Cinedeck has consistently been at the top of multi-channel ingest game with their ZX line of ingest servers, and CD2 takes everything great about their hardware solution, and makes it perfect for users who need to ingest IP video streams like SRT, NDI and IP2110. It’s the same tried and tested Cinedeck software that’s been used worldwide for over 15 years on Cinedeck hardware, but available now as a software package. Cinedeck also supports 3g and 12g SDI- imagine what you can dow tih ingesting both SDI and IP inputs on one device. Pair CD2 with an IP camera or encoder and you have a turnkey solution that can easily record Multi-channel, edit ready, IP video, at resolutions up to 4K.
I just love the IP video workflow, since it’s offers so much flexibility. But one of the biggest challenges I see is relying on a computer. Many times, that may take the shape of software like OBS, Wirecast or VMix. You’re doing your line cut, switching cameras, adding graphics, playing back prerecorded video, and if you don’t have a killer workstation, you are hitting that machine pretty hard. I get nervous with a single point of failue – the computer. One thing that makes me feel a lot better is if I can offload some of that workload to a different machine- specifically ISO and program records If you’re producing a once-in-a-lifetime event, like a performance or event, failure is simply not an option.
And, with remote production becoming only more popular, sending out a SRT enabled camera, or bringing in a feed from a remote video studio is becoming much more common. But with multiple cameras, keeping everything in sync is a real issue.This is where CD2 comes in – as you can capture edit-ready files that post production teams can easily work with, right from an IP camera or encoder.
Let’s explore how we can set up a SRT workflow using a Lumens VC-A71P camera. All Lumens A-series cameras feature SRT encoding built in from the factory, so setup is simple using one of these cameras.
What’s a typical system look like?
There’s only two things that you will need: a camera or encoder that supports SRT calling, and CD2 installed on a workstation First- install CD2 on your workstation and ensure the software is running. It is best practice to ensure you have a static IP address on this machine. Next- we’ll set up the SRT encoder. It’s as easy as logging into the camera web gui, setting the destination IP address, to that of the ingest server and selecting an unused port. In my case I’ll use port 9000.
In CD2- Open the client software, select the channel you want to record to, open it’s options, select the input type as SRT Listener, and check your port settings to make sure they match your camera. I find it best practice to use the Auto detect function at this point. It will detect your incoming stream and you should now see a green signal for SRT and see your camera feed in the preview window!
Now set up your recording – in my case I’ll be using ProRes LT with MOV wrapper and recording to my local drive. All I have to do now is hit Record!
I’m now capturing an edit-ready file that I can put directly into any NLE and begin post-production. There’s no rewrapping or re-encoding. And my post-production team is happy to get a ProRes file.
You can also use this with remote SRT streams as well. You simply have to use your WAN IP address and setup port forwarding on your router. This means you can record SRT Streams, from anywhere in the world, direct to your facility!
How about NDI?
Now, how about an NDI workflow? It’s really as easy as just selecting NDI from your input type, and selecting your NDI source from the list! Just be aware that there could be some challenges with NDI, mainly with your network.
There’s more?
I just love this workflow. SRT is extremely reliable, both internally and remotely and is available out of the box in many of today’s IP cameras, including the Lumens PTZ and box cameras like I have here today. We at Mega Media Factory have a complete turn-key, enterprise grade, CD2 workstation and camera package readily available for your production needs. And we can easily customize that solution to fit your project requirements.
If you’d like to see this workflow in action, schedule your personalized demo today.