In this article we’ll explain a little bit more how you can use Syphon in combination with MediaMaster and GrandVJ, then we’ll give you some inspiration from those who have already started using it..

About Syphon

As explained on the official Syphon web page: “Syphon is an open source Mac OS X technology that allows applications to share frames – full frame rate video or stills – with one another in realtime. Now you can leverage the expressive power of a plethora of tools to mix, mash, edit, sample, texture-map, synthesize, and present your imagery using the best tool for each part of the job. Syphon gives you flexibility to break out of single-app solutions and mix creative applications to suit your needs.”

Practically, a Syphon client application receives video frames from one or more syphon server application(s), and because the Syphon-compatible applications share texture resources within the graphical card, there’s almost no latency between the server and the client applications.

GrandVJ or MediaMaster as Syphon server

Prior versions of GrandVJ and MediaMaster were already able to act as Syphon server, but it required loading the Quartz-Composer Server patch on a dedicated layer.

GrandVJ 1.6 and MediaMaster 2.2.5 are now native Syphon server applications. The usage is pretty straight forward since there’s no configuration at all: the software will start sharing its output frames as soon as it detects a Syphon client application.

GrandVJ output in Syphon Simple Client

GrandVJ or MediaMaster as Syphon client

GrandVJ and MediaMaster can also act as Syphon clients thanks to the Quartz-Composer Client plugin and patch provided by the guys behind Syphon. You can get these from the Syphon Implementations page (grab the file named “Syphon For Quartz Composer” of course. It’s currently in beta but that’s ok). The installation procedure is detailled in “Read Me.rtf” file you get in the .dmg but basically you first need to install the plugin before you can use the patch.

So, once you installed the plugin, grab the Quartz-Composer patch (.qtz file) and either import it in your MediaMaster media library or drag & drop it on a bank in GrandVJ so you can use it with our software.

Syphon Simple Server in GrandVJ

Note that, by default, the patch will display the frames of the first registered Syphon server application. If you want to use a server that’s not the first, or to to mix between several servers, you will have to get your hands in the dirt and launch the Quartz-Composer application (that you get with Xcode from Apple) to modify the “index” value in the patch (the default value zero being the first server)..

Modifying the “index” value in Quartz-Composer

Oh, and if you don’t want to fiddle around with Quartz-Composer you can simply download the alternative patches we’ve modified for you (yeah, we’re like that..).

Remark:
You cannot use GrandVJ or MediaMaster as Syphon client if you have not first started a Syphon server, if you try to do so you will notice that MediaMaster / GrandVJ creates an infinite visual feedback, its output frames being shared with the layer that runs the Syphon layer!

If you intend to use GrandVJ or MediaMaster as a client, you should either start the other Syphon server application first, or you can use one of the alternative Quartz-Composer patches mentioned earlier in this article.

Some inspiration from those who have already started using it

All this seems a little too abstract for you? No problem, let’s see concretely what you can achieve with this new feature..

Koen de Puysseleir -- Tiësto Club Life tour

It all started with Koen de Puysseleir, Creative Director for Tiësto and owner of Light in Motion, a Belgian design and show control company. Koen already worked with MediaMaster for the previous Tiësto tour (the Kaleïdoscope Tour) and this time he got challenged with some difficult video setups involving split screens and side screens for Tiësto Club Life performances. He needed a solution to output MediaMaster to MadMapper and thus contacted us to inquire about how to achieve it.

We immediately understood that something cool could be done here and so we started working on developing this feature and then sent Koen a custom version of MediaMaster with Syphon support for him to test.. Below is a video from the show at the Home Depot Center in Carson, you can read the complete story here on our web site.

Koen’s laptop running MediaMaster and MadMapper

Momo the Monster -- The Glitch Mob Live show

Visual Artist Momo the Monster has been using MediaMaster Express as a Syphon client to drive LED panels on The Glitch Mob Live shows this summer, read the full story at CreateDigitalMotion

Charlie Mars recording mixes in GrandVJ

France VJ champion Charlie Mars explains (in French) how he is using GrandVJ and Syphon Recorder to record his mixes.

