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TECHNICAL GUIDE

NRS NDI Plugin User & Admin Guide

Hal Hope
  • Updated

The NDI Plugin enables users and system administrators to record, preview, manage, and play out NDI (Network Device Interface) video streams directly on Vizrt NRS storage systems.

System Compatibility & Installation

Hardware & OS Compatibility

  • NRS/EVO 7.1: The NDI plugin is included with NRS systems provided by Vizrt.
  • Support Assistance: If the plugin does not appear on the system or requires an update, contact Studio Network Solutions (SNS) Support for assistance.

Installation

  • NRS Interface: Log in to the NRS admin interface, select Plugins from the left menu, and click the options icon (...) to upload and install the NDI plugin.
  • EVO 7.1.1+ Requirements: Starting in EVO 7.1.1, the plugin requires installation to a reserved share, typically named sys-plugins.

Logging In & Account Roles

To access the interface, open a web browser and navigate to: http://[NRS-IP]/#/splash

  1. Enter the EVO/NRS Username and Password.
  2. Click Log In.

 

The functionality and views displayed after logging in depend on the user account's permission level:

  • Standard User Account: Grants access to user-level operations across three main tabs: Settings, Recording, and Playout.
  • Administrator Account: Directs straight to the Preferences & Admin Dashboard view for system-wide configuration and global activity monitoring.

Share Access Requirement: User login requires read/write access to at least one storage share on the system. If an account lacks access to any shares, the login fails with the message: "Login Failed: User has no access to shares."

Section 1: User Interface & Workflows

Standard user accounts utilize three dedicated tabs to configure personal storage locations, preview/record live NDI streams, and manage media playout.

1. Storage & Share Configuration (Settings Tab)

Before recording NDI feeds, mount an accessible share and define at least one storage location.

A. Mounting Shares

Navigate to the Settings tab. The Shares panel lists all shares assigned to the account.

  • Mount Status: Displays whether a share is mounted (green) or not mounted (red).
  • Click Mount next to an unmounted share to make it available for recording.

B. Creating Storage Locations

  1. In the Add storage location panel, enter a descriptive Name.
  2. Under Share, select a mounted share from the drop-down menu.
  3. Under Path on this share, enter a subfolder path or click Browse to open the built-in file browser modal. Optionally choose / to record to the root of the share.
  4. Click Add to save the storage location.

Automatic Safety Stop: To prevent volume exhaustion, active NDI recordings automatically halt if available share space falls below 5 GB.

C. Reviewing Storage Locations

Configured destinations appear under the Storage locations list. To remove a location, click the red X button under the Delete column.

2. Recording & Previewing NDI Feeds (Recording Tab)

Navigate to the Recording tab to monitor and capture live NDI streams across the network.

Preview Display & Behavior

  • Selecting a Feed: Use the Filter previews... field to filter channels, then select an active NDI feed from the drop-down menu beneath the player.
  • Default State: Selecting None in the preview menu displays a "Select preview below" message.
  • Stream Disruption: If a selected feed stops transmitting or fails to generate frames for 10 seconds, the window displays "Preview not available".
  • Active Recording Behavior: To conserve server CPU and network bandwidth, the main live preview stream automatically disengages once recording starts for that specific stream. The smaller thumbnail inside the Current Recordings panel continues to update periodically to monitor capture status.

Starting & Managing Recordings

  1. In the Start a Recording panel, select an NDI stream under Source (use Filter sources... to narrow the list).
  2. Choose a target Storage location.
  3. Click Start Recording.
  4. Active captures appear under Current Recordings, displaying a periodically updating thumbnail, owner username, and stream name.
    • To stop a single capture, click Stop Recording next to the item.
    • To stop all active captures, click Stop All.

Real-Time Display Synchronization: The Current Recordings table automatically updates every 3 seconds. Stopped recordings clear from the display within 3 seconds without requiring a manual browser refresh. Actions taken by an administrator (such as stopping a recording) automatically reflect on active user screens in real time.

3. Playout & Playlist Queue (Playout Tab)

The Playout tab allows for queuing media files stored on EVO/NRS shares and playing them out as NDI video streams across the network.

Adding Media to Playout

  1. Under Add to playlist, select the target Share.
  2. Click Browse next to Media file to select the video asset.
  3. Enter an NDI Channel name.
  4. Click Add.

Controlling Playout

  • Play now: Initiates playout of the queued playlist.
  • Loop: Toggles continuous looping.
  • Stop: Halts active playout.
  • Playout & API Events: Review live server-timestamped logs for playout actions and programmatic API calls.

Section 2: Administrator Interface & Dashboard

Logging in with an administrator account opens the Preferences view, providing central system-wide management, global permission controls, and real-time monitoring across all system users.

Permissions & Configuration Controls

  • Require Secondary Admin: Enforces secondary admin authentication for setting changes.
  • Enable previews: Toggles live NDI preview streaming on or off system-wide.
  • Configuration Management: Export (Current Configuration), import (Upload Configuration), or revert settings (Reset Configuration).

System-Wide Activity Monitoring

Administrators can monitor and manage all active system operations in real time across three dedicated panels:

  • Current Recordings: Monitor or stop active captures initiated by any user on the system (changes automatically sync to active user screens within 3 seconds).
  • Playout events: Track all active and past playout streams system-wide.
  • API events: Review a live log of all external API endpoint requests.

Related Articles

  • NDI API Reference Guide — Complete technical guide covering NDI v7 REST API endpoints, token authentication, cURL request examples, and automated playout control.

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