Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
Summary of Contents for Arkaos GrandVJ
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- Page 2 The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of ArKaos S.A. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by ArKaos S.A.
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .....................5 1.1 Installing ArKaos GrandVJ – PC..............5 1.2 Installing ArKaos GrandVJ – MAC..............5 1.3 Registering ArKaos GrandVJ................5 1.4 Registration process ..................6 1.4.1 Activation Code..................6 1.4.2 Serial Key....................7 ... -
Page 5: Introduction
You can use GrandVJ to perform with visuals just like you would be playing an instrument, either using the computer keyboard, a MIDI controller or a MIDI sequencer. Alternatively, you can also use GrandVJ like an 8 channel video mixer, allowing full and precise control over each individual channel. -
Page 6: Registration Process
The Serial Key is the code that unlocks GrandVJ to run on a specific computer. It is calculated by combining the computerʼs MachineID - an 8 letters code that GrandVJ generates and which identifies your computer - and the Activation Code, which is the proof that you own a license. -
Page 7: Serial Key
When you press next your application will be registered. 1.4.3 Demo Choose this option to continue using GrandVJ in demo mode, you will not be able to save your work and a banner will randomly appear in the output and in the master preview. -
Page 8: Introduction To The Software
MIDI, Keyboards or external sequencers. GrandVJ is designed to work using a dual video output computer setup. The main output will display the interface of the software and the previews while the second output will send the full resolution image to an external hardware display like a projector, a plasma screen, a video mixer, etc. -
Page 9: Terminology
2.3 Terminology In ArKaos GrandVJ, weʼve slightly changed the terminology used to refer to different application features: Visuals: Visual is a generic term encompassing everything which produces frames: this can be images, videos, camera streaming, generators or flash animations ... -
Page 10: Interface Walk-Through
3 INTERFACE WALK-THROUGH This section describes the different application panels and their functionality. Depending on the mode you are using (synth or mixer), not all panels may be available. Specifically, in synth mode, the layer preview is not available. Below is a full screenshot of the application: Note: Most panels are resizable to accommodate various screen resolutions and the software will remember different configurations for the synth and mixer mode. -
Page 11: Browser Panel
3.1 Browser Panel The left side of the application is dedicated to the browser section. The browser section contains five tabs with the following items: The file browser allows you to browse the file system of your computer and drag and drop files to a cell, to the visual library or to the layer previews (in mixer mode). -
Page 12: Banks
3.3 Banks There are two sets of banks (or banksets). One is in the shape of a MIDI keyboard, the other one is matrix- shaped: Each bankset contains banks, arranged in tabs. Of those 16, only one is 'active' at a time. The active bank is the bank whose cells will be triggered when you press a keyboard or MIDI controller key. -
Page 13: Tool Bar
3.6 Tool bar The toolbar provides a series of buttons and displays with the following functionality: switches to synth or mixer mode activates / deactivates full screen displays MIDI activity audio input meter + gain control latch / hold (synth mode only) kill all (stops all running layers) 3.7 Help Box The help box is located under the browser section and displays contextual information about... -
Page 14: Using The Application
Internally, GrandVJ allows for up to 8 layers of stacked video. In synth mode, layer assignment is done automatically depending on the order of triggering and the priority setting of the cell. In mixer mode, the user controls the layer content directly, providing a 8 channel video mixer. -
Page 15: Controller Mapping
4.2 Controller Mapping Controller mapping is a very important part of using GrandVJ. Together with external MIDI gear, MIDI sequencers or the computer keyboard, it is the key to creating your perfect live setup. Controller mapping is fairly easy and can be achieved in two ways: ... -
Page 16: Reference
Finder / Explorer. Note to PC users: by default, when running in full screen, GrandVJ uses a special DirectX mode called “exclusive mode”. The exclusive mode is optimal in terms of performances but has one drawback: if you activate any other application, full screen mode will quit. -
Page 17: Cell Parameters
5.1.2.1 Editing Keyboard Mapping To define/change a keyboard mapping of any controllable element in GrandVJ, the easiest is to toggle the application in keyboard mapping mode. To do so, go to the menu Options Edit Keyboard Mapping. All controllable elements will turn blue. - Page 18 400% (4 times faster than nominal playback) and all the way to the left is backward at 400%. Note that, like most controls in GrandVJ, you can reset the speed to its default value (nominal playback) by right clicking the control and selecting 'default value'.
- Page 19 In the default mode, pixel colors are mixed together, with a blending value depending on the transparency, like a traditional mixer. GrandVJ also allows you to use other ways to combine the pixels: In addition modes, the pixels from the cell are going to be added to the ones of the underlying layers;...
