"Can the CEO just join on Teams?" She can — but how her picture and sound get from her laptop into your broadcast decides whether she looks like a keynote or a customer-service call. These are the contribution methods we use, from simplest to most robust.
Broadcast calling (vMix Call and similar)
Purpose-built for production: the guest opens a link in a browser, and their video and audio arrive in the vision mixer as a clean, separate source with a return feed of the programme. No app to install, individual control of each guest's audio, and the operator can see and manage every caller. This is our default for remote speakers on virtual and hybrid events. Quality depends on the guest's connection and kit — see speaker prep.
SRT contribution
For a remote venue or a high-value guest, a small hardware encoder at their end sends an SRT stream to the gallery — broadcast-grade picture and sound, encrypted, tolerant of imperfect networks, with sub-second latency. It's how we bring a second site into a multi-location conference, or a keynote speaker with a local camera crew into the main show. Needs a decent upload at the far end and someone to plug it in.
NDI on a local network
Within one building, NDI carries high-quality video over ordinary Ethernet. Cameras, laptops, graphics machines and the production PC all see each other on the LAN. It's the backbone of most modern galleries and the reason a single Ethernet cable can replace a bundle of SDI. It doesn't cross the public internet without extra tools, so it's a local solution.
Bringing Teams, Zoom or Meet into a broadcast
Sometimes the client's audience or the guest simply lives on a conferencing platform. Done properly, the meeting is joined by a dedicated production machine, and each participant's video is pulled out as an isolated source (the platforms' NDI outputs or a capture workflow), so the vision mixer can frame and cut between them like any other camera. Done badly, someone screen-records the gallery view with its grey borders and mute icons. The difference is entirely in the setup, and it's worth an hour of rehearsal.
The phone as last resort
Every remote speaker gets a dial-in number. If the video link fails, their voice over a holding slide with their name keeps the show moving. It's a cheap insurance policy that we've cashed in more than once.
Choosing the method
| Situation | Method |
|---|---|
| Remote presenter from home or office | Broadcast calling with a tested kit brief |
| Second venue or filmed remote keynote | SRT from a hardware encoder |
| Sources within one building | NDI over the LAN |
| Audience or guests already on Teams/Zoom | Isolated capture from a dedicated machine |
| Everything failed | Phone dial-in over a holding slide |
Returns: what the guest sees and hears
A remote speaker needs to see the programme (or at least the presenter) and hear the show without hearing themselves. That's a mix-minus return — programme audio minus their own voice — and it's the single most common thing missing from amateur setups. It's covered in detail in stream audio.