Video

Using Skype on a separate Mac with Ecamm and NDI

If you want to save processing power on your Mac that is running Ecamm Live, one option is to run your Skype call on another computer on your network. Ideally you will have everything connected via Ethernet, but I tested this with my phone as the Skype caller to my iMac that would host the Skype call. The iMac is on Ethernet. The Macbook Pro was on WiFi running Ecamm Live and accepting the camera source from the other mac via NDI!

Network Device Interface (NDI) is a royalty-free software standard developed by NewTek to enable video-compatible products to communicate, deliver, and receive broadcast-quality video in a high-quality, low-latency manner that is frame-accurate and suitable for switching in a live production environment.

NDI is designed to run over existing Gigabit networks, with the NDI codec expected to deliver 1080i HD video at VBR data rates typically around 100 Mbit/s.

Does NDI work over WiFi?

NDI will work over a wireless network but at a reduced frame rate depending on the bandwidth available. As a general rule of thumb 100Mbit is recommended per 1080p video feed. The actual bandwidth used may be much less than 100Mbit (even below 20Mbit) depending on the complexity and size of the video being sent.

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