BirdDogBirdDog Mini HDMI to NDI Encoder OPEN BOX

(Image of HDMI encoded to NDI attached.)I hate stuff that doesn't work, and especially stuff that only works intermittently. That said, I can pleasantly say this is NOT the case (so far) with these two Bird Dog Mini encoders currently operating in our podcast studio. I added these puppies to utilize more inputs on my TriCaster Mini Advanced Edition, which has been maxed at 4 HDMI inputs for the last year or so. Previously, I had 4 HDMI cameras plugged into the TC, and wanted to utilize the extra inputs for our Two SEALs and a Walrus Podcast, which meant I needed some NDI magic, which I had never even played with. I first tried out an AIDA 12x PTZ NDI|HX as an extra camera, but the TC would not recognize it via NDI, nor would the NDI software monitor on a Mac on the network recognize it either, so I sent that POS back. Then, rather than get some more expensive ($2k/ea) PTZ NDI cameras to use as extra cameras via the network, I opted to try using some existing HDMI cameras and plugged them into a BirdDog Mini to send the HDMI signal through IP Ethernet to the TC over Cat-5 cabling.I bought one BidDog Mini, I plugged in the HDMI cord from the camera to the HDMI Input on the BirdDog, plugged the Cat-5 from the 24 port NetGear switch connecting all the other Cat-5s from computers and the TC, plugged in the BirdDog power to the socket, simply let our Google Home Router assign the DHCP IPs for the BirdDog (Google Home also wired into the NetGear), and after about 2 minutes, it simply appeared as an HDMI input option on the TC, which I assigned to channel 5 on the TC. It just worked. And yes, it was that simple. I had a new camera 5 from an HDMI camera in about 5 minutes. Then I bought another BirdDog Mini, and now have a camera 6 in the same amount of time. I may wind up with two more before this is all said and done. Just because I can.The latency on the signal is almost non-existent, enough where the audio going through the sound mixer from the Shure and Heil mics on the set looks likes it's sync'd with mouth movements when rejoined with the BirdDog video signal on the TC. So no extra work there.I don't know where BirdDog came from, but the NDI performance from these little Mini encoders is stellar and I'm glad BirdDog exists.

I bought one of these from another retailer, since Amazon does not currently sell anything other than open box. I am sad to say that I have yet to get the unit working properly. I have spent hours on it and am getting nowhere. Right now I am mainly trying to use the decoder capability and have not even tried the encoder.The unit is small and I like the choices for power, but it ends there.My BirdDog Play works great. It can decode any NDI signal I send it, at least all I have tried. Not so much this device. This device balks at most of what I try to send. Further, the only indication it cannot decode the signal is on a different page. You must flip back and forth to see the small indicator that it is receiving a signal it cannot decode. They could at least duplicate the information on the decode page, where it belongs and is most useful.Then there is the manual. The manual that you can download online is for some earlier version of the firmware. I made the mistake of updating my firmware and the new firmware is greatly different than the latest user manual available online. I received a half-hearted apology and no promise as to when the manual might be updated. Worse yet, support does not seem to be able to answer questions about the new firmware. I have asked three times and have yet to receive an answer about what specific terms on the decode page actually mean.Finally, the unit does not upscale the output. If you send it 720p, it cannot output at anything except 720p. If you happen to be trying to output Full NDI or 1080p, it doesn't work. You must set your output to 720p. The Play does this flawlessly.I am working with support on these issues, but not making progress. They don't seem interested in supporting the product.

Easy to use once firmware update is complete.

When I first got this BirdDog I was able to encode with the device and view the stream on a PC within 30 minutes after taking it out of the box. This setup should've gone much faster, however, except that the device has a really frustrating flaw.For the initial test I connected a computer's HDMI output to the input of the BirdDog, and then connected a monitor to the output of the device. Nothing appeared on the monitor, and the monitor displayed "invalid signal."Next I used the web-based UI to check the settings. I found that by default the HDMI output is set to decode, not to loop the input (which is what I wanted). After changing to "loop out" mode, however, my monitor finally displayed an image but it was a solid pink field...the kind of image that is common for defective DVI/HDMI ports or cables. After much head scratching and consternation (ie, troubleshooting cables and connections) I discovered that the UI has a place to change color-space settings. Changing the color-space solved the problem and I was able to get a clean "loop" of the source.What's frustrating about this is that this is not a true loop; conversion is occurring, with the wrong setting having the potential to foul the signal. The UI should be fixed so that if "loop out" is enabled, the device defaults to using the same color-space as the source. Period.This is unfortunately indicative of the web-UI as a whole, which feels clunky.Also, the device runs really hot. I know it is a cliché to say so but I really think I could fry an egg on the case, and that's just using it indoors on a desk. I will be nervous to use this device outdoors in the summer in a live production environment.

Best NDI products. We purchased 5 of these and they all work amazing.

Very happy with this!

Como siempre BirdDog lo mejor!!