Why use VDO.Ninja over other solutions?
In some cases, the functionality of VDO.Ninja may overlap with existing solutions. However, in its primary function as an ultra-low latency peer-to-peer video bridge to OBS, it has many benefits and advantages over other methods:
- 100% free. There's no downloads required, no personal data collected, and no sign-in needed.
- Compatible with most modern browsers and mobile devices.
- Free support offered via email, Discord, Reddit and numerous written guides.
- Video data is peer-to-peer, so unlike Skype, your video data does not go thru the NSA's spying servers.
- Video can be transferred over a LAN directly, so if using your phone as a webcam, you can crank the bitrates up to 40-mbps if you want, and your bandwidth won't be affected.
- Low latency. I'm talking as low as 30-ms, and normally it never goes higher than 200-ms.
- Adjustable resolutions and video bitrates (1920x1080p60 @ 30-mbps -- or even custom resolutions). 4K @ 30fps is possible, but CPU intensive.
- Control over audio denoise, echo-cancellation, and auto-gain is available, along with custom audio bitrates, and stereo-sound. It is an exceptional tool for podcasters and live streaming DJs.
- You can parameterize many aspects of VDO.Ninja such as total bitrate usage, bitrate per viewer usage, auto-select a device, autostart a session, removing the preview window.
- The interface is open-source, so you can white-label, stylize, tweak, and deploy the website code however you want.
- Reusable invite links, meaning OBS Browser Sources don't need to be recreated or changed once created and shared.
- Playback of video has been tested to work on using Amazon's Firestick's with Silk browser, along with a Tesla's Model 3's infotainment display.
- No plugins needed for OBS -- just drag the selected link into OBS (v25 or newer on PC*) and it auto generates the OBS Browser source with the correct resolution. (*MacOS users need to update to OBS v26.1.2 to access support for VDO.Ninja natively.)
- QR Code support for invite links, which allows for easy ingestion of mobile devices without needing to use the keyboard.
- Browser-based control of OBS scenes.
- No overlays or windows to crop -- VDO.Ninja auto-fills the window and if there is a black border, it becomes a transparent layer.
- Group rooms available with a Director able to control participants, the options presented to them, and even an autojoin experience.
- Group chat rooms have an "auto-mix" mode, making for easy management of dynamic group chat sessions.
- Those in a group-chat can also be split up into individual streams, so the Director has control to treat them like different sources in OBS, switching and mixing as they want.
- Free TURN servers are hosted for VDO.Ninja users, which normally are quite costly, but are kindly subsidized by community sponsors and by Steve, the developer of the application. Sponsor ❤
- Tally-light support is offered when VDO.Ninja is used in conjunction with OBS.
- Group rooms and streams can be password protected and given extra security.
- The group-room director has a "push to talk" capability, along with text-chat being available.
- Support for ISO feed recording via the Director's Control Room.
- With little dependence on video servers, at peak usage hours video quality does not suffer.
- VDO.Ninja is a project of passion, built by creators for creators, and we like to think it shows.
Last modified 5mo ago