VPT 6.0

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Video Projection Tool (VPT) 6.0, a projection powerpack.
VPT is a free multipurpose realtime projection software tool for Mac and Windows created by HC Gilje.
Among other things it can be used for projecting video on complex forms, adapt a projection to a particular space/surface, combine recorded and live footage, for multiscreen HD playback, for interactive installations using arduino sensors or camera tracking ++
VPT has become a popular tool for theatre and installation use, but is also used by VJs.
VPT 5.1 was downloaded just under 5000 times.

What´s new in VPT 6.0
A completely new graphical interface making it even simpler to position,scale and distort the layers.
32 layers (previously 16)
mesh distortion with variable-sized control grid.
a completely rewritten cuelist making it even simpler to create transitions and to build complex sequences. You can now also send osc formatted commands directly from the cuelist.
crop-scaling of sources.
increased syphon support with two syphon (crop-scalable) inputs as well as syphon output support.
a DMX module has been added, with support for Enttecs usbdmx pro interface, enabling both control of VPT from DMX light consoles, or the possibillity to control dmx devices from VPT.

A very brief introduction to the structure and feature of VPT 6
VPT 6 is an attempt at making the mapping workflow even easier with the new navigator and preview window, giving you easy access to layer controls. The main console gives you full control over the sources, saving presets, creating cuelists as well as numerous ways of controlling VPT using osc,midi,dmx,lfos,arduino ++
A number of extensions to VPT are available to make it easier to work with serial devices like the arduino or video triggers for interactive elements,  external soundcards for multichannel sound playback etc, with the goal of integrating projection into physical environments.

Sources:

8 quicktime movie sources. Recommended codec apple photo jpeg 75% quality for most footage, Apple prores 422 LT for HD footage.  (On my Macbookpro VPT has no problems mixing multiple sources of 1280×720 footage, and other users have tested with full HD as well)
1 solid source. Very useful if you just want to fill a layer with colour.
2 noise sources. Generated noise textures.
1 text source. Either type in text live, use text saved in a file, or send text over osc from another application
2 live sources
1 buffer (based on live input), as well as 1 live capture which records live input directly into the moviesource folder.
Syphon: 2 syphon inputs and one output: Use the cross-application framework for getting input from other applications supporting syphon (mac osx 10.6 or later) and sending VPT output either to other video applications or to the syphon recorder to record your output.
You access all the parameters of a source by making it the active source, then it will be exposed in the source control.

Mixers:

The mixers mix two sources (moviesources, livesources, buffer) using different mixmodes. The output is then routed to the mix sources which can be found in the layer source menu.

FX chains
FX bus with 6 effect chains using different shader-based effects. You route your sources through the fx chain and then route the fx chain into the layer of your choice.
It is relatively easy to create your own fx chains, and you can drag and drop your new fx chain to one of the fx modules to get access to new effects.
A template for creating your own (provided you have access to maxmasp/jitter) can be found on the extending-vpt page.

Layers

You have up to 32 layers which you can scale/warp/mask/position on the output screen as desired.
You can scale and position the layer, as well as adjust the cornerpin points, using the mouse, either in the preview window or on the projected output (mofo).
The layers are stacked on top of each other, layer 1 is on the top, layer 32 is at the bottom.
You select input source of your choice (moviesources, livesources, buffer, mixers, syphon), blendlevel and blendmode.
You can create advanced masks using the mask editor (up to 16 control points), create feathered circular mask using the vignette mask, edge blend for soft edges, and mask blur.

Controllers
There is extensive support for OSC, MIDI, as well as serial communication with a microcontroller like the Arduino. There are also some built-in controller modules: the LFO modules to automate control over different VPT parameters or the sliders and buttons which can be set to control whatever you like. All the different controllers can be mapped to almost every controllable feature in VPT. All the controllers are now organised to be simpler to use and can be found by clicking on the controllers button in the bottom right corner.

Output

VPT is designed to work with outputs of varying aspect ratio and works well with the matrox dual and triple-head-to-go.

Sound Output

with VPT 5.1 you can route the sound from your quicktime sources to up to eight sound channels (depending on your soundcard).

Help

VPT 6 comes with built in help for most functions. For help in the different sections look for a question mark and click on it, this will give you detailed information about that section
The demoproject includes presets which show some of the features of VPT, take a look at these examples to get started.
Check out the online manual as well.
For more help please visit the VPT forum
You can access web links directly from VPT by clicking on the VPT info tab.

Projects

A VPT project is contained in project folders. A project folder contains a video folder, a mask folder, as well as the different preset files associated with the project.
This folder can be placed anywhere on your system (just remember to never move the projectpath.json out of the VPT folder), and you can easily switch between different projects.
You can drag your own movie folders directly to a moviesource as well, and the path will be saved with the preset.
You can make VPT start automatically in fullscreen mode at a certain preset or cue.
All settings are saved automatically when closing VPT, so there is (in theory) no need to do manual saving of the different settings.

Extending VPT
VPT can do a lot of things by itself, but being able to customize it makes it even more powerful. There are a few maxmsp/jitter templates that will help you to get started creating your own sources, fx chains, or to build custom control setups using OSC. There are also templates available online for using OSC with VPT  with other applications like Processing and PD: extending VPT

Free

VPT is again freeware, meaning no promises of bug fixes, new features or support. However, the VPT forum is quite active and is the place to bring up questions and suggestions.

Download


Updated november 12th, 2012. Many small changes and fixes, especially on the windows versions, so be sure to check out the included changes text file to get an update on what´s new.

VPT 6.0 osx (r13)

Mac System Requirements
Mac PPC or Intel machine running OS X 10.4.11 or later, and 1 GB RAM. Jitter requires QuickTime 7.1 (or later), an OpenGL-compatible graphics card, and OpenGL 1.4 (or later).

VPT 6.0 win_16layers (r13)
VPT 6.0 win_32layers (r13)

Windows System Requirements
Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 machine and 1 GB RAM. Jitter requires QuickTime 7.1 (7.6.2 seems to work best for most users), an OpenGL-compatible graphics card, and OpenGL 1.4 drivers (or later).

Online manual

Overview over OSC-messages used in VPT

Credits
VPT is created, developed and maintained by HC Gilje.

Timm Ringewaldt has contributed to the development of v5.0, including the mask editor.

VPT uses modified shaders from Anton Marini, Andrew Benson as well as Cycling74.
Parts of the source code are either found from examples on the cycling74 forum as well as Gregory Taylor´s LFO tutorials.
VPT uses the maxmsp/jitter implementation of the syphon framework, developed by Tom Butterworth and Anton Marini.
VPT is developed using v5.18 of maxmsp/jitter from Cycling74.

Thanks to
Atelier Nord, BEK, Oslo Lux and IMAL for supporting my work with VPT.

Video tutorials (VPT 6)

Video tutorials (VPT 5)

Get updates about VPT on Twitter either by searching for #VPT or follow @hcgilje

VPT forum

I have set up a google group as a VPT forum.

Older versions:
VPT 5.1 OSX
VPT 5.1 WIN

even older versions:

Downloads

Documentation