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Fetch Media Tools Docs

Installation & First Run

System Requirements

Section titled “System Requirements”

Operating Systems:

  • Windows 10 or later (64-bit)
  • macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later (Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3/M4 only)
  • Linux (x86_64 with modern desktop environment)

Minimum Hardware:

  • 4 GB RAM
  • 500 MB available disk space
  • GPU with OpenGL 3.3+ or Vulkan support
  • Display resolution 1280×720 or higher
  • Wired network connection (recommended for stable NDI® reception)

Recommended:

  • 8 GB RAM or more for monitoring 8+ sources
  • Dedicated GPU (NVIDIA/AMD/Intel Arc) for smooth rendering
  • 1920×1080 or higher display
  • Gigabit Ethernet or faster for Full Resolution mode
  • Multi-core CPU (4+ cores recommended)

Network Requirements:

  • Access to NDI® sources on local network or via discovery server
  • Firewall rules allowing NDI® traffic (TCP/UDP ports 5960-5969, 6960-6969, 7960-7969)
  • Multicast support if using mDNS discovery (default)

Installation

Section titled “Installation”

Windows:

Download the installer from the Fetch website.
Run the .msi installer.
Follow the installation wizard prompts.
Launch from Start Menu: Fetch | Laika.

macOS:

Download the .dmg disk image.
Open the disk image.
Drag Laika to Applications folder.
Launch from Applications or Spotlight.
On first launch, macOS may require you to allow the app in System Preferences → Security & Privacy.

Linux:

Download the appropriate package (.deb for Debian/Ubuntu, .rpm for Fedora/RHEL, or .AppImage for universal).

Debian/Ubuntu:

Terminal window
sudo dpkg -i laika_*.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

Fedora/RHEL:

Terminal window
sudo rpm -i laika-*.rpm

AppImage:

Terminal window
chmod +x Laika-*.AppImage
./Laika-*.AppImage

Launch from application menu or terminal: laika

First Launch

Section titled “First Launch”

When you first open Laika, you’ll see the default 2x2 multiviewer layout — four empty viewer tiles arranged in a grid.

The interface is clean and purpose-built. You’ll see the menu bar at the top (File, Sources, Layout, Pads, View, Help), the main viewing area with numbered viewer tiles in the centre, and a status message at the bottom showing configuration info.

Each viewer tile shows its number in the top-left corner and has space for source name, resolution, and frame rate information once a source is assigned.

Initial Setup

Section titled “Initial Setup”

First Steps:

Menu → Sources → Refresh Sources

This scans your network for available NDI® sources. Give it 5-10 seconds to complete discovery — the source list will populate automatically.

Assign Your First Source:

Right-click any viewer tile.
Select a source from the list.
Video should appear within 1-2 seconds.

Test Audio:

Check that audio meters appear at the bottom of the viewer (green/yellow/red bars).
Click the speaker icon on the viewer to test audio playback through your speakers.

Configure Preferences:

Menu → File → Preferences

Set your bandwidth mode (start with Proxy Mode for reliability), choose latency mode (Normal is safe), and select your audio output device if monitoring.