Ninja Docs
  • What is VDO.Ninja?
    • How does it work
    • Use cases
    • Why use VDO.Ninja over other solutions?
    • Sponsor ❤
  • Getting started
    • VDO.Ninja basics
    • What are stream IDs?
    • The power of the URL parameter
    • Multi-Person Chat
    • Rooms
    • Even higher quality video
    • Mobile phone camera into webcam
    • Cheat sheet of basic parameters
  • Steve's helper apps & tools
    • Electron Capture
      • Documentation
    • Social Stream Ninja
      • Documentation reference
    • Meshcast.io
    • Caption.Ninja
    • Raspberry.Ninja
      • Documentation
    • Mixer App
    • WHIP and WHEP tooling
    • Versus.cam
    • Speed and Quality Tests
    • Comms
    • Teleprompter Tool
    • LUT maker for color grading
    • Native mobile app versions
    • VDO Applications
    • Tech Demonstrations
    • Invite Link Generators
    • Community contributed tools
    • Mic test
    • Whiteboard
  • Guides
    • Cheat Sheets
    • Common questions re: Rooms
    • Video bitrate for push/view links
    • Video bitrate in rooms
    • How to get permanent links
    • Basic hotkeys
    • MIDI, API and WebHID support
    • Hardware-accelerated video encoding
    • Audio Filters & Bitrate
    • Options to record streams
    • External guides and how-tos
    • How to lock the resolution
    • How to use VDO.Ninja as a webcam for Google Hangouts, Zoom, and more
    • How to capture without browser sources
    • How to control bitrate/quality
    • How to selectively allow access
    • Stream Scheduling and Promotion
    • How to send the audio/video output of one OBS to another OBS using VDO.Ninja
    • How to mirror a video while Full-Screen - For iPads and Teleprompters
    • How to capture an application's audio
    • How to control VDO.Ninja with Touch Portal
    • How to publish from OBS into VDO.Ninja
    • How to screen share your iPhone/iPad
    • How to get iPhones to output 1080p Videos
    • How to stream into Zoom without OBS
    • How to connect a smartphone to computer via USB
    • How to edit an invite after sending it
    • How to get highest video quality (for an interview)
    • How to stream 4K video using VDO.Ninja
    • How to get lowest audio latency possible
    • How to share webcam from inside OBS
    • How to publish to Facebook Live
    • How to embed VDO.Ninja into a site with iFrames
      • Detecting User Joins / Disconnects
      • Create custom drawing app
      • Generic P2P Data Transmission Guide
      • IFRAME API for Directors
      • IFRAME API Basics
    • How to use the green screen just locally
    • How to connect a GoPro to VDO.Ninja
    • How to install RaspNinja on Jetson
    • How to transfer guests to other rooms
    • How to set up a simple chat room
    • How to screen share in 1080p
    • How to control PowerPoint remotely with VDO.Ninja
    • How to improve quality of the native app
    • How to stream transparent video
    • Recommended OBS WHIP settings
    • How to use VDO.Ninja on a website
    • Keep Mic Active in Background on Android Browser
    • PlayStation or Xbox to VDO.Ninja
    • Enabling WebRTC Sources in OBS
    • Picking the right microphone
    • Set Up Proper Lighting
    • System requirements for streaming
    • From OBS to VDO.Ninja using WHIP
    • Deploy your own Meshcast-like service
    • Windows TTS Audio Capture Methods for OBS
    • Syncing USB audio with VDO.Ninja -> OBS Virtual Camera
  • Advanced Options (URL Parameters)
    • Most common Parameters
      • &push
      • &quality
      • &videodevice
      • &audiodevice
      • &effects
      • &label
      • &meshcast
      • &view
      • &videobitrate
      • &audiobitrate
      • &codec
      • &novideo
      • &noaudio
      • &showlabels
      • &room
      • &director
      • &proaudio
      • &scene
      • &roombitrate
      • &password
      • &broadcast
    • Setup Parameters
      • &push
      • &room
      • &password
      • &hash
      • &e2ee
      • &label
