Central Lite
Central is a software platform that allows you to stream content to TV screens. By connecting Central to any NDI source - this includes all BirdDog hardware that can create NDI sources - you can route NDI streams to any BirdDog Studio NDI or Mini to decode NDI back to SDI or HDMI. If you need more features, you can find the paid Central Pro here.
100% free: Simply log in to the BirdDog website and get Central Lite for free.
Three clicks: Simply select your source, choose your destination and click Apply. Now you can send your NDI content to a single BirdDog hardware decoder or to one of your groups.
Unlimited sources, two targets: Central Lite supports unlimited Full NDI sources and two BirdDog hardware targets.
Touch-sensitive screen: In the fast-paced world of live production, every second counts. By using a Windows 10 Pro-capable touchscreen tablet, the director has direct communication channels to the camera operators.
Central Pro
Central 2.0 ushers in a new era of NDI® routing control. Browser-based with SSO support, intelligent grouping of NDI® receivers, real-time NDI® routing, media playback engine and support for thousands of sources, Central 2.0 is your ultimate NDI® management tool.
Smart grouping.
Group NDI® decoders to easily manage the distribution of content to multiple recipients.
Centralized, decentralized.
Central 2.0 is browser-based, so you can access it from anywhere in your network.
SSO.
Central 2.0 supports SSO to simplify work in an enterprise environment.
Video preview window.
The video preview enables interactive, browser-based monitoring and switching of sources, making Central 2.0 an excellent option for pre-connecting sources at large events and live shows.
NDI routing. 3 clicks.
At its core, Central 2.0 is an NDI® routing application. You can easily route NDI® videos over your network by selecting a source, a target device or a group and clicking Connect.
Media Player.
The integrated media player consumes incredibly little CPU power, regardless of whether the file is played once or runs 24/7 in a loop. It achieves this by pre-rendering sources to NDI so that they are already natively NDI during playback.
Re-transmitter. Create NDI video and audio mashups.
The re-transmitter function allows you to create new NDI® sources by combining the video from one NDI® source with the audio from another NDI® source. The created re-transmitter source is then displayed in the source list and can be selected for easy forwarding. Great for creating sub-mixes for distribution at the venue or remotely via BirdDog Cloud and works seamlessly with BirdDog Dante NDI Bridge software.
System requirements
64-bit Microsoft® Windows 10 and higher
Intel Core i5 series processor and higher recommended
16 GB system memory
Gigabit connection or better
Graphics card with OpenGL support.
Note: An active Internet connection is required to activate/deactivate the license.
Note: Central 2.0 must be installed on a Windows computer, but can be used from any device with a web browser on the same network, including Apple devices.