---
title: "One Set of Cameras, Two Uses: NDI in My DJ Studio"
description: How I put my DJ studio cameras on the network once with NDI, so Resolume and OBS share the same feeds, and the dead decoder and bad port I hit on the way.
image: https://willcurran.com/hubfs/will-curran-brand/one-set-of-cameras-featured.png
---

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# One Set of Cameras, Two Uses: NDI in My DJ Studio

I put my studio cameras on the network with NDI so two computers can share them: Resolume makes effected visuals while OBS keeps clean camera shots for streaming. On the way I hit a format mismatch, a dead decoder and a switch port that made a working one look dead.

![](https://willcurran.com/hs-fs/hubfs/will-curran-brand/will-curran-avatar.jpg?width=44&height=44&name=will-curran-avatar.jpg)

Will Curran Sep 11, 2026 · 7 min read

<https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwillcurran.com%2Fblog%2Fone-set-of-cameras-two-uses>

On this page

![An abstract dark scene: an outline camera linked by a dotted orange line to a glowing screen, with two DJ jog wheels and a fader below, next to the title One set of cameras, two uses.](https://willcurran.com/hs-fs/hubfs/will-curran-brand/one-set-of-cameras-featured.png?width=1600&height=900&name=one-set-of-cameras-featured.png)

I wanted one set of cameras over my DJ setup to do two jobs. On one computer, Resolume turns the feeds into effected, stylized visuals. On another, OBS uses the same feeds as clean, traditional camera shots, for example when I'm streaming games and just want a normal camera. That is why I went with NDI: it puts each camera on the network once, and any machine that wants it can pick it up.

It took from July to September 2026. On the way I hit a box that only spoke half of NDI, a decoder that arrived dead, and a working decoder that looked dead because of the switch port it was plugged into.

## Camera to screen over a network is a show problem

I came up in event production. Getting a picture from a camera to a screen sounds like plumbing, and on a show it is often where the day goes. Formats don't match between boxes. A unit arrives dead. A cable or a port looks like a broken device. And once the picture is up, someone asks whether it is behind the sound.

My home studio hit every one of those. Experience didn't make it faster, but it told me which problems were normal.

## Why NDI instead of cables

With HDMI, a camera feeds one input. If two computers both want it, you need splitters and capture cards, and the cabling gets fixed in place. With NDI, the camera is a source on the network. Resolume and OBS each subscribe to the same feeds, and neither one knows or cares that the other is watching.

That split is the point of the whole build. The effects machine can go as far as it wants with a feed while OBS keeps the plain version of that same shot for a stream.

## The chain, piece by piece

- **Sony A7S III**: the main camera.
- **Zowietek ZowieBox**: takes the A7S III's HDMI and puts it on the network as NDI, the standard for sending video over a normal network. Its HDMI input tops out at 4K30 or 1080p60.
- **OBSBOT Tail Air**: the side angle and the top-down angle over the decks.
- **Resolume**, on one computer: the effected looks.
- **OBS**, on another: the clean camera shots.

![Signal-flow diagram. Cameras: the Sony A7S III sends HDMI into a ZowieBox, which puts it on the network as NDI, and an OBSBOT Tail Air covers the side and top-down angles. The NDI feeds go to two computers: Resolume for effected, stylized looks, and OBS for clean camera shots and streaming. A note says no audio delay is set yet.](https://willcurran.com/hs-fs/hubfs/will-curran-brand/one-set-of-cameras-signal-flow.png?width=1440&height=828&name=one-set-of-cameras-signal-flow.png)

## Build day started with colour

The cameras went up on July 18. The first problem was colour. Next to a webcam I was testing as a second angle, the A7S III's blacks looked washed out, so the two shots didn't cut together. I colour-matched them by hand.

## The overhead camera I chose against the research

A DJ cam is mostly a hands cam: the jog wheels, the faders, the moment you drop the next track. The research on July 14 was clear. Auto-tracking cameras follow a person, not hands. For hands, a locked overhead shot is the right tool.

On build day I chose the OBSBOT Tail Air anyway. Its list price was about $499, and its NDI licence is sold separately for about $49. It is in use now, for the side angle and for the top-down angle over the decks.

## The box that only spoke half the language

The ZowieBox does one job well: it puts the A7S III on the network. Two other jobs I gave it failed.

First, a webcam through its USB input. It wouldn't turn NDI on until an HDMI signal was also present, and once it did, Resolume showed the source as offline. I dropped that path.

