Summary of Contents for MindPlace Procyon AVS
- Page 2 READ THIS BEFORE USING PROCYON Procyon is intended for use as a tool for enhancing con- sciousness and for personal growth. It is not intended for use as a medical diagnostic or therapeutic device, and no medical claims of any sort are made for it. DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT without your doctor’s specific guidance if you or any family member has ever experienced any form of seizure disorder, such as epilepsy, or if you are or...
- Page 3 P r o c y o n Audio-Visual Synthesizer User's guide and Reference I. Introduction Congratulations! You have just purchased the most advanced per- sonal light and sound system available on the market today. The Procyon Audio-Visual Synthesizer is a powerful tool for exploring a wide range of interesting and beneficial states of awareness, and we think you will find it very helpful when used regularly.
- Page 4 Be sure to check our site (www.mindplace.com) frequently for the latest updates and audio-visual artworks! Color, mood and awareness It has long been known that color can have a profound effect on cognition and perception.
- Page 5 Benefits We've created the Procyon as an experimental tool for the explora- tion of a wide range of colored light (and sound)-induced alternate states of awareness. And, although we hope you will take advan- tage of our software tool for creating your own works of "mind- art"...
- Page 6 Features Compact Full-Color Personal Display . Our new GanzFrames™ design uses state-of-the-art surface-mounted solid-state optoelec- tronic emitters which generate and mix pure red, green and blue light. With 255 brightness levels for each color, there are literally millions of colors to choose from. Ganzfeld feature .
- Page 7 AudioStrobe compatible . Play your legacy AudioStrobe- ® encoded CDs by selecting this function. Multiple visual waveforms . Choose from pulse, sine, triangle. Multiple visual effects . Phase-shifting creates a constantly chang- ing, complex range of colors, while pulse-width-modulation creates "hard-edged"...
- Page 8 Step 2: Connect the GanzFrames and headphones • Plug the GanzFrames gently into the top of the console. No- tice that the plug fits in only one way. • Plug the headphones into the correct jack on the right side of the unit.
- Page 9 III. Using your Procyon How to have a perfect session Finding a comfortable and quiet setting is an important ingredient for having an ideal session with your Procyon. It can also help to loosen any tight clothes, belts, etc. • If your goal is to unwind during your session, then lying down can also help, but is not essential.
- Page 10 On/off and power-saving The system is turned on and off via the button on the right side of the console. In order to save power in case you forget to turn it off, it will automatically turn off in the following manner: •...
- Page 11 The MIDDLE button is for selecting a mode (see page 13). When you turn the system on it automatically sets itself to SESSION mode, which displays a three digit session number. Each time you press it, it steps to the next mode, displaying the following se- quence: Session (SES) >...
- Page 12 special cable. Below the USB jack is the HEADPHONE jack. Plug the included phones into this. You can use other headphones as well, though the Procyon may not have sufficient power to drive larger, "studio" style headphones. The BOTTOM jack is for audio input. Use the included stereo mini (3.5 mm) cable to connect the output of your CD or MP3 player to this if you would like to mix your music with a session, or if you are using AudioStrobe or SynchroMuse encoded CDs.
- Page 13 Brightness and volume The function of these controls should be clear. Note the symbols printed on the case next to the dials: headphone on the left and brightness on the right. The long thin triangles printed next to these symbols indicate level: moving the dial towards the thin part (to the right) will reduce audio volume and light brightness.
- Page 14 AudioStrobe compatibility mode; use when playing ® AudioStrobe or other high-frequency encoded compact discs. Connecting to a PC We've included a USB cable so you can connect Procyon to your PC. Before doing so, be sure to download the USB driver from the Procyon section of our webpage and install it before connecting your system.
- Page 15 to start relatively quickly and gradually slow down. All such ramps are linear—that is, straight lines. Color, mind and mood Color is known to have a strong effect on mood and conscious- ness. For example, red light tends to be stimulating and activates the mind and body, while blue and green light are soothing.
- Page 16 Mixing colors: phase shifting, pulse width modulation A broad range of color-mixing effects possible with additional fea- tures of the Procyon. Phase-shifting means that the way in which each colored wave of light mixes with the others changes over time. For example, if red and green are “waving together” the col- ors mix and produce a perceived yellow color.
- Page 17 volume control your source. In this way you can mix the two in an optimum manner. Advanced: external control The Procyon can be controlled in real-time from a PC or other devices via its USB port. The Procyon Editor controls in in real- time (“PC”) mode when you test segments or sessions from your PC.
- Page 18 Session Length Name Category Number (Min.) varies Random Random This session is different every time you run it, with frequencies ranging from Relax before Exams Learning A meditative mind-clearing period to clear your mind; concentrates mainly on 9 to 13 Hz frequencies. Accelerated Learning 15 Learning Traditional “superlearning”...
