NDI Bandwidth Requirements

Bandwidth Requirements

The table below shows typical NDI network bandwidth requirements that we have measured when using NDI® sources with our ingest or playout applications when using very complex signals.  

NDI®	Format	fps	Mbps	MB/s
NDI|HX	1920x1080	30	24	3?
NDI	1920x1080	25	105	10-13
NDI	1920x1080	30	120	12-15
NDI	1920x1080	60	200	20-25
NDI	3840x2160	30	280	28-35
NDI	3840x2160	60	480	45-60

It is important to note that these results are different than the bandwidth requirement that Newtek indicates: 

NDI®	Format	fps	Mbps	MB/s
NDI	1920x1080	30	100	12
NDI	1920x1080	60	125	16
NDI	3840x2160	30	200	25
NDI	3840x2160	60	250	32

This is most probably because data rates can vary depending on the type of video signal.

So how many channels can you do?

Unfortunately the answer is NOT as easy as dividing the capability of your network (1Gb theoretical) by the bandwidth requirements.

Indeed, we have seen that on Mac computers, we were able to do max 4 channels of 1080p30 on a 1Gb connection.

Network configuration

We strongly advise you to check with your NDI/System/Network integrator to do the best network for your requirements. NDI® is a network protocol and as such you need to follow some guidelines to have the best performances. You can also find some technical recommendations at the bottom of this page: https://www.newtek.com/ndi/sdk/