      • &labelsuggestion
      • &permaid
      • &group
      • &groupview
      • &groupaudio
      • &datamode
      • &audiooutput
      • &sink
      • &audiodevice
      • &videodevice
      • &vdo
      • &device
      • &miconly
      • &miconlyoption
      • &safemode
      • &autostart
      • &easyexit
      • &webcam
      • &webcam2
      • &screenshare
      • &screenshare2
      • &website
      • &fileshare
      • &intro
      • &host
      • &tips
      • &welcome
      • &welcomeb64
      • &welcomeimage
      • &hangupmessage
      • &humb64
      • &groupmode
      • &audience
    • Camera Parameters
      • &whitebalance
      • &exposure
      • &saturation
      • &sharpness
      • &contrast
      • &brightness
    • Video Parameters
      • &blind
      • &quality
      • &width
      • &height
      • &aspectratio
      • &contenthint
      • &mediasettings
      • &noscale
      • &fps
      • &maxframerate
      • &effects
      • &effectvalue
      • &imagelist
      • &avatar
      • &fullscreen
      • &showpreview
      • &minipreview
      • &minipreviewoffset
      • &largepreview
      • &nopreview
      • &hideguest
      • &videomute
      • &ptz
      • &webp
      • &webpquality
      • &scale
      • &viewwidth
      • &viewheight
      • &dpi
      • &sharper
      • &codec
      • &h264profile
      • &buffer
      • &buffer2
      • &fadein
      • &broadcast
      • &directoronly
      • &showonly
      • &novideo
      • &nodirectorvideo
      • &slideshow
      • &zoom
    • Video Bitrate Parameters
      • &outboundvideobitrate
      • &maxvideobitrate
      • &limittotalbitrate
      • &controlroombitrate
      • &roombitrate
      • &maxbandwidth
      • &videobitrate
      • &totalscenebitrate
      • &totalroombitrate
      • &totalbitrate
      • &zoomedbitrate
      • &optimize
    • Audio Parameters
      • &proaudio
      • &stereo
      • &mutespeaker
      • &deafen
      • &noaudioprocessing
      • &audiodevice
      • &echocancellation
      • &audiogain
      • &autogain
      • &compressor
      • &denoise
      • &distort
      • &equalizer
      • &limiter
      • &lowcut
      • &noisegate
      • &noisegatesettings
      • &audiocontenthint
      • &audiolatency
      • &micdelay
      • &mute
      • &automute
      • &outboundaudiobitrate
      • &inputchannels
      • &monomic
      • &audiooutput
      • &sink
      • &volume
      • &volumecontrol
      • &audiobitrate
      • &vbr
      • &mono
      • &noaudio
      • &nodirectoraudio
      • &panning
      • &sync
      • &samplerate
      • &channels
      • &channeloffset
      • &playchannel
      • &ptime
      • &maxptime
      • &minptime
      • &audiocodec
      • &dtx
      • &nofec
    • Mixer/Scene Parameters
      • &solo
      • &view
      • &include
      • &exclude
      • &layout
      • &activespeaker
      • &activespeakerdelay
      • &order
      • &slots
      • &fakeguests
      • &randomize
      • &cover
      • &43
      • &portrait
      • &square
      • &forceviewerlandscape
      • &animated
      • &manual
      • &locked
      • &poster
      • &hideplaybutton
      • &motiondetection
      • &scene
      • &scenetype
      • &autoadd
      • &hiddenscenebitrate
      • &preloadbitrate
      • &waitimage
      • &waitmessage
      • &waittimeout
      • &viewslot
    • Settings Parameters
      • &language
      • &remote
      • &controlobs
      • &allowedscenes
      • &stats
      • &sticky
      • &clearstorage
      • &disablehotkeys
      • &showlist
      • &nopush
      • &hidehome
      • &hidetranslate
      • &clock
      • &clock24
      • &timer
      • &powerpoint
      • &widget
      • &token
      • &transcribe
      • &signalmeter
      • &batterymeter
      • &consent
      • &prompt
      • &hands
      • &notify
      • &r2d2
      • &directorchat
      • &maxconnections
      • &maxviewers
      • &chunked
      • &retransmit
      • &rampuptime
