(Work-in-Progress)

Files distroav.dll & distroav.pdb should be found at:

C:\Program Files\obs-studio\obs-plugins\64bit or C:\ProgramData\obs-studio\plugins

Check that the installation actually worked a distroav.plugin file/folder should be at ~/Library/Application\ Support/obs-studio/plugins/. If it cannot be found, install again.

To report anything related to MacOS installation first look at the installer log and use this in your bug report. installer -pkg replacethiswithpathtopackage.pkg -target CurrentUserHomeDirectory -dumplog

• Runtime not found - But runtime are installed Error log: libNDI not found / libndi_load_v5: not found.

Reason: The /usr/local/lib folder is set with the wrong permissions in the libNDI 6.0.0 installer. Status : libNDI for Mac 6.0.1 fixes this but if the libNDI 6.0.0 was used (for the first time) the following workaround still need to be applied.

Fix:

• Remove libndi 6.0.0 and install NDI Runtime package for MacOS version 6.0.1 or higher
• Fix in Terminal

sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/lib 

To decode NDI HX on Linux, you must use ffmpeg 7 or higher.

Some Linux flavor are still using older version, please check for each linux distro the best way to obtain and use ffmpeg 7+.

Some notable distros

• Debian 12 still use ffmpeg 5.x Source
• Debian 13 (trixie) sip with ffmpeg 7.x - no problem
• Ubuntu 24.04 ships with ffmpeg 6.1.1 Source - Install ffmpeg 7.1.1 - not tested

...

In OBS select Help->Log Files.

To access the log files, in OBS menu Help -> Log Files :

• View Current Log - to debug by yourself
• Upload Current Log File - share the URL in your Bug Report or Support Request

(It's always the firewall!)

• No NDI Source in dropdown menu
• NDI Source is black / black screen
• NDI Output not seen on other computers

Allow OBS to use the network (send / receive)

1. Set your network as "Private"

Open "Firewall & network protection", set your network to Private.

2. Allow OBS-Studio on Private & Public Network

Open "Windows Defender Firewall" -> "Allow an app or feature through the Windows Defender Firewall" -> Allow OBS-Studio on both Private & Public network

If using a different software, allow OBS executable and NDI related Network ports.

• If you're using some kind of antivirus, make sure it's not messing with the firewall!
• Make sure you're not using any kind of VPN software!

1. Configure Firewall to allow OBS to communicate on the network.

• System Settings -> Network -> Firewall -> Options
• OBS should be set to "Allow incoming connections"

2. Allow OBS to access Local network

Context: MacOS Sequoia 15+ has a privacy feature that block local network access by default unless approved

• System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Local Network

• OBS must be allowed

• Make sure you're not using any kind of VPN software!

Check the installation notes

`Module '../../obs-plugins/64bit/distroav.dll' not loaded`
`Module 'distroav' not loaded`

Cause

• OBS version is too old

Solution

• Update OBS to latest supported version

424 - OBS Version does not meet the minimum required version
425 - NDI Library does not meet the minimum required version
406 - NDI library could not initialize due to unsupported CPU
402 - Error loading QLibrary with error

Symptoms

• Missing NDI Output Settings in the OBS Tools menu
• No NDI Source option in Add Source
• No NDI Filter option in Add Filter

Cause

• Minimum requirements not met for this plugin to start

Solution

• Update NDI Library to the latest supported version
• Update OBS to the latest supported version
• Upgrade to a compatible hardware (error 406)

403 - OBS-NDI is detected and needs to be uninstalled before DistroAV can work

Cause

• OBS-NDI is still detected on the system

Solution

• Follow all the obs-ndi uninstallation steps

TBC

This can be identified by non-working sources and no localization of text "NDIPlugin.SourceProps.Behavior" or "NDIPlugin.Settings"

Cause

• Previous version of DistroAV is detected & loaded on the system
• Only on Windows when going from 6.0.0 to 6.1.0/6.1.1

Solution

• Follow all the DistroAV uninstallation steps
• Re-install the plugin

414 - Invalid or unknown behavior detected in config file

Cause

• The plugin configuration is missing or outdated

Solution

• Close & restart OBS (this type of error should only show once)

401 - NDI library failed to load
404 - NDI library not found, DistroAV cannot continue
405 - Error loading the NDI Library from path

Cause

• The NDI library cannot be found/loaded properly

Solution

• Follow the installation steps fully (especially Required Components])
• Clean any old NDI Runtime (See Uninstall steps)

409 - Check for update failed: Cannot get the main OBS window
417 - Update Check received a non-expected response
418 - Update Check took too long for a response
419 - Update Check request failed
421 - Update Check could not open the update file
422 - Update Check could not verify the update file

Cause

• The update process fails to get and verify the update
• You are using a non-official / un-released / development version

Solution

• Close OBS
• Confirm access to distroav.org is working and no firewall rule block OBS access
• Re-launch OBS

Symptom

• A transmitting DistroAV NDI source is not listed in Source name settings

Cause

• The NDI source is not detected by the receiving computer
• Usually firewall / network related
• NDI groups or Privacy mode
• mDNS not supported on the network

Solution

• Check the firewall settings on the receiving computer
• Check the firewall settings on the sending computer
• Confirm that the source is available locally (sender) in NDI Studio Monitor
• Confirm that the source is available locally (sender) in OBS with DistroAV
• Confirm that the source is available on another device on the same network in NDI Studio Monitor
• Launch NDI Test Pattern on the sending computer, confirm the NDI pattern stream is available on receiving computer
• Make sure there is no NDI groups or Privacy enabled within any of the computers!
• If sources on the sending computer are still not showing on receiving computer, manually specifying the IP of the sending computer can help

