Use your iPhone or iPad as a Camera for Zoom video conferencing with no extra hardware

Connect your iPhone or iPad to Zoom or Skype video conferencing with the NDI HX Cam app and the NDI Tools virtual input on windows. Using a laptop with a built in webcam? It's likely that your smartphone will have a camera that is far superior. You can easily use your smartphone camera on your computer as a webcam by streaming it over your local network via NDI. This sounds complex but is actually pretty simple to achieve. NewTek has also made the iPhone app free at the moment so there's no better time to try this out!
I would still recommend a good USB webcam or capturing a mirrorless camera (that's what I use for my camera) as your primary camera. However this tip works for those who have an iPhone and either don't want to purchase an additional camera or who can't find the equipment due to supply shortages or price gouging going on right now. This setup can also be useful to bring in your phone as a secondary camera into a production setup. I use this technique to give a top down view of my office as a background video for my live streaming counter scene.
An additional tip not mentioned in the video: if you have a dongle for your iPad or iPhone that allows you to connect to Ethernet instead of wifi that should eliminate most of the lab you may experience using this setup. However if you are just using this for video conferencing remember that only you would notice the lag.
I only have iOS devices to test with so if you are aware of a good Android NDI Cam application please share that in the comments. The setup and use on the computer should be exactly the same as I have outlined in this video.
UPDATE:
NewTek released the virtual input for Mac so you can now also do this same process on your Mac. See this new video where I show how to get your Mac set up as well as how to get virtual inputs working again in Zoom after updating.
• Use your iPhone or iPa...
IF YOU'RE GETTING LAG:
NDI is bandwidth hungry so you preferably need fast wifi and/or as much hardwired connections as possible. If you try this out and experience latency then you have a few options.
Upgrade your router / computer / phone to support faster wifi (if you're not at least on 5GHz you'll probably have issues with lag)
I have not tried this but you could get a lightning to ethernet adapter so your phone could also be hard wired (amzn.to/3jKBaBP) or (amzn.to/2SFWMU7)
Try out Epoccam (www.kinoni.com/), this allows you to use NDI or to use their app and tether to your computer with a lightning to USB cable. I've heard this can also have lag, I haven't tired this myself yet.
(NEW BEST, BUT EXPENSIVE OPTION: Wired and low latency, but expensive for the Elgato Cam Link 4K and a lighting to HDMI adapter) A new option is to get the FilmicPro app ($15) and use its new clean HDMI feature. This requires a lighting to HDMI out device attached to your phone (amzn.to/3ltms2x) that would go into an HDMI capture card (amzn.to/3iLetMP) on your computer that would pop up and appear like a camera. Using this technique you don't need the NDI app. Also Filmic Pro is awesome, highly recommend it even if you don't use it for this purpose. (note, the HDMI out in Filmic needs metal support on iOS so you'll need a bit newer phone)
======================================================
LINKS TO RESOURCES
NDI Tools
ndi.tv/tools
Go here to get the NDI virtual input along with a small suite of other tools from NewTek
NDI HX Camera App
www.newtek.com...
apps.apple.com...
NDI HX Capture App
www.newtek.com...
Check this out to screen your phone's screen and not just the camera
======================================================
LINKS TO EQUIPMENT
Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod, Red (MTPIXI-RD)
amzn.to/2xeU7JW
There are cheaper tabletop tripods but this one is really solid and has a ball mount built in that's movable while holding down the button, very convenient to quickly set up your shot.
Vastar Universal Smartphone Tripod Adapter
amzn.to/2SgKEt0
This adapter can hold your phone in both landscape and portrait mode
Deity V.Lav Pre-Polarized Lavalier Lapel Microphone
amzn.to/3aKptWv
Although I didn't discuss audio in the video, I like this lav mic from Deity. Plus this into your phone to add much improved audio to your new NDI camera feed!
======================================================
CONNECT WITH ME
Find me on Twitter @mathewda
/ mathewda
Connect with me on LinkedIn
/ damathew
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@DavidMathew82]

QUESTION: What do you use for your webcam while using video conferencing software like Zoom or Skype? Have you tried to use NDI to connect your webcam like I've mentioned in this video? How did it go? If you ran into any issues or have any questions I'd love to hear them! If you liked this video don't forget to like and subscribe for more tips like this one.