      • &sensor
      • &sensorfilter
      • &postimage
      • &postinterval
      • &slot
      • &closedcaptions
      • &nocaptionlabels
      • &enhance
      • &bitratecutoff
      • &cutscene
      • &statsinterval
      • &keyframerate
      • &maxpublishers
      • &showconnections
      • &obsfix
      • &streamlabs
      • &getfaces
      • &nochunked
    • Buttons and Control Bar Parameters
      • &autohide
      • &controlbarspace
      • &nosettings
      • &nomicbutton
      • &nospeakerbutton
      • &novideobutton
      • &nofileshare
      • &screensharebutton
      • &nohangupbutton
      • &chatbutton
      • &bigbutton
      • &fullscreenbutton
      • &nowebsite
      • &hands
      • &videocontrols
      • &nocontrols
      • &forcecontrols
    • Design Parameters
      • &label
      • &showlabels
      • &fontsize
      • &style
      • &bgimage
      • &showall
      • &meterstyle
      • &cleanoutput
      • &cleanish
      • &css
      • &base64css
      • &js
      • &base64js
      • &mirror
      • &nomirror
      • &flip
      • &rotatewindow
      • &structure
      • &color
      • &blur
      • &border
      • &bordercolor
      • &rounded
      • &margin
      • &darkmode
      • &lightmode
      • &background
      • &chroma
      • &transparent
      • &nocursor
      • &favicon
      • &headertitle
      • &rotate
      • &grid
      • &hideheader
      • &hidemenu
      • &tally
      • &tallyoff
      • &cleanviewer
      • &obsoff
      • &pip
      • &pipall
      • &pipme
      • &rows
    • Director Parameters
      • &director
      • &codirector
      • &blindall
      • &cleandirector
      • &hidesolo
      • &hidecodirectors
      • &minidirector
      • &orderby
      • &queue
      • &rooms
      • &broadcasttransfer
      • &showdirector
      • &slotmode
      • &previewmode
      • &novice
      • &layouts
      • &maindirectorpassword
      • &totalroombitrate
      • &limittotalbitrate
      • &notify
      • &mutespeaker=0
      • &showconnections
      • &widget
      • &pausepreview
    • Screen-share Parameters
      • &screensharestereo
      • &screenshare
      • &screenshare2
      • &screenshareaec
      • &screenshareautogain
      • &screensharecursor
      • &screensharedenoise
      • &screensharefps
      • &screensharehide
      • &screenshareid
      • &screensharelabel
      • &screensharequality
      • &screensharecontenthint
      • &screenshareaspectratio
      • &screensharetype
      • &smallshare
      • &screensharevideoonly
      • &suppresslocalaudio
      • &prefercurrenttab
      • &selfbrowsersurface
      • &systemaudio
      • &displaysurface
      • &screensharebutton
      • &screensharebitrate
      • &sharperscreen
      • &sspaused
    • Recording Parameters
      • &record
      • &autorecord
      • &autorecordlocal
      • &autorecordremote
      • &recordcodec
      • &pcm
      • &recordmotion
      • &chunked
    • Guest queuing Parameters
      • &queue
      • &screen
      • &hold
      • &holdwithvideo
      • &queuetransfer
    • Meshcast Parameters
      • &meshcast
      • &meshcastaudiobitrate
      • &meshcastbitrate
      • &meshcastcodec
      • &mcscreensharebitrate
      • &mcscreensharecodec
      • &meshcastscale
      • &meshcastcode
      • &nomeshcast
    • WHIP Parameters
      • &whipout
      • &whipview
      • &whipoutcodec
      • &whipoutaudiobitrate
      • &whipoutvideobitrate
      • &whipoutscale
      • &whipoutscreensharecodec
      • &whipoutscreensharebitrate
      • &cftoken
      • &svc
    • Mobile Parameters
      • &facing
      • &forcelandscape
      • &forceportrait
      • &forceios
      • &notios
      • &flagship
      • &mobile
      • &notmobile
      • &app
    • API & MIDI Parameters
      • &api
        • API reference
        • API reference - AI Generated
        • Client (node) event example
      • &pie
      • &midi
      • &midiin
      • &midiout
      • &midiremote
      • &midichannel
