Getting Started with NDI Receiver

DongleControl NDI Receiver is a standalone app that turns any Linux box into a dedicated NDI display. Plug it into a TV in your overflow room, lobby, or backstage — it receives video over your network and shows it fullscreen. No capture card, no HDMI cable run, no extra computer needed.

What is NDI?

NDI (Network Device Interface) is a video-over-IP protocol. Instead of running HDMI cables across your building, NDI sends high-quality video and audio over your existing network. DongleControl Projector can send its output as an NDI stream, and NDI Receiver picks it up on the other end.

What You Need

  • A Linux device with a display output — Raspberry Pi, Intel NUC, mini PC, or any machine running Linux
  • A display connected via HDMI or DisplayPort
  • Both devices on the same network as your NDI source, or connected with a direct Ethernet cable
  • An NDI source sending video (like DongleControl Projector with NDI enabled)

Two Ways to Set Up

Option 1: Bootable Image (Easiest)

We provide a pre-built Debian image that you can flash to a USB drive or SSD. Plug it into your device, power on, and NDI Receiver starts automatically.

  1. Download the NDI Receiver image from donglecontrol.com/downloads
  2. Flash it to a USB drive or SSD using Balena Etcher or dd
  3. Plug the drive into your Linux device and boot from it
  4. NDI Receiver starts automatically and displays on the connected screen
  5. The status screen shows the Web UI address — by default http://ndi-receiver.local:8080
  6. Open the Web UI from any browser on your network to configure it

Option 2: Install the Binary

If you already have a Linux machine set up:

  1. Download the ndi-receiver binary from donglecontrol.com/downloads
  2. Make sure the NDI SDK is installed
  3. Run it:
./ndi-receiver

NDI Receiver uses Linux DRM/KMS for display output — it renders directly to your GPU, no desktop environment or window manager needed. It works from a bare TTY.

Connecting to a Source

NDI Receiver automatically discovers sources on your network using mDNS. When it finds one, you’ll see it listed in the Web UI.

From the Web UI (the easiest way):

  1. Open a browser on any device on your network
  2. Go to http://ndi-receiver.local:8080 — the .local address works automatically via mDNS, no need to find the IP address
  3. You’ll see a list of available NDI sources
  4. Click a source to connect — video appears on the display immediately

From the command line:

# Connect to a specific source
./ndi-receiver --source "DongleControl - Projector"

# List available sources and exit
./ndi-receiver --discover

When connected, the receiver shows the video stream fullscreen. When disconnected, it shows the DongleControl logo and the Web UI address so you know where to configure it.

Networking

Standard Setup (with a router or switch)

Plug the receiver into your network via Ethernet. It gets an IP via DHCP automatically and announces itself via mDNS as ndi-receiver.local.

Direct Cable (no switch or router needed)

You can connect the receiver directly to your source machine with a single Ethernet cable — no router or switch required. Both devices automatically assign themselves link-local addresses (169.254.x.x) and mDNS discovery works over the direct connection.

On macOS: No configuration needed. Plug in the cable, wait ~30 seconds, and go to http://ndi-receiver.local:8080.

On Linux: Make sure your Ethernet interface has LinkLocalAddressing=yes in your networkd config.

Multiple Receivers

By default, every receiver has the hostname ndi-receiver. If you have multiple receivers on the same network, give each one a unique name:

ssh root@ndi-receiver.local    # password: ndi
hostnamectl set-hostname stage-left
systemctl restart avahi-daemon

The receiver is now reachable at http://stage-left.local:8080 and the status screen updates to show the new address. This persists across reboots.

If two receivers boot with the same default hostname, mDNS automatically deduplicates them (e.g., ndi-receiver-2.local), but naming them explicitly is recommended.

SSH Access

The bootable image has SSH enabled for remote management:

  • Username: root
  • Password: ndi
  • Access: ssh root@ndi-receiver.local (or the custom hostname you set)

Audio

NDI carries audio alongside video. NDI Receiver plays audio through the connected display’s speakers or any audio output device. It prefers HDMI audio by default — you can change the output device in the Web UI or config file.

Next Steps