How to Stream NDI to the Cloud: The Dacast Workflow Guide

NDI has always been one of the most powerful protocols for video over IP, but it was built for LAN. Send an NDI signal across the internet and you’re fighting packet loss, latency spikes, and a protocol that was never designed for that journey.

NDI 6 changes the equation. The NDI Bridge Utility, for hardware and as a Windows service, lets you send encrypted NDI streams across the public internet, so your production tier no longer has to share a physical LAN with your sources. This guide covers the exact steps to get your NDI signal into Dacast, whether you’re routing through a software switcher, a hardware transcoder, or a lean OBS rig.

Dacast is the professional live streaming and VOD platform for organizations that broadcast on a schedule. Once your NDI signal is converted to RTMP or SRT at the encoder stage, Dacast handles ingest, transcoding, global CDN distribution, and player delivery across every device. If you’re new to NDI, our NDI Protocol: The Complete Guide for Broadcasters covers the fundamentals before you follow these steps. Skip ahead to the workflow that matches your setup:

• Software switcher path: vMix or Wirecast → RTMP/SRT → Dacast
• Hardware transcoder path: Magewell, Kiloview, or Haivision → RTMP/SRT → Dacast
• Lean setup path: OBS + NDI plugin → RTMP/SRT → Dacast

Table of Contents 

• What NDI 6 Changes for Cloud Workflows
• Choosing Your Workflow Path
• Dacast Encoder Settings Reference
• Troubleshooting NDI Cloud Streaming to Dacast
• FAQ: NDI Cloud Streaming
• Conclusion 

What NDI 6 Changes for Cloud Workflows

NDI 6 introduced native WAN connectivity through the NDI Bridge Utility, which is the single biggest change for cloud-oriented production workflows. The protocol now has a defined path for sending video from a local NDI environment to a cloud ingest point without requiring a full LAN extension. NDI 6.3 is the latest release in the NDI 6 line and the version you should be running today. It adds real-time sender monitoring and enhanced source discovery, which means you can see stream health, codec support, and connection status across every NDI source in your pipeline from a single Discovery Tool interface. For multi-camera productions routing through Bridge to a remote encoder, 6.3’s monitoring gives you visibility into what’s happening at each stage before the signal ever reaches Dacast. Download NDI 6.3 from ndi.video/tools. In practice: your NDI sources (PTZ cameras, capture cards, virtual inputs) can now feed into a cloud delivery pipeline with far less infrastructure overhead. You still need an encoder to bridge to RTMP or SRT at the ingest point (NDI is not a CDN-delivery protocol), but that translation step is now straightforward. Dacast accepts both RTMP and SRT ingest. Once your NDI signal is encoded at the switcher or transcoder stage, Dacast handles ingest, transcoding, CDN distribution, and player delivery.

Choosing Your Workflow Path

Three viable paths exist depending on your budget, production complexity, and reliability requirements:

Not sure which path fits your setup? See our guide to hardware vs. software encoders for a full breakdown.

Workflow A: Software Switcher → Dacast (vMix / Wirecast)

This is the most common professional setup. Your NDI sources feed into vMix or Wirecast for switching, graphics, and encoding, then push to Dacast via RTMP or SRT.

vMix Step-by-Step

1. Open vMix. In the Add Input dialog, select NDI/Desktop Capture. Your NDI sources, whether on the local network or connected via NDI Bridge, will appear automatically in NDI 6.3. Select your feed and add it as an input.
2. Build your program output as normal. NDI inputs behave identically to any other source in vMix. Add graphics, mix audio, configure your transitions.
3. Go to Settings > Streaming. Select RTMP Server as the streaming type.
4. Enter your Dacast RTMP URL and stream key. Both are available in your Dacast channel settings under the Encoder Setup tab.
5. Set encoding parameters: H.264, 4,000–8,000 kbps for 1080p, AAC audio at 128–192 kbps, keyframe interval 2 seconds. The 2-second keyframe is non-negotiable for Dacast ingest.
6. Click Start Streaming. The stream health indicator confirms the connection is live. Verify in your Dacast dashboard that the channel shows active input.

Wirecast Step-by-Step

1. In Wirecast, add a new shot layer. Click the + icon, select NDI Source, and choose your feed from the discovery list. NDI sources appear here whether they’re on the same LAN or connected via NDI Bridge.
2. Composite your layers, add lower thirds, and configure your program flow as normal.
3. Go to Output > Output Settings. Click Add and choose RTMP Server as the destination type.
4. Set the Destination URL to your Dacast RTMP ingest address and enter your stream name (key) from the Dacast channel settings.
5. Under Encoding, select H.264. Target 5,000–8,000 kbps for 1080p delivery. Set keyframe interval to every 2 seconds.
6. Click OK and then Stream. The toolbar indicator confirms live ingest. Cross-check in Dacast, the channel preview should populate within 15–30 seconds.

RTMP vs. SRT for Dacast ingest: RTMP is simpler to configure and reliable on stable connections. SRT adds built-in packet loss recovery and is worth using when you’re streaming over congested or unpredictable networks. Dacast supports both. The choice depends on your network conditions, not the platform.