      • &mididevice
      • &midioffset
      • &mididelay
      • &datamode
      • &postapi
    • TURN & STUN Parameters
      • &turn
      • &stun
      • &addstun
      • &icefilter
      • &proxy
      • &relay
      • &secure
      • &tcp
      • &tz
    • Parameters added in Version 24
    • Complete List of Parameters in v26
    • Upcoming Parameters
    • Other Parameters
  • Releases
    • v24
    • v23 🌱
    • v22 👑
    • v21 ❤️
    • v20 🎁
    • v19 🚀🤯
      • v19.1 - 19.4
    • v18
      • v18.3
    • v17
    • v16
      • v16.3
      • v16.4
    • v15
    • v14
    • v13
      • v13.4
    • v12
    • v10
    • v8
  • Updates
    • Updates - VDO.Ninja
    • Updates - Social Stream & Chat Overlay
      • Updates - Social Stream Standalone App
    • Updates - Electron Capture App
    • Updates - Raspberry.Ninja
    • Updates - Versus.cam
    • Updates - Mixer App
    • Updates - WHIP/WHEP
    • Updates - Native mobile apps
    • Updates - Caption.Ninja
    • Updates - Meshcast.io
    • Updates - Speed Test
    • Updates - Comms
    • Updates - Miscellaneous
  • Development Progress
  • Help!
    • Fail safes and Backups
    • Privacy and security details
      • VDO.Ninja Terms of Service
      • VDO.Ninja Privacy Policy
    • Project Contact Info
    • Where can I report a bug?
    • Where can I get support?
    • Feature Requests
    • Logos and media assets
    • What does VDO stand for?
  • Common errors and known issues
    • Can't screen capture certain games
    • ATEM not working with Firestick
    • Very old iPhone support
    • Can't select audio output on iOS
    • Screen-share is just a black video
    • Mic audio dropping out
    • Loss of audio when OBS minimized
    • Known issues
    • Echo or feedback issues
    • Works on WiFi but not on 4G
    • Can't capture an application's audio when screen-sharing
    • Can't load camera both in OBS and VDON
    • Can't select a camera lens on mobile
    • No video in OBS, just an "Add camera" button
    • Audio over VDO.Ninja isn't working
    • Loading circle shows in OBS or browser
    • Appearing then disappearing guest
    • Can't auto-start screen sharing
    • Audio Clicking / Popping / Distortion
    • Can't share my screen
    • Nothing shows up in OBS
    • Already in use or claimed errors
    • Blue spinning window
    • Cursor shows trailing or artifacting
    • Packet Loss
    • Overheating
    • Audio is delayed in OBS
    • vMix High CPU
    • OBS Virtual Camera has low FPS
    • Virtual camera not working on Mac
    • Mic stops on MacOS when OBS opens
    • Video stream looks corrupted
    • Video freezes mid-stream
    • Webcam freezes after a time
    • Is the VDO.Ninja server down?
    • Hosted your own TURN server?
    • Can't screen-share from certain devices
    • Cursor shows when screen-sharing
    • Getting “Overconstrained" Camera Error
    • Autoplay doesn't work in Chrome or vMix v77
    • Low frame rates
    • Black borders around the video in OBS
    • Mic's volume keeps changing
    • Enable Camera / Microphone permissions
    • FPS drop if app not in focus
    • Surround sound error when screen sharing with USB headset
    • Relay candidate being selected
    • Camera works in Safari; not Chrome
    • Robotic Audio Distortion
    • Can't load camera from non-SSL host
    • Camera on macOS doesn't show?
    • Can't screen share Adobe Lightroom
    • Decklink support?
    • iOS audio stops during phone calls
    • Can't turn off echo-cancellation on macOS
    • Video lag grows over time
    • Can't connect unless via VPN
    • Improving vMix performance
    • Use a Virtual Camera more than Once
  • Platform specific issues
    • Android
    • macOS
    • iOS (iPhone/iPad)
    • Firefox
    • Opera GX
  • Useful Links
  • FAQ
  • Sponsor ❤
  • Edit this documentation
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  • Camera / USB issues
  • Internet /connection issues
  • iPhone specific issues
  • H264 specific issues

