vMix to Lights
Enable NDI on a vMix output or input and drive studio lighting from Spectralite using the live production feed.
Studio lighting is usually static because nothing drives it. When you send what vMix has on air over NDI, Spectralite can react to it. It can drive a color wash behind the presenter, or practicals that change with the segment.
Enable NDI output in vMix
Open Settings and go to the Outputs / NDI / OMT / SRT tab. You must turn on an output type here before vMix can send it over NDI.
Besides the main output, two options on this tab are useful. Cameras/Calls/Audio Inputs converts every camera, call, and audio input in the current session into its own live NDI output. This option is the fastest way to send one specific source. Audio Outputs turns each enabled audio bus into an audio-only NDI output.
Outputs 2, 3, and 4 are shared with External 2, 3, and 4. In vMix 4K and higher editions, you can assign them to NDI. To start or stop the external output itself, use the External button in the main window. The cog beside it opens External Output Settings. vMix documents the tab in its Outputs reference.
Pick up the stream in Spectralite
Open Edit > Inputs > NDI. Turn on NDI input enabled and Auto-discover sources.
Put the video on your fixtures
Add a Timeline layer with the built-in NDI Input effect. To build the mapping yourself, use an NDI Input node in the Node Editor instead.
Choosing which feed drives the light
Program output is the obvious choice and often the wrong one. Lighting that follows the program mix jumps on every cut. In the room, the audience sees the light but never sees the cut, so the jumps look wrong. If you publish a single input with the Cameras/Calls/Audio Inputs option, the rig gets one steady source to follow.
For a title or lower-third card, use a dedicated input that holds the segment's color. The light then takes the brand color for that segment, and nobody has to touch a fader.
Related
- Receive video from another app: performance and troubleshooting for every NDI source.
- NDI input dialog: the settings reference.
- Color: how a sampled color is reproduced on a fixture.
- Connect Your Software: guides for other applications.