BirdDog 4K Family Offers Next Level NDI Tools
By Adam Noyes
The BirdDog 4K Family, following on from the award winning HD NDI® products, has been engineered from the ground up for real-world users. Built around BirdDog’s custom NDI® silicon chip and housed in an aircraft grade aluminium case, features include 12G SDI and HDMI 2.0 inputs and outputs, built-in cross converter, SFP+ port for 10GbE connectivity, active loop outs, audio intercom system, NDI® tally system, PoE, and compatibility with BirdDog’s Comms Pro and Central Pro apps.
Encode & Decode up to 4Kp60.
With support for all resolutions up to 4Kp60, including all HD resolutions, Encoding and Decoding 4K Full NDI® has never been easier.
12G & HDMI 2.0 connections.
All SDI connectors on the 4K line are 12G SDI, including all four SDI connectors on 4K Quad. All the HDMI connectors are 2.0 for maximum compatibility with your sources and destinations.
SFP+ for 10GbE & long range.
Industry standard SFP+ connection allows for short, medium, and long range connections over fiber and supports Ethernet protocols from 1GbE to 10GbE.
NDI Tally that just works.
A full Tally system is built right into the 4K Family and it requires zero configuration. Includes a built-in large Tally light for your on-air talent to easily see which camera is live, plus user selectable Tally borders on loop out.
Cross Converter.
All 4K products include a built in cross converter and of the 12G SDI inputs can be looped out the HDMI 2.0 port and any of the HDMI 2.0 inputs can be looped out the 12G SDI.
PTZ Control.
With the optional USB to Ethernet dongle you can control any PTZ camera that supports NDI®, NDI|HX, or Visca over IP.
RESTful API. DIY automation.
Download the free BirdDog RESTful API and program your own automation for all BirdDog hardware endpoints, including cameras.
Adaptive bit rate. Slide your way to glory.
Full NDI® is a variable bit rate codec. In normal circumstances BirdDog recommends allowing around 140Mbps in HD, or 6 streams per 1GbE cable with some headroom. In 4K it is recommended to allow around 300Mbps or 3 streams with some headroom to allow for any unforeseen spikes. With BirdDog’s tools you can select the bit rate to suit your bandwidth and requirements. In both HD you can slide between 80-180Mbps and in 4K you can select the data rate to be anywhere between 60 and 360Mbps.
