Streaming

NDI for churches: the complete guide

By Mambo Mutinda · Founder & CEO, TajiCast

3 August 2026 · Updated 8 September 2026

If your church streams, you have probably seen "NDI" in vMix, OBS or a graphics tool and wondered what it actually is. The short version: NDI carries video between computers over your ordinary network cable — no capture cards, no HDMI runs across the building. This is everything a church needs to know about it, from what it is to getting a scripture overlay onto the stream, to fixing the source that stubbornly refuses to appear.

What NDI actually is

NDI (Network Device Interface) is a free technology for carrying high-quality video over a standard Ethernet network. Instead of running a physical cable from one device to another, the sender puts its video onto the network, and any receiver on the same network can pick it up by choosing it from a list by name.

That one idea removes a surprising amount of hardware from a church media booth.

Why churches use it

• No capture cards. Feed a graphics computer's output into your streaming switcher without buying and wiring capture hardware.
• Fewer cables. Send video room to room over the network you already have.
• Flexible layout. Your lyrics machine, cameras and lower-third graphics can live on different computers and still reach the switcher.
• It costs nothing. The NDI tools, and most church software's support for them, are free.

NDI versus HDMI and SDI

HDMI and SDI are point to point: one cable, one destination, and you need capture hardware to bring the signal into a computer. NDI is network based: one sender can be received by several machines at once, and it arrives inside the software directly.

For church graphics and computer-to-computer video, NDI is simpler and cheaper. Cameras and long broadcast runs still often use SDI, and there is no shame in a setup that mixes both — most churches that stream well do.

What you need before you start

• A wired gigabit network. NDI runs over wifi, but it should not be trusted on anything going on air. A cheap gigabit switch is one of the best-value purchases in a media booth.
• NDI-capable software at both ends. A sender — a camera, a graphics tool, a lyrics program — and a receiver, usually your streaming switcher.
• Both machines on the same network. Senders and receivers discover each other automatically, but only within the same subnet.

The typical church setup

The most common use is getting graphics — an automatically detected Bible verse, say — onto the stream without extra hardware:

1. The senderA tool like TajiCast outputs a full-width lower-third over NDI.
2. The networkThat video travels over your wired gigabit network.
3. The receiverYour switcher adds it as an NDI source and overlays it on the program feed.

Everything below is the detail of that third step, for each of the two switchers churches actually use.

Receiving NDI in vMix

vMix supports NDI out of the box, so there is usually nothing to install.

Enable output on the sending side

Turn on NDI output in the sending application's settings. In TajiCast, that means enabling NDI output for the display you want to broadcast. Within a few seconds the sender becomes a named channel on your network.

Add the input

1. Click Add InputAt the bottom left of vMix, click Add Input.
2. Choose the NDI categoryvMix scans the network and lists every NDI source it can see, by name.
3. Pick your sourceChoose the sender — for example "Graphics-PC (TajiCast)" — and click OK.

The source now appears as an input in your vMix preview, exactly like a camera.

Overlay it as a lower-third

A scripture graphic should sit over the sermon shot, not replace it. That is what vMix overlay channels are for:

1. Hover the inputHover over the NDI input tile and click one of the overlay buttons, 1 to 4.
2. It keys automaticallyIf the sender outputs a transparent background, as a proper lower-third does, vMix keys it — the sermon shot shows through everywhere the graphic is empty.
3. Toggle on airClick the overlay button again to bring it in and out during the service.

Receiving NDI in OBS

Unlike vMix, OBS Studio does not speak NDI until you add a free plugin.

Install the plugin

OBS needs the community NDI plugin, currently maintained by DistroAV and formerly known as obs-ndi.

1. Close OBSQuit OBS before installing so the plugin registers cleanly.
2. Download the matching buildGet the plugin build that matches your OBS version and operating system. A mismatch is the most common reason it silently fails to load.
3. Install and reopenRun the installer, then start OBS again. "NDI Source" now appears in the source list.

Applications that send NDI natively, such as TajiCast, handle the sending side themselves. If your sender is not natively NDI-capable, install the free NDI Tools runtime on that machine as well.

Add the source

1. Click + under SourcesIn your scene, click the + at the bottom of the Sources panel.
2. Choose NDI SourcePick "NDI Source", give it a clear name, and click OK.
3. Select the senderIn Source Name, open the dropdown and choose the sender by name.

Set bandwidth mode to Highest for a full-quality graphic on the program feed, and leave latency at its lowest setting for live production.

Position it over the camera

The NDI source lands as a layer in your scene. Because a proper lower-third carries a transparent background, it keys over your camera automatically — you only place it:

• Drag the source above your camera in the Sources list so it sits on top.
• Resize and position it so the scripture bar sits in the lower third, inside your safe margins.
• Add it to every scene where scripture should be available: the main sermon shot, the wide, and so on.

Showing and hiding it

Use the eye icon beside the source to toggle the graphic, or put it in its own scene and switch to it. If your sender only outputs a graphic when there is something to show — as an automatic verse tool does — you can usually leave the source visible and let it appear and disappear on its own.

When the source will not show up

The single most common NDI problem, and the fix is nearly always one of three things: the Windows firewall blocking discovery, the two machines sitting on different subnets, or one end being on wifi. None of them announce themselves — the switcher simply shows an empty list.

Work down those three in order and you will solve most cases. For the full list, including a source that appears but shows black and one that stutters, see NDI source not showing up? How to fix it.

Getting the details right

• Name your sources clearly. "Graphics-PC (TajiCast)" beats "Desktop 2" when you are six inputs deep and the service has started.
• Match resolution. Set the sender's output to your switcher's canvas, commonly 1920×1080, so overlays sit edge to edge and the graphic lines up with your safe margins.
• Mind the bandwidth. Several full-quality streams add up quickly. Wired gigabit keeps it smooth; a shared 100 Mbps switch will not.

The takeaway

• NDI turns any capable application into a named video channel on your network, which removes capture cards from the picture entirely.
• vMix receives NDI with nothing to install; OBS needs one free plugin, matched to its version.
• When a source will not appear, it is the network — firewall, subnet, or wifi — far more often than the software.

Related: TajiCast for vMix · TajiCast for OBS · For live-streaming churches