Terms Explained
You do not need to understand streaming technology to use Pixelview, but the setup guides use some words that may be new. Each entry says what the word means and whether you need to care.
Pixelview words
Pixelview Admin
The website where you run your sessions: app.pixelview.io.
Encoder (in Admin)
One review room. It takes one incoming stream and shows it to your viewers. A facility with three suites reviewing at the same time needs three.
Project or session
One review: a title, a password, a viewer link, and an expiry date. An encoder has one active project at a time.
Stream ID or Session ID
The number that identifies a session. Viewers type it, with the password, into the Pixelview Player apps or Pixelview Desktop. In a browser they just use the link.
Pixelview Player
The viewer apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Viewers can also just use a browser.
Pixelview Desktop
Pixelview's own app for Mac and Windows that sends your picture to Pixelview. On a Mac it can also receive a session and play it out over SDI. See Pixelview Desktop.
Region
Where in the world your session's server runs. Pick the one closest to you and your viewers for the lowest delay. See Region and Server Settings.
Getting the picture out of your suite
SDI
The cable standard professional video equipment uses, with round BNC connectors. It is what feeds your reference monitor. HDMI does the same job on consumer equipment.
Monitor card or output device
The box or card that turns your editing or grading software's picture into an SDI or HDMI signal, for example a Blackmagic UltraStudio or DeckLink, or an AJA device. You probably already have one feeding your monitor.
Capture card or capture device
The opposite: it takes an SDI or HDMI signal into a computer. To stream, you connect your suite's output to a capture device so the streaming app can see your picture. Some devices, like the Blackmagic DeckLink 4K Mini or UltraStudio 4K Mini, do both.
Loop
Connecting the SDI output of your suite to a capture input with a cable, often on the same computer. It sounds odd, but it is the most reliable way to stream exactly what your monitor shows.
NDI
A way to send video between programs or computers over the network instead of a cable. Premiere Pro and Avid can output NDI, and OBS can receive it. It is useful when you have no capture device. Quality is good but below a real SDI signal.
Sending it to Pixelview
OBS Studio
A free, popular streaming app for Mac, Windows, and Linux. It captures your picture and sends it to Pixelview. It can do a lot, so it has many settings.
Hardware encoder
A small box that does the same job as a computer running a streaming app. You plug in SDI, network, and power. Pixelview sells these preconfigured.
WHIP and SRT
Two ways a streaming app can deliver video to Pixelview. Think of them as two courier companies. WHIP is the faster one and what we recommend from OBS. SRT is the older, widely supported one, and what editing software like Premiere Pro and Avid can send directly. Admin gives you the address for either. With Pixelview Desktop you never see them.
Server and Bearer Token
The address and the key for a WHIP connection. You copy both from Setup Instructions in Admin into OBS. Treat the token like a password.
Pairing token
A one-time code from Admin that links Pixelview Desktop to your encoder, so you never have to copy a Server or Bearer Token.
Bitrate
How much data per second your stream uses, in Mbps. Higher means better quality and needs more upload speed. Pixelview sessions typically use 5 to 12 Mbps. Your upload speed should be at least double your bitrate.
HEVC (also called H.265) and H.264
Ways of compressing video. HEVC is newer and gives better quality at the same bitrate. Use it when your computer supports it, which most do.
Latency
The delay between your suite and your client's screen. Lower is better for conversation.
Picture quality
SDR and Rec.709
Standard dynamic range, the normal kind of video. Rec.709 is its color standard. If nobody has told you the project is HDR, it is SDR.
HDR, PQ, and HLG
High dynamic range: brighter highlights and more color, for HDR deliveries. PQ and HLG are the two HDR flavors. HDR review in Pixelview is in beta and needs an HDR-capable setup at both ends. See HDR Remote Review.
8-bit and 10-bit
How finely brightness and color are stored. 10-bit has 1024 steps per color instead of 256, which prevents banding in skies and gradients. This matters for grading review.
4:2:0, 4:2:2, and 4:4:4
How much color detail is kept. 4:4:4 keeps all of it, 4:2:2 half, and 4:2:0 a quarter. Video calls and most streaming use 4:2:0. Pixelview supports higher, which keeps colored edges and fine text clean. Pixelview Desktop on a Mac can send and play out 4:4:4.
LUT
A color lookup file (.cube) that adjusts the picture for a specific display. See 3D LUT Calibration.
Watermark
The viewer's name or email burned into their picture, to discourage leaks.