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Show HN: NestDrop – realtime VJ engine using Milkdrop
- nuclearsugar 7y agoWe've had fun digging into Milkdrop and making it a tool for VJ-ing. NestDrop allows you to perform with high-resolution high-fps visuals which react in realtime to the music and then broadcasts the video via Spout. Since the Milkdrop engine is at the core you can easily bring in your own Milkdrop presets. Use any audio source to drive the visuals, even live audio. I also curated a best-of collection of 9,795 presets which are organized into categories & subcategories. https://thefulldomeblog.com/2020/02/21/nestdrop-presets-collection-cream-of-the-crop/ https://thefulldomeblog.com/2020/02/21/nestdrop-presets-coll...
- zamalek 7y agoI'm not a VJ and will never be, but this brought such a sweet smile to my life. So thanks. Pleasant memories of bad songs, and good visualizations, in Winamp abound.
- Moru 7y agoSame here, having fun with the kids showing what old programs could do with visualising music! I always wished I knew how to connect winamps visualizer with a live sound source.
- captbaritone 7y agoCool to see that others are still interested in Milkdrop! I’m currently working on a compiler to convert Eel (the non-shader preset equations) to WebAssembly. My hope is that we can improve the performance and security of the Butterchurn, the JavaScript Milkdrop port we’re using for https://Webamp.org https://Webamp.org
- nuclearsugar 7y agoExcited to see your NS-EEL project!
- captbaritone 7y agoHere’s the repo: https://github.com/captbaritone/eel-wasm/ https://github.com/captbaritone/eel-wasm/ And a little playground I built for testing: https://eel.capt.dev https://eel.capt.dev Note that the readme is a bit out of date because we’ve made good progress over the last several weeks.
- FraKtus 7y agoWhat platform does it run? That information does not seem to be on the main page. Can you explain if you use DirectX/OpenGL/Metal to get high resolution and high FPS?
- nuclearsugar 7y agoOnly Window 7/10 is supported. Milkdrop was created 19 years ago and so it utilizes DirectX 9. We use the Spout framework for sharing the GPU texture to any other software (which supports Spout).
- FraKtus 7y agoThanks for the answer! I am working on GrandVJ, mail me to marco at arkaos dot net if you want a license to try it, we do support spout..
- rajangdavis 7y agoWhat would be a good way to connect an instrument to interact with the software? Is there a recommended projector/display that had been tested with the software? Really interested in learning more when I get some free time
- nuclearsugar 7y agoAny monitor or projector arrangement will function perfectly, it all depends on your context. Simply route the Spout visual stream into your software of choice. NestDrop will use the Windows default audio output of your computer. You can change which output is the default by going in the Windows Sound panel, Playback Tab, right-click on the device you want, and select “Set as Default Device”. Note the change in Video Decks will reflect only after the Decks are restarted If you wish to use live audio as the source for NestDrop, you can follow this procedure to activate the audio loopback in the Windows sound settings. This loopback technique will send the audio input directly to the default audio out. If you're using a microphone to capture live audio then it's important to mute your speakers or you could possibly create a feedback loop. This is especially vital if your computer is connected to a large sound system where the speakers could be damaged. https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/126383-listen-microphone-through-playback-device-windows.html https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/126383-listen-microphone... More details available in the the user manual. http://www.nestimmersion.ca/assets/nestdrop_user_manual.pdf http://www.nestimmersion.ca/assets/nestdrop_user_manual.pdf
- rajangdavis 7y agoHell yes! Thank you for the response! Edit: Totally missed the Windows 7/10 requirement in the landing page, thanks for your patience!
- bemused 7y agothanks a lot for the curated collection! I've been tinkering a bit with milkdrop visualization on the raspberry pi 4 using projectM [1] and found the amount of mediocre presets in the full collection quite high :/ will certainly be using your curated list as a new starting point for finding my own favourites [1] https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/projectm https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/projectm
- krsdcbl 7y agoHoly damn this is awesome, thank you so much for this! for me that's an awesome throwback - over 10 years ago when i started out vjing i actually used Milkdrop a lot in club shows, using WinAmps linein:// plugin for the audio signal and mapping Milkdrops keyboard shortcuts with Bome's MIDI Translator to interact with it on an MPD. Can't wait to play with that tool!
