Simple Setup of Broadcast and Receivers

There are a number of ways to add NDI broadcast of views of the level, and receiving of NDI streams into the level. The easiest way is to add an NDI Broadcast Actor and NDI Receive Actor to the level.

Simple Broadcast Actor

In Place Actors search for NDI Broadcast Actor. Drag and drop it into the level scene. A camera will appear on the level, and an NDIBroadcastActor is added to the World Outliner. The broadcast actor needs anNDI Media Source asset that contains details of the stream, such as the stream name and frame size.

Select the broadcast actor in the World Outliner, and look at its Details. In the NDI IO section, there is a reference to the NDI Media Source. Initially, it is set to “None”. Use the dropdown menu next to it to create a new NDI Media Senderasset.

Play the level, and the broadcast actor will begin streaming its view. By default, the stream's name is Unreal Engine Output, and it is displayed at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 at 60fps. Open, for example, Studio Monitor to view the stream.

The details of the stream can be changed in the settings for the NDI Media Sender asset

Simple Receiver Actor

Setting up a simple NDI stream receiver actor is similar to setting up a broadcast actor. From Place Actors,drag and drop an NDI Receive Actor into the level. It will be shown on the level as a black screen, and an NDIReceiveActor will appear in the World Outliner.

The receiver actor must be associated with an NDI Media Receiver asset containing the details of the stream to receive. Click on the added NDIReceiveActor in the World Outliner, and in the Details look for the NDI IO section. In the Media sub-section there is a reference to an NDI Media Source asset. Use the dropdown menu next to it to create a new NDI Media Receiver asset.

Open the settings for the new NDI Media Receiver asset and fill in the source's name in the Source Name field. Play the level, and after a few seconds, the stream should appear on the receiver actor.

Make sure the actor is in view.

Active Viewport Broadcasting

The plugin has the ability to broadcast the active viewport. The settings for this are on the NDI page of the Plugins section of the Project Settings. By default the broadcast of the active viewport is started through a blueprint function. It is also possible to automatically start the broadcast by enabling Begin Broadcast On Play in the plugin's settings.

You can use the "Begin Broadcasting Active Viewport" Blueprint Node to start the stream dynamically within your game logic. Additionally, using a Render Target with an NDI Broadcast Actor allows for better control over stream resolution and quality.