Visuals

[Shaun]

I've finally got my sound and lighting to a point where I'm happy. Next step for me is to add visuals to my set-up, the problem I have is I don't have a clue where to start. I'd like to run visuals but also have the option of overlaying text and custom graphics (on the fly) over the visuals or footage on DVD.

I'm guessing I'll need a laptop , but what software would you recommend to acheive the results I need?.

Additionally, would you recommend a projector based system or LCD tv's?. Maximum budget I'm looking at is around £2.5k.

Any help, guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers. :beer1: :beer1:

[Paul James Promotions]

I've just purchased OtsAV, which does music, karaoke and video. Not sure how much you can do in terms of overlays / graphics etc. Worth a look though.

I would go for projectors, with a short throw lens.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I've finally got my sound and lighting to a point where I'm happy. Next step for me is to add visuals to my set-up, the problem I have is I don't have a clue where to start. I'd like to run visuals but also have the option of overlaying text and custom graphics (on the fly) over the visuals or footage on DVD.

I'm guessing I'll need a laptop , but what software would you recommend to acheive the results I need?.

Additionally, would you recommend a projector based system or LCD tv's?. Maximum budget I'm looking at is around £2.5k.

Any help, guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers. :beer1: :beer1:

You can do everything you've mentioned in Virtual DJ Shaun. You can run music vids, visuals, run slideshows, use live feed cameras, pictures, graphics, logos....etc etc

Shame you're up there as I'd love to 'pop' over and show you!

If you are going to use projectors, then think about space. A minimum of about 12 feet is required for rear projecting to get a decent sized picture on your screen or as Jamie says get a projector with a wide angled lens. They are more expensive, but in hindsight I wish I'd bought one. If you are front projecting, again, you need to think about space.

LCDs and plasmas can be had for around £500 for a cheapie. The only problem there is where to store them and also the flightcasing, which is very expensive. But you don't have the problem of space when putting them up though.

[Vectis]

I would go for projectors, with a short throw lens.

Ditto.

I use R4 as my engine, on a seperate laptop. Abstract sound-to-light graphics, video playback (including themes and shadowdancers), text overlays, live video feed playback. The best £200 I ever spent. Needs a reasonably good laptop with a decent graphics chip. I use a Dell Inspiron 9400.

See my thread on Cheap Rear Projection Screens for how to get running on the cheap - I now have 3 of these - the one huge one as described in the thread and two smaller 6' screens. And I've modified a prolight deckstand to take one or two screens easily, and setup time is about +5 minutes per screen.

With rear project onto a 6' screen you can get away with a standard projector lens - I need about 6 to 7' clearance at the rear which is about right for most venues. I do have one PJ with a short throw lens but it was very expensive :( Like £800 instead of the £250 ones!

Pics coming soon.

[Shaun]

Thanks for the sound advice guys. No doubt I'll be picking your minds at a later date.

Looking forward to the pics, Martin.

[Shaun]

Hi Martin. I'm still trying to source and price all I'll be needing for the visuals additions to my system. You mention you can impliment text overlays...is this done using R4?. Also, is it possible to overlay custom graphics?

Thanks in advance. :)

[djsteve10]

Well i have a seperate Pc system what i use, i bought Numark Arkaos system which comes with the control panel which is like a total control unit, Very powerful software, i can have shadow dancers on the screen and have text overlaying, I also have all different profiles for it which i bought like Love, Wedding, Christmas, All for different ocassions,

Well worth a look if you want something really powerful like that.

[Vectis]

Hi Martin. I'm still trying to source and price all I'll be needing for the visuals additions to my system. You mention you can impliment text overlays...is this done using R4?. Also, is it possible to overlay custom graphics?

Thanks in advance. :)

Hey Shaun

R4 has a number of "real time" text overlays where you can quickly type up something to be displayed ("Happy Birthday X" or bar promotions etc.) and there are various ways of scrolling these over the active content.

R4 itself is highly customisable - you can make up your own scenes - I've chosen not to learn the complex language (& maths!) and stick with the hundreds of pre-programmed scenes (more available to download free from their website). You can also run any .mpg or .avi format video with/without audio - this is how I play back pop videos and things like Shadowdancers which I've ripped from DVD into .mpg files.

Hope this helps!

Martin

PS - realised I never posted the pics of the screens as promised. I will take some next time I take them out. Basically it's the two tripods from one of these (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=17792&C=Maplin&U=SearchTop&T=lighting%20stand&doy=15m4) modified to take a 20mm square steel tube screwed to the top of various widths of pull-down rear projection screens from these guys (http://www.dhrscreens.co.uk). Half an hour with a drill and a few assorted nuts & bolts, job done.

[Shaun]

Martin, Steve...

Thanks for your replies. It's given me plenty to research for the time being. No doubt I'll have a few more questions later on.


Thanks again. :approve:

[Vectis]

Shaun

Have you tried the free download of r4? It's fully functional except it throws banners on the screen reminding you to register.

http://www.rabidhamster.org/R4/download.php

There's also a couple of extra scene packs and a scene creation tool (not tried).

[Shaun]

Haven't tried it yet. I'll scoot off and download the trial just now. Thanks again Martin.

[Vectis]

First thing you'll do once it's running is ask "how the hell do I control this thing"?