[@saleemalharir7263]

it says no sources

[@RadzoI]

Discord

[@uryic000]

Thanks David, I'm an online piano/vocal instructor. Your video was so to the point, and informative. I already had a 2 camera setup with my Gopro and webcam. But I needed a 3rd so now I also use my Ipad. Everything worked EXACTLY as you said. That is soooo refreshing. Thanks again.

[@vikramjitchadha419]

Superb and simple explanation. No frills, only information. Thank you so much

[@amieok]

Thank you for not prefacing this wretched adds…

[@talfrei]

Do you have to install an app on the ipad?

[@breatheyourtruth]

Thanks for tihs David. What main camera are you using during this presentation? The picture is great. I'm actually looking for the best camera for Zoom - okay with another hardware purchase.

[@DavidMathew82]

I have a post on my blog describing my equipment, link below. www.emergentproducts.com/studio/

[@peupeuguy310]

is there anything i can use without downloading software in to the laptop? i have strict restrictions on my work pc so i cant upload anything onto my laptop :/

[@neonargon1]

Great video D. Got iPhone going with OBS, Mimo Live and Zoom. Paid £19.99 for NDI HX (not free in UK)

[@DavidMathew82]

Thanks for watching! I'm also using OBS, which gives you much more power and control for controlling what others are seeing from your camera. If you have the latest OBS on windows they added a virtual camera feature directly into OBS that you might find handy. There's also an NDI plugin for OBS that you can get to pick up your NDI feed directly without having to route it through the NDI virtual cam app. If you end up doing more advanced stuff and want to invest in your setup a bit more, you can get a more reliable near zero lag version of this working using the Filmic Pro app with it's new clean HDMI out feature, then connect a lighting to HDMI adapter to your phone and pipe that into an Elgato Cam Link 4k or similar HDMI capture card on your computer. (I've added links for these to the video description if you're interested. You'll be in for about $175 for the Filmic App and the two devices but it's the most rock solid way to do this right now.). I use the Cam Link 4k to bring in my Sony a5100 mirrorless camera as a web cam, so the Cam Link 4k is a handy device to have if you ended up upgrading to even more advanced equipment later on. If you're new to OBS check out EposVox's master class on KZbin. kzbin.info/aero/PLzo7l8HTJNK-IKzM_zDicTd2u20Ab2pAl Let me know if you have any other questions and I can try to point you to resources I've uncovered, happy to share.

[@antonjules3021]

This helped so much

[@ECC_Backup]

Very helpful. Thanks!!

[@healingyourmind7424]

Dave I am interested in using OBS with Google Meet so I have purchased the NDI HX Camera from Google Play and I have it on my Mobile phone, please explain the steps while using this in Google Meet meeting.

[@DavidMathew82]

Sorry for the delay in replying, did you get it to work in Google Meet? I have not tried to use it in Meet, but since the NDI Virtual Input app on your computer just surfaces a virtual cameral it should work the same as it does in other apps, i.e. it just shows up as a camera you can choose in Google Meet. If you're using it along with OBS it's possible that using it in OBS will make it not work in Meet (or vice versa). If this is the case I'd recommend using the virtual camera as a source in OBS, then use the OBS virtual camera to bring your OBS feed into your Meet. I do this frequently with OBS, it's handy to allow you to custom crop your camera feed via OBS. I have a very wide lens on my camera and in OBS I can clip in for more of a headshot to use on meetings. You'll lose some quality with the scale up to the virtual cam but you shouldn't notice that much on most conferencing software as it it should still be higher than the resolution of your conferencing software. Btw, for OBS and 1:1 conversations (particularly bringing in a single guest) I'd suggest you check out VDO.ninja (formerly OBS.ninja). It works by connecting you and the other person directly over WebRTC so you're able to use your cam's full quality where other programs like zoom will limit you to much lower resolution.

[@skagit58]

Are you using a cable between the phone and the laptop?

