Magewell Ultra Encode SDI

About this product

If you have an SDI camera, switcher or router and need its picture online, the usual answer is a laptop, a capture device and streaming software that somebody has to look after. The Ultra Encode SDI replaces all of that with one small box. It is a standalone hardware streaming encoder: connect one SDI source and a network, set it up once in a web browser, and it sends live video to streaming platforms, to another site, or to an NDI production network, with no computer in the chain.

What goes in

• Video. One SDI input on a BNC connector takes SD, HD and 3G-SDI signals up to 2048×1080 at 60 frames per second. A second BNC is a loop-through, which passes the signal on to the next device in the chain.
• Audio. Up to 16 channels embedded in the SDI signal arrive on the same cable as the picture. If your sound comes from a mixing desk instead, feed two channels into the 3.5 mm line input. There is also a 3.5 mm line output.

What comes out

• Encoding. H.264 or H.265 (HEVC). The main stream goes up to 2048×1080 at 60 frames per second. A sub stream of up to 1920×1080 can run alongside it, which lets you send a lighter version of the same picture to viewers or sites with less bandwidth. The maximum video bitrate is 16 Mbps, with two-channel AAC audio.
• Protocols. RTMP and RTMPS (used by YouTube, Facebook and most platforms), SRT as caller or listener (a protocol built for sending video over the public internet), RTSP, NDI HX2, HLS, MPEG-TS over UDP or RTP, and TVU ISSP. That range covers streaming platforms, links to another site and NDI HX2 on a production network.
• Several destinations at once. Up to six RTMP / RTMPS sessions, up to six SRT sessions, or up to six MPEG-TS sessions at the same time, and up to two NDI HX2 sessions. You can reach several platforms straight from the encoder.
• Overlays. Up to eight per stream, from text, pictures and a clock, so you can add a logo or title in the box.

Where it earns its place

• Replaces the streaming PC. The encoder does the work a laptop running streaming software would otherwise do, in a box about 107 mm square and 25 mm high.
• The local picture carries on. The loop-through output passes the source to a monitor, switcher or router while the encoder streams, so you can add streaming to an existing SDI chain without a distribution amplifier.
• Wired or wireless. Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) are built in, so the encoder can go where the camera is. A 4G / 5G USB modem, bought separately, is also supported for venues with no usable network.
• Power. It runs from the supplied 5 V power adapter.

Is it the right model?

Choose the Ultra Encode SDI for HD streaming from an SDI camera, switcher or router, with NDI HX2 for the production network. If you need 4K encoding, NDI HX3, recording or power over Ethernet, look at the Plus models below.

Set up once, then leave it

• Configuration is done in the Web UI, which opens in a browser on a PC or a smartphone, so there is nothing to install and you can check it from your phone at the venue.
• Several encoders can be registered with Magewell Control Hub for central management, which saves visiting each room or site.
• APIs are provided for third-party control systems, so an integrator can tie the encoder into the room's control system.
• A T-bracket for mounting is in the box. So are a USB cable, the Wi-Fi antenna and the power adapter.

Where it sits in the range

The Ultra Encode SDI Plus is the higher model for SDI sources. For an HDMI source there is the Ultra Encode HDMI, and the Ultra Encode AIO has both HDMI and SDI inputs. All models are on the Ultra Encode range page.