Using NDI on macOS with the VDO NDI Output Plugin

Manual installation

If you prefer to install per-user, copy VDOOutput.ofx.bundle to either of:

• /Library/OFX/Plugins/ — system-wide, requires admin
• ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Fusion/Plugins/ — Resolve-only, per-user

Quit and relaunch your OFX host after installation so it re-scans the plugin directory.

Step 2 — Send NDI from DaVinci Resolve

There are three ways to route video through the VDO Output plugin. Most users will want the adjustment layer method — it lets you monitor the whole timeline over NDI without touching individual clips or switching to Fusion.

Option A — Adjustment layer on the Edit page (recommended)

An adjustment layer sits on a video track above your timeline and applies any OFX effect dropped on it to everything playing underneath. This is the easiest way to get a clean, full-timeline NDI output.

1. Launch DaVinci Resolve and open a project.
2. Open the Edit page.
3. In the Effects Library (top left), open Effects → Toolbox → Effects and drag Adjustment Clip onto a new track above your timeline (for example V2 if your footage is on V1). Stretch it to cover the full length of the timeline.
4. Still in the Effects Library, open OpenFX → Filters → VDO and drag VDO Output onto the adjustment clip.
5. Select the adjustment clip, then open the Inspector (top right) and scroll down to the VDO Output section to configure Source Name, colour space, HDR metadata, etc.
6. Press play — the plugin passes video through unchanged while simultaneously publishing it to the network as an NDI source called VDO Resolve Output (or whatever you set in Source Name).

Because the adjustment layer covers the entire timeline, every cut, transition and graded clip underneath it will stream over NDI as one continuous feed.

Option B — Directly on a clip

If you only want to stream a single clip (for example, a playback review of one take):

1. On the Edit page, select the clip on the timeline.
2. Open Effects Library → OpenFX → Filters → VDO and drag VDO Output onto the clip.
3. Configure the plugin in the Inspector panel under OpenFX.

The plugin only runs while that clip is playing; gaps and other clips will not appear on the NDI feed.

Option C — Fusion node graph (advanced)

Use this when you need the plugin inside a Fusion composition, or you want to tap a specific intermediate node rather than the final timeline output:

1. Open the Fusion page on the clip you want to tap.
2. Right-click in the node graph and choose Add Tool → VDO → VDO Output.
3. Connect your source (typically MediaIn1 or whichever node you want to publish) to the VDO Output node's input.
4. Leave the node's output unconnected or pass it through to MediaOut1 — the node is a pass-through, so it does not alter the signal downstream.
5. Configure the NDI parameters in the Fusion Inspector.

Receiving the stream

On any machine on the same subnet, open an NDI-aware receiver — VDO Streamer, OBS with the NDI plugin, or any other compatible tool — and select VDO Resolve Output from the list of available sources.

That's it. The source will appear on every machine on the same subnet that is running an NDI-aware receiver.

Plugin parameters

The VDO Output node exposes the following controls in the Fusion inspector:

Recommended settings

The plugin sits at the end of your pipeline and treats the incoming frame as-is. Set Input Primaries to the colour primaries of your timeline output (not Resolve's internal working space — those are different things, and the internal space changes with your colour management mode). If you're unsure, see DaVinci Resolve colour management for NDI output.

Standard Dynamic Range — Rec.709

Project timeline is Rec.709 / Rec.709 Gamma 2.4 (YRGB default or DaVinci YRGB Color Managed with Rec.709 output):

• Input Primaries: Rec.709
• Output Primaries: Rec.709
• Transfer Function: None (the timeline is already encoded Rec.709)
• Output Range: Video
• Content Type: Same as Transfer
• Force 8-bit: On (UYVY is fine for SDR)

HDR10 / PQ delivery

Project timeline is Rec.2020 ST.2084 (PQ):

• Input Primaries: Rec.2020
• Output Primaries: Rec.2020
• Transfer Function: None (pass Resolve's PQ encoding straight through)
• Output Range: Full
• Content Type: HDR PQ
• Send NDI Metadata: On
• Force 8-bit: Off (use 16-bit P216 — PQ needs the precision)

HDR — HLG

Project timeline is Rec.2020 HLG:

• Input Primaries: Rec.2020
• Output Primaries: Rec.2020
• Transfer Function: None
• Output Range: Full
• Content Type: HDR HLG
• Send NDI Metadata: On
• Force 8-bit: Off

P3 D65 (theatrical / reference monitor)

Project timeline is P3 D65:

• Input Primaries: P3
• Output Primaries: Rec.2020 if your NDI receiver expects Rec.2020, or P3 to keep the signal native
• Transfer Function: None
• Output Range: Full
• Content Type: pick HDR PQ or SDR to match the timeline
• Send NDI Metadata: On

The plugin does not re-grade. If you set Input Primaries to something other than your timeline's actual primaries, the 3×3 matrix conversion applied when Output Primaries differs will produce wrong colours. When in doubt, leave Input and Output Primaries the same and let the receiver handle any further conversion.

Troubleshooting

"NDI SDK not found" on startup This is unusual — the plugin should not need an external NDI runtime. If you see this, reinstall the latest VDO NDI Output plugin from the Downloads page and restart DaVinci Resolve.

No signal visible in the receiver Check that Output Mode is set to NDI and that both the sender and receiver machines are on the same network and subnet. NDI discovery uses mDNS, which does not cross routed subnets without an NDI Discovery Server.

The frame counter is not incrementing The OFX host only evaluates the node graph during playback or rendering. Start Fusion playback or scrub the timeline to drive the plugin.

HDR preview looks dark or crushed The receiver does not know how to interpret the signal. Set Content Type to the correct HDR format (PQ or HLG) and enable Send NDI Metadata so the receiver can apply the right tone curve.

Plugin does not appear in the OFX host Confirm the bundle exists at /Library/OFX/Plugins/VDOOutput.ofx.bundle, quit the host completely, and relaunch it. Some hosts cache OFX plugin lists — deleting the cache directory for that host forces a full rescan.

Trademark notice

NDI® is a registered trademark of Vizrt NDI AB. VDO is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Vizrt or any of its affiliates.