[@DavidMathew82]

There's no direct cable between phone and computer. In my case my phone is on my wireless network and my computer has a wired ethernet cable to my router. NDI works over your network and does require a fast network to work well. So it helps if your computer is wired to your router and that you have a reasonably new router that supports faster wifi standards. If you try this out and experience latency then you have a few options. - Upgrade your router / computer / phone to support faster wifi (if you're not at least on 5GHz you'll probably have issues with lag) - I have not tried this but you could get a lightning to ethernet adapter so your phone could also be hard wired (amzn.to/3jKBaBP) or (amzn.to/2SFWMU7) - Try out Epoccam (www.kinoni.com/), this allows you to use NDI or to use their app and tether to your computer with a lightning to USB cable. I've heard this can also have lag, I haven't tired this myself yet. - (NEW BEST, BUT EXPENSIVE OPTION: Wired and low latency, but expensive for the Elgato Cam Link 4K and a lighting to HDMI adapter) A new option is to get the FilmicPro app ($15) and use its new clean HDMI feature. This requires a lighting to HDMI out device attached to your phone (amzn.to/3ltms2x) that would go into an HDMI capture card (amzn.to/3iLetMP) on your computer that would pop up and appear like a camera. Using this technique you don't need the NDI app. Also Filmic Pro is awesome, highly recommend it even if you don't use it for this purpose. (note, the HDMI out in Filmic needs metal support on iOS so you'll need a bit newer phone) (disclosure: the links in this reply are Amazon affiliate links so I do earn a commission if you buy)

[@nahidasultana3558]

Can I use it for streamyard?

[@DavidMathew82]

Streamyard just works through your web browser so it should work just fine. The NDI virtual cam will just show up as a normal webcam on your computer so you should be able to use it for any program that uses a webcam.

[@nahidasultana3558]

@@DavidMathew82 , Thanks for reply. I have one more question. Is it free app? It’s write $19.99 . How can I download it for free on my iPhone?

[@DavidMathew82]

There was a short period of time when the app was free earlier this year but now it's back up to $19.99. An alternative to the NewTek app is to use EpocCam. If you get their app there should be an option in the settings to use NDI, if you turn that on it should show up in the virtual NDI cam app on your computer that I walked through in the video. EpocCam has a free version and a Pro version that is I think $9. The pro version allows for a higher quality of video. For something like Zoom you are limited on resolution anyway so the free app is probably good enough, however I assume Streamyard may let you go to full HD so you might want to consider the Pro version. If you use the NDI feature in EpocCam then that would bypass the need to use their desktop app and you can use the setup I describe in the video instead (just don't forget it's a setting in EpocCam that you have to turn on). apps.apple.com/us/app/epoccam-webcam-for-mac-and-pc/id449133483

[@nahidasultana3558]

@@DavidMathew82 , Thanks for your long and valuable comment. I use Iriun Webcam now. It’s not good at all. Too slow and hang. I will try epocCam soon. If you have any great free webcam app which can be used in Streamyard please inform me.

[@markoconnell804]

Need it for IPad no pc or Mac. Need iPad to host zoom meeting but use the iphones rear camera.

[@DavidMathew82]

I'm not sure how to use an NDI camera on an iPad, my guess is that you'd need the app you are using to specifically support that (which I'm not really aware of right now). Do you have an old iPad and a new iPhone? Help me understand why you aren't just using the camera built into your iPad?

[@markoconnell804]

@@DavidMathew82 I have an iPad Pro 11 inch 2018 model and an iPhone XS. The rear facing camera on the phone is far better than the front facing camera on the iPad. Plus the phone I can move to a better location than fixed to the left of where I am looking. I am working for a more immersive zoom meeting than the placement of the camera on the iPad.

[@ostracized_child]

Thanks for the video! The app is no longer free it seems. It is back to 19.99.

[@DavidMathew82]

Thanks for watching! Yeah, unfortunately it does look like NewTek put the $19.99 price back up on the app store to grab the app. If you wanted another option you could also try out epoccam. You can get the lite version for free and the pro version for $8. The pro version will output an NDI feed so it would show up in the NDI Virtual Input on your computer. epoccam also offers the ability to tether your phone with USB to lightning cable using their software on your computer. This option is possibly more reliable then the NDI option as it would be less bandwidth intensive and directly connected to your computer. I'm hoping to make an additional video on this at some point, I'll post a link here when I do.

