Announcing VDMX6 and VDMX6 Plus!!!

Hello VDMX Fans!

We’re thrilled to announce the official release of the biggest update to VDMX in over a decade: VDMX6!

What’s changed? Oh, just the entire rendering engine.

VDMX6 is now powered by Metal, fully transitioning away from the deprecated OpenGL technology. This update not only prepares us for the future of Mac hardware and OS updates but also opens new doors for upcoming features, improvements, and even more optimizations.

What’s else is new?

Read on! Looking to download the new release or buy a license? Visit the new Vidvox.net homepage!

HAP R

One of the first new benefits of our new Metal rendering engine is we can add support for the latest addition to the HAP video codec family!

Following in the footsteps of HAP Q, we now have HAP R.

What do you need to know about HAP R?

  • The HAP R format creates files that are higher quality than HAP Q, with alpha channels, at about the same size.

  • The latest AVF Batch Exporter utility app in the Extras folder includes support for importing / exporting to the newest variation of HAP.

  • HAP R is more technically known as HAP 7A because it is based on the BC7 texture format.

  • Other developers looking to update their own software to support HAP R will find technical details of the format on the HAP Specification and the HAP in AVFoundation framework GitHub pages useful in getting started.

Stay tuned for more details and benchmarks on HAP R in a future blog post!

Updated Automatic BPM Detection

Along with overhauling the rendering engine we’ve rewritten the tempo tracking algorithm completely from scratch to run natively on both Intel and ARM64 processors. No more having to use Rosetta to take advantage of this crucial feature on newer Mac hardware!

Leaner and Cleaner

Along with the performance boost of switching the rendering engine over to Metal we’ve optimized several other core parts of VDMX, making the app more efficient with an overall lower memory footprint.

New Pricing and Plus Version

One of the top things we hear from people who want to get started in working with live visuals is the financial barrier to entry. Along with adding feature improvements we understand that one thing we can do to make our software better is to make it more accessible to everyone and anyone, so we’ve decided to set the price on VDMX6 at 99 USD.

We have also introduced VDMX6 Plus at 249 USD for users who want to extend their experience by using TouchDesigner and Vuo compositions alongside the rest of the powerful features included in the standard version.

Students, teachers, and hobbyists can apply by email for our educational discounts of 25 USD on VDMX6 and 100 USD on VDMX6 Plus.

Upgrade Discounts

Existing VDMX5 users who purchased their license after September 12th, 2023 are entitled to a free update to VDMX6 Plus.

All other VDMX5 users can write in to receive a coupon to get 100 USD off on VDMX6 Plus.

Customers who have a license of VDMX6 can get the full price off of their original purchase if they choose to upgrade to VDMX6 Plus later.

TouchDesigner Support!

Using TouchDesigner compositions in VDMX6

Yes indeed, as mentioned just above, in VDMX6 Plus you can now use TouchDesigner compositions as interactive generators, effects, and control data plugins.

Note: that using TouchDesigner compositions in VDMX6 Plus requires a TouchDesigner install, and a valid paid TouchDesigner license on the same computer (Education, Commercial, or Pro) Non-commercial will not work.

Example compositions can be found on the VDMX6 dmg in the Extras folder and additional detailed information can be found in the VDMX documentation.

New ISF Generators and FX

No update to VDMX is complete without some new interactive video generators and FX to play with!

In this release we’ve got a new category of FX, Overlays, which include useful FX such as Doodler, Cursor, and Highlighter. These make it easy to add small elements on top of your video without having to do additional layer management.

There’s also some other new fun audio visualizers and glitch FX to play with:

  • Audio Waveform Shape

  • Pattern Glitch

  • Stylize Glitch

Improvements to BlackMagic and Video Capture Support

BlackMagic makes some of the most popular audio / video capture devices on the market, and we’ve just made using them with VDMX even better…

  • Use BlackMagic devices for simultaneous input and output, also known as full duplex mode, on supported devices.

  • Send audio streams to BlackMagic outputs.

  • Lower latency audio capture from BlackMagic inputs.

  • Apply key streams as alpha channels on supported devices.

  • Output alpha channels as external key streams on supported devices.

Themes and Interface Improvements

Find your favorite FX and sources even faster.

A major overhaul like this also deserves some new style, so we’ve included some new color themes and various minor interface tweaks throughout the app to improve overall usability.

