NDI® Output

NDI® Output lets Laika broadcast its multiviewer output as an NDI® source.

Why NDI® Output Matters

With NDI® Output enabled, your multiviewer becomes a source other systems can receive:

Record your multiviewer feed for post-show review
Route your multiviewer to confidence monitors around the facility
Feed your multiviewer into other routing/monitoring systems
Build hierarchical monitoring chains (master multiviewer feeds multiple displays)
Broadcast individual pads as separate NDI® sources (each pad can have its own NDI® output)

This is particularly useful in large facilities where multiple operators need to see the same multiviewer configuration, or when different pads need to be routed to different destinations simultaneously.

Enabling Output

Menu → File → Preferences → Multiview Output Section

Enable Output: Check this box to activate the output pipeline.

Output Name: The source name other receivers will see. Default: “Fetch | Laika Multiviewer”.

Output Frame Rate: Target FPS for the output stream (default: 30fps). Higher frame rates look smoother but consume more CPU and bandwidth.

Output Targets

Under Output Targets, you can enable one or more output destinations simultaneously:

NDI® — Broadcast as an NDI® source on the network
DeckLink — Send to a Blackmagic DeckLink card for SDI/HDMI output (requires DeckLink drivers installed and a DeckLink-enabled build)

When DeckLink is enabled, additional configuration options appear:

Device: Select which DeckLink card to output on. All installed cards are listed.

Mode: Choose the output display mode from the card’s supported formats. This sets both the resolution and frame rate for the SDI/HDMI output. Available modes are queried live from the hardware and include:

SD: NTSC, PAL
HD: 720p, 1080i, 1080p at various frame rates (23.98 through 120fps)
2K: 2K and 2K DCI formats
4K: 4K 2160p (requires Dual or Quad Link for higher frame rates)
8K: 8K 4320p (requires Quad Link)

Select “Auto (1080p)” to let Laika match the closest mode to your configured output FPS.

Levels: Controls how pixel values are mapped to the SDI signal range.

Level	Range	Use case
Full (0-255)	Pass-through, no conversion	Computer displays, NDI pass-through
Legal (16-235)	Maps 0→16, 255→235	Strict broadcast compliance, no excursions beyond legal range
Extended	Full SMPTE range (0-255 preserved)	Preserves super-blacks (1-15) and super-whites (236-254) for headroom/footroom

Most broadcast workflows should use Legal for strict compliance or Extended for full SMPTE headroom — the same approach used by DaVinci Resolve. Full is appropriate when feeding computer displays or doing further processing downstream.

SDI Link: Configure how the signal is distributed across SDI connectors.

Link	Description
Single	Standard single-link SDI. Suitable for up to 1080p60 (3G-SDI)
Dual	Two SDI links for higher bandwidth. Used for 4K via dual 3G-SDI
Quad	Four SDI links for maximum bandwidth. Required for 4K at high frame rates or 8K

Both NDI® and DeckLink can be active at the same time — the multiview composition is sent to all enabled outputs simultaneously. If the DeckLink output resolution differs from the compositor (e.g. DCI 2048x1080 or 4K 3840x2160), the output is automatically letterboxed or pillarboxed to maintain the correct 16:9 aspect ratio.

All DeckLink settings take effect immediately when preferences are closed — no restart required.

Output Overlays

Burn visual overlays into the output stream under Output Overlays:

Show source names — Display source names on each viewer tile
Show tally indicators — Show program/preview tally state
Show audio meters — Overlay audio level meters

These overlays are rendered into the output pixel data and are visible to all downstream receivers.

Click Apply or OK. Laika will start broadcasting within 1-2 seconds.

Verifying NDI® Output

From another device:

Open any NDI® receiver (another Laika instance, vMix, OBS with NDI® plugin, etc.)
Refresh sources
Look for the output name you configured
Connect to it

You should see your Laika multiviewer feed exactly as it appears on your screen.

Testing locally:

Open Debug Viewer on the same machine running Laika. Refresh sources. Your Laika output should appear in the source list (may show as local source). Connect to verify.

Per-Pad NDI® Output

Each pad can be configured with its own NDI® output source name, allowing you to broadcast different monitoring configurations as separate NDI® sources on the network.

Use cases:

Broadcast your “Live” pad to the control room wall display
Send your “Pre-Show” pad to engineering monitors
Route your “Break” pad to talent holding areas
Distribute different monitoring views to different departments simultaneously

Configuration:

When saving or editing a pad, you can specify a unique NDI® output name for that pad. When you switch to that pad and NDI® Output is enabled, Laika broadcasts using the pad-specific source name.

Benefits:

Different operators can subscribe to different pad outputs based on their role
Route pad outputs through your facility’s NDI® matrix for flexible distribution
Record specific pads for post-show review without capturing all pad switches
Create dedicated monitoring feeds per production phase

Performance Considerations

CPU Load:

NDI® Output adds CPU overhead for encoding your multiviewer output. On modern multi-core systems, this is typically 5-15% CPU usage at 30fps output.

If system load is high:

Reduce Output Frame Rate to 15fps or 20fps
Reduce the number of active viewers in your layout
Close other CPU-intensive applications

Bandwidth:

NDI® Output consumes network bandwidth based on output resolution and frame rate:

1080p @ 30fps: approximately 100-150 Mbps
1080p @ 60fps: approximately 200-300 Mbps

Confirm your network can handle the additional load, especially if you’re already receiving multiple NDI® sources.

When to Disable NDI® Output

Turn off NDI® Output if:

You’re not using the output anywhere (saves CPU and network bandwidth)
System performance is struggling
You’re troubleshooting other issues and want to isolate variables