Connecting two OBS computers
- Thread starter MarkOBS
- Start date
I couldn't find anything about Beam and Distro AV but I did find a video describing Teleport which should work out.
What I would like to know is how do I physically connect the two computers?
Using USB cable? Ethernet cable?
Sorry I'm going to need a little hand-holding to get through this one.
Please treat me as a complete novice. :)
I found a video describing how to connect two computers to use OBS on both.
They are using the NDI pluggin. (Distro AV mentioned above.)
I have the NDI pluggin installed on both computers.
It's the physical connection of the computers that I need help with.
He mentions in his video to connect both computers to the same modem using ethernet
cables. I've done this.
But when I open the second computer to see the output from the first computer, it's not showing.
The name I gave on the first computer should appear in an NDI dropdown source, but it's not there.
Suggestions?
I am probably doing something stupid. :(
Please treat me as a complete novice. :)
I found a video describing how to connect two computers to use OBS on both.
They are using the NDI pluggin. (Distro AV mentioned above.)
I have the NDI pluggin installed on both computers.
It's the physical connection of the computers that I need help with.
He mentions in his video to connect both computers to the same modem using ethernet
cables. I've done this.
But when I open the second computer to see the output from the first computer, it's not showing.
The name I gave on the first computer should appear in an NDI dropdown source, but it's not there.
Suggestions?
I am probably doing something stupid. :(
Yeah I did do something stupid. On the first computer I hadn't clicked the OK button to finish
the NDI source setup. :)
I can now see the NDI source on the second computer!
But I now have a NEW big problem.
My internet connection drops off when the two computers are connected with the NDI pluggin. :(
The whole idea is to be able to use the internet when connecting the two computers.
Is there an easy fix? Because this just won't work unless I can use the internet at the same time.
the NDI source setup. :)
I can now see the NDI source on the second computer!
But I now have a NEW big problem.
My internet connection drops off when the two computers are connected with the NDI pluggin. :(
The whole idea is to be able to use the internet when connecting the two computers.
Is there an easy fix? Because this just won't work unless I can use the internet at the same time.
qhobbes
Active Member
Keep Your Stream Simple; like game console simple. Think of your gaming PC as a console. Here's what I do: PS4 > HDMI duplicator > 1. TV 2. USB capture card OR PS4 > USB capture card with pass-through > TV. No "gaming PC" resources used either way.
If you're going to go the network route, make sure both PCs are connected at gigabit or better speeds.
If you're going to go the network route, make sure both PCs are connected at gigabit or better speeds.
Last edited:
Thanks for helping out qhobbes!
A few things. I don't have a gaming PC as I don't do gaming.
I found your connection chain(s) to be confusing.
Do you use 2 TV's? You mention TV 2. That's why I ask.
It's the part where you talk about "1. TV 2. USB capture card..." that I get lost.
Yes in my case I would need to connect the PC's by a network route.
But I see a dead end right there. You said I'd need 1 Gig or better speeds.
I currently have 10M speed! So I'm light years behind in speed.
The reasons why I'm at this speed?
Mostly because the newer modems I've tried hurt my brain/body and make me sick.
Also for my computing needs, 10M works (except for OBS in this case).
qhobbes
Active Member
The HDMI duplicator sends 1 signal to my TV and another signal to my capture card. This way I can play my game on my TV and capture with a computer.
You're local network (not internet) speeds should be 1 Gig or better as a typical NDI stream consisting of 1080 60P video yields a data rate up to 150 Mbps per stream.
docs.ndi.video
You're local network (not internet) speeds should be 1 Gig or better as a typical NDI stream consisting of 1080 60P video yields a data rate up to 150 Mbps per stream.
Bandwidth | Docs and Guides
docs.ndi.video
The HDMI duplicator sends 1 signal to my TV and another signal to my capture card. This way I can play my game on my TV and capture with a computer.
You're local network (not internet) speeds should be 1 Gig or better as a typical NDI stream consisting of 1080 60P video yields a data rate up to 150 Mbps per stream.
Bandwidth | Docs and Guides
OK thanks, now I'm starting to get the hang of this but still could use a little more help.
So it's good news that I can connect the two computers and not involve the internet (and its slow
download speeds).
Could you please tell me how I would connect them?
Each computer has one Ethernet connector which I use to connect to my modem/internet.
Each also has multiple USB ports.
bcoyle
Member
You are a brave soul. There is a lot to learn but once you "understand", you will wonder why you thought it so hard. But basically router works two wys.
1. connect your computer to the internet (your 10mbs speed).
2. the router takes requests from your computer (say youtube) adds some data to the request so that when the replay comes back, it can send it to the correct computer.
3. The router connection to your computer runs at 1000mbs usually. But the router connection to the internet is slower.so it will slow down your computer. Your computer stills sends the data to the router quickly but in short bursts.
----
The second job of the router is to allow any computer connected to the router to talk to each other using different protocols.
I have a user that set up obs on one computer and had it generate a 24/7 stream using obs custom output to SRT transmit output.
His second computer had obs with a scene that did a receive of that srt stream. He had 2 scenes, one with the connection to computer #1 and other scenes as live scenes .
Basically the router lets each computer connected tot the router , talk to each other at gigibit speeds.
Hope that helps.
Thanks bcoyle that was helpful!
You give me hope with my problem.