So to save a lot of headscratching (it took me a while!)...

Go into the menu (ESCape), choose Settings -> Network Access.
Set to ON, port 8888 (or whatever), then ESC to save settings and exit the menu. Restart r4.

Now start up internet explorer in a different window or whatever and in the address bar type 127.0.0.1:8888 and you'll get the web front-end.

It's possible to run this from another computer on the same subnet by using <ip-address>:8888

In reality I run both on the same computer but force the r4 output to the external screen.

:approve:

[Shaun]

First thing you'll do once it's running is ask "how the hell do I control this thing"?

So to save a lot of headscratching (it took me a while!)...

Go into the menu (ESCape), choose Settings -> Network Access.
Set to ON, port 8888 (or whatever), then ESC to save settings and exit the menu. Restart r4.

Now start up internet explorer in a different window or whatever and in the address bar type 127.0.0.1:8888 and you'll get the web front-end.

It's possible to run this from another computer on the same subnet by using <ip-address>:8888

In reality I run both on the same computer but force the r4 output to the external screen.

:approve:

Playing with it now. You're right about wondering how to use it. :lol:

Thanks for the tips. :) :)

[Vectis]

Playing with it now. You're right about wondering how to use it. :lol:


It seems a bit daunting at first but it all clicks into place when you play with it for a while.

Give me a shout if you want some sample scripts for adding video scenes of your own.

[Silver]

I've just purchased OtsAV, which does music, karaoke and video. Not sure how much you can do in terms of overlays / graphics etc. Worth a look though.

I would go for projectors, with a short throw lens.

I'm with Jamie on this one, I've been using Ots for around 8 months and what a great system it is to use. It's the one for me!

[Corabar Steve]

Don't know if this is any help http://www.screenfly.co.uk/screenfly_mainmenu.htm theyused to be a mamber on here (haven't posted in ages though)

[Penfold42]

Don't know if this is any help http://www.screenfly.co.uk/screenfly_mainmenu.htm theyused to be a mamber on here (haven't posted in ages though)

..a black one?
Sorry..could not help myself....:D

[Corabar Steve]

aaaah

[DJkiller]

I use Virtual DJ and LCD tv. Just got a new sony bravia, but the flight case was expensive.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I'm with Jamie on this one, I've been using Ots for around 8 months and what a great system it is to use. It's the one for me!

The fact there isn't a hardware controller puts me off.

[Richard Veal]

I havn't heard anybody mention it yet so i thought i would let you know what i use.

It can be downloaded here (http://www.deejaysystem.com/download.asp) the trial version is fully functional for 30mins at a time.

I find it very usefull, it plays all audio/video formats + karaoke. Ready for hardware controllers.

Very good features. For example you can have your logo in any position of the screen just like the tv channels, it has a ticker to show/scroll text and best of all is very easy to use + all future updates are free lastly you can have multiple instances of the program running together ie 1 instance for your karaoke another for your music vids & another for your ads. + when nothing is showing ie playing audio it defaults to any jpeg you have selected as a background.

Give it a try - you may be surprised. It was built by a DJ so most things have been thought through with experiences he encountered.

Ps i dont own a controller but if you do - perhaps you can let me know how well it works with this software. :)

[jamesh]

You can do everything you've mentioned in Virtual DJ Shaun. You can run music vids, visuals, run slideshows, use live feed cameras, pictures, graphics, logos....etc etc



I use Virtual DJ and LCD tv. Just got a new sony bravia, but the flight case was expensive.

Yep same here... Virtual DJ all the way.... and it also includes the logo feature, scrolling text, image slideshows, karaoke rotation management and can default to visualisations or Images if it's just audio only and nothing on the screen.... :P


The fact there isn't a hardware controller puts me off.

Yeah i think when OTS bring out external support then it really will give virtual DJ and the others a run for their money...

But until then the software will always be more suited to radio studios and tv studios...

[Silver]

The fact there isn't a hardware controller puts me off.
Yeah it is a problem. Ots for quite a time now have said it's their number one priority now Ots is vista compatible. The problem is, when does a priority become reality and product ............... next week, next month, next year http://planetsmilies.net/confused-smiley-17432.gif

I'm getting into videos on quite a big scale and the lack of a controller has become an issue.

I must say the Numark cue 5, Nuvj and the Numark total controller are starting to become quite attractive http://planetsmilies.net/person-smiley-9574.gif

My possible change of allegiance has only come over the last week or so due to a considerable amount of research, phone calls and experimenting.

If I do swap, I've a massive amount of work to do, it's like being back at square one! http://planetsmilies.net/not-tagged-smiley-10470.gif

[jamesh]

Well funny you should say that Silver as Numark Cue 5 is actually just a numark branded version of Virtual DJ with a different skin.... But Virtual DJ gets the updates and new features first before they get rolled out to Numark Cue and PCDJ VJ (which is also a cut down version of VDJ but branded for PCDJ)

[pulsemobiledisco]

Virtual DJ is an awesome peice of software and very good value for money. A few years people laughed if you said you used VDJ calling it a toy. It really has come on over the last few years, even some of the people on here who called it a toy now use it!

I've not use it for visuals as I don't do that kind of thing, I've tried using PCDJ, Traktor etc and keep coming back to VDJ.