Second, decoding the OBS program back to HDMI for a screen. NDI comes in two flavours: full bandwidth, and a compressed version called NDI|HX. The ZowieBox decodes only HX. OBS sends full NDI. So the box read the stream's description correctly, 1080p30, saw 0 kbit/s of video it could use, and reported "video format is not supported". No OBS setting changes that.

## Two decoders that looked dead, and only one was

So the screen path needed a real full-NDI decoder. The first one, a BirdDog Play, arrived dead in September. It sat on its logo screen, showed a garbled picture, and never put a single frame on the network.

The Magewell Pro Convert was next, and it looked dead too. It got a network address and then couldn't talk to anything. I found the fault on the switch port it was plugged into, not in the box. Once that was fixed, the Magewell worked.

On a show you learn this early: before you call a device dead, check the port and the cable it is plugged into.

## How far behind the sound

Video over a network always arrives a little after the sound. On the screen path, the Magewell was buffering 60 ms against about 2 ms of video jitter and 4 to 5 ms of audio jitter. I cut the buffer to 16 ms, and it held with no dropped frames. The audio over Dante averaged about 0.47 ms, so even trimmed, the decoder alone was far slower than the sound.

For the cameras themselves, the lag over NDI is hardly noticeable. I haven't set any audio delay. The bigger levers aren't in the decoder at all: Game mode on the display, and running at 60 fps.

## What earned a place

- **NDI itself.** One set of cameras, shared by two computers that want different things from them.
- **Sony A7S III.** The main camera.
- **ZowieBox**, for one job: the A7S III's HDMI onto the network as NDI. Not a decoder for full NDI, and not a webcam bridge.
- **OBSBOT Tail Air.** Two angles: side and top-down.

## If you are about to try this

- **Put each camera on the network once.** Then any machine that needs it can subscribe, and you never re-cable to change who gets which shot.
- **Check NDI vs NDI|HX on every box before you buy.** "Supports NDI" on a spec sheet can mean either one.
- **Suspect the port before the device.** A box that gets an address and then can't talk is often a network problem.
- **For hands, the research says mount a fixed camera overhead.**
- **Measure the lag before you fix it.** Mine was small enough that I haven't needed an audio delay yet. If you do, delay the audio to meet the video.

## Build it yourself

What it does: puts your cameras on the network once, so two or more computers can use the same feeds for different jobs. The parts:

- **A camera with clean HDMI out**, and an HDMI-to-NDI encoder for it.
- **More angles**: NDI cameras, or more cameras with their own encoders.
- **A visuals machine** that takes NDI in, such as Resolume, for effected looks.
- **A streaming machine**, such as OBS with an NDI plugin, for clean camera shots.
- **For a separate screen**: a decoder that handles full-bandwidth NDI, not only NDI|HX.
- **An audio path** (Dante or plain analog) where you can add delay if you need it.

How the pieces fit: encoders and NDI cameras put the angles on the network, each computer subscribes to the feeds it wants, and a decoder turns a program back into HDMI for a screen.

Give this to your AIHelp me plan an NDI camera setup for a home DJ studio where the same cameras feed two computers: one running \[visuals software\] for effected looks, and one running \[streaming software\] for clean camera shots. My cameras are \[list cameras and outputs\], and my sound comes from \[mixer or audio path\]. For each piece, tell me whether it sends or receives full-bandwidth NDI, NDI|HX, or both, and flag any pair that won't talk. If I also want a program on \[screen\], recommend a decoder that handles full NDI. Give me a bring-up order that tests one link at a time, and before I declare any device dead, have me rule out the switch port and cable. For lip-sync, have me check the lag first; if it is noticeable, set each video buffer just above its measured jitter, then delay the audio to match the picture rather than cutting video buffers further. Remind me to enable the display's Game mode and to consider 60 fps. If I want a camera on my hands, compare a fixed overhead mount with a tracking camera.

If you have fought a format mismatch or a "dead" box that turned out to be the port, I would like to hear about it.

NoteWritten October 2026, about work from July to September 2026, with where the setup stands now.

Filed under [Favorite Things](https://willcurran.com/blog/tag/favorite-things)

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Will Curran

I spent sixteen years building one company, and I have been in the event industry since 2007. These days I write about the technology I actually use — trucks, radios, home infrastructure, and the tools that survive past the first invoice.

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