[@ryanrabah7177]

yea me too i was trying to download it it said it costs 19.99

[@Sassonic]

Well-explained.

[@RobinsonRDavid]

So this is moot if you're using a MacBook Pro?

[@snowman8366]

Hello can I know how to keep zoom camera turned on while open google docs, other apps, or go to menu with zoom cam on pls hello

[@DavidMathew82]

Do you mean when you screen share in Zoom you also want your camera visible? Right now, by default the other people on the call will see your screen in the main window when you share. It would be on your viewers to change their zoom settings to also show the camera or to enable a dual monitor mode so they can have a separate window with your camera showing. If you wanted your camera and screen share to be both shown at the same time and have you in complete control of that you'd need to get broadcast software like OBS Studio (free), vMix (PC only, paid) or Ecamm Live (mac only, paid subscription). These let you set up a "scene" with multiple media sources configured exactly how you want and then that can be piped through to zoom as another virtual camera.

[@MRSADDIQQ]

so what about the ipad?

[@DavidMathew82]

The app should also work on iPad if you're meaning that you want to use your iPad instead of your phone to connect to your computer.

[@sparklst3f877]

Hi David, thanks for sharing this. Do you notice little latency if you use the NDI HX Camera app from your iPhone as Zoom Camera source? Do you have recommended solution?

[@DavidMathew82]

NDI needs a fast network. There's a few options you can do to help improve latency. First in the app you can tap the speed gauge icon that will help sacrifice some quality for speed, that might help. You also might try plugging your computer into your router with an ethernet cable so at least only your phone is on your wifi. It is also possible to buy a dongle for your phone that will let you connect your phone directly to your router as well although this makes it much less convenient. The wifi part of this is what contributes to the latency, but it's also the best way to get a free set up. I did list another method in the description of this video where you can get an HDMI dongle for your phone and then a capture card like the Elgato CamLink for your computer. This will have zero latency and will be extremely reliable. Downside is it's more expensive ($120 for the cam link and probably $30 or so for a phone dongle). Although these items have other advantages such as capturing a game system, computer, or another type of camera. And with the phone dongle you can use it also to hook your phone to a TV to watch videos. I got the dongle to try out and also to use in our van for road trips with our kids. If this interests you read the description text on this video for additional resources and links (i.e. click the "show more" on the text under this video).

[@sparklst3f877]

@@DavidMathew82 Thank you for taking time to reply this, appreciate this.

[@phenomenal_woman]

Greeting David, Can I teach a class in zoom using my phone to show what my hands are doing and use my iPad to view what my class is doing?

[@DavidMathew82]

The easiest way to do this would be to simply connect both your phone and your iPad to your zoom meeting, so you would appear in the meeting as two participants but they are both you, just on different devices. As the meeting owner you could change the "spotlight" when you want which sets the default camera others in the meeting will see (unless they have specifically pinned a camera). If you only have an ipad and your phone I think this might be the only way to make this happen as I'm not aware of a way to use your phone as a second cam on an iPad. If you want more info about setting up a top down view of your desk/hands the terms you want to search out are "overhead camera" or "document camera". I've done this shot with my phone mounted on a selfie stick that is screwed into a tripod, then I used a sandbag on the tripod to prevent it from tipping over from the weight imbalance. If you have a computer you can have multiple cams set up and then in Zoom you can switch cameras on demand in Zoom to swap between your hands view and your face view, while also having a stationary device to see everyone else in the meeting. I've heard of people tying the switch camera feature to a presenter tool like a Logitech r500 (amzn.to/2RvO8a1). If you have a fast enough computer and are a bit more tech savvy you could show both your face and hands at the same time in one "camera" by using OBS studio as a virtual cam (best on Windows/PC). If you're on a Mac you can look into the beta of mmhmm (www.mmhmm.app/) or Ecamm Live (www.ecamm.com/mac/ecammlive/).

[@MikeODonnellMagic]

I was able to download and install the NDI virtual input. When I open Zoom, I am able to select NDI video, but my screen/video is black. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I'm using Mac Pro.

