Using NotchBlockVerifier to test Blocks

Updated: 10 Feb 2025

Introduction #

NotchBlockVerifier is a small application for testing Notch blocks. It is the ground-truth for Notch block integration and performance.

It provides:

• GUI to test exposed parameters
• Profiler to see how the block performs on the given hardware
• Viewport to see the render and any watermarks that may be occurring.

NotchBlockVerifier is often used for diagnosing functional, performance & licensing issues on media servers.

Download #

NotchBlockVerifierD3D11_x64.exe is included in the Notch Builder installer under C:\Program Files\Notch

You can also download it separately.

Using NotchBlockVerifier #

1. Run NotchBlockVerifierD3D11_x64.exe
2. Set the target resolution in the Output Width & Output Height
3. Click ‘Load Bock…’ and select the .dfxdll Notch Block you wish to test

Key points:

• Once the block is loaded, it will instantly start playing.
• You can manipulate the exposed parameters by clicking a value and dragging it left and right.
• Any exposed Video inputs will be provided with a flat colour texture at the same size as the output resolution set.
• You can load multiple blocks simultaneously to observe GPU load. [NB: Blocks will be rendered at the same resolution]

Monitoring Performance #

NotchBlockVerifier will show you the following key performance metrics:

• VRAM (GPU memory) used by your block
• Frame rendering time in milliseconds (ms) at the set resolution
• The effective frame rate of the block

NotchBlockVerifier is a super light host application. Its only workload is to render the blocks. This differs from media-servers who have to perform other functions that take overhead (such as video playback, compositing, output management, etc).

Spotting Licensing issues #

Watermarks appearing over a blocks output are the result of:

• The Block being exported from Notch Builder Base or Pro
• No Full Playback license being present on a connected dongle

In each case, you will be given a reason in white text in the blocks rendered output.

SDK Dependencies #

Certain features of Notch (e.g. NVIDIA Background Removal) require additional SDKs to be installed and DLLs placed alongside NotchBlockVerifierD3D11_x64.exe. Full details are available on the SDK Dependencies when using Media Servers page.