BobbleheadStreams support

Installing DistroAV

This is the last piece, and it's a two-minute install.

It's an add-on for OBS. If that sounds more technical than the rest of this list, it isn't — you download it, you run it, you restart OBS, and you're finished.

Why OBS needs an add-on at all#

OBS doesn't come with NDI support built in. That's OBS's decision, not ours, and it's been that way for years — so every product that sends video to OBS this way needs the same add-on. DistroAV is the free, open-source one that everybody uses. It used to be called obs-ndi, and you'll still see that name around.

Without it, OBS has no way to receive your show, and BobbleHub has no way to hand it over.

Install NDI and OBS first#

Do this one last. DistroAV checks for both when it starts up, and if either is missing or too old it simply doesn't load — no error, no message, nothing. It's the single most confusing thing on this whole list, and doing the three in order avoids it entirely.

You need:

Installing it#

  1. Go to the DistroAV releases page.
  2. Download the latest Windows installer.
  3. Run it and accept the defaults.
  4. Close OBS completely and reopen it. OBS only loads add-ons at startup.

How to check it worked#

In OBS, click the + under Sources. If NDI Source is in the list, it worked.

That's the whole test. If it's there, you're done — you don't need to add one yet.

Adding your show to OBS#

Once BobbleHub and the scene engine are running:

  1. In OBS, click + under Sources and choose NDI Source.
  2. In the dropdown, pick the one ending in BobbleheadStreams Program. It'll be prefixed with your computer's name.
  3. Click OK.

Troubleshooting#

I installed it and nothing happened#

This is the expected symptom of a version problem, and it's why the order matters. DistroAV refuses to load if NDI is older than 6 or OBS is older than 31, and it does it silently — there's no error to find.

Check both:

Update whichever is behind, then restart OBS.

NDI Source isn't in my source list#

Close OBS completely — all the way, not just the window — and reopen it. Add-ons only load at startup.

If it's still missing, work through the version check above.

The dropdown is empty, or my show isn't in it#

The dropdown only lists what's currently broadcasting. BobbleHub and the scene engine both need to be running before your show appears. Start them, then reopen the source properties.

I see the source but the picture is black#

Check that the scene engine is actually showing a scene. A black picture usually means the show is running but nothing is loaded yet, rather than a connection problem.

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