GrandVJ 1.5 beta - Feedback and Bug reports

by **tiburce** » Fri Apr 22, 2011 8:58 am

Hi
Just a question for all GrandVJ versions, so 1.5 too.

To avoid a processor overload which crashes sometimes the application, it would be great to set up the number of cells we could trigger simultaneously !!!
Sometimes when you play 8 cells (layering all the cells in synthe mode) via a MIDI controller Hardware and you send some effects via MIDI Notes Software (via Live for instance), Arkaos Crashes !!! The only thing I've observed is probably a processor overloading. That happens with a very strong desktop computer :

Amd 6 cores
8 Go RAM
1 Go GeForce Memory Card

So this is sometimes a very big problem during a set !!! Sure, I can start again Arkaos without problem (all midi controller and midi functionnalities of Live work fine), but there is no video during one or two minutes.
I can't imagine the problem with a notebook (even an Alienware one)
Thanks a lot
Tiburce

by **shado** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 5:52 am

Just today, I updated to the latest TouchOSC version 1.7 for my iPad and the TouchOSC Editor version 1.5 for my desktop machines. Now, my custom OSC assignments no longer work in GrandVJ and I don't know what to do. I have a show in two days and I rely on my iPad quite a bit to control visuals. Sure, GrandVJ recognizes that an OSC signal is being sent and the automatic OSC mappings will be recognized by the software but I have multiple pages where the crossfader is always /crossfader instead of the name automatically generated based on page and object. It was working like a champ yesterday so I am kicking myself for updating. Can you please look into it for me? Thanks

by **Quentin** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 1:26 pm

A new beta has been developped fixing a lot of bugs, including :

Here are the links :
Mac OS X: ftp://ftp.arkaos.net/pub/seeding/GrandVJ/ArKaos_GrandVJ_1_5_beta3_Mac.zip
Windows: ftp://ftp.arkaos.net/pub/seeding/GrandVJ/ArKaos_GrandVJ_1_5_beta3_Windows.zip

We're waiting for some new feedback regarding beta 3!

by **SHARYN** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 4:48 pm

So I decided to try somethings and it looks like for some reason when I had IE9 running I could not get GVJ in any versions to run would crash on the original non beta version it said insufficient video capability.. So GVJ is good to go, just to make sure ie9 the resource hog is not running

Sharyn

by **SHARYN** » Fri Apr 29, 2011 5:19 pm

I have noticed one bug, if I am connected over net to another pc running the audio source with ArKaos connect and Grand VJ is shut down on the remote Pc Connect still shows connected. both in number of connections and the orange connected

If this is the result of making the connection more stable, not really an issue for me

Sharyn

by **askapple** » Tue May 03, 2011 7:52 pm

I'm having issues getting the entire interface to fit on the screen, for some reason it won't allow me to adjust the width of my screen below a certain amount. It ends up extending off the side onto my full monitor screen, this doesn't happen with the 101214, but it does with both recent beta versions.

any ideas?

by **pierre** » Wed May 04, 2011 11:47 am

for some reason it won't allow me to adjust the width of my screen below a certain amount

What's the resolution of your screen?

by **askapple** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:26 pm

Im running on a 15 inch elo touchscreen, and it's at 1024x768 at 75htz

by **hypnotica** » Sat May 07, 2011 10:14 am

A big request really need a fix when usb midi dropout. I seen other software like serato permitting connecting disconnecting usb midi without restarting software to access it. Please tell me there will be a feature for that.

by **pierre** » Thu May 12, 2011 5:17 pm

Here's the first Release Candidate of GrandVJ 1.5

This version contains the final documentation and graphics and fixes various bugs you may have experienced using beta3.

We've added the support for Akai APC 20 controller by providing mapping templates for both Synth & Mixer modes + the APC 20 feedback.

Here are the links:

Mac:
ftp://ftp.arkaos.net/pub/seeding/GrandVJ/ArKaos_GrandVJ_1_5_RC1.dmg

Windows:
ftp://ftp.arkaos.net/pub/seeding/GrandVJ/ArKaos_GrandVJ_1_5_RC1.msi

Finally, some answers to problems encountered using beta3:

I have noticed one bug, if I am connected over net to another pc running the audio source with ArKaos connect and Grand VJ is shut down on the remote Pc Connect still shows connected. both in number of connections and the orange connected

This problem should be fixed now. Please give us the results of your tests using RC1.