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Page 20: Cell Parameter Mapping
5.1.3.4 Position / Size Tab The position/size tab specifies how the visual will be positioned on the screen. The position setting moves the visual on the screen. The z position acts like a zoom. The size setting alters the ... -
Page 21: Banks
5.2 Banks As seen previously, banks are collections of cells. There are two groups of banks (or bank sets): one is shaped like a keyboard (and is preassigned to MIDI notes) and the other one is in the form of a matrix. The matrix bankset is the only one that can be mapped. The number of row/column in the matrix is also user-configurable by right-clicking in the gray area of the bank and selecting “set matrix size”. -
Page 22: Layers (Mixer Mode)
5.3 Layers (Mixer Mode) Layer previews are only visible in mixer mode. As we said earlier, mixer mode works differently from the synth mode. In mixer mode, rather than acting on cell parameters, you act directly on the layer parameters. There are eight layers available at all times and all layers are shown in the layer preview panel. -
Page 23: Layer Control
MIDI. Simply toggle the application in MIDI mapping mode, select the parameter to control and move the MIDI controller knob you would like to assign to it. GrandVJ provides two different modes to control the layer parameters: In the default mode, all layers have independently assignable parameters. This means ... -
Page 24: The Mapping List
5.4 The Mapping List Through the previous chapters, we've seen that it is fairly easy to map MIDI or keyboard control to most software parameters. This easily links a controller to the software. Sometimes, however, a bit more configuration may be needed. The 'mappings' tab in the browser section lists all the existing mappings. -
Page 25: The Preferences Dialog
However, when engaged, you can't toggle to any other application than GrandVJ. If you do so, fullscreen will quit. On MAC, it will change the monitor resolution to fit the setting of the resolution. If you toggle the setting off, only a part of the screen will be covered. -
Page 26: Midi
6.2 MIDI The MIDI tab allows you to select which MIDI devices will be enabled for use with the application. Please note that all data from enabled MIDI devices are merged so no matter what interface it comes from, a note on message on channel 1 will have the same effect. -
Page 27: Output
6.4 Output The “Output” tab configures the key-stoning used projector output. Key-stoning is used to correct the image if the projector is not totally parallel to the screen 6.5 Advanced This tab allows you to set up various advanced options for the software. Auto purge allows the software to automatically unload visuals that are neither running ... -
Page 28: Performance And Setup Considerations
These original frames are called ʻkey framesʼ. Using sparse key frames will mean that for GrandVJ to access a given frame, it will have to find the previous key frame and process all the intermediate frame differences until it reaches the desired one. As you can imagine, this process is rather slow and prevents fast access to frames, which is very important for backward playback or scratching. -
Page 29: Widescreen & Multiscreen Presentation
7.2 Widescreen & Multiscreen Presentation 7.3 Introduction In a common ArKaos GrandVJ setup, a computer with two video outputs is generally used: one output for the desktop monitor (to display the interface and control the software) and another output which receives the result of the visual mix. The second output is generally connected to a video projector, a large screen or a hardware video mixer. -
Page 30: Case Studies
7.4.2 Case Studies In order to explain the different steps to setup ArKaos GrandVJ to produce a wide screen or multi-screen projection with several displays, letʼs examine some common hardware configurations. 7.4.2.1 Case 1: Dual Head Graphic Card... -
Page 31: Monitor Setup For Wide Screen Or Multi-Screen Projection
Earlier in this document, weʼve seen how to choose and setup a second monitor to display the ArKaos GrandVJ visual mix. To do wide screen or multi-screen, the principle is the same in the sense that ArKaos GrandVJ will continue to output one large visual mix, but the visual is going to span across the multiple heads of an adapter. - Page 32 1. nVidia Graphic Cards In the Windows Control Panel, open the “Display Properties” window and go to the “Settings” tab. You will see a classic dual monitor setup such as the one below. Click on the “Advanced” button and select the nVidia tab on the top right, this window will open: In the menu next to “nView Display...
- Page 33 Once you have achieved this setup and closed the display settings window by clicking Ok, you can launch ArKaos GrandVJ. The resolutions available for the adapter will now list the wide set of resolution you created with the...
- Page 34 2. ATI Graphic Cards Setting up Horizontal or Vertical Span with ATI graphics cards is done through the “ATI Catalyst Control Center” which you can launch from Windowsʼ program menu or from the ATI icon in your system tray (next to the clock in the task bar). Horizontal Span Once “ATI...
- Page 35 “Horizontal Stretch” then click Next. You will end up with a single display spanning horizontally over two monitors. You can now launch ArKaos GrandVJ and select from the new set of available resolutions. Vertical Span To setup a Vertical Span, select “Advanced”...
- Page 36 ArKaos GrandVJ. In ArKaos GrandVJ, go to the Preference Dialog and select the display tab. First, as output monitor, select the monitor that is positioned at the top left of the full display. Then select the custom resolution setting and enter the resolution corresponding to the sum of the two monitors (2048x768 in our example).
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Page 37: Soft-Edge
7.5 Soft-Edge To create a large screen by combining several video projectors it is important to be able to seamlessly blend the edges between each projection. This can be achieved through the use of the Soft-Edge option as it creates an overlapped area on the border of each screen with a fade on the edge that can be overlapped with the next image. -
Page 38: Calibration
7.5.1 Calibration Below are the common steps to setup a wide screen with Soft-Edge in ArKaos GrandVJ (provided that you have correctly setup your system and your graphics card driver parameters as explained earlier in this document). Launch ArKaos GrandVJ. -
Page 39: Support, Information And Contact
8.1.1 Users discussion forum If you just want to discuss with other ArKaos users, share tips and experiences about our products or third party software / hardware, ask questions about particular setups etc.. Our Users discussion forum is the place to be! 8.1.2 Knowledgebase articles... -
Page 40: Notes
9 NOTES... - Page 41 INDEX A I Activation Code..........5, 6 Incremental ............24 Audio input ............13 Installation ............5 B K Background..........14, 18 Key frames ............28 Backward ............18 Key-stoning............27 Banks ..........9, 12, 16, 21 Kill all ...............13 Knowledgebase ..........39 C ...
- Page 42 S T Segment............18 Text..............18 Sequencer..........8, 9, 15 Thumbnail ............18 Serial Key..........6, 7, 27 Tiling ..............20 Shape.............. 20 Toolbar.............13 Size ..............20 Transparency........12, 19, 22 Soft-Edge ..........25, 29, 37 Sound............9, 27 V Source............. 11 Speed..............
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