Conclusion

As you can see, Syphon support in MediaMaster or GrandVJ really “gives you flexibility to break out of single-app solutions and mix creative applications to suit your needs” just like they say on the Syphon web site!

Ok, ok.. I can already hear some of you complaining it’s again a Mac-only solution.. But don’t worry Windows users, we’re working on a similar solution for you too..

Thank you Syphon creators, interoperability is the future!

The main new feature is Syphon support on Mac. For the rest, we’ve greatly improved the overall stability of the application and crushed a few bugs that made it to the 1.5 release (Read more for details and download links).

About Syphon

Syphon is an open source Mac OS X technology that allows applications to share frames – full frame rate video or stills – with one another in realtime. Until now, Syphon could already be used in GrandVJ through Quartz Composer, the graphical modular language of Apple.

Syphon is now natively supported by GrandVJ, where it acts as an additional (virtual) output. Through Syphon, you can send the output from GrandVJ to any other application that support Syphon as input, which makes it possible to use GrandVJ as video mixer module in some more complex setups!

As usual, we tried to make it as easy as possible: the Syphon output is automatically activated when a Syphon client is running, there is nothing to configure in GrandVJ.

If you want to use Syphon as input, you can still use Quartz Composer, please refer to the official Syphon website for more information.

Stability improvement

Less fun, but not less important, is the stability improvement of the application on both Mac OS and Windows. We’ve notably fixed problems related to some particular video file formats and issues occurring when activating full screen.

This version is another free upgrade for all GrandVJ users, we hope you will enjoy the new possibilities offered by Syphon!

Download

You can download GrandVJ 1.6 from the download page on our web site.

Changelogs (1.5 → 1.6 beta 1):

• added Syphon output [Mac]
• added the ability to browse using arrow keys
• fixed a potential crash when loading files that are played by QuickTime
• fixed a audio/video synchronisation problem in FFMpeg player
• fixed a problem when using a third party audio device [Mac]
• fixed PCM audio playbackfixed a crash when triggering effects
• fixed a crash when switching fullscreen off
• fixed a crash when previewing a transition
• fixed bank rename save

Recently we spotted the video below on Twitter, it’s produced by live audio-visual artist Ryan Noise and Unique Squared and we found it to be a great introduction to the use of GrandVJ in connection with Ableton Live. Note that Ryan connects GrandVJ and Ableton through Rewire here, but the latest GrandVJ 1.5 comes with a VST plugin which allows not only to send MIDI to GrandVJ but also sound, so that you can use it to trigger sound-reactive Generators or Flash animations.

Read on for Ryan Noise Interview..

For years Ryan has used GrandVJ as his live video mixing solution. When asked, “Why did you decide to go with Ableton Live, Akai’s APC40 and GrandVJ in your setup?”, Ryan replied: “I decided on Ableton as my main host for it’s over all audio manipulation, MIDI functionality, low CPU load and simple programmability.

I’m using the APC40 as a tactile control unit, this gives me the ability to control live video and remix audio by applying filters and parameters to the assignable knobs and buttons on one customized surface.

Lastly for video, I use GrandVJ because of its ease of use, MIDI and OSC mapping abilities, multi-camera inputs, stellar effects, and dead-simple customization.

GrandVJ has been the back bone of my visual performance for years. The visual possibilities with this software are limitless and I always find new was to surprise even myself.”

This Release Candidate version should be the last one before the official release. It includes all the features, graphics and documentation of the official version. All the bugs found in the beta have been fixed, we have also resolved some instability issues that were affecting previous versions of GrandVJ.

ArKaos GrandVJ and Ableton Live:

ArKaos GrandVJ and Steinberg Cubase:

ArKaos Connect

ArKaos Connect allows GrandVJ to receive sound and MIDI from any audio sequencer that support VST plugins like Ableton Live or Steinberg Cubase. The audio host can run on the same machine as GrandVJ or on a different one on the same local network.

The configuration of the connection in GrandVJ is very straightforward : just select the sending VST plugin in an auto-updated list and enjoy the new possibilities open by these interactions : Live Generators can now directly react to the sound of an audio performance, MIDI can be received from everywhere..

