Dante AV or NDI. Which of these is better?
How about bandwidth?
Bandwidth is a foundational issue, especially in the standard 1Gbps networks in which NDI and Dante AV are designed to work. Delivering high-quality, low-latency video and audio over 1Gbps involves compression and decoding, and your choice of transport system must include the typical bandwidth for the video stream. The details in this table are best estimates based on testing and use. They are sourced from our own shows, NDI, and Audinate, but your results may vary.
Pro Tip: When planning for AV over IP, make sure you have a sufficient network infrastructure, including robust, managed switches.
Management and Security – Dante AV
Audinate’s Dante AV management tools are best-in-class. Dante Director™ is a cloud-based management tool that allows enrollment, organization, and security for Dante AV devices. Subscriptions can be managed using Dante Director and Dante Controller. Dante Director™ has a subscription-based pricing model.
Management and Security – NDI
NDI Access Manager provides essential tools for managing NDI streams, devices, and users. It provides options for Multicast ranges, management of external subnets, and multiple Discovery Servers. Event producers working with multiple cameras and media sources can organize and route NDI streams based on specific production needs. Large organizations leverage NDI Access Manager to control and efficiently distribute NDI sources across various departments. NDI Access Manager is available free as a part of NDI Tools.
Audio/Video Synchronization
Audio will always beat video in the race to the screen because it is a much lighter packet stream. This is why the audio stream must be delayed to synchronize with the video. The audio delay is adjusted in Dante Controller for each Dante AV Ultra video flow. Once synchronized, that timing is constantly monitored and maintained by precise PTP clocking, which is communicated device-to-device across the network. This is a hallmark of Dante AV Ultra, resulting in unparalleled precision and performance.
NDI functions differently. “NDI transmitters and receivers do not require any specific synchronization method to connect and function. An NDI infrastructure can operate “sync-free,” avoiding the complexity and cost of network systems that support synchronization layers.” [Source: ndi.video] In live production, this means that if the audio layer of the NDI feed can be delayed, the TriCaster does this exceptionally well; audio/video synchronization is achievable, if not rock-solid. To synchronize multiple video and audio sources, NDI recommends one or a combination of a blackburst signal, an NTP or PTP clock, or Genlock. [Source: docs.ndi.video]
Software Tools – NDI
The Tools and Plugins available for NDI are extensive. From versatile video and audio utilities to broadcast test patterns and plugins for production software, the tools available for NDI expand its capabilities significantly. And they are free. Software like vMix, OBS, Teams, Zoom, ProPresenter, and others have native or plug-in support for NDI. Production software like Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects have NDI plug-ins. This level of broad adoption can not be overstated. Tools like Screen Capture make broadcasting a computer presentation output as easy as a PTZ camera. Another handy tool, Studio Monitor, makes it simple to discover and display any NDI source on the network with built-in support for PTZ control. And then we have NDI Bridge.
NDI Bridge uses PCs in Host and Join mode to securely connect NDI infrastructures across LANs and WANs. With NDI Bridge, a broadcast host can easily bring in an entire remote broadcast setup, camera crew, or a single reporter and put that broadcast on air. NDI Bridge supports video, audio, PTZ control, and more. NDI 6 introduced NDI Embedded Bridge, which allows individual devices to connect to a remote LAN with NDI Bridge in host mode. It’s a remarkable achievement.
NDI Tools are available for Windows and Mac. NDI Bridge is Windows-only.
Software Tools – Dante AV
Dante Controller software is recognized worldwide. That’s because it is the heartbeat of Dante’s signal flow management. Dante AV uses Dante Controller to make video subscriptions in precisely the same way. Video can be routed with Dante audio channels from anywhere on the network. Dante Controller makes it easy to create multicast video flows, simplifying the ability to take a single video source and subscribe it to multiple endpoints. This compact Swiss Army Knife tool handles synchronization, network management, firmware updates, and many other essential tasks.
Audinate also offers Dante Studio™ for Dante AV, which extends the capabilities of Dante AV Ultra and Dante AV-H. Dante Studio™ can receive up to four simultaneous 1080p video flows which are then available to vMix, OBS, Teams, Zoom and more. The flows can be one Ultra and three H, or four H at 1080p or 1 Dante AV-H 4K video flow. The type of video flow (Ultra or H) is automatically determined, and the video source can be routed alongside Dante audio from anywhere on the network with Dante Controller.
Dante Studio can also transmit the output of the PC on which it is running, making that video available anywhere on the Dante AV network. Studio also includes Dante Video Viewer, a standalone application that allows you to view Dante video streams from any Dante AV Ultra or Dante AV-H source on the network in real-time. Dante Studio is for Windows PCs only and has an annual subscription price model.
Summary
Bandwidth, Signal Quality, Tools, Audio, and Integration must all be considered when choosing between Dante AV and NDI. Of course, reliability, management, ease of deployment and use, and scalability are also important considerations. NDI and Dante AV shine in many ways, but one or the other may lack a feature that is important to you.
Bolin makes a complete line of products for both systems, and we are here to help guide you toward what will perform best in your situation. You can learn a lot more at our website and our YouTube channel. If you would like to connect further, please get in touch with us. We are here for you!
