NDI Tools Guide: Studio Monitor, Virtual Input, Access Manager & Routing Datavideo NDI Cameras
Oct 08 2026
After purchasing a Datavideo NDI PTZ camera, there is an official free toolkit worth installing before reaching for production software: NDI Tools. This official utility package from NDI includes several practical applications, of which the three most commonly used are Studio Monitor (monitoring and routing), Virtual Input (converting NDI sources into video conferencing cameras), and Access Manager (permission management). This article introduces what each tool does and how to use them alongside Datavideo PTC series cameras.
NDI Studio Monitor is a real-time viewer for NDI signals on the network — more capable than a simple preview screen. It provides alpha channel overlay, aspect ratio guides, safe-area markers, Tally indicators, and VU meter audio metering, helping on-site operators confirm both picture and audio status. It also offers "minimum latency" and "low bandwidth" modes that can be switched depending on on-site requirements.
More usefully, Studio Monitor has a built-in PTZ control function supporting USB joysticks for direct Pan/Tilt/Zoom operation of connected cameras. This means no dedicated controller hardware is needed — Datavideo PTC series cameras can be operated directly within the monitoring interface. Studio Monitor also includes a recording function with a configurable output path for capturing individual NDI sources to disk.
Additionally, Studio Monitor can act as a basic NDI router: after selecting a source, the NDI Video Output feature allows the feed to be distributed to other receivers — useful when a single camera's video needs to be simultaneously delivered to multiple monitoring points.
NDI Virtual Input does one thing and does it well: it converts any NDI source on the network into a system-level virtual camera. Once installed, video conferencing applications such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet show an "NDI Virtual Camera" option in their video source dropdown. Selecting it routes the designated NDI signal as the video input instead of the laptop's built-in camera.
This is extremely practical for corporate meeting rooms or any scenario requiring a professional camera for video conferencing: feed the Datavideo PTC series NDI PTZ camera into the computer via Virtual Input and conduct meetings with professional camera picture quality, optical zoom, and AI tracking — no capture card required.
NDI Tools also includes Access Manager, which controls who can discover and receive which NDI sources on the network. By default, all sources broadcast as a "Public" group, theoretically discoverable and receivable by anyone on the same network. If access needs to be restricted, Access Manager allows sources to be assigned to custom groups; only receivers that have joined the corresponding group can see those sources. If your venue involves corporate or campus networks, this is best planned alongside "5 Questions to Ask Your IT Team Before Deploying Datavideo NDI Cameras."
When a deployment includes multiple Datavideo PTC cameras (for example, a mixed setup of PTC-285, PTC-305, and PTC-145), a common practical approach is: install NDI Tools on the monitoring workstation, open multiple Studio Monitor windows each tuned to a different camera source, giving operators a simultaneous overview of all positions. To adjust any camera angle, simply operate the PTZ directly in the corresponding window with a USB joystick — no need to walk to the camera or purchase a dedicated multi-camera control panel.
NDI Tools is a free official package: Studio Monitor handles monitoring and routing, Virtual Input connects professional cameras to video conferencing software, and Access Manager handles permission control. Together, these three tools extend the Datavideo NDI camera's usefulness into monitoring, conferencing, and multi-camera control scenarios without spending anything on additional hardware. For a complete system architecture overview, return to "The Ultimate Guide to NDI Production Workflows."