Transitions

Transitions, already presented in the last GrandVJ Dev version, have been finalized and can now be used with their full creative potential. As a reminder, transitions provide automated smooth changes between two video clips. They can be activated and parametrized for each cell and/or each deck in mixer mode.

A large collection of transitions effects has been added to the browser library. The choice of the transition is therefore as simple as choosing a normal effect. Each transition can be personalized using up to four controllable parameters plus an extra transition time parameter.

Browser Preview

Video clips, effects and transitions can handily be previewed in a small window below the browser panel. It makes the content browsing more efficient, allowing you to decide which visual, effect, transition, etc. you will use before first applying it to a cell in GrandVJ.

Multi-monitors support on windows

GrandVJ now fully supports multi-screen output in Windows Vista & 7 for Multi-head graphics cards. This means you can connect several displays to one graphic card and GrandVJ will spread the output across those connected displays.

Bidirectional support for Akai APC20

Just in time for the release, we’ve added bidirectional support for Akai’s new MIDI controller, the APC20! It works the same as for the APC40, checkout the doc for more info.

Download the RC2 version:

• GrandVJ 1.5 final has been released, you can get the latest version from the GrandVJ download page

How to install?:

Just run the installer and follow the steps.

However, in order to use ArKaos Connect with a sequencer in Windows, please do the following step:

• Windows: copy “ArKaos Connect VST plugin/ArKaosConnect.dll” into your VST folder (i.e : “C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase 6\VSTPlugins”)

Documentation:

As usual, documentation is provided as PDF in the “Documentation” folder:

• ArKaos_GrandVJ_1_5_ReleaseNotes.pdf (Changes from GrandVJ 1.2 to 1.5)
• ArKaos_Connect_quickstart.pdf (QuickStart guide for ArKaos Connect)

Important:

This is not yet the final release version, it still needs some testing, remember that before using it in front of an audience. We don’t have a release date for the final version yet, it will depend on your precious feedback..

Happy testing!

We first spotted a great home demo on Vimeo that he did after using GrandVJ since just one day, then the week after he was already taking GrandVJ live on stage for the ZôL concert at Metamorphoses, a French Electronic music festival.

Well last week we were at the MixMove Expo for DJ & Club Culture in Paris and we met Charlie Mars there, he was participating to the first France VJ & Videodesigner Championship with our GrandVJ software.

Charlie had to compete with eight other French VJ’s and he won the championship thanks to his talent, his very creative content and.. with the help of GrandVJ.

Read below for his impressions and a few pictures (kindly provided by LeCollagiste – Merci Laurent!).

It wasn’t easy for me to approach a “VJing Championship” because “Championship” relates to sport and sport is not really my thing, because competition means that there is a winner and I don’t really like when there are losers, even if I’m the one who wins, and even though being the winner is kinda cool: it’s a plus for the Ego and motivates for continuing, but ok I digress..

We (the participating Vj’s) were primarily here to defend a discipline that still lacks recognition (some event organizers still think that VJ’s play for free..) and highlight the most creative aspects of VJing, this championship was a great opportunity to do so.

It is always difficult, from my point of view, to judge a creative work on precise criteria, the verdict is necessarily subjective and I think that each participant had its own, well affirmed style. Yes, I saw some very good stuff, the level was high.

Personally, I give more importance to content than technique, that’s why I use GrandVJ; it’s simple, totally stable (very important, especially when like me you have 68 loops per deck on 20+ decks..), with a fast and fun learning curve, but still without forgetting the technical tools necessary to the quality of the projection (frame blending, keystoning, time sync, etc..)

My setup wasn’t anything very complex, an Alienware laptop (Core I7, 4Gb Ram), two MIDI controllers: a Novation Launchpad and a Korg Nanokontrol, my multicolour hood and of course GrandVJ. That’s all I need to have a lot of fun, mix on instinct and cut like a lumberjack.. And that is very good!

We have the following setup for the video above:

• One standard A10 media server
• One custom A10 media server with:
  • 2 x Blackmagic Design DeckLink Duo™
  • 1 x ATI six output Card

Our standard A10 media server outputs in DVI to a Folsom Image Pro that converts the DVI signal to an SDI 720p 60 Hz signal, and this three times.