One of the most useful UI additions is the new ‘Search’ field for quickly filtering the options in the layer source & FX menus.

Base and Recommended System Requirements

Minimum requirements: macOS 12; Intel or ARM64 Mac

Recommended OS: macOS 13 or later; M1 processor or later.

Sadly, we had to drop support for older OS releases where that could not take advantage of certain features and optimizations to Metal that were introduced in macOS 12. But we will continue to host old versions of VDMX5 to support older systems. See (VDMX Versions for details).

While VDMX6 will run on macOS 12 and Intel machines, the biggest performance gains are found in the newest OS releases and hardware where Metal itself is more optimized. We strongly recommend updating to macOS 13 or later where possible.

The Future???

With so many changes behind the scenes to create a stronger foundation for us to build on, one of the most existing parts of the VDMX6 update is what will come next… make sure to keep your eyes on this blog, tag and follow us on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, and sign up for our email list to get the latest news from VIDVOX!

Updating from VDMX5? Read the FAQ!

We tried to make the process of updating from VDMX5 as seamless as possible: for example opening existing project files will create a copy that will be automatically updated to for the new version and GLSL based ISF shaders will be automatically transpiled as Metal shaders on launch.

Beyond that, we know that people updating from older versions have a ton of specific questions about the update process and we have created a VDMX5 upgrade FAQ page on this topic in the VDMX6 documentation. This page includes a listing of major changes to be aware of, and if needed we are also happy to answer questions you may have by email or on the forums.

With VDMX6 moving into Metal, some older plugins, custom FX, or ISF shaders may not be immediately compatible with the latest version. We recommend testing out the demo of VDMX6 first before making a full transition. If something is incompatible VDMX will do it’s best to give you a warning. And the best part is, you can have VDMX5, VDMX6, and VDMX6 Plus all installed on the same machine without conflict!

Dispatch from Mapping Festival 2024

Once again we have traveled across the Atlantic to join the Mad Mapper team for the infamous Mapping Festival in Geneva! As always it was a fantastic time getting to spend time with amazing visual artists from all over the world, seeing some mind blowing performances, and participate in workshops showing off the latest techniques in live visuals and projection mapping. We leave having spent time reconnecting with old friends, meeting new ones, and eagerly awaiting our next chance to come back!

For those who could not make it to Geneva this year we have published the slides and accompanying notes from our two day workshop on getting started with using GLSL and ISF for creating real-time visuals and effects to use in apps like VDMX and Mad Mapper, which you can find here: https://bit.ly/isf-mapping-2024

We also have some photos to share! Geneva is a beautiful city and an absolute joy to visit.

And be sure to follow us on instagram for more live updates and pictures from events such as this!

ISF Website 2.0!

As many of you know, a few years ago we released the https://www.interactiveshaderformat.com/ as a place where people could share their custom GLSL based generators and effects to use with VDMX and other software for live visuals. Today we are excited to announce the first major revision to the website, with a redesign to make it easier to find and create shaders.

Read More

Introducing ISF for Jitter

Today we are extra excited to announce an open source collaboration with the team over at Cycling74, creators of Max. Now all of the amazing ISF shaders that come with VDMX and on interactiveshaderformat.com can be used right alongside your other Jitter code using the jit.gl.isf object, available on Mac and Windows!

You can install jit.gl.isf directly from the Max package manager panel, accessible from the File menu. If you don’t already have any ISF shaders installed, also grab the free ISF Editor app for your appropriate platform. The free editor tool comes with the same standard set of 300+ generators, effects, and transitions we bundle with VDMX to get started with.

With this release Max joins the over a dozen apps and frameworks that support ISF as a standard for GLSL shaders. With ISF, there is no need to convert or translate code when moving between software. Write your generators and effects once, then use in Max, Motion, Final Cut Pro X, VDMX, on the web, and other video platforms. The specification includes conventions for working with multi-pass shaders with persistent frame buffers, allowing for the creation of complex compositions in a single easy to share file. The ISF documentation pages include detailed walkthroughs of the specification along with useful reference notes and a quick start for learning the basics of GLSL.

Want to learn more? Read more about it on the ISF for Jitter website, watch an introduction video tutorial, and visit the Max forums for more details from the Cycling74 crew. Developers curious to take a look under the hood can find the open source codebase in the jit.gl.isf repository. For the latest in ISF news, follow the @ISFVideo account on Twitter.