So the million dollar question for me becomes, how can I have both of my computers
which are connected to my modem/router, at one and the same time have access to the internet
AND have one computer do an OBS stream to a second computer WITHOUT the internet connections
crashing on both computers (as they are now with the NDI driver)?
bcoyle
Member
from google
The OBS NDI plugin
sends video and audio over a local network (LAN), not the internet. It uses standard Ethernet connections to transmit high-quality, low-latency signals between devices on the same network, such as one computer sending a video feed to another. While the transmission doesn't go to the internet, the high bandwidth NDI uses can impact your internet connection if other devices are on the same network.
I have never tried this, so idk. For high speed like this, the second computer should be wired, not wireless.
more google
to configure NDI in OBS, first install the NDI plugin for OBS and the NDI Tools. Then, either add an NDI source to import a feed from another device or enable NDI output in the OBS tools menu to send your OBS output to the network. For an NDI camera, you may need to enable NDI on the camera itself and ensure all devices are on the same network.
My router only has 1 ethernet port, so i use a netgear gigibit switch for all my connnections with the output going to the router
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google question: does lan trffic connectted to a gigibit switch need to go to the router?
traffic between devices connected to the same gigabit switch does
No, LAN traffic between devices connected to the same gigabit switch does
not need to go through the router, as long as those devices are on the same IP subnet. The switch handles this traffic directly using MAC addresses, which is much faster than routing it through the router. Traffic only goes to the router if it needs to be routed to a different network (e.g., to access the internet or a different VLAN).
----------------------------------------------------------
You will find that google is pretty good at just answering questions. So give that a try when trying to get thru this. Th obs forum does not always have the answer and answers with forum search matches, whereas google, just answers your question. I learned a lot in the past by just asking questions instead of a straight search.
The OBS NDI plugin
sends video and audio over a local network (LAN), not the internet. It uses standard Ethernet connections to transmit high-quality, low-latency signals between devices on the same network, such as one computer sending a video feed to another. While the transmission doesn't go to the internet, the high bandwidth NDI uses can impact your internet connection if other devices are on the same network.
- Local network only: The primary function of NDI is to send data within a Local Area Network (LAN).
- Examples of use: You can use NDI to send a video feed from one computer with OBS to a second computer for recording, or to a separate monitor for previewing.
- Bandwidth impact: NDI requires a lot of network bandwidth, so it's important to have a robust local network, ideally with Gigabit Ethernet, to ensure smooth performance. The bandwidth it uses is internal to your network, separate from your internet connection speed.
- Internet is separate: Using NDI does not send data to the internet, but it can use a lot of bandwidth on your local network, which could affect your internet speeds if other internet-dependent activities are happening on the same network.
I have never tried this, so idk. For high speed like this, the second computer should be wired, not wireless.
more google
to configure NDI in OBS, first install the NDI plugin for OBS and the NDI Tools. Then, either add an NDI source to import a feed from another device or enable NDI output in the OBS tools menu to send your OBS output to the network. For an NDI camera, you may need to enable NDI on the camera itself and ensure all devices are on the same network.
My router only has 1 ethernet port, so i use a netgear gigibit switch for all my connnections with the output going to the router
----------------------------------------------------------
google question: does lan trffic connectted to a gigibit switch need to go to the router?
traffic between devices connected to the same gigabit switch does
No, LAN traffic between devices connected to the same gigabit switch does
not need to go through the router, as long as those devices are on the same IP subnet. The switch handles this traffic directly using MAC addresses, which is much faster than routing it through the router. Traffic only goes to the router if it needs to be routed to a different network (e.g., to access the internet or a different VLAN).
----------------------------------------------------------
You will find that google is pretty good at just answering questions. So give that a try when trying to get thru this. Th obs forum does not always have the answer and answers with forum search matches, whereas google, just answers your question. I learned a lot in the past by just asking questions instead of a straight search.
Thanks again bcoyle.
I decided to use the scientific approach as I have a science background.
I disconnected my modem from the internet. (Smart guy).
So now the two ethernet connections to the modem (two computers)
could only talk to each other and not the internet.
Now I could NOT get either computer to stream its video to the other computer.
Before I could, but the internet connection crashed shortly after.
So I'm not really getting anywhere, unfortunately. :(
bcoyle
Member
No problem. Keep at it, you'll get it.
Well I decided to try another method and am also having problems with it.
This method doesn't use NDI or any plugin.
It looks cool, but hasn't worked for me so far.
The last step is to hit the Streaming button.
When I do I get this message:
Failed to connect:
"Could not access the specified channel or stream key"
And even worse, my internet connection on my second PC got disconnected and
my modem needed to be restarted. :(
This method doesn't use NDI or any plugin.
It looks cool, but hasn't worked for me so far.
The last step is to hit the Streaming button.
When I do I get this message:
Failed to connect:
"Could not access the specified channel or stream key"
And even worse, my internet connection on my second PC got disconnected and
my modem needed to be restarted. :(
Thanks again for helping!
Yes both are connected to modem/router with Ethernet cables.
Speed is 1Gbps, which I hear is good.
It's showing IPv4 Internet and IPv6 Internet.
Are these my two different computers or something else?
Earlier when I did a IPconfig check I got two different IP addresses, one for Ethernet 3 and one for Ethernet 4.
Is the IPv4 and IPv6 connected to this in any way?
bcoyle
Member
i suggest that you start using your browser and start asking google for the answers. You will find that one answer will also let to others.