• What is NDI? 
• What is NDI HX? 
• What is NDI HX3? 
• How does NDI compare with other IP video formats?
• Why is NDI so popular in live production?
• What role does NDI play in video conferencing and UC installations?
• Is NDI's security an issue in AV installations?
• What's new for NDI in 2025?

NDI HX3 is the latest evolution in the protocol from NDI, offering near-lossless video quality with minimal latency. It’s perfect for AV professionals who want high quality video over IP without upgrading to 10GbE networks.

▶ What is NDI? 

NDI is among the best video over IP formats. It is optimized for creative teams and live event production, supporting low delay video transmission, high quality encoding and real-time content creation. 

▶  What is NDI HX?

NDI is a high bandwidth, maximum quality format. Its data rate makes it best suited to broadcasters and customers looking for the best visual experience. NDI HX is a compressed format which makes minor sacrifices in terms of video quality and latency, but dramatically reduces the data rate enabling transport over cost-effective 1-gigabit IP networks. 

▶   What is NDI HX3? 

NDI HX3 is the latest version of HX that optimizes the format for lower latency and higher quality. While data rates are higher than HX2, HX3 is still bandwidth-efficient, running comfortably over 1-Gig LANs (local area networks). HX3 delivers better video quality than its predecessor, HX2, and compares favourably with many other popular formats in terms of rendering colors and movement.

▶ How does NDI compare with other IP video formats?

The market is crowded with IP formats such as RTSP, SRT, RTMP and HLS. Each specialize in particular roles withing the streaming workflow. NDI is optimized for collaborative workflows. NDI unlocks the promise of real-time teamwork, of creative networks, with no need for capture hardware and intermediate formats. Streams and files can be shared in real-time shortening production times and enabling endless creativity.

▶ Why is NDI so popular in live production?

In live event and ProAV scenarios, NDI makes it easy to discover and connect cameras, switchers, encoders and recorders, all linked with Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable. It provides great quality, low latency video – it’s no surprise that it’s so popular in the production world. Manufacturers have created large sensor cameras with both NDI and NDI HX3 output, as well as 30x zoom HX3 PTZ cameras with motion tracking to give producers access to the latest broadcast and live technology. With NDI, there is no need to compromise.

▶ What role does NDI play in video conferencing and UC installations?

The modest bandwidth requirement of NDI HX3, its ability to reside on the LAN and the support for remote management make the format a good choice for AV and IT teams. Like many streaming formats, it prefers separation from IT traffic with the implementation of a VLAN (Virtual LAN). There is some support for NDI HX in conferencing platforms, such as Teams and Zoom, but many AV teams prefer to convert HX to USB with a dedicated NDI decoder.

▶ Is NDI‘s security an issue in AV installations?

NDI was developed with a focus on low latency AV over IP and image quality. Originally, security was a secondary consideration. In the corporate, financial, education and public sectors, data security is essential. Managers can protect NDI streams using the following approaches:

-    A segmented/VLAN network
-    Install NDI Bridge with its AES encryption and authentication for remote or cross-site streaming
-    Employ NDI Access Manager on the network
-    Restrict user access via firewalls and ACLs (Access Control Lists)
-    Control which devices and ports are allowed to send or receive NDI traffic
-    Monitor the network for unknown receivers using tools like Wireshark or network management software to ensure no unauthorized NDI clients are tapping into streams
-    Avoid using NDI on Wi-Fi or open networks 

▶ What’s new for NDI in 2025?

2025 unveiled NDI 6.2 in May, adding advanced device discoverability over NDI networks. New monitoring and control features were introduced to offer users and developers real-time insights into NDI streams, including video format, codec, frame rate, resolution and connection state. These new features, expected to be implemented over time by manufacturers, are designed to support network teams in the installation, management and control of NDI devices and streams, and will be very welcome by the ProAV community. 

At Lumens, we have introduced new NDI solutions during H1 2025: 

VC-TR61N auto-tracking PTZ camera
-    Dual 4K 60P camera sensors
-    Twin lenses with a 30x zoom and a fixed wide angle (85.1o) optic 
-    Long range motion tracking (up-to 18m)
-    Dual independent NDI HX3 stream output
-    Tally lights
-    PoE+ network power 

LC300 CaptureVision Media Processor
-    4-Channel Recorder and Streaming unit with NDI and NDI HX inputs
-    SDI, HDMI and USB to NDI conversion
-    Dual Ethernet ports for WAN and LAN integration
-    Panopto and Kaltura integration

OIP-N40E NDI encoder 
-    HDMI and USB to NDI HX encoder
-    USB-C (Display Port) to NDI HX transcoding
-    Optional bi-directional Dante Audio support*
-    Support for Teams and Zoom

OIP-N60D NDI decoder 
-    NDI HX to HDMI and USB decoder
-    Picture-in-picture (PIP) HDMI output combining two NDI streams*
-    Side-by-Side (PBP) HDMI output combining two NDI streams*
-    Video wall output using multiple NDI decoders*
-    Instant source switching
-    Support for Teams and Zoom

*New feature for 2025

With new NDI products in development, Lumens commitment to NDI is strong. Keep an eye out on the Lumens news page for upcoming announcements.