Im running on a 15 inch elo touchscreen, and it's at 1024x768 at 75htz

That's been fixed. The application windows can now fit a 1024x768 screen with all buttons displayed in the toolbar.

by **absentcinema** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:44 pm

Is there any news on the Novation Launchpad template mentioned in the survey? I've been trying to use one for a while but midi feedback causes a huge amount of latency. Submitted tickets and such but no reply.

by **absentcinema** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:52 pm

And a 'cancel' button in the 'New Project Mappings' would also be useful.

by **hypnotica** » Thu May 12, 2011 10:17 pm

New RC love it.

Mixing tab -> mixing presets too much spacing from other setting.
Matrix bank -> right click a visual then adjust speed. But missing dialog when right click from there to reset to default value. hard get speed back to 62.5. Mouse scroller only doesn't do .5 increments.

feature request:
Right click visual could also select the file in visuals section for easy use of the new preview box.

New Report:
Same Visual drag to other layer now reset clip in point. Bug If the clip upper layer in point is set to other than frame zero and you drag copy same clip to lower layer, the clip bugs out to a in/out frame only. It's seems this new feature fixed the glitch of changing speed on same clip, but its the lower layer that is priory of speed and in/out points.

by **pierre** » Mon May 16, 2011 11:14 am

Is there any news on the Novation Launchpad template mentioned in the survey? I've been trying to use one for a while but midi feedback causes a huge amount of latency. Submitted tickets and such but no reply.

We'll work on that as soon as we receive our unit from Novation.

Mixing tab -> mixing presets too much spacing from other setting.

That will be fixed in next release.

Matrix bank -> right click a visual then adjust speed. But missing dialog when right click from there to reset to default value. hard get speed back to 62.5. Mouse scroller only doesn't do .5 increments.

Two things:
1. you can always use right-click --> "reset value" on speed parameter to get it back to default speed.
2. you can use shift/alt + mouse or shift/alt + mouse-wheel to get a lot more precise control over the parameter.

Right click visual could also select the file in visuals section for easy use of the new preview box.

That's the goal with the previewer, but we've started with visual previewing in this version.

Same Visual drag to other layer now reset clip in point. Bug If the clip upper layer in point is set to other than frame zero and you drag copy same clip to lower layer, the clip bugs out to a in/out frame only. It's seems this new feature fixed the glitch of changing speed on same clip, but its the lower layer that is priory of speed and in/out points.

That's still a limitation of the playback engine. If you use a movie twice, the player isn't duplicated, resulting in incoherent playback. A possible workaround is to duplicate the file on your disk and use those two separate files in GrandVJ.

by **Moabyte** » Mon May 16, 2011 7:43 pm

I'm having issues playing HD clips (1280x720 Pjpeg) forward at high speeds without glitching out. Playing backwards is fine. Does this on 2 computers. Does not do this when clips are SD sizes. Clips play fine at high speeds in other apps. Clips are on a 3 disk raid.

1.5 RC1
Mac OS 10.6.7
3 disk Raid

by **hypnotica** » Mon May 16, 2011 7:52 pm

The right-click dialog only show if you click from the layer. When the clip is selected via right-click on the bank, none on the menu will pop out. 8( Personally I prefer the standard of double clicking the value bar for instant reset to default.

True i understand the limitation. I do prefer the last older release function that it didn't restart clip back to IN Point when duplicating by drag to multiple layers. Special request for using long clip

Special request on the new preview tab, can you unlock the position value so that we can drag it on the middle section with the visual and effects value.

by **pierre** » Thu May 19, 2011 6:51 pm

Here's the second Release Candidate of GrandVJ 1.5

We've fixed the last remaining bugs, but most importantly, we've fixed some instabilities you may have experienced using previous versions of the software.

