Panasonic Is Among First Companies to Announce Camera Models with NDI HX Support
NewTek’s Network Device Interface (NDI) technology for IP video got another boost this week with the announcement of version 3.0, designed to improve the protocol’s performance with PTZ cameras on low-bandwidth networks.
The expansion of the protocol adds multicast with forward error correction, a new “high-efficiency” mode for full-resolution video called NDI HX, standardized PTZ camera control and tally, and improved encoding performance, NewTek said.
NewTek underscored the NDI v3 announcement with the introduction of a PTZ camera specifically designed to work with NDI HX. The NDI protocol allows video, audio, tally, camera control, and power all to be carried over one Ethernet cable. The NewTek NDI PTZ camera will begin shipping August 1 for $2,799, the company said.
Immediately following NewTek’s announcement, Panasonic introduced a line of pro PTZ cameras with integrated NDI support. The new AW-HN38, AW-HN40, AW-UN70, and AW-HN130 models can be auto-detected on an NDI network, allowing easier integration with other NDI-compatible products, Panasonic said.
Owners of existing Panasonic cameras with the same model numbers minus the “N” for NDI — that means the AW-HE40H/S, the AW-UE70, and the AW-HE130, will be able to add NDI support for those camera models this fall at NewTek’s NDI for Panasonic web page. Also coming this fall, Panasonic said, is the NDI-capable AV-HLC100 switcher first introduced at NAB.
“Panasonic has innovated with its professional remote production cameras and systems from the very first generation,” says Delix Joseph T. Alex, Panasonic’s product manager for PTZ camera and IP networking systems, in a prepared statement. “The original vision of simple yet truly remote production from almost anywhere is now achieved with built-in NDI support in Panasonic award-winning professional integrated PTZ cameras and switchers.”
The SDK for NDI v3 will be available for download in the third quarter of 2017, NewTek said. Companies that are expected to support the protocol include BirdDog, Bluefish444, Microsoft Skype, NewBlueFX, OBS, PTZOptics, Splitmedia Labs XSplit, Broadcast Pix, Ross Video, Telestream Wirecast and Gameshow and vMix, the company said.