Then we capture these three SDI outputs from the Folsom Image Pro with the two DeckLink Duo™ cards in our custom A10 media server.

The connections on the DeckLink Duo™ cards are represented on diagram below:

So, with these DeckLink Duo™ cards, the A10 media server gets up to four simultaneous SDI input signals, which means that you can simultaneously see in MediaMaster Pro or Express four cameras in your library folder “254_cameras”.

From there, if you right-click on the camera icon in the library folder, you can access the Blackmagic Design setup menu, where you can select the inputs and chose your desired captured resolutions.

The different supported resolutions are listed there -- such as 720p, 1080i or 1080p – in various frequencies, here we have used 720p 60 Hz

The advantage of such a setup is that it makes it possible to capture inputs (i.e. from cameras) directly without the use of an external video mixer. In other words, you’re saving time and money because you do not necessarily need to invest in an additional video mixer to fade, control, or switch from one input to the other.

And of course, you can also use these inputs programmed into a console or lighting desk so everything will run time coded or in a cue.

In the mean time we have been working on the MediaMaster 2.2 update that has just been released, with some new effects and the geometry module, and now it’s time for some GrandVJ development again..

From now on, as we are working on a major update to GrandVJ we will provide several intermediate development versions that will include a few new features, before we release the final update with all the new stuff packed in.

Working like this will allow us to receive a better feedback on each new feature while we are still in a development cycle, where bugs or problems can easily be corrected, and then release a final version that will hopefully be.. *perfect* (yes, it’s a developer’s dream..). (Read more for details and download links..)

So, here is the first step to GrandVJ 2.0.!

Besides the usual little adjustments and bug fixes, the first big new feature we’ve added is.. (drumroll).. Transitions!

Transitions are similar to effects except that they have two inputs. Just like the effects, they also have up to four parameters.

Check the video below for an example of the transitions available in GrandVJ Dev. 101214

A new “Transition” panel has been added to the left-sided browser in the application.

Transitions in Synth mode

In Synth mode, you can add a transition on every cell to bring it smoothly without the need to play with transparency. The parameter panel also receives a new “Transition” panel. These panels will let you specify the four parameters and the fade time for your transition. The default value is currently 1 second and the maximum value is 5 seconds.

Transitions in Mixer mode

In Mixer mode, the application now behaves even more like video mixer: A layers and B layers now represent two separate compositions that you can combine by using a transition effect controlled through the cross-fader.

The new “Transition” panel under the cross fader is retractable, it allows you to switch between up to ten pre-defined custom transitions.

The following screenshot show 2 different compositions (layers 1 + 2 on A & layers 4 + 5 on B) mixed together using a “Spreading Blinds” transition, while the logo on layer 8 standing on top whatever the value of the cross-fader is.

Remark:

• This is a development build, some things might not be 100% polished yet (i.e. transition icons are missing, etc..).
• You should not remove any older version of GrandVJ you have installed. You can have several versions installed on the same machine so you can test the new functionalities and still have the option to use the latest official release.

Feedback:

As usual, we welcome general constructive comments under this blog post but if you would like to provide a detailed technical feedback or bug report about this development release, please use the dedicated forum topic instead.

Download Links:

GrandVJ development release 101214 Mac

GrandVJ development release 101214 PC

Changelogs (since GrandVJ 1.2.2):

• added transitions:
  • transition on a Cell [Synth mode]
  • transition on the cross-fader [Mixer mode]
• increased number of banks to 32
• added the possibility to rename a bank
• changed fullscreen behavior: “Force Resolution” mode doesn’t stop when switching to another application [Windows]
• fixed crash using ASIO audio [Windows]
• fixed crash in FFMpeg audio decoding
• fixed crash when changing video input settings [Windows]
• fixed crash when quitting after using video input device [Windows]
• fixed possible user-interface redraw problem when using Display time-reference [Mac]
• fixed a problem that prevented the application to save Decklink setup filter settings properly [Windows]
• fixed a possible crash when quitting after using a Decklink card [Windows]
• fixed a bug in Machine ID / serial check at startup [Mac]
• fixed audio playback problem using latest MacBook Pro (6,2) on-board device [Mac]
• fixed problem using several identical video input devices [Windows]
• fixed osc port preference that wasn’t saved

The settings can be modified in the “Geometric Correction” dialog which can be accessed via the “Geometric Correction” button near the soft edge span dimensions on the video tab of the preferences dialog.