Here are the links:

Mac:
ftp://ftp.arkaos.net/pub/seeding/GrandVJ/ArKaos_GrandVJ_1_5_RC2.dmg

Windows:
ftp://ftp.arkaos.net/pub/seeding/GrandVJ/ArKaos_GrandVJ_1_5_RC2.msi

Enjoy!

by **absentcinema** » Thu May 19, 2011 7:20 pm

Doesn't want to install over the previous RC, demands an uninstall first. Never encountered this before with GrandVJ.

by **pierre** » Fri May 20, 2011 10:44 am

Doesn't want to install over the previous RC, demands an uninstall first. Never encountered this before with GrandVJ.

It's always the way it goes for minor updates.

by **Moabyte** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:20 pm

My issues playing HD clips faster was fixed with the RC2, thanks. Going to give it a good work out this weekend.

Also, I'm testing the latest version of Modul8 and Syphon and successfully bring M8s output into GVJ via Syphon QC client. Its brilliant how well the 2 apps play together. When I launch M8, the audio in levels drop to almost nothing, but I can bring them up in M8 by adjusting the audio in level or via the system preferences. Changing the levels in GVJ has no effect. Strange thing is, I have GVJ set to set to use the VST input running Live on another computer. The VST seems to work fine and audio in test works and there is a slight delay. Shouldn't the VST be sending the audio from the other computer? If so, why does the default audio in level effect the input level in GVJ when the VST is set? Seems to be a slight issue here or maybe I'm overlooking something.

by **VJKatza** » Sat May 21, 2011 4:30 pm

RC2 BUG:
On full screen Layer properties, The Tilling slider does not work anymore.
only works if any other size/position parameter is modified.
I checked with 2 machines, same problem.

by **vostek** » Mon May 23, 2011 4:03 am

Had my first field-test of 1.5 RC1 this weekend using FL Studio/Arkaos Connect to send MIDI automation to GVJ. This is definitely the next level of live visual performance! No crash for the duration of the 8-hour event. I found that some of the simplest automation created some of the best results. For example I integrated the A-B/transitions into my performance for the first time as the feature really shines with a tempo-synced automation sine-wave oscillating between the A and B signal every 1, 2, or 4 beats- a very powerful effect for dance music, and all the different transition variations offers a lot of aesthetic options.
As a note for others who want to do live tempo-sync automation waves to a DJ, I discovered it was much easier when the DJ used software-based mixing such as NI Traktor. I could just look at the tempo they are at, down to the millisecond, and set that in FL studio and not worry about it for the entire DJ's set or until he made a move to change the bpm. On the other hand, if the DJ uses CDJs or vinyl, the process is a little more hairy. CDJs display the tempo, but theres a slight margin of error, so if it says 132 bpm, it may actually be 132.5 bpm. Luckily FL Studio and most other DAWs can go down to the millisecond, but it does take a little practice to hone in on the exact speed where it doesn't start to drift for at least 16 measures. I imagine any VJ who has even causally DJ'd at any point will have a pretty easy time getting it locked.

by **pierre** » Mon May 23, 2011 12:38 pm

On full screen Layer properties, The Tilling slider does not work anymore.
only works if any other size/position parameter is modified.
I checked with 2 machines, same problem.

Thanks for the report. That'll be fixed in the final release to be available this week.

by **hypnotica** » Mon May 23, 2011 8:47 pm

Confirmed me too titling doesn't work if pos/size not changed.

In layer mode transition in collapse mode should have a different icon to represent highlight selection.

Note Visual Previous select: when user drag and drop a multiple visuals and preview is set at auto and browsing transition. Previous visual has that test image in the cue. 8(

by **Quentin** » Tue May 24, 2011 6:11 pm

Hi Moabyte

Yes ArKaos Connect can indeed be used on local machine or on a different machine. And when a plugin is connected, the only IN source is the running plugin (other sources are disabled). The volume of that input can be controlled by the output volume of the plugin and/or with the slider "volume input" in GrandVJ. Does that answer your question?

by **Moabyte** » Tue May 24, 2011 9:28 pm

Quentin wrote:Hi Moabyte

Yes ArKaos Connect can indeed be used on local machine or on a different machine. And when a plugin is connected, the only IN source is the running plugin (other sources are disabled). The volume of that input can be controlled by the output volume of the plugin and/or with the slider "volume input" in GrandVJ. Does that answer your question?