- soylentcola 7y agoOh nice! Your dome stuff looks awesome as well but I don't have enough projectors (and won't be at any festivals/burns for the foreseeable future, so no friends' geodesic domes to mess with anyway). Still...love seeing it and thinking of what cool stuff might be done with it.
- nuclearsugar 7y agoThank you! While the NestDrop visuals do look incredible when projected on a dome, it's not a requirement and you can work with the visuals any any software which supports Spout. Working with domes is just our approach.
- iammyIP 7y agoso this is a playback machine for shadertoys? can you use code directly from shadertoy for a new preset?
- Gabriel_Martin 7y agoWow this is awesome. A real throwback for me in some ways, and super in line with my current interests as well! Though it does occur to me how inexpensive you're pricing it at, you sure the pricing model is what's best for you financially? If not, it's well within the community etiquette to reshare this tomorrow and solicit pricing tier feedback. If so, I'm happy for your success and thanks for sharing this!
- colecut 7y agoIf anyone likes looking at these visuals but doesn't have a windows pc, you might enjoy this web-based milkdrop port able to work with your mic as a sound source: https://butterchurnviz.com/ https://butterchurnviz.com/ I've been having fun putting together living room DJ sets with visuals driven by Acid Cam or Project M on my mac, but neither of those are really made for real-time VJing so i usually just pick a preset at the start of the set and stick with that. I'll have to set up my webcam and OBS on a PC to play with this. Thanks for sharing! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmFMQ5frhaaTcvJ0ityQ5rVaWl1RNK72O https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmFMQ5frhaaTcvJ0ityQ5...
- markneub 7y agoCool stuff! I did some experiments with pre-rendering Milkdrop visuals for high-res uploading to YouTube which might be of interest to you. Not practical for realtime (I guess this is where OBS comes in), but pre-rendering is great for quality. Example video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyhisYKU2Dg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyhisYKU2Dg Some notes on the process: https://www.markneuburger.com/prerendering-music-visualizations-for-youtube/ https://www.markneuburger.com/prerendering-music-visualizati... Led to a side project called pasteur, a tool for baking visualizations into MP4 videos for sharing: https://www.pasteur.cc/ https://www.pasteur.cc/
- nuclearsugar 7y agoVery cool! Thanks for sharing. When using NestDrop you can easily record the Spout video stream by using the Lightjams Spout Recorder. Depending on your GPU there is a delicate balance between resolution and fps. https://www.lightjams.com/spout-recorder.html https://www.lightjams.com/spout-recorder.html
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- iammyIP 7y agoso glad you had fun into making a milkdrop fork so VJs can even get less relevant with this software i guess, just clicking through the presets, if not totally automated - i like it, since it puts Vjs into their place.
- iammyIP 7y agoPSA: if you are a VJ in any kind of seriousness, avoid this like the plague:)
- iammyIP 7y agoi forgot you were a VJ, so all hope is lost by default
- iammyIP 7y agoas a VJ i really like these systems that automate my daily work away to an extend where i still can appear like doing something.
- iammyIP 7y agowinamp visualz for the masses, finally!
- iammyIP 7y agoyou say that like it's something bad - milkdrop is a very respected package here...
- iammyIP 7y agoit is nice, however there comes a tradeoff...
- iammyIP 7y agoI remember the old winamp days, it is pretty cool that that stuff is now up for further production.
- iammyIP 7y agoyes, finally, no more Vjs, let's have auto milkdrop
- iammyIP 7y agoi'd rename it to: "Milkdrop-VJ-Edition"
- iammyIP 7y agocool project!
- iammyIP 7y agothe work that has gone into this is incredible, 9795 presets!
- iammyIP 7y agogoing preset hunting, i might aswell remake my business card into "vj" if this continues.
- iammyIP 7y ago9000 is certainly alot, but you can also do your own setups you know?
- nuclearsugar 7y agoDefinitely, there are a few different options: You can save different user profiles. The information saved into the XML file includes: settings selections, window position, Preset favorites, Preset hotkeys, Sprite effects, open & closed queue windows (name, size, position, Preset lineup, linked Sprites, deck number). You can also organize the Presets into your own categories and subcategories using the following folder architecture. --- Category: Folders placed directly into the Presets folder are treated as the main categories . A section label is automatically created to help easily identify categories within the library window. They are also listed within the ‘Active Preset Locator’ context menu. --- Subcategory: Any nested folders within the main category folders are treated as subcategories. Bookends are used to separate all subcategories within the library window. NestDrop will index all Presets found within the <Plugins\Milkdrop2\Presets> folder. It will also index any nested folders. You can install your own Presets to this location.