The number and arrangement of the outputs is determined by the soft edge span dimensions.

Geometric Correction

With geometric correction it is possible to correct output deformations via a correction grid.

Three main areas can be distinguished: the screen arrangement, the toolbar and the correction grid.  Via the clickable screen output arrangement, at the top left of the dialog, it is possible to switch between the corrections grids of the different screen outputs.

A normal output is represented by a blue rectangle and the overall correction grid is represented by an orange rectangle. With this overall correction grid it is possible to apply a correction over all displays at once. This especially meaningful when displaying using multiple outputs to project on one curved screen.

With the drop-down list on the toolbar the geometric correction type can be chosen. 4 different correction types are available, namely:

1. No Correction: If you don’t want to apply geometric correction to this screen. In this way MediaMaster knows that it can bypass the geometric correction process for this screen.
2. Linear: A linearly interpolated grid for straight corrections.
3. Curved: For smooth geometric corrections such as a curved screen.
4. Nurb: Another method for smooth geometric corrections.

The correction grid is modified by moving one of its control points. The control points can be moved by the mouse cursor or by arrow keys for per pixel precision. Control points can be added with the appropriate  buttons on the toolbar and via the keyboard shortcuts (F1-F4). Via the reset button the grid can be set to its original state.

The magnetic border makes the screen border ‘sticky’, thus making it easier to correctly position a control point to the border of the screen.

The following shortcuts are defined for the geometric grid window:

Soft Edge per Output

With the custom soft edge it is possible to adapt the soft edge parameters per edge of an output.

Two controls can be found in the “Custom Soft Edge” panel, namely the check-box “Use Custom Soft Edge” and the button “Set Default Values”.
The check-box will determine if MediaMaster will use the standard overall soft edge or the custom soft edge per side.
The “Set Default Values” button will copy the curve and fade curve parameters of the overall soft edge settings, plus the soft edge setup, to the custom soft edge settings.

Note that using the custom soft-edge will disable the master fixture’s soft-edge.

In the soft edge tab it possible to adapt and enable the curve and width parameters per side of an output.

Now with new geometric correction and custom soft edge in MediaMaster Pro, it has never been so easy to project video on non-planar surfaces.

To illustrate this, we’ve filmed the results of the tests we’ve done with a six-heads graphics card -- the “ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 Eyefinity 6 Edition” -- installed in an A10 media server which we connected to a bunch of DVI screens.

The interesting point with this card is that this setup can come as an alternative to the now commonly used “two-heads graphic card + two Matrox TripleHead2Go” setup. Below is the video, read further for the details..

Note that, on the six Mini DisplayPort outputs of the card, only two can directly support DVI displays (other will only accept Mini DisplayPort) so we converted the four others to DVI with USB powered active boxes.

Dead-simple configuration in MediaMaster:

• Most importantly you should start by setting up the correct display arrangement in Windows before you launch MediaMaster, because it will take this display arrangement as a reference.
• Once in MediaMaster, in the preference dialog, under the “Display” tab, check out “Full Screen Monitor” and you will notice that the number of outputs is indicated (e.g. “ATI Radeon HD 5870 x 6″).  Then “Display Resolution” shows the resolution per display (e.g. “1680 x 1050 x 6″).

• If it’s correct, you just have to select in “Multi-Monitor Arrangement” the option corresponding to your physical setup so MediaMaster knows in which order you have arranged the displays.

Ta-da! Your multi-screen configuration is done..

We have set up a little survey that will only take you a few minutes of your time, if you’re a GrandVJ user it’s your chance to prioritize the features we will add in the next versions of your software.

This survey will be closed on September 15th.

>> Survey Closed <<