NDI has released new metadata standards which aim to enhance control in live production and broadcast workflows.
The company has provided updated details to enable bidirectional XML metadata exchange between NDI senders and receivers. Four official standard metadata elements have been released in collaboration with different organisations: support for broadcast standards CEA-708 & SCTE-104, with ToolsOnAir, the audio standard MIDI with LAMA, and the lighting control standard DMX, in partnership with SalrayWorks.
Transporting metadata across NDI-based setups enables unified workflows which allow separate teams to remotely manage their components during live production, driving efficiencies, reducing costs and providing scope for further innovations such as process automation, said the company.
Commenting, Geen Jung, CEO and founder at SalrayWorks, said, “One of the greatest advantages of IP video is not just the ability to transmit video over UTP cables, but the integration of advanced functionalities like seamless device connectivity, remote control and firmware updates. Over the years, NDI has consistently fostered an ecosystem that inspires innovation which for SalrayWorks, has opened new possibilities in fields such as lighting and audio.”
Markus Rainer, software architect at Vizrt added, “NDI metadata enables us to integrate camera tracking data within the same stream where audio and video are transported. This ensures that tracking data remains synchronised with the video frame, regardless of transmission delays. At Vizrt, our PTZ cameras already embed tracking data directly, while other solutions utilise the NDI Advanced SDK to embed externally delivered tracking data before transmission. By centralising metadata documentation, NDI provides a unified resource for managing metadata extensions. This allows us to seamlessly reference existing solutions, reducing redundancy.”
The NDI technical team has also launched the NDI Metadata Lab, an initiative to further grow and improve the standard. Brands and developers are invited to submit metadata proposals, which will be reviewed by the team, tested and published as part of the official NDI documentation. Details of the programme are available at ndi.video/metadata-lab.
