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We'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 realti

We'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 ago
I'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 ago
  Same 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.
  - akx 7y ago
    In Winamp, it was just a matter of having the "Line In" input plugin enabled and opening the URL `linein://` :)
    - Moru 7y ago
      Haha, that works, thanks! Even more fun now when the kids can sing to it :-)
captbaritone 7y ago
Cool 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 ago
  Excited to see your NS-EEL project!
  - captbaritone 7y ago
    Here’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And a little playground I built for testing: https://eel.capt.dev https://eel.capt.dev Note that the readme is a bit out of date because we’ve made good progress over the last several weeks.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 ago
What 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 ago
  Only 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 ago
    Thanks 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 ago
What 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 ago
  Any 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 ago
    Hell yes! Thank you for the response! Edit: Totally missed the Windows 7/10 requirement in the landing page, thanks for your patience!
bemused 7y ago
thanks 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 ago
Holy 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 ago
Oh 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 ago
  Thank 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.

zamalek 7y ago

I'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 ago
Same 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.
- akx 7y ago
  In Winamp, it was just a matter of having the "Line In" input plugin enabled and opening the URL `linein://` :)
  - Moru 7y ago
    Haha, that works, thanks! Even more fun now when the kids can sing to it :-)

captbaritone 7y ago

Cool 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 ago
Excited to see your NS-EEL project!
- captbaritone 7y ago
  Here’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 ago

What 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 ago
Only 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 ago
  Thanks 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 ago

What 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 ago
Any 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 ago
  Hell yes! Thank you for the response! Edit: Totally missed the Windows 7/10 requirement in the landing page, thanks for your patience!

bemused 7y ago

thanks 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 ago

Holy 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 ago

Oh 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 ago
Thank 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.