[@DavidMathew82]

The black screen is likely to show when you have the NDI Video selected as your camera but nothing is selected in the virtual input program so you are viewing a black screen (i.e. "nothing") You must also select your NDI source in the Newtek Virtual Input program. On the top bar of your mac you should see an NDI icon, click that and it should list any currently available NDI sources on your network. Your phone would show up here if it's broadcasting a stream (i.e. NDI camera app running on your phone and the NDI icon is blue indicating it's broadcasting to your network). So essentially two steps: 1. Select your NDI camera in the Virtual Input application 2. Use the NDI Video as your cam in conferencing or other software

[@DavidMathew82]

I added a new video following up on this one showing how to get this working Mac as well as how to get virtual cameras working again in Zoom if you are using a newer version where it's been disabled. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6CZZ3l6fpqhfKM

[@BhomikGulati]

but how did u connect it to ur iphone

[@DavidMathew82]

The connection is wireless. My phone and computer are both on my home wifi so they can "see each other". I do have my desktop computer on a hardwired connection to my router. I've added some additional info about this and other options if you experience lag into the video description.

[@madameursule]

i need to conect in a mac, and do not recognize it on the zoom camera... what to do???

[@DavidMathew82]

Check out the other video I did on how to use this setup on your mac. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o6CZZ3l6fpqhfKM

[@stallonechristian6753]

I see there is a bit of lag when the NDI input is added in zoom. Can that be fixed ? As I would like to use the same set up in zoom but worried about the lag.

[@DavidMathew82]

Hey Stallone! Thanks for watching! Do you mean lag that you're seeing when you're trying this out? (You'll notice lag in my video and that ok because I'm using my iPhone AND my mirrorless on a capture card that will have near 0 lag). If you are seeing it on your setup, the first thing I'd recommend is making sure you are using the mic on your camera and not on your computer. If the video and audio are both coming from your iPhone then they should be in sync because they would both have the same delay going over the network (in theory). If you use your computer's mic and then your phone on NDI you will very likely have delay since the video takes time to get to your computer and the audio doesn't have that same delay. If you want a better mic on your phone check out a good lav mic (link to one is already in the description). If you are still experiencing lag using zoom with this method then you can use additional software to tweak the delays. It will make the setup more complex but should be possible. Something like Voicemeeter (a virtual audio mixer you can download for windows) probably has settings you can tweak to run your mic through and add or subtract some delay. It's possible that NewTek might have some features to tweak this in their tools as well but I'm not for sure about that, just wouldn't surprise me. I'll look into it a bit and let you know if I find more specific instructions to help.

[@stallonechristian6753]

Hi David Mathew, Thanks for your response. I did try this set up out on a zoom call. I am running a i3 with 4gb ram on a windows 10 laptop. The issue I faced with this the CPU was constantly running at 100% which caused my laptop to crash in middle of my zoom call. Would you be able to suggest some better setting that would help so that the CPU is not running at 100%. Also had some issue with the Audio even tho I was using a lav mic plugged into my iPhone XS. The uses reported the audio cutting out and noise. As I kept getting messages that there will be Audio issues as the CPU was maxed out. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[@DavidMathew82]

I'm still learning about performance on this as well as using it in conjunction with other tools like Zoom. Here's some things I would maybe try out: - Zoom itself is a huge CPU hog so see if you can tweak your settings in Zoom. Go to the Home page of the main zoom screen on the desktop client and click the cog/gear icon in the top right, then check out the video tab and also the section in the video tab you can get to via the Advanced button. Try toggling the Enable HD which will possibly allow you to sacrifice some quality for performance. The advanced tab will let you try to tweak some of the rendering things that may impact performance (hardware acceleration, rendering methods, etc). - Before a call, try to disable your realtime virus protection. Type "Windows Security" at the start button, then go to Virus and Threat Protection, Under "Virus & threat protection settings" click "manage settings" then turn "Real-time protection" to Off. I'd noticed on my PC that sometimes the virus can would hit the CPU hard, turning this off seemed to help (just don't forget to turn it back on later). - Use Task Manager (Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to right click and End Task on processes that you may not need that are eating up CPU (sort the table by CPU usage). For a more advanced tool check out Process Explorer that's part of Microsoft's Sysinternals (docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer) - Try to run Zoom and or NDI Virtual Input as an admin on your machine (usually admin running processes will get priority when resources are limited) I'll add more if I think of anything else, but for not give these things a try and see if they help.