No, it does not answer my question. Also, I can only get GVJ to see a VST connection if I run it on another computer, it will not see it if I run it from live on the same computer.

When I have the VST turned on, the audio that GVJ is listening to is not the audio via the VST, its listening to the audio coming into the computer via the 1/8" plug. I can verify this by unplugging the cable and also by changing the volume in the system prefs. The volume slider in GVJ has no effect. GVJ IS NOT LISTENING TO THE AUDIO VIA THE VST. The green connection light is on and tit sees the VST on the other machine. There is also no midi.

Also, if you click the green VSTConnect Status the light goes off. Does this turn the VST connect on and off?

Does anyone have the VST connect working on the same machine or another with Live, I can not make it work to save my life. See it on another computer, can hear audio in test but no actual response or midi. I don;t really use this, but if its a new feature it should work correctly in case I do. I've spent a good 20 hours trying everything I can. I've got a good 100 hours into test 1.5 now and this is the only thing thats giving me a problem now. Crashes from 1.2 have ceased, I'm almost sure it was audio related.

by **vostek** » Tue May 24, 2011 11:12 pm

Moabyte are you still in Phoenix? That's where I am these days. If you are still around we could meet up for a troubleshooting session. I have not tested ArkaosConnect with Live, but a couple years ago I did manage to connect GVJ to Live via a virtual MIDI device. Its slightly less elegant than ArkaosConnect, but it did work (also, as a note I realized that Live is not the ideal software to control GVJ in the way I was looking for, FL Studio actually has proved to be a formidable host for this app)

by **Moabyte** » Tue May 24, 2011 11:35 pm

vostek wrote:Moabyte are you still in Phoenix? That's where I am these days. If you are still around we could meet up for a troubleshooting session. I have not tested ArkaosConnect with Live, but a couple years ago I did manage to connect GVJ to Live via a virtual MIDI device. Its slightly less elegant than ArkaosConnect, but it did work (also, as a note I realized that Live is not the ideal software to control GVJ in the way I was looking for, FL Studio actually has proved to be a formidable host for this app)

@Vostek, yea, that would be great. I'm in Mesa 480-264-8771.

I did manage to get the midi working. Apparently the VST Connect will only send audio when its on the master, moving it to a track allows the midi to come through. Audio is still not listening to the VST, I can actually get the audio to pass through the network and into GVJ and when I'm using the VST audio I can hear it in the mixer, but GVJ is still listening to the audio in port.

It would be ideal if the VST could be setup to use 2 instances, say one for midi and another for audio.

by **Quentin** » Wed May 25, 2011 11:04 am

Moabyte,
- Which version of the vst plugin do you use? (you can click on the grandVJ logo in the plugin to display the about window)
- on wich os are you running GrandVJ? and your sequencer? (Ableton Live 8?)
- You can verify if "Use Audio As Input" in the "preference menu/arkaos connect". If you hear the sound coming from your input audiocard, it means that there is a problem with the connection. Try to disconnect(select "none" in the host list)/reconnect.
- for the midi, in Live, can you verify that you correctly route the midi tracks to the track where ArKAos Connect is loaded (on the bottom of the track : select the right track in the "MIDI to" list)? The plugin should work the same way on each track. If the midi is routed correctly to the plugin, the "midi" led should blink (red color) in the plugin interface.

I send you a PM for more detailed informations/questions

by **pierre** » Wed May 25, 2011 11:55 am

Crashes from 1.2 have ceased, I'm almost sure it was audio related.

It was actually related to a complex multi-threading problem, happening when triggering several clips at the same time.
This fix also resolves the stability problems using Quartz-Composer on Mac.

by **Moabyte** » Wed May 25, 2011 7:41 pm

Quentin wrote:- for the midi, in Live, can you verify that you correctly route the midi tracks to the track where ArKAos Connect is loaded (on the bottom of the track : select the right track in the "MIDI to" list)? The plugin should work the same way on each track. If the midi is routed correctly to the plugin, the "midi" led should blink (red color) in the plugin interface.

I figure out the midi and now have the VST on a master with audio and midi sending, but same issue with VST audio analasys. I responded to your PM.