And don’t forget to check out some of our other tutorials describing techniques for using Max and VDMX together, such as using the OSCQuery Helper tool for simplifying OSC sync and sharing video streams via Syphon.

ISF from Silvia Fabiani

One of the best parts of open specifications for file formats is that artists can create visual generators and FX for one piece of software and share their creations with others, regardless of what tools they use.

A few months ago we received an email from Silvia Fabiani asking if we could provide any tips for how to get started with remixing and writing her own shaders, and with a few links covering the basic ideas, she was ready to go. Over the following weeks we noticed that she had posted some of her own compositions on the ISF sharing site and we thought it'd be a great story to bring to the blog for an interview.

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New VDMX Update With Improved Chroma Mask, Audio Analysis Visualizations and More!

Hey everyone!

We've released an update that includes a bunch of new features and other improvements – watch the video and read below to get the highlights on what's new!

If you want to jump right in, here's the download link: Download VDMX

Audio Analysis FFT and Waveform Values Published as Video

Using the FFT Color Lines generator to visualize the audio frequency spectrum and raw waveform

When an Audio Analysis plugin is active two new video streams are published that can be used by generators and FX to create new forms of music visualization.

The FFT and raw audio waveform are provided by the plugin as grayscale video streams that are 1 pixel tall. You can access them anywhere a video input menu is found such as a preview or masking FX.

To get started try using the new example FFT Color Lines and FFT Spectrogram ISF video generators.

New ISF Video FX

Earlier this year we released a new format for making custom generators and FX for VDMX called ISF. For this update we've created a bunch of our own new high end FX using the new format.

New film style "Lens Flare" FX

These are some of our favorites:

  • Updated Chroma Mask.fs, greatly improved color masking (eg. green / blue screen).
  • Color and Film FX: Chroma Desaturation Mask, Color Replacement, Ghosting, Bleach Bypass and Lens Flare.
  • Glitch FX: Collage, Convergence, Slit Scan and Pixel Shifter.
  • Geometry and Distortion FX: Optical Flow Distortion, Side Scroller and Flip, Shake and Shockwave Pulse.

Pro tip: Don't forget that you can also make your own ISF based generators and FX using these as example starting points!

Support for Generic HID Controllers

HID Input Plugin connected to SpaceNavigator

The HID Input Plugin interfaces with game controllers, 3D mice, and other devices that support the Human Interface Device (HID) protocol. Buttons, joysticks and sensors are made available to control UI items in VDMX like any other data-source. These can be a fun alternative to using a MIDI or OSC instruments.

Import / Export Control Surface Templates

Exporting a Control Surface layout to a JSON file

From the inspector panel of the Control Surface plugin you can export the layout and settings as a template file that can be easily imported into other projects or sharing standard layouts with other people.

Use the “Import JSON layout” and “Export JSON layout” buttons in the inspector to respectively load and save the templates.

Custom Movie Recorder Directory Paths

Enable the 'Custom export location?' toggle in the Movie Recorder Options panel

When using the Movie Recorder plugin to capture video and images, an optional custom folder location can now be specified in the inspector panel.

The default location for movie recordings can still be set in the VDMX Preferences – this new setting is an optional override for situations where the videos are further parsed or handled by another application or to make sorting the files easier.

Hope you enjoy these new additions and refinements! As always if you have any problems or suggestions send us a message by choosing “Report Bug” from the Help menu.

Once again, here's the download link: Download VDMX

Have a great weekend!

- Dave & Ray

Introducing ISF Video Generators and FX

ISF stands for "Interactive Shader Format", and is a file format that describes a GLSL fragment shader, as well as how to execute and interact with it. The goal of this file format is to provide a simple and minimal interface for image filters and generative video sources that allows them to be interacted with and reused in a generic and modular fashion. ISF is nothing more than a [slightly modified] GLSL fragment shader with a JSON blob at the beginning that describes how to interact with the shader (how many inputs/uniform variables it has, what their names are, what kind of inputs/variables they are, that sort of thing). ISF isn't some crazy new groundbreaking technology- it's just a simple and useful combination of two things that have been around for a while to make a minimal- but highly effective- filter format.

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