Union: Office TV Stream Fix
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Union: Office TV Stream Fix

Current Problem

The generic HDEX-IP Decoder boxes in each office currently have trouble reliably producing the stream. We need these to be rock solid as it’s the only real-time way for people not in the auditorium to hear/view what’s currently going on in the Auditorium.

Solution: BirdDog NDI on an Isolated Network

The current universal standard for networked video distribution is a protocol called NDI. Developed by NewTek, NDI, otherwise known as Network Device Interface, is an open standard for connecting video devices over a network. (source)

Many companies currently make NDI-based devices or have included NDI in their software. One company that has been leading the race for a number of years now is BirdDog. BirdDog makes a slew of devices ranging from PTZ Cameras, NDI Cloud services, and what we’re most interested in: NDI Encoders and Decoders.

Below is a list of the products we’d need to buy, along with a general game plan for the install:

Products to Buy

BIRD DOG BOXES

Product Name
Quantity
Price per Unit
Total
URL
BirdDog 4K 12G-SDI NDI Encoder/Decoder
1
$1,099.00
$1,099.00
LINK
BirdDog PLAY 4K NDI Player
16
$149.00
$2,384.00
LINK
Anker Slim USB C Wall Charger
16
$19.99
$319.84
LINK
Anker 1’ USB C to C Cable
16
$12.98
$207.68
LINK
TOTAL:
$4010.52
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NOTE: The Power Bricks and USB C Cables listed here are required as The BirdDog Play does not include a power brick or cable in the box. I have reached out to bird dog to see what brick/cable they recommend. For now, I’ve picked this brick out just because it’s slim and can easily fit behind the TV’s, and the cable is rather short to help manage as well.

General Installation Plan

There are 16 rooms that have TV’s that need this stream on them. They are as follows.

  1. Studio 1 (Kids)
  2. Studio 2 (Kids)
  3. Annex
  4. Baby Room/Nursery
  5. Pastor Stephens office
  6. Pastor Zai’s Office
  7. Temi’s office
  8. Diane’s office
  9. Conference room
  10. Sheldon’s office
  11. Brandon’s office
  12. Extra Office
  13. Kitchen
  14. Growth Track (2 Tv’s, HDMI split)
  15. Prayer Room
  16. Nursing room

The majority (if not all) of these have the old generic decoder already with ethernet ran to them. We need to confirm with Will which of these have an ethernet line already ran to them from the isolated NDI Switch in the server room, and also confirm if there any locations currently in use that are not on this list.

Will has also just confirmed with me that the current boxes are “on their own switch and own logical Network”, so that saves me a bit of write up there.

All we have to do once we order these is set their static IP’s, hook them all up, log into the web interface of each one and tell it to use the Encoder’s signal every time and not pop up asking to select a source, and then we’re all set.

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The only roadblock I foresee is the frame rate style. We may need a decimator between the Video Switcher or Video Hub (whichever source we’re using) to the NDI Encoder to get it to be 1080p 29.97, or something that the TV’s, Play’s, and Encoder all get along with if it has any trouble. I’ve personally seen the Encoder take interlaced (1080i) signals just fine, but the Play’s I haven’t seen yet.
~ Ben