407 - Error creating the NDI Receiver
408 - Error creating the NDI Frame Sync

Symptoms

• Source is black
• Source is not visible
• Receive audio only
• Receive video only

To test (first)

• Check if the source work in NDI Studio Monitor / NDI Video Monitor

Solution

• Delete & re-create the NDI Source
• Check the firewall settings

430 - NDI Source uses an unsupported video/colour format

Symptoms

• Source is black
• Source is not visible
• Receive audio only

Cause

• The format received is not supported (malformed of special HDR/pixel format)

Solution

• Use a supported video format for the NDI source (defined at the sender)
• Use a supported video format in OBS

400 - Failed to start NDI Main Output
411 - Failed to initialize NDI Main Output
412 - Failed to create NDI Main Output

423 - Failed to create NDI Preview Output

Symptoms

• NDI Output Program / Preview is not available or only last received frame is visible on other devices

Cause

• The NDI Output (Program or Preview) has stopped/did not start

Solution

• Disable NDI Output Program/Preview
• Change to a supported OBS Colour Format (Settings > Advanced > Colour Format)
• Re-enable NDI Output Program/Preview

410 - NDI Output cannot start : Unsupported pixel format
413 - NDI Output could not start. No Audio/Video data available
415 - NDI Sender data capture failed
416 - NDI Sender initialization failed

Symptoms

• NDI stream is not available on other devices

Cause

• No compatible data available to create the NDI Sender process

Solution

• Change to a supported OBS Colour Format (Settings > Advanced > Colour Format)
• Remove NDI Output Filter from the source
• Save filter settings
• Add NDI Output Filter to the source

Symptom

• NDI Source does not show and is not selectable in Source name list in NDI Source properties

Cause

• mDNS is not supported on the network (as example VPNs can create this problem)

Solution

• Find out the local IP address of the sending computer
  • Windows 11
  • macOS
• On the receiving computer, add the sending IP to the External Sources
  • Open NDI Tools and launch Access Manager starting with step 1 here
  • ...or add the sending IP to the list of "ips" (see json as below) to the NDI configuration file for your platform

      {
          "ndi": {
              "networks": {
                  "ips": "192.168.1.111"
              }
          }
      }

• Restart OBS on the receiving computer
• If the source now shows up, then the problem is mDNS is not supported. You will need to set the IP address of the sending computer to be static or "Manual" so that the IP address does not change due to reconnection to the network.
  • Windows 11 - Scroll down to Change TCP/IP Settings and follow instructions for Manual
  • macOS - To manually set the IP address for a Mac

1. Identify Symptom

• Confirm pre-requisites are complete
• Check knowledge base / wiki for help

2. Test with NDI Tools

• Use NDI Screen Capture, NDI Scan converter or NDI Test Pattern to generate a "pure" NDI feed
• Confirm that the NDI source is available with NDI Studio Monitor or NDI Video Monitor both locally (sender) and on your remote (receiver) computer

3. If point 2 does not work, OBS + DistroAV will not work either

• Check the software requirements
• Check the network requirements

4. Points 1, 2 & 3 are complete, this is an OBS + DistroAV issue

• Check the network requirements (OBS + DistroAV) for your OS
• Run OBS with the debugging option enabled --distroav-debug
• Check in the Knowledgebase / Wiki for solutions

5. Still no luck ?

• Open an issue by filling up the template and providing your log

In Numerical order, Text for reference only. Numerical value is unique across all Error Level.

400 - Failed to start NDI Main Output
401 - NDI library failed to load
402 - Error loading QLibrary with error
403 - OBS-NDI is detected and needs to be uninstalled before DistroAV can work
404 - NDI library not found, DistroAV cannot continue
405 - Error loading the NDI Library from path
406 - NDI library could not initialize due to unsupported CPU
407 - Error creating the NDI Receiver
408 - Error creating the NDI Frame Sync
409 - Check for update failed: Cannot get the main OBS window
410 - NDI Output cannot start : Unsupported pixel format
411 - Failed to initialize NDI Main Output
412 - Failed to create NDI Main Output
413 - NDI Output could not start. No Audio/Video data available.
414 - Invalid or unknown behavior detected in config file
415 - NDI Sender data capture failed
416 - NDI Sender initialization failed
417 - Update Check received a non-expected response
418 - Update Check took too long for a response
419 - Update Check request failed
421 - Update Check could not open the update file
422 - Update Check could not verify the update file
423 - Failed to create NDI Preview Output

430 - NDI Source uses an unsupported video pixel format

Reserved Error code for future use:

424 - OBS Version does not meet the minimum required version
425 - NDI Library does not meet the minimum required version
426 - NDI Main Output disabled, format not supported

obs[64.exe] --distroav-debug --verbose

As of August 12, Windows 10 and 11 have rolled two updates, KB5063709 and KB5063878 which have caused performance issues to new and existing setups.

It is being investigated by Microsoft. NDI is aware of these issues as well.

These is being tracked here. If you have issues please chime in and report your findings.

As of now the best advice is to uninstall the update and disable the Windows Update Service or switch NDI to TCP transport (via access manager).

How to solve on affected computers:

1. Install NDI Tools or vi winget install NDI.NDITools
2. Close all application using NDI (OBS with DistroAV, Studio Monitor, NDI Webcam, NDI Screen Capture)
3. Launch NDI Access Manager

3. In Advanced tab : Change the Receive Mode to Single-TCP or UDP