Workflow B: Hardware Transcoder → Dacast (Magewell / Kiloview / Haivision)

Hardware transcoders are the right choice for unattended streams, 24/7 channels, or any production where you need encoder-level reliability without a PC in the loop. The Magewell Ultra Encode, Kiloview N30/E3, and Haivision KB all support NDI input natively and output directly to Dacast via RTMP or SRT. More broadly, any hardware transcoder that outputs RTMP or SRT to a custom destination will work with Dacast.

General Hardware Transcoder Workflow

1. Connect the transcoder to your network. Confirm it’s on the same subnet as your NDI sources or configure an NDI Discovery Server address in the device settings, or use NDI Bridge if you’re routing sources across subnets or over WAN.
2. Access the device web UI via its IP address. Navigate to Input settings and select NDI as the input type. The device will scan for active sources. Select your feed.
3. Navigate to Stream Output or Encoding. Select RTMP as the output protocol.
4. Enter your Dacast RTMP URL and stream key in the output destination fields.
5. Set encoder parameters: H.264, 4,000–8,000 kbps for 1080p30, AAC audio at 128 kbps minimum, GOP/keyframe interval of 3 seconds.
6. Enable the stream output. Confirm the device shows a connected or streaming status.
7. Log into your Dacast dashboard and verify the channel is receiving input. The stream preview will populate within 15–30 seconds of the transcoder going live.

Device-specific notes:

• Magewell Ultra Encode: NDI is a licensed input type. Confirm your NDI license is activated in the device interface before step 2. Without it, the NDI source option won’t appear.
• Kiloview N30/E3: SRT output is available natively. If your network uplink is unstable, configure the Dacast SRT ingest URL here instead of RTMP.
• Haivision KB/Makito: Use the SRT gateway output for lowest latency delivery. Configure the Dacast SRT ingest URL as the SRT output destination in the Haivision interface.

For a broader look at hardware encoder options, see our hardware encoders for live streaming guide.

Workflow C: OBS + NDI Plugin → Dacast

OBS is not the most efficient NDI path. It adds CPU overhead compared to a dedicated transcoder or switcher, but it’s free, widely understood, and fully functional for smaller productions and test environments.

1. Install OBS Studio (version 30 or later) and the the DistroAV plugin (formerly obs-ndi), available at github.com/DistroAV/DistroAV. Restart OBS after installing the plugin.
2. In OBS, click + in the Sources panel. Select NDI Source from the source type list. The plugin adds this option automatically.
3. In the NDI Source properties, open the Source Name dropdown. Your active NDI sources will appear. Select your feed and click OK.
4. Under Settings > Video, set Output Resolution to match your NDI source (typically 1920×1080) and frame rate to 30 or 60 fps to match the source.
5. Go to Settings > Stream. Set Service to Custom and enter your Dacast RTMP URL and stream key.
6. Under Settings > Output > Streaming: set encoder to x264 (or NVENC/AMF if using a capable GPU), bitrate 4,000–6,000 kbps for 1080p, keyframe interval 2.
7. Click Start Streaming. Open View > Stats and monitor Dropped Frames and CPU Usage. If either climbs, reduce output resolution or bitrate before the stream degrades.

Your NDI workflow is ready. Start your 14-day Dacast trial and push your first stream live today.

Dacast Encoder Settings Reference

These are the settings to pull from your Dacast dashboard (Encoder Setup tab) and configure in your encoder before going live:

Troubleshooting NDI Cloud Streaming to Dacast

NDI source not appearing in software switcher or OBS

All devices must be on the same subnet for NDI’s mDNS discovery to work. NDI multicast does not cross routers by default. If using NDI Bridge or a dedicated NDI Discovery Server, confirm the server IP is configured in NDI Tools > Access Manager on every machine in the workflow.

Stream disconnecting from Dacast repeatedly

Almost always a keyframe interval mismatch. Confirm your encoder is set to a fixed 2-second keyframe interval, not 0, not auto, not variable. Variable keyframe encoding will cause Dacast to reject or drop the stream intermittently.

Choppy or pixelated video on Dacast output

Bitrate is too low for the motion content, or your upload bandwidth is being saturated. Run a bandwidth test from the encoding machine. Your encoder bitrate should not exceed 70% of your sustained upload speed to leave headroom for protocol overhead.

Hardware transcoder cannot discover NDI source across subnets

Deploy an NDI Discovery Server on a machine accessible from both subnets. Configure the transcoder to point to that server IP in its NDI settings, rather than relying on multicast broadcast. NDI Bridge can also solve this. The Bridge Utility for Hardware requires Linux and NDI High Bandwidth or HX3 output capability. The Bridge Service runs as a headless Windows service via REST API with SSL.

High glass-to-glass latency

RTMP and SRT ingest both deliver to viewers via HLS, which carries 12-15 seconds of player buffer latency. SRT reduces packet loss on the ingest side but does not change viewer-side latency. For sub-5-second delivery, Dacast offers Go Live with Dacast, a browser-based WebRTC ingest option. That is a separate workflow from the encoder-based NDI path described in this guide. Factor in NDI capture (roughly 100-200ms) plus encoder buffer plus CDN delivery plus player buffer when setting latency expectations.

FAQ: NDI Cloud Streaming

Ready to Stream NDI to the Cloud with Dacast?

You have the workflow. Dacast provides the ingest, the CDN, and the player. Whether you’re coming from vMix, Wirecast, OBS, or a hardware transcoder, the connection is straightforward once your encoder settings are correct.

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