Start a new topic

Network Setup Information

Welcome to the PTZOptics forum(s)!


This thread has been created for end users to discuss the topic of how best to setup a communication network for use with NewTek NDI.


Please make sure to respect the experience level(s) of all users at all times when posting within our forums or your account may have access removed.



There are two (2) main concerns when looking to configure a network for use with NDI and a PTZOptics camera.

  • mDNS
  • multicast

If you are having issues surrounding discovery of your cameras then you are likely experiencing an mDNS configuration issue.

If you are having troubles viewing your video, and you are using multicast on the camera, then you likely have a multicast configuration issue.

Note: multicast is required if you want to pull your NDI source into more than one (1) NDI Receiver (Studio Monitor, vMix, OBS, Wirecast, etc...) at the same time

  • mDNS Symptoms
    • When you utilize a discovery or configuration tool, it is unable to locate your device connected to the same network
      • When you utilize a discovery or configuration tool, it randomly finds devices which also disappear randomly
  • Multicast Symptoms
    • When connecting to a multicast source, your video appears to “smear” or “bleed”
    • When connecting to a multicast source and have a successful connection, but receive no content
    • When connecting to a multicast source, your network crashes
    • When connecting to a multicast source, your network slows to an unusable speed

General overview of the issue(s) and generic resolutions to those issues


When you have more than one (1) network switch being utilized in a situation with equipment and applications that utilize mDNS for discovery, the switches need to be told which switch will be the “holder” of mDNS discovery tables.


When the IGMP snooping querier is enabled, it periodically sends queries that trigger IGMP response messages from hosts that are requesting to receive IP multicast traffic.


These tables are what your network will reference when it tries to route traffic to your device. If the tables are not being held properly in one location the discovery will be intermittent at best.


The next step is enabling IGMP and possibly, depending on your exact requirements, enabling or disabling multicast traffic via wireless access points.


Multicast traffic via your WiFi network is a decision that should not be taken lightly as it is very easy to overload a wireless access point with multicast traffic. Also of note is that not all wireless access points are capable of handling multicast traffic; please refer to manufacturer documentation.



We have created a walk through guide on setting these features up for Ubiquiti networking equipment and while the document is specific to Ubiquiti the general topics covered within are applicable for most managed networking environments.


We have also created a walk through guide on setting these features up for the more affordable  TP-Link Archer C1200 v3 w/ TP-Link TL-SG1008P switches.

pdf
pdf

I am at home off the network trying to set up a computer to use on Sunday on the AV system already set up with a PTZOptics camera.  Can I install all drivers & tools at this time?


Hi Peter,


It would be fine to go ahead and install the NDI Tools (includes the HX driver as well) prior to bringing to computer on site. 

Do I need a router if I'm just plugging one camera into one computer to record the feed?

Hello Daniel,


You do not necessarily need to connect the camera to a larger network. 


You can establish a network connection with the camera wired directly to an Ethernet port on the computer.

For this sort of configuration, the IP address of the NIC port the camera is connected through would need to be set to the same range as the camera's IP address. 

Login to post a comment