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  1. Common errors and known issues

Video freezes mid-stream

PreviousVideo stream looks corruptedNextWebcam freezes after a time

Last updated 4 months ago

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If the stream or camera freezes after a while, there could be many reasons. Let's explore some causes and solutions below.

Camera / USB issues

If cycling the camera to a different camera, or refreshing the camera via the settings menu, fixes the issue, then this normally implies the issue is with the camera or its USB connection.

As a stop-gap solution, the director has the remote control ability to toggle the camera of a guest to unfreeze it. This can be done without the guest's permission even if the flag is added to the guest's URL ahead of time. In a pinch, this can at least give the director some comfort to go live, fixing any stuck camera within a few seconds themselves, versus asking the guest to refresh their page.

If not using a group room, the publisher of a stream can also refresh their own camera via the settings menu, and clicking the refresh icon next to the camera.

To fix the problem though, a bit of troubleshooting may be needed. More often than not, if using a USB 3.x camera, the cause is a USB-related issue.

  • Try a different USB 3.0 cable; ideally a short cable that conforms to the USB 3.1 specification or newer.

  • Do not plug any USB camera into a USB hub, dock, or use it alongside other high-bandwidth USB devices.

  • Try a different USB port; try them all if needed; a blue USB 3.0 port is normally required.

  • Reduce the frame rate and/or resolution of the camera. Lowering the bandwidth over the USB connection may help. 1280x720 @ 30fps is recommend trying, if possible.

  • Update the drivers on the computer, especially those for the USB controller and camera. Update the operating system as well, if needed, re-installing old drivers if possible.

  • If using an AMD motherboard, update the BIOS of your motherboard, and perhaps set your PCIe lane speed to Gen3, instead of Gen4.

  • If using a laptop in particular, ensure the USB port is not set to go to sleep; this would be a Windows setting. Also, enabling Performance Mode and being plugged into the wall, may help as well. See the below images:

Internet /connection issues

If the issue is not fixed by toggling your camera, make sure your internet connection is stable and you're device is not overloaded. Bad connections, network firewalls, or VPNs can cause the video to lose connection and then reconnect, causing the picture to appear to freeze for several seconds or longer.

VDO.Ninja requires a solid Internet connection with no interfering services to work its best. On some networks, especially during prime-time evening hours of the day, connections can drop out for seconds at the time constantly.

Mobile devices may also have the video freeze for a few moments at a time if switching between cellular networks and WiFi networks, but in these cases things will auto-reconnect within a few seconds normally.

iPhone specific issues

H264 specific issues

Some Windows computers that can offer H264 hardware encoding with AMD or NVIDIA GPUs run into the same limitations that an iPhone device may have. That is, if more than 2 or 3 video streams are being published that use H264 encoding, the hardware encoder on those devices may fail.

If someone if using OBS to publish H264 video via RTMP using NVIDIA's NVenc, while also publishing H264 video to VDO.Ninja, conflicts may arise, and video streams may fail. This shouldn't happen really, but in theory, it's something to be aware of.

Services like can offer a VPN with bonding, designed for streaming, and it can help avoid network issues on mobile networks, where IP addresses or wireless connections constantly are changing.

Regarding mobile, iOS users can only send video to 3 viewers at a time if using the H264 hardware encoder. Newer versions of VDO.Ninja will try to keep track of how many H264 streams are being used, and revert to VP8-software-based encoding when the hardware encoders are maxed out, however VP8 encoding can cause iPhones to get very warm. If forcing H264 with an iPhone or iPad, and you max them out, you might cause videos to freeze or go black though. View links and scenes can sometimes can use an iPhone H264's encoder, even if the video isn't visible in OBS. If having issues, try to avoid forcing the H264 encoder or using it sparingly for only the active sources. If using mode, only the director and scenes could possibly contribute to using an H264 encoder; other guests won't have access to the guest's video stream, so they won't count towards this H264 encoder total.

https://speedify.com
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