- Page 19 Session Length Name Category Number (Min.) Athletic Warm-Up Peak Performance A more complex sequence of frequencies, intended for use before sports, to concentrate mind and body. Power Recharge Peak Performance A more stimulating session, to help clear your mind of thoughts. Peak Composure Peak Performance Ideal for use with positive affirmations or guided visualizations, re-...
- Page 20 Session Length Name Category Number (Min.) Meditative Mind 15 Tranquility A brief, refreshing stroll through the 9 to 13 Hz range, with me- dium-paced color sweeps. Good range of colors. Meditative Mind 60 Tranquility A long, leisurely voyage through the 9 to 13 Hz range, with gradu- ally shifting colors.
- Page 21 Session Length Name Category Number (Min.) Full Energy 25 Energy Same as above, but 25 minutes long, and a bit larger frequency range. Full Energy 35 Energy Good one to use if you haven’t been getting enough sleep but need energy for the day. Full Energy 45 Energy This one is pretty intense, best to work up to it if you think you...
- Page 22 Session Length Name Category Number (Min.) Creative Visualization 10 Visualization These sessions are designed for the visualization of goals of various sorts. Use the longer ones with external audio if you have any. Creative Visualization 15 Visualization Frequency range for these sessions is primarily in the 4 to 14 Hz range.
- Page 23 Glossary Some of the words defined below are used to describe as- pects of the programming of Procyon sessions in the follow- ing Appendix. BioConnect – A serial data protocol for controlling various parame- ters of the Artvision with biofeedback equipment, allowing for real- time control of the system.
- Page 24 Hertz (Hz) — Also know as cycles per second; this is a measure of how many oscillations (for example, binaural beats or flashes) occur each second. Phase — The relationship between two or more waveforms, relative to the start of the waveform. If two sine waves are moving together, they are said to be in phase;...
- Page 25 Session — The sequence of one or more segments constituting a pro- grammed Procyon audio-visual experience. Wavetable — A series of numbers representing a waveform. In the case of Procyon, there are both visual and audio waveforms; in both cases, they are 255 numbers long. Appendix: Procyon : Features and Programming ®...
- Page 26 In the first part of this document I will discuss the programming model we’ve developed for the creation of visual effects; this is followed by a brief introduction to session programming. Visual Effects Programming: Basics Here is a summary of the capabilities of our Visual Effect Engine: •...
- Page 27 Figure 1. The illustration above shows the first two segments of a session; only brightness and frequency from a single color channel are dis- played for the sake of clarity. Frequency starts in segment one at about 15 hz and ends at about 35 hz, while brightness starts at about 110 and ends at 255 (the maximum setting).
- Page 28 Programmable parameters for visual effects include the follow- ing items, which may be set independently for each of the four color channels: Frequency – The rate at which lights are flickering. This may range from 0 to 80 Hz, in 0.1 Hz increments. Amplitude -- This sets the brightness level, and ranges from 0 (off) to 255 (maximum).
- Page 29 it will load a default segment. When you’ve finished editing this segment, insert another after it using the F3 key (or: Session Tools/Insert Segment). At this point, a slider bar appears in the lower right portion of the edit window, which looks like this: Figure 3a.
- Page 30 will be identical to those of the segment preceding it. This is in- tended to make the process of session creation faster and easier, since that newly inserted segment “remembers” for you what the previous segment settings were. Testing segments and sessions You can test an individual segment or a group of segments (including the entire session you are editing) by doing the follow- ing:...
- Page 31 in more detail. Figure 4 (below) illustrates the effect of shifting the phase of the red, green and blue lights relative to one another. In this case, a sine wave is being used. One full cycle of a waveform occurs over 360 degrees, and if there is no phase shift, it starts at 0 degrees, rises and falls in a half-circle, intersects the X-axis at 180 degrees, and completes the lower (negative) half circle at 360 degrees.
- Page 32 tive to one another, producing a range of intermediate colors. Green reaches its maximum brightness level as blue is starting to turn on, so although blue are not on at the same time, they both are on while green is on and mix with it. In the next example, we’ll examine pulse width, using the “square”...
- Page 33 This combination of pulse width modulation and phase shifting can create spectacular visual effects—allowing you to present entire sections of a rainbow in each pulse period. Pulse width is set by an integer value ranging from 0 (not on at all) to 255 (on all the time);...
- Page 34 How phase shift affects color mixing So far we have considered only the cases of static pulse width and phase shift. However, you can also choose to vary either or both across a segment. When the phase of one color is changing at a different rate than another, the resulting colors are con- stantly changing.
- Page 35 How to create a Ganzfeld The easiest way to create a Ganzfeld display is as follows: Set the amplitude of the color channel(s) to 0. Set duty cycle and phase to 127, and the frequency to a low value (frequency is not used in a Ganzfeld, and a low value mini- mizes processor load).
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