@woland This is incredible! Thank you for all your time and knowledge, I really appreciate it. It works really really well, i've had a lot of fun creating and answering questions during my tests. 

Thank you.

To be clear, it's not more than four *inputs* that I'm looking for, it's being able to show more than four live video streams on a stage at once.

I echo @Armando' s endorsement of the ATEM switcher. I use an ATEM MIni Pro, automating its inputs via OSC and  Banyan AV Bridge (formerly ATEMOSC). The ATEM Mini is great at regulating different sources into a unified output (USB C) which is seen as a webcam in Isadora. I found it was the only solution for combining GoPro HDMI feed (notoriously not meeting HDMI standards) with other HDMI sources.
The ATEM mini series are also great in that you can use them with a computer that doesn't have Thunderbolt, which is necessary for capture devices like the Blackmagic Ultrastudio 3G.

I also use an ATEM TV Studio HD when I need to get an image from an SDI source, or combinations of HDMI and SDI sources. Have to use a Blackmagic Ultrastudio 3G to capture the video into the computer and Isadora. But this I can also control with OSC.

I have also used Kramer matrix switchers in conjunction with Blackmagic Ultrastudio 3G to capture the video into the computer and Isadora. The input (and output) of these Kramer switchers can be controlled VIA TCP/IP commands, so can be automated in Isadora. Kramer have a downloadable software (Protocol 2000 Calculator) that makes it easy to get the correct values for Isadora's TCP Send Data actor.  The older HDMI matrix switchers can be picked up secondhand on eBay for next to nothing.

But while these devices let me choose from many different sources, they still don't let me *show* more than four lives sources at a time via Isadora's Live Capture.

@woland @fred Thanks for you inputs as always. I have another technique and I found that through different interfaces I have a mich higher number of video inputs. I have a blackmagic ATEM extreme HDMI. They can have 8 HDMI cameras and since via usbc they arerecognized as a webcam I can have 8 1080 cameras (not at the same time of course. But I use them sometimes with 2 intsta 360 lnk usbc. In the end It is pretty much the same but I can have 8 cameras (one at the time via the ATEM) plus 3 others (can be iPhone and 2 360 links etc. I never used all of this PLUS NDI but It makes a lot of cameras possible. Please note that the ATEM can be controlled via OSC so I can have 4 non NDI cameras actively digitized but I can chose from 11.

The only limitation of the system would be removed if we could have all the parameters of the live capture settings as an actor (Channel enable, select, driver, device resolution, sound input, device and audio gain as part of a hypothetical"Capture control++" actor. In this way we could have a bigger choice made possible from within the patch more or less on the fly from within the patch, and not in the live capture settings window that need to be manually operated by a hands-on thechnician... Would be this a crazy feat request? (if not including NDI an syphon/spout sources too maybe ?). Even if Isadora couldn't handle more than 4 cameras at the time all the cameras switches could be done interactively during the show by sensors.... just dreaming.

Since I also have a blackmagic card in a sonet usbc cabinet that can take 4 more 4k hdmi cameras the possibilities of such an actor could expand le number of connected cameras to chose from within the patch too...

Just a thought

@mark_m said:

Anyone know how Isadora processes NDI? Is it on the CPU? GPU? I wonder what the max number of streams is

• We don't put any artificial limitation on the number of NDI Watcher actors you can use at the same time as far as I'm aware.
• We can't and don't control how many NDI sources are visible from other software on your computer or from any networks to which you're connected. (Though I've never had more than ~10 going, so it's possible that when you hit silly numbers like 50, 100, 200, etc you may run into a UI issue where the full list won't fit on the screen. In cases like this you could still use the List Selector Control with an Edit Text Control to create a searchable list of NDI sources [example file & video tutorial].)
• Really the only limitation is down to how many NDI streams your production computer can handle. As always, the safest thing is to bench test in near-show conditions as soon and as much as you can.

Am bumping this subject up as I'm about to start R&D on a show which - ideally - would have a large number of video inputs.

Obviously computer technology continues to evolve and improve, and just wondering if on the future Isadora roadmap there are plans for more video inputs?

Of course NDI becomes an increasingly viable method of getting video into Isadora, with more and more NDI enabled cameras on the market, as well as things like Obsbot's UVC to NDI adapter, and some Atomos recorders also being NDI equipped, it looks like a good way forward.

Anyone know how Isadora processes NDI? Is it on the CPU? GPU? I wonder what the max number of streams is... anyone tried it?

@woland Thanks for the quick response and wonderful news about the fix!  - John

@mark_m said:

 What's the bug? That Isadora doesn't like H265?

Yes, or that it doesn't like something else specifically about these particular h265.mp4 video files (though h265 is most likely the source of the issue in my opinion). Either way, I now have media and clear repro steps to cause the problem, which made it easy for me to log this issue.

@jjhp3

We're aware of the issue, and it's already been fixed for the next release, which should be coming very soon. :)

(For the record, this annoyed Ryan as much as it annoyed you. I never would have found it because I never drag Control IDs; I always assign them numerically via the Property Inspector.)

@woland said:

log this as a bug.

 What's the bug? That Isadora doesn't like H265?

@jjhp3 Hi John! With the very basic patch shown in the screen shot below, I didn't encounter the issue you describe - the info panel and all properties, including Ctl ID Link are accessible. However, as an alternative could you just click on the actor property, such as intensity, to reveal its info pane and literally type the control ID number you wish to associate with your Slider control residing in the Control Panel?

Hope you find a fix.

Best wishes,

Simon