Ode to OpenTZT

[tdeagan]

OpenTZT is a great program.

It's Free. (as in speech and beer)

It's got a great feature list, stands head to head with a lot of commercial VJ software:
- wide range of formats supported (avi, mpg, mov, swf, bmp, and more)
- 3 mixable clips w/ 2 effects each, on 2 crossfade-able busses, each with a whole-bank effect
- Dozens of (heck, it might be over a hundred) effects from multiple sources (esotic, pete warden, etc.)
- dual-head support
- live input support
- Mouse, Keyboard or MIDI driven (or all three!)
- BPM driven features
- built-in output recording
- stable performance on long gigs
- very moderate system requirements
- has been through multiple releases over a couple of years (road-tested)

It does have some things that make it less appealing for some folks:
- Only on Windows machines
- really prefers 16-bit color depth
- works in and outputs 320x240 res
- you'll probably need to do some forum searching to answer questions that come up (though SourceForge, VJForums and VJCentral have it all :) )
- you have to tap a key to set BPM

But, the really cool thing is that it's Open Source (GPL)!
- No one but VJs (at least ones that are getting paid :) ) ever makes any money off it (it's just an incredbile gift from everybody involved!)
- People can add features, fix bugs, make effects and generators
- People can see/download the sourcecode and learn a LOT about how programs like this work (means better software in the future)
- It's a labor-of-love, it distributes most excellent karma! (makes up for a whole lot of bad M_cr_S_ft karma if you're feeling it)
- Maintains pressure on commercial vendors to continually improve to keep earning your money ;)

No one gets paid, I'm writing this because I'm hoping the software and effort get checked out by folks. It's improving constantly. It was already bad-ass when the mighty Triplet bestowed the hallowed GPL on it. I'm having fun with it so I'm trying to pay back folks who are working on the effort by doing some hype (it's a do-ocracy.)

Check it out at:
opentzt.sourceforge.net
or
sourceforge.net/projects/opentzt

[PiedPiper]

Word!

OpenTzT is so solid, i'm alomst hesistent to let the secret out!

But the more people we can get interested the bigger the user base will be, and the more influence this application will have on the phuture of vj'ing.

[MoRpH]

With such a solid and reliable base as we have to build from the future of OpenTZT is looking AWESOME.

As with the usual quips, its never going to be all things to all ppl (and who would want one program that does everything the same). But with this great start and plenty of ideas and MOST importantly ppl devoted to making