Introduction to NDI Tools
As your NDI setup expands, so does the need for practical, reliable utilities that help you work more efficiently.
That’s where the NDI Tools come in.
NDI Tools is a free collection of applications and plugins developed by NewTek, designed to support everyday production tasks and simplify both basic and advanced workflows.
Whether you're monitoring streams, capturing screens, routing signals, or managing network visibility, these tools are your daily companions.
Let’s take a quick look at what’s included:
Applications
• NDI Webcam – Converts an NDI stream into a standard webcam input for apps like Zoom or Teams
• NDI Studio Monitor – View and monitor any NDI source on the network
• NDI Screen Capture – Share your desktop or specific windows over NDI
• NDI Screen Capture HX – A high-efficiency version that uses GPU encoding for lower system load
• Test Patterns – Send standardized test signals to verify resolution, sync, and network integrity
• Access Manager – Configure discovery settings, source visibility, multicast and group management
• NDI Bridge – Securely transmit NDI streams over the public internet or between remote sites
• NDI Remote – Receive a video feed from a remote contributor via web browser
• NDI Router – A virtual routing app to switch between sources without interrupting receivers
Plugins and Extensions
• NDI Audio Direct – VST3 plugins that route multichannel audio in and out of DAWs via NDI
• NDI for VLC – Add NDI output and playback support to the VLC player
• NDI for Adobe Premiere & After Effects – Adds support for live NDI output during editing and playback, and also enables native import and export of NDI files using the SpeedHQ codec.
It supports growing file editing, allowing you to work on NDI-recorded files even while they’re still being captured.
These tools are available for Windows and macOS (a growing selection), and they require no special hardware to use.
Note: While NDI Analysis is an advanced diagnostic utility, it's not part of the NDI Tools package; it’s a separate command-line tool available for developers and system integrators.
We won’t go into detailed tutorials for each tool in this course, our focus is on understanding how NDI works and how to design reliable workflows.
However, if you want to dive deeper into any specific tool, you’ll find full documentation, guides, and technical references on the official NDI Docs & Guides portal at: docs.ndi.video
There, you can explore individual manuals, setup instructions, and real-world examples for every tool in the NDI suite.
The NDI Discovery Service: Centralizing NDI Source Discovery
The NDI Discovery Server is a lightweight utility that enables you to centralize NDI source discovery across your network, particularly in environments where multicast is unavailable or impractical.
If you're using Windows, the Discovery Server is included when you install the NDI Tools.
You'll find it in the system as a standalone executable, ready to launch whenever needed.
On macOS and Linux, the Discovery Server isn't bundled with the NDI Tools. Instead, you’ll need to download the NDI SDK, which includes the Discovery Server application along with other developer resources.
Once running, the Discovery Server functions as a directory service for NDI.
NDI Transmitters configured to use it will send their information, like stream names and network addresses, to the server. Receivers then connect to the Discovery Server to retrieve a list of available sources, eliminating the need for multicast traffic, such as mDNS.
Communication between clients and the Discovery Server utilizes unicast over TCP, ensuring reliable delivery and making it well-suited for segmented or large-scale networks.
This approach provides a more controlled, scalable, and predictable discovery process, making it ideal for professional production environments, particularly when managing multiple VLANs, subnets, or cloud-based workflows.
Just remember: if you decide to use the Discovery Server, all devices that need to see each other must be configured to point to it. Otherwise, sources won’t be visible, even if they’re active on the network.
