--- title: Connecting to Renderers slug: ncam-reality/connecting-to-renderers createdAt: 2021-07-08T23:16:02.000Z --- ## Introduction Ncam Reality has the ability to send tracking data in a number of different formats and transmission methods. This section describes each of the protocols and where they should be implemented ## Datastreams ### FreeD The FreeD protocol has become somewhat of in industry standard for the sending of tracking data. Ncam offers full support for the FreeD protocol via both Serial or UDP transmission methods ### NcamSDK The NcamSDK is the most full featured protocol available from Ncam Reality. It allows for the streaming of the following information: - Camera Transform - Focus, Iris, Zoom information - Main camera image - Key image - Lens distortion values - Camera Metadata Only parameters requested by the tracking client are sent via the protocol Because of the amount of data that can be transmitted the only supported transmission method available is TCP/IP. Additionally when streaming the main camera image, this will surpass the capacity of a gigabit ethernet connection, in these scenarios fibre connectivity is required between the Ncam server and the client receiving the tracking data All NcamSdk data is sent using port **38860** ### NcamSDK Lite The SDK Lite protocol was developed as a stripped back version of our full SDK to simplify the implementation of Ncam tracking data in 3rd party software. This protocol is very simple to be implemented in any language. Full details of the SDK Lite specification are available here [SDK Lite](docId\:C_uQBifgNVPlTWCF9Uz-S) . ### SDK Lite HFR This is the same protocol as the Lite Protocol described above, however it is streamed in a "High Frame Rate" mode. Essentially it streams tracking data from Ncam as soon as possible, this can introduce some artifacts in the data and this mode is typically not recommended unless for very specific use cases. See [SDK Lite HFR](docId\:NT0RGNAns4D8EzuIxj174) page for more details. ## Options for sending ### UDP Broadcast The broadcast option will send tracking data via the broadcast address of all available network interfaces **xxx.xxx.xxx.255** This means that any client that is connected to Ncam Reality and is listening to the defined port will receive tracking data ### UDP Unicast This allows a specific destination IP address to be defined, this means tracking data will **only** be sent to this IP address ### TCP/IP This is only enabled for the NcamSDK datastream and is not available for the other protocols ### Serial Ncam Reality will send tracking data via a specific serial port on the server, this port is defined by the **Device** parameter ### Port This option is exposed when a UDP transmission method is selected. It defines the port number that Ncam Reality will send tracking data over, the value used here must be in agreement with the 3rd party client that is receiving tracking data ### Device This option is exposed when a serial transmission method is selected, a drop-down will display options for choosing which serial device to use for sending tracking data :::hint{type="info"} The list contains both physical and virtual serial devices ::: ### Sync To Video This genlocks the tracking data to the input video signal, turning it off is not recommended and will result in the tracking data "Free Running" ### Tracking Reference This is an option for our FreeD protocol that allows the user to choose between sending the sensor position or the nodal position to the connected 3rd party client. Consult the documentation for the 3rd party software to see which is preferred/expected ## Where To Configure? All options relating to the sending of tracking data are found inside the **preferences** window of the Full UI, inside the **datastream** tab ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/Qn0sdcVrDcDbwMFmH0oYn/jdN5BOZ4BaXId1BIBP55Y_datastream.png" size="70" width="646" height="631" position="center" showCaption="false"} ## Renderer Compatibility List | **Renderer** | **NcamSDK** | **NcamSDKLITE** | **FreeD** | **Lens Profile** | **Notes** | | ------------------- | ----------- | --------------- | --------- | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | **Aximmetry** | Yes | No | | SDK link | Lens calibration must use CineLensSpherical Degree 2 | | **Brainstorm** | Yes | Yes | Yes | SDK link | Lens calibration must use CineLensSpherical Degree 2 | | **Disguise** | Yes | No | Yes | SDK link | Lens calibration must use CineLensSpherical Degree 2 | | **Pixotope** | Yes | Yes | | SDK link | Lens calibration must use CineLensSpherical Degree 2 | | **Ross** | Yes | No | | SDK link | Lens calibration must use CineLensSpherical Degree 2 | | **Orad** | No | No | Yes | Exported from Ncam Reality | | | **Ventuz** | Yes | No | | SDK link | | | **VizRT** | No | Yes | Yes | Exported from Ncam Reality | Lens calibration must use CineLensSpherical Degree 2 | | **Unity** | Yes | No | | SDK link | Via Ncam Plugin | | **Unreal** | Yes | Yes | | SDK link | Via Ncam Plugin | | **Zero Density** | No | No | Yes | No | Lens calibration is conducted via Zero Density | | **Stage Precision** | Yes | No | No | SDK link | Lens calibration must use CineLensSpherical Degree 2 | | **Live FX** | Yes | No | Yes | Not Implemented | Lens Distortion Not Implemented | | **Wasp3D** | Yes | No | No | SDK link | |