups and assign the individual sources to a group, and determine what groups are visible to the system you are running NDI Group Manager on. In short, you can make order out of the chaos of dozens or scores (or more) of available sources within a large facility or group of facilities.
Minimum System Requirements (NDI for Adobe Creative Cloud)
- 64-bit Microsoft Windows 7 operating system (OS) or better (PC); Mac OS X operating system or better (Mac)
- Intel i5 Sandy Bridge CPU or better
- 2GB system memory
- Adobe Creative Cloud membership (compatible applications include Adobe Premiere Pro® CC, Adobe After Effects® CC, Adobe Prelude® CC, and Adobe SpeedGrade® CC)
- Gigabit connection or better
- 32-bit or 64-bit Microsoft® Windows Vista® operating system (OS) or better (64-bit recommended)
- Intel Core i3 CPU (2008 or later) or better
- 6GB RAM
- Gigabit connection or better
- Display with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher
- 64-bit Microsoft® Windows 7 operating system (OS) or better
- Intel i5 Sandy Bridge CPU or better with integrated GPU (NVIDIA discrete GPU, with 2GB video memory or better recommended)
- 8GB system memory
- Gigabit connection or better
- Display with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher
- 64-bit Microsoft® Windows 7 operating system (OS) or better
- Intel i5 Sandy Bridge CPU or better with integrated GPU (NVIDIA discrete GPU, with 2GB video memory or better recommended)
- 8GB system memory
- Gigabit LAN connection for signal transmission over IP via NDI technology
- Local, external or shared storage accommodating the desired number of recording channels and capacity (write speeds of 20 Mb/s per channel required; high-speed storage recommended)
- Display with screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher
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