- iammyIP 7y agoi am also going full on VJ now
- iammyIP 7y agodudez - presets mean nothing at all after a short while, focus on the editor
- iammyIP 7y agogreat milkdrop fork - it can be projected on a dome.
- iammyIP 7y agowe have no dome here can it also be projected on a flat surface?
- iammyIP 7y agoprobably.
- iammyIP 7y agonice
- nuclearsugar 7y agoYeah definitely! Any projection or monitor can be used. Here is an example flat video I recorded using the Lightjams Spout Recorder - https://vimeo.com/391524665 https://vimeo.com/391524665
- iammyIP 7y agono - don't use that vimeo link ever again, it is very horrible techno, and it won't help your project at all - get better music.
- iammyIP 7y agowhy is this milkdrop fork called nestdrop? is there any association with google?
- iammyIP 7y agomaybe
- iammyIP 7y agoand if so, what about it?
- iammyIP 7y agothis project has nothing to do with google.
- iammyIP 7y agothe name does make a strong vibrance to googles failed nest stuff.
- iammyIP 7y agothis has nothing to do with google nest, it is a completely own project.
- nuclearsugar 7y agoThe project is created by NEST Immersion and it's a Milkdrop fork. NestDrop.
- iammyIP 7y agothe demo song at https://vimeo.com/391524665 https://vimeo.com/391524665 sounds pretty horrible, did you automate that aswell?
- iammyIP 7y agoplease be kind to the coders.
- nuclearsugar 7y agoI wanted to use music without worrying about copyright concerns, and so I used my own techno music. It's just a demo video to showcase the preset collection that I curated.
- iammyIP 7y agoi noticed some lag issues in your demo video? maybe pull the audio in future to about 2-4 frames?
- iammyIP 7y agoi noticed this aswell, maybe the whole audio output can be delayed to match the visuals.
- iammyIP 7y agodemo video sounds very cheap, i'd suggest to put more effort into the actual music before visualising it.
- iammyIP 7y agodon't be too harsh, they are just proggers, not muzaks
- iammyIP 7y agojust proggers? are you kidding? proggerz > muzaks
- nuclearsugar 7y agoWhy so harsh? It's a demo video for a (free) preset collection.
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- iammyIP 7y agomilkdrop ftw, nice that you guys keep it alive!
- iammyIP 7y agoI guess this is just a nice shadertoy-like platform for any aspiring VJs.
- iammyIP 7y agothis will be the last feedback for your weak attempts to automate what is not to automate\
- iammyIP 7y agodude, chill
- iammyIP 7y agodude chill? no - if anything i want to keep human arts as they are. human based. come along with some shitty random prog? fuck off.
- iammyIP 7y agook, but you can use this prog like anything else, make it your way.
- nuclearsugar 7y agoPersonally I think that VJ-ing is all about human intuition and carefully listening to the music. It's tricky to improvise and find visuals that match the given mood, layer realtime NestDrop visuals and pre-rendered visuals together, all while trying to keep things fresh and alive. I don't think it's a skill that can be automated with the same level that a person can pull off. NestDrop just creates visuals which respond to the beat, it's just one piece of the puzzle... Not an utter solution.
- iammyIP 7y agocan you give me a headstart? so your prog enables me to do projection mapping with winamp visualisers basically, right? so if i own some discotheque with some projectors, i could use this regardless of input music in auto-random-mode all day all night?
- iammyIP 7y agoi have 4 projectors running, can i use one computer to feed all 4 projectors, with the dj's output fed to the computer, and a single 1080 geforce with projector size is 1024x768? in case of the computer not being fast enough, i just use 2 pcs, how do i sync the winamp stuff?
- nuclearsugar 7y agoNestDrop doesn't include projection mapping tools. But it does output a Spout video stream, so you can link the Spout video stream into Resolume or MadMapper and then do your projection mapping. Please check out the user manual. http://nestimmersion.ca/assets/nestdrop_user_manual.pdf http://nestimmersion.ca/assets/nestdrop_user_manual.pdf
- iammyIP 7y agothank you