# Connect an NDI|HX source

*Applies to: Pearl Mini, Pearl Nexus*

**Device differences**
- Pearl-2 supports full NDI (including Alpha channel) in addition to NDI|HX, with different input limits and bandwidth figures, and is documented separately.
- Pearl Nano does not support NDI or NDI|HX inputs or streaming at all.

NDI® lets you transmit and receive low latency video over Gigabit Ethernet networks. This device supports ingest of high efficiency NDI|HX and does not support Alpha channel. Any mention of using NDI with this device in this user guide refers to NDI|HX inputs.

Video and audio can come from a variety of NDI|HX sources, including:
- Remote NDI|HX enabled PTZ cameras
- Any NDI|HX unaware HDMI/SDI source using an NDI|HX converter
- NDI|HX output from IOS and Android mobile devices running the NewTek NDI camera app

The device discovers and lists all available NDI|HX resources on the same network. Simply choose which NDI|HX source you want from a list. Optionally, you can search for specific NDI|HX sources by name and NDI|HX group. You can also discover specific NDI|HX devices installed on different networks, subnets, and on networks that have mDNS disabled. The device also supports adding an NDI discovery server to the network configuration to help discover NDI|HX sources on the network.

**Important considerations**
- For NDI|HX to work properly, network ports 49152 to 65535 need to be open for two-way traffic. Contact your network administrator for assistance.
- The network discovery port 5557 on the device must be enabled (default).
- The device supports up to three 1920×1080@30 fps inputs simultaneously. Up to two of those 1080@30 inputs can be from an NDI|HX source.

**To connect an NDI|HX source:**
- Log in to the Admin panel as **admin**.
- From the Inputs menu, click **Add input**. The Add input page opens with all available NDI|HX resources listed.
- Do one of the following:
  - If the NDI|HX resource is listed, select **Add** beside it. The new NDI|HX input details page opens.
  - If the NDI|HX resource is assigned to an NDI|HX group, enter the group name and click **Discover** to see available resources in that group, then select **Add**.
  - If a remote NDI|HX resource is on a different network/subnet, or mDNS is disabled, enter its IP address in the **Extra source IP addresses** field and click **Discover**. Use a comma to separate multiple IP addresses, then select **Add**.
  - Alternatively, if the device is configured with the IP address of an available NDI|HX Discovery server, it will query the discovery server for available NDI|HX sources.
  - To add an NDI|HX input without selecting a resource, click **Add NDI input**. A blank NDI|HX input details page opens; you can search for and assign a resource later.
  - (Optional) On the NDI|HX input details page, check **Ignore timecode** to have the device ignore any timecode information in the NDI|HX signal — useful if the source doesn't send a timecode or its timecode is unstable.
- Click **Apply**.

After your NDI|HX source is connected, you can view basic video and audio signal information and packet loss statistics under the **Status** header at the top of the page. Any warnings or errors associated with the NDI|HX signal are also displayed there.

> product: pearl-family · topic: ndi · source: pearl-family-common.md · updated: Oct 13, 2026