Although several times in the past I have had to request missing framerates from cameras, editors and switchers, this is the first time I had my wish fulfilled so quickly. I contacted the developer and creator of the Android apps NDI Camera and NDI Camera PRO in Bologna, Italy. Initially, I wanted to request him to add the missing framerates 25 and 50fps. He happily did so within under 44 hours, while he also added support for external audio sources to the PRO version. Then, I asked him about the rounded framerate versions of 29.97 and 59.94 and he corrected the previous integer ones (30 and 60) in version 1.34 of his apps in under 22 hours, although has not yet changed the user interface to indicate the non-integer rates. That’s why I annotated the screenshot.

Although the Bologna, Italy developer Marco Benocci was previously unaware of the two rates used in ex-PAL regions (25 and 50) and about the non-integer rates used in ex-NTSC regions (29.97 and 59.94), he was very grateful to learn about them. I was glad he added the missing 25/50 and corrected the non-integer rates to match television standards in ex-NTSC regions in most of the Americas and parts of Asia.

As covered in previous articles, the rates 25 and 50 are derived from the analog PAL systems. The more modern digital systems used in the PAL, ex-PAL or ex-SECAM regions still require these rates for conventional television broadcast there. Those regions include Africa, Australia, parts of Asia, parts of South America (i.e. Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay at least*), Europe, the Middle East and the United Kingdom.

*I am still awaiting confirmation from colleagues in French Guiana and the Falkland Islands about the current rates in those two places, although I suspect those also likely use 25/50.

Differences between NDI Camera and NDI Camera PRO for Android

Both the free and paid versions now offer the lower of the four television framerates mentioned (25fps and 29.97fps). The NDI Camera PRO (with a palindromic price of US$9.49 or a similar amount in your local currency) add spatial resolution over 720p (1280x720p), higher framerates (50fps and 59.94fps) and the option to use external audio sources, i.e. an external microphone or audio mixer. The developer has confirmed that both versions of the apps use proper 48 kHz audio sampling. From what I can tell, the user interface of the apps are currently English-only. For more information, visit the Google Play Store or the App Lounge in /e/OS, covered in these articles.

Related articles

• Comparison: NewTek NDI HX Camera app vs NDICam app (both for iOS) from 2020
• NDI is now the lingua franca among broadcast brands from 2016
• Many other articles where I have covered NDI since 2015

Please note that NDI now belongs to the independent company NDI.video. I have recently been in contact with them via their US and European offices.

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NDI Camera agrega las frecuencias faltantes 25 fps, 50 fps y más

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FTC disclosure

None of the companies listed in this article is paying for this article. For the purpose of creating the image for this article, Allan Tépper used the free version of NDI Camera which he acquired from the /e/OS App Lounge in his Fairphone 4. Some of the manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.