Thank you.

by **JJJ** » Thu May 26, 2011 6:23 am

Hello,

Step 3 of the Arkaos Quick Connect document says to:

Check the “Use Audio” box if you want to use the sound sended by the VST to modulate effects in GrandVJ.

Which effects can be modulated? All effects? Generators?

Thank You.

JJJ

by **shado** » Thu May 26, 2011 9:30 am

Why did you guys do away with the ability to preview dual and triplehead resolutions in the main preview? Did you feel you were giving away too much too cheap or was it giving a bunch of issues and bugs? I'm only curious because it is essentially a dealbreaker for me. I will use the latest RC candidate until it quits working and I will probably continue to use GrandVJ for single projector shows but I am switching to one of your competitor's products for everything else.

I was SO stoked because I've only recently gotten seriously into doing multiple projector shows and I felt like you guys actually listened to me but apparently it was a bad financial choice or something so I apologize if I am too bitchy of a customer or whatever you may think. I just love your software so much and I'm extremely disappointed because I promote your product every chance I get. I completely adore the ability to scale the main output preview window and I assumed it was going to be in the final release. I'm doing a dualhead show tomorrow night and you better believe I'm not using the official 1.5 version.

by **pierre** » Thu May 26, 2011 12:34 pm

Why did you guys do away with the ability to preview dual and triplehead resolutions in the main preview? Did you feel you were giving away too much too cheap or was it giving a bunch of issues and bugs? I'm only curious because it is essentially a dealbreaker for me. I will use the latest RC candidate until it quits working and I will probably continue to use GrandVJ for single projector shows but I am switching to one of your competitor's products for everything else.

Our mistake, it's not intentional.
It's been fixed. You can re-download the version directly on our website.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

by **pierre** » Thu May 26, 2011 1:14 pm

Is there any news on the Novation Launchpad template mentioned in the survey? I've been trying to use one for a while but midi feedback causes a huge amount of latency. Submitted tickets and such but no reply.

We just received some interesting informations from a user concerning the Novation Launchpad.
Novation has released a firmware update for their device, that apparently fixes the latency problem some GrandVJ users have experienced using this device with feedback activated.
http://www.novationmusic.com/support/launchpad

by **Quentin** » Thu May 26, 2011 3:16 pm

JJJ wrote:Hello,

Step 3 of the Arkaos Quick Connect document says to:

Check the “Use Audio” box if you want to use the sound sended by the VST to modulate effects in GrandVJ.

Which effects can be modulated? All effects? Generators?

Thank You.

JJJ

Input sound modulates live generators and some effects (bass zoom and bass zoom2).

by **hypnotica** » Thu May 26, 2011 6:46 pm

Question still no support for playlist sequence file type like .m3u .pls. Is there any way to play a batch list of video in a sequence? M3U is a simple path and file name. Is there any reason why it's not supported yet? In certain case like playing a batch small loop clips or even a sequence of logos, why flood a bank with that. Hope to see this feature for 1.5 final.

by **JJJ** » Fri May 27, 2011 7:54 am

Hi Arkaos.

I got Grand Vj and Ableton working on the same Macbook Pro. So far my main issue is even though the audio in Sequencer is red lined and almost distorted in my headphones - it barely registers in Grand VJs input volume meter. If I turn down the external audio to prevent any distortion then the sound reactive effects are not responding.

Also...

I am trying to run Ableton on a separate Mac but have not had any success. The video on the blog claims the two Macs are just connected by an ethernet cable. Could you please provide some set up guidance for this. Pardon me if I missed it in the provided documentation.

Thanks.

by **sonmor47** » Sat May 28, 2011 4:27 am

hello 1.5, and flv vob file without sound, my xp operating system, if sound in mpg.
only work with the internal sound of the cpu, I have not connected anything.

by **MDProdTV** » Sat May 28, 2011 8:50 am

sonmor47 wrote:hello 1.5, and flv vob file without sound, my xp operating system, if sound in mpg.
only work with the internal sound of the cpu, I have not connected anything.

I am having same problem on vista. Grand VJ plays sound on mp4 but not flv. When I open project in 1.2.2 flv videos play with sound.

by **JJJ** » Sun May 29, 2011 5:44 am

Tech problems solved.

