FFmpeg Stream

OmniScope supports real-time monitoring of video delivered via FFmpeg over UDP or named pipe, using the NUT container format.

The FFmpeg Stream source (previously two separate sources — UDP/NUT and Pipe/NUT) is a unified input that auto-detects the connection type from the URL you provide:

URL format	Behavior
udp://…	UDP socket; NUT container forced (FFmpeg cannot probe UDP)
\\.\pipe\… (Windows)	Named pipe via NUT bridge
Other paths / URLs	Auto-detect container format

SRT Stream remains a separate, dedicated source type optimised for low-latency secure streaming. Use FFmpeg Stream for UDP and pipe-based workflows.

Connecting via UDP

1. Open OmniScope and go to Input > Connect to…

2. Select FFmpeg Stream

3. Enter a udp:// URL, for example:

   udp://0.0.0.0:5000

4. Click Connect

When a UDP URL is detected, advanced UDP options are shown (packet size, FIFO size, etc.).

Connecting via Named Pipe (Windows)

Named-pipe transport requires a small Python relay script — the NUT bridge — that sits between your FFmpeg sender and OmniScope.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x with pywin32: pip install pywin32

• FFmpeg in PATH

Step 1 — Start the NUT bridge

python nut_bridge.py

The bridge creates two pipes and waits for connections:

• \\.\pipe\ffmpeg_in — FFmpeg writes here

• \\.\pipe\ffmpeg_out — OmniScope reads here

Step 2 — Send video to the bridge

# Remux without re-encoding (fastest, preserves quality):
ffmpeg -i input.mov -c copy -f nut \\.\pipe\ffmpeg_in

# From a capture device:
ffmpeg -f dshow -i video="My Webcam" -c:v libx264 -f nut \\.\pipe\ffmpeg_in

# From an RTMP stream:
ffmpeg -i rtmp://server/live/stream -c copy -f nut \\.\pipe\ffmpeg_in

Step 3 — Connect OmniScope

1. Go to Input > Connect to… and select FFmpeg Stream

2. Enter the pipe path: \\.\pipe\ffmpeg_out (pre-filled by default)

3. Click Connect

Hot-connect

The NUT bridge supports connecting and reconnecting at any time:

• OmniScope can join after the sender is already streaming — the bridge replays the NUT header to synchronise

• The sender can restart without disconnecting OmniScope

• OmniScope can disconnect and reconnect; the bridge handles this gracefully

To stop: terminate the Python script (Ctrl+C) — the pipes are removed automatically.

Why NUT container?

NUT is ideal for pipe and UDP transport because:

• Low overhead — minimal container framing

• Simple header — can be captured and replayed for mid-stream joins

• Codec-agnostic — supports any codec FFmpeg knows

• No index required — unlike MP4/MKV, no seek table needed

• Byte-stream friendly — designed for streaming scenarios where seeking is not possible

Migrating from UDP/NUT or Pipe/NUT

If you previously used the separate UDP/NUT or Pipe/NUT source types, your saved configurations are automatically migrated to FFmpeg Stream on first load. No manual changes are needed.

Related

• SRT Stream — Low-latency secure streaming

• NDI® — Network Device Interface source

• Multiple Input Sources — Use several sources simultaneously