VIDVOX VDMX2 review

[angryILL]

vidvox screen shot (http://vidvox.net/products/vdmx/img/vdmxfull.gif)

VDMX2 is a mac vj app coded in max/msp+nato language. i came across a demo of it and decided to give it a try because i wasn't very satisfied with the abilities of arkaos. at first the interface may seem a bit intimidating, but in reality its very simple. you load clips into banks A and B and use the middle control panel to influence the mix output.

the switching and beatmatching sync rock. when you compare arkaos to VDMX its like comparing wedding djs to electronic djs. one hits play and cuts into the next clip, the other uses two compositions to make a completely different product.

the big flaw i see in the prgoram was its clip loading. it likes to freeze the output ... nothing major, but sometimes 5-10 seconds seems like an eternity. this could be due to the fact that i was using VDMX2 on a borrowed powerbook with only 256M of RAM.

either way, this program fucking rocks. i am seriously considering selling my panasonic MX-30, buying a cheaper panasonic mixer with less outputs, and spending the extra money on a VDMX license.

[vjrei]

Try Motion Dive 3, it is not a visual synthesizer but it does the best job punching clips, using transitions and editing text in real time. I woul you arkaos vj as my secund soft (in another powerbook) never my primary.

And about the console, the Panasonic is way too much for VJing I think, I'm using a Videonics MX-Pro (4 out puts and 4 imputs), it does the job 101%, it is light and it cost $1100 or less may be.

In your case I would get another Powerbook (Pismo) for VidBox (I used it and I didn't like it that much, mu public cares more about the diversity of visuals, not if I am having fun), and get the Videonics after selling the Panasonic that costs 4 times the price.

Travel light.

[KillingFrenzy]

Keep your nice mixer... you'll just lose money on the trade.

Get Max/MSP/NATO and create your own patch with exactly what you want to do.

Big leap, but your visuals will be like no-one elses.

Your projector and mixer are the last steps in a chain, dropping quality at the last step is a shame, if you have the option to keep things top notch. Bulkiness might be the biggest concern.

Greater configurability and flexibility of interface are what you'll eventually end up looking for in software. Better to put your nose to the grindstone and start building now, then wast time working inside someone elses proprietary, and limited patch. Nato/Max/All the newer components add up to a very powerful package. Add a midi controller, and you might be able to leave the mixer at home for most of your gigs. My advice is to buckle down and build your own system that follows inherent logic that you ordain.

[spark]

vdmx2 is reviewed in the vj softs section of vj central, best to keep the info together so maybe you could post the review there too with a link to this thread?

incidentally, both our screengrabs are out of date - the latest update has some gnarly new features which i couldn't be without.

as for the pauses you describe, i'm not too sure. the architecture of vdmx isn't designed for instant triggering (favouring the fx mash-up route) , but the most i ever get is a slight glitch. try playing from disk (click lhs - yellow) and once it is playing uncompress it into ram (click rhs - red). vdmx does pause when you load a new folder in, which i think is silly as it used to be drag and drop so would still be working while you were selecting a new folder, but this ain't a problem for me as you have four columns to fill if you use F3 and F4 palettes too, and i only want to change sets when in the dj-change lull. 256mb ram is fine, as my 512 gets used as a ram disk, vdmx sits happily in 128mb (unless you're using super large clips or doing live sampling).

btw - max/nato. i'm completely with you here as i'd love to tweak vdmx and make my own tools. but vdmx is as good a patch as i've seen, its revolutionised my visuals (from huge broadcast rig to single tibook), and i think the main problem is that max/nato is not processor efficient enough. i am waiting for PD to kick in, and run linux on a performance box.

[Zer0Her0]

First of Max/MSP/Nato will run you close to 2000 bucks or so. Last time i checked VDMX is ~300. VDMX is simple and powerful M/M/N is complex and powerful...it is labeled as a graphical programming language for a reason. Also Nato has next to no documentation of it's objects.

and spark have you checked out Max/MSP/Jitter? Or jMax/DIPS for that matter? Both are mac based and both have video/opengl objects built in. Jitter is Cycling '74 answer to nato. Supposed to be coming out this month and M/M/J will be os x compatible by the end of the year while jMax/DIPS already runs in OS X.

[spark]

yeah, good comments, as for jmax etc, well, i'm kinda hoping to jump a generation with this... i haven't got the time for it at the mo, but when i get round to it i want to be using the top tool for the future...

[Zer0Her0]

What do you mean jump a generation?