Add an input stream

An input stream is a live video feed that ArenaDirector receives over the network. It comes from a camera, a vision mixer or another computer, and it shows as a tile in the bottom strip next to your canvases and buses.

Input streams need the Pro plan; on lower plans the Configuration window does not show Input streams. See Plans and limits.

Add an NDI stream

1. Open Configuration.

2. Under Venue, select Input streams.

3. Select + at the top of the list. If there are no streams yet, select + Add stream.

   The app adds a disabled NDI stream and selects it.

4. In the Source card, give the stream a Name.

5. Set Source on the network: pick a source from the list, or type its name.

6. Set Bandwidth to Highest for full quality or to Lowest for a lighter feed.

7. In the header, turn on Enabled.

The status under the name shows Waiting for source, then Receiving with the picture size, and the thumbnail shows the live picture.

Add an SRT stream

1. Add a stream as above.

2. In the Source card, set Type to SRT.

   If the app shows This build has no SRT support, this version of ArenaDirector cannot receive SRT and the stream stays NDI.

3. Select the Mode:

   • Caller: ArenaDirector connects to a sender. Enter the Host and the Port.
   • Listener: ArenaDirector waits for a sender to connect to this computer. Enter the Port.

4. Optional: enter a Stream ID. To remove it, clear the field.

5. Optional: enter a Passphrase (10 to 79 characters). The sender must use the same passphrase. To replace it, type the new one. To remove it, delete the dots and leave the field. If you do not touch the field, it keeps the stored passphrase.

6. Set Latency, in milliseconds.

   A higher value copes better with a poor network but adds delay.

7. In the header, turn on Enabled.

The pane at a glance

The list shows each stream with a status dot, its type (NDI or SRT) and a status line, for example 1920 × 1080 · 50 fps, waiting for source, lost 00:12 ago or disabled. Select a stream to see its header and cards. In a smaller window, the list folds into the stream name at the top of the header.

Part	Holds
Header	The live thumbnail, the name, the type, the status, Enabled and Remove stream…
Source	Name, Type, and the NDI or SRT fields
Picture and sound	Deinterlace (Auto, Weave or Bob for interlaced feeds), Audio channels (the pair of channels the app uses, from 1/2 to 15/16) and Lip-sync offset (moves the sound earlier or later than the picture, from −500 to 500 ms)
If the signal is lost	Hold last frame (how long the last picture stays after frames stop; the default is 2000 ms) and Then show (Black, or Image with Choose…, which opens the media picker with the chip Images only: select the image tile, and then select Choose)
Signal health	Tiles for Resolution, Frame rate, Dropped frames, Audio (NDI only) and Up for, the time since the stream went live
Used by	The canvases that show the stream when nothing plays or as a backup, the hot buttons that play it (with their page) and the controller keys that toggle it

When the signal is lost

When frames stop, the app holds the last picture for the Hold last frame time and then shows black or the chosen image. The pane marks the loss in several places:

• the thumbnail gets a red border and reads No signal;
• the status turns red and reads, for example, Signal lost · showing signal-lost.png;
• the row's dot turns into a red square, and the row reads lost 00:12 ago;
• in Signal health, Resolution and Frame rate read —, and Lost for replaces Up for.

When frames arrive again, the stream goes back to Receiving.

Enable and disable

Enabled is in the header. Every new stream starts disabled, so you can enter the endpoint first. When you turn Enabled off, the app stops receiving the stream and its tile leaves the bottom strip.

Remove a stream

Select Remove stream… in the header. A confirmation opens, for example Remove OB van program?. Selecting Remove always removes the stream, and the dialog tells you what that affects:

• If nothing uses the stream, the dialog reads OB van program will be removed. This can't be undone.
• If something uses it, the dialog lists the users in a box, for example Main canvas · when nothing plays and Hot button "Live feed" · Page 1: first the canvases, then the hot buttons, then the controller keys. They lose the stream.
• If the stream is on air, the dialog names the canvases that show it, for example OB van program is on air on Main canvas. Removing it cuts the stream there at once.

If another venue of the show has the same stream, you remove it from this venue only. The dialog then reads … is removed from this venue. These lose their stream here:, or … is removed from this venue. if nothing uses it. The other venue keeps the stream, and its canvases, hot buttons and controller keys keep using it.

Edit a live stream

Some settings decide where the feed comes from: the NDI source, bandwidth, SRT mode, host, port, latency, passphrase and stream ID. Changing one of them makes the stream reconnect, so its tile shows Connecting and then Live again. All other settings apply immediately.

What the badge colours mean

Badge	Meaning
Connecting	The app looks for the source, or it connects again after an edit.
Live	Frames arrive.
Stalled	Frames stopped. The tile keeps the last picture for the Hold last frame time.
Lost	The source is not available, or it did not start. The tile tells you the reason.

Passphrase unavailable means the app cannot read the saved passphrase, for example because a keychain prompt was cancelled. Restart ArenaDirector and allow access, or enter the passphrase again.

Passphrase missing — re-enter means this computer has no stored passphrase. This happens when you open the show on another computer or after the secret store was reset. Open the stream and enter the passphrase again.

Health details and the rate warning

Select the bottom row of a tile to open its health details: state, resolution, frame rate, scan type, lead, jitter, drift, frames received, re-anchors and audio.

A warning icon on the tile means the wall's frame rate is not a multiple of the feed's. The details then show something like Feed 50.00 Hz · wall 60.00 Hz — repeats a frame every 6 frames. For 50 Hz feeds, set the wall to 50 Hz.

Cost

The app receives and decodes an enabled NDI stream even when nothing shows it. One 1080p feed at full bandwidth uses about one CPU core, so disable the streams you do not use.

Passphrases are per computer

The app keeps a passphrase on the computer where you typed it, in ArenaDirector's sealed secret store rather than in the show. When you open the same show on another computer, the app asks for the passphrase again.