Running Ableton Live 8 and Grand VJ on Same Macbook Pro making use of the VST.

External audio is routed to a Kaoss Pad 3. Audio BPM are sent to Ableton in EXT mode.
Ableton is generating generating controller info to Grand VJ. Grand VJ Effects sliders and visual bank faders are all moving in time to the live music feed.

Now all my effects and sliders are audio reactive. I'm no longer restricted to just live generators.

Smooth so far.

by **Moabyte** » Mon May 30, 2011 11:24 pm

I've managed to sort out that its the Quartz Composer patches that are not responding to the VST Connect. I did not realize I was using QC patches in my tests. Bit of an oversight on my part, but glad the mystery is solved. Can it be added so the QC patches also use the VST Connect?

by **vostek** » Tue May 31, 2011 7:02 pm

Now there's something I hadn't thought of before (thanks for the idea JJJ)- converting incoming audio from the sequencer or line-in/microphone into MIDI CC data and then sending it out to control GVJ. I figure the live audio signal can be routed through a number of different channels with different filters to have separate MIDI CCs for low/mid/high frequencies. This is a great idea in theory, but I haven't used any VST plugins to convert audio > MIDI. Does anyone have any recommended (preferably free) vst apps?

by **vostek** » Tue May 31, 2011 9:19 pm

(in response to my previous post) It works! Really well. I was concerned about latency, but with FL Studio running at 256 sample latency converting the audio to MIDI, and with Arkaos Connect set at lowest latency, it's *nearly* instantaneous response. I'm running the live audio through 4 different mixer tracks in FL studio with filters and dynamics processors (experimenting with gates and expanders) to separate the audio in 4 spectral bands. For the audio-MIDI conversion, FL Studio has some built in plugins, such as Peak controller, and I also found a free plugin here: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia ... -Env.shtml that also works well.

by **P-Lab** » Tue May 31, 2011 10:13 pm

vostek wrote: I haven't used any VST plugins to convert audio > MIDI. Does anyone have any recommended (preferably free) vst apps?

Midi VST (free) plugins ... to experiment !

TOBYBEAR MidiBag
http://www.tobybear.de/p_midibag.html

XOXOS
http://www.xoxos.net/vst/vst.html#midi

PIZ
http://thepiz.org/plugins/?p=pizmidi

by **vostek** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:29 am

Thanks for the links P-lab, I see at least a couple here that should be useful.
While testing, I noticed that when running FL Studio at 256 sample latency, I can only have 2 MIDI CCs modulating simultaneously before losing fluidity. Adding more causes 1 or more of the CCs to update sporadically or not at all. However, moving to 512 sample latency I can have up to 5 CCs wildly flailing about without losing fluidity. Oddly, adjusting the connection speed in Grand VJ seems to have no effect one way or the other at any latency. I'm using an internal soundcard on a laptop with ASIO4ALL drivers. Could that be the bottleneck? The computer is otherwise fast (core i7, good dedicated gfx).I'd like to figure out what I can do to enable more throughput at lower latency- at 512 sample latency the reaction time between sound and visual reaction starts to get a little long.

by **jannypana** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 9:31 am

Great job new version! Thanks adding the interface scaling to smaller window.

by **vjpulp** » Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:17 pm

I'm using GVJ with AKAI APC40.
I Installed the latest version now, and the tiling controller in the position/size tab is always "glued" to the position/size-sliders.
When I turn the tiling controller, position and size of the clip are also changed.
Can you fix that please? Thanks an greets!

by **jcbklyny** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 6:25 pm

VOB and MPG audio playback still isnt fixed. GVJ 1.5 doesnt play PCM audio from VOB or MPG files. havent tried ac3 audio yet... back to 1.2 I go!

Frustrating...

by **SoupVisuals** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 1:08 am

I have downloaded the latest drivers for Novation Launch pad and still can't get it to work right, latency still there.

In GrandVJ's setup midi section I have all four under feedback type set to generic midi and all four under midi output set to launchpad. Besides the latency it also isn't really full feedback, not like in the apc-40 i used to have (before it broke to many times)

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