# Syphon

Source: https://mimolive.com/user-manual/playout-output-destinations/syphon/  
Last updated: 2023-03-10  
Section: Outputs & Distribution (Program Out)  

[Syphon](http://syphon.v002.info/) is an open source macOS technology that allows applications to share frames – full frame rate video or stills – with one another in realtime.

![](https://mimolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ac1613ad-82a7-4fe6-8a6c-a57560276a87.png)

You can insert a Syphon Video Sender layer anywhere in your layer stack and transfer the image that has been composited by the layers below to another application.

This is useful for a number of cases:

- Record a clean signal (e.g. without a Station Logo layer or other graphic overlays by placing it below those layers in the layer stack)
- Divert video to a projector before adding branding
- Send video to any of the many other Syphon client apps (e.g. the [Syphon Recorder](http://syphon.v002.info/recorder/) , even within mimoLive using the [Syphon Video Receiver Source](https://mimolive.com/user-manual/syphon-receiver)
- Provide a confidence monitor for a performer before a greenscreen

To set it up, simply [add a Syphon Video Sender layer](https://mimolive.com/user-manual/layers-and-variants) to the position in the layer stack that you’d like to send to the external application.

In the Syphon Client app, a Syphon Server will appear with a certain name.

#### Giving the Syphon Server a Name

If you happen to have multiple Syphon Servers running it is helpful to give each Syphon Server a meaningful name. You can setup a name in the layers settings:

![](https://mimolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/35055e15-90fb-48c5-9845-d1a6ef309d0b.png)

#### Using Syphon to Record a Clean Signal

One use case of the Syphon Sender layer is to record a clean signal. You might want to record a signal that does not contain any overlays or information that is only relevant to live stream viewers or the live audience.

![](https://mimolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/3d5cacee-fa1f-4b2a-9917-195765b92738.png)

To do this:

- Use the Syphon Sender layer in your layer stack at the appropriate level.
- Open a second mimoLive document.
- Set up the Syphon Source, place it in a layer and record this.

> **Note:** Syphon only transmits the video frames but not the audio