[@barakshahbaz3822]

my iphone is lagging like crazy and renders the iphone as a webcam unusable. im using an iphone xs max with an msi laptop and it lags like crazy

[@DavidMathew82]

Try switching the NDI app into lower bandwidth mode, there's a little gauge like icon in the NDI app you can toggle between low, medium, and high bandwidth modes. It's also likely you have some issues on your network. NDI requires a lot of bandwidth (i.e. "speed") on your network. So if you have an older wifi router or your phone is a long way away from the router those might hurt your signal. It's also preferable to have your computer plugged directly into your router via ethernet cable if possible. That way you know at least the connection from router to computer is fast. There's also the option to use epoccam (a different app, pro version is I think $8), it has an NDI option but also allows you to use it wired to your computer with a lighting cable.

[@Jake-1iy]

Even tho I’m late umm it costs for me 29.99 dollars

[@phenomenal_woman]

Greetings David, As it so happens, last year I set up a diy overhead camera mounting system using pvc pipe. Pictured below. Unfortunately I am not very iPad, iPhone or computer savvy. I will be purchasing a desktop Mac in the next three weeks or so, my daughter works from home and works for Apple. I will take your suggestion. Thank you for your help. Peace Evelyn Attachments Greetings David, As it so happens, last year I set up a diy overhead camera mounting system using pvc pipe. So I have a system in place for mounting my iPhone. Unfortunately I am not very iPad, iPhone or computer savvy. I will be purchasing a desktop Mac in the next three weeks or so, my daughter works from home and works for Apple. I will take your suggestion. Thank you for your help. Peace Evelyn

[@vinlofranco3733]

just bought the logitech camera for $35, but thanks

[@N0lav]

later on .-.. the app went back to 20 bucks. nice .

[@DavidMathew82]

Yeah, I want to say it was free for about 6 months or so. Bummer that it's this expensive, I think it's worth paying for but $20 is pretty pricy in my opinion for what you get from the app. It becomes more worth it if you have multiple devices, for Apple devices once you pay you can share it on all your devices so you get more bang for your buck if you're using it on multiple phones or iPads. If you're simply looking to connect your cam and want a lower price you might check out Epoccam, I think it's been improving since Elgato bought it. For simple use it can work well and it has a free version last time I checked (limited resolution, or pay smaller fee for full res).

[@tenaciousptori]

Looks like they’re making you pay for this app again. Bummer. I’m still working from home for the entire fall and could have used this for teaching.

[@DavidMathew82]

Yeah, unfortunately it's not free anymore. Another option you can check out is Epocam www.kinoni.com/. They do have a free version and a paid version, the paid version offers a higher quality and is $8, so more affordable than the NewTek option or free if you are ok with lower res. It does have the advantage of being able to connect your phone wired to your computer which will reduce the potential for lag that you'll have the the NDI setup.

[@tenaciousptori]

David Mathew that’s what I ended up trying but it’s not consistent. I even sprung for the paid version, which was actually worse in terms of connectivity. Most of the time it just loads and loads and loads and doesn’t connect, both wired and wireless. Once in a blue moon it will connect ... but that’s not good enough. I need it to work on demand, not just when it feels like it. :/

[@vinnylofranco9180]

Said it’s free now, but it’s $20 just like he originally paid

[@DavidMathew82]

Thanks for watching! I've updated the title to remove the free part, bummer that it's now back to the full price. Did you try it out?

[@fisherplayz1058]

It’s 19 dollars again

[@loganthecuber5087]

good video but its for the rich

[@DavidMathew82]

Yeah, this does assume you have an iPhone which isn't cheap. Although the point here is that if you already have an iPhone, using it even with the $20 app can be better quality than a lot of web cams or built in laptop cams. In this case it's cheap since it's using something you already have on hand. When I made this video even cheap webcams were going for scalper prices, which isn't the case anymore.

[@mikehankins4513]

Stop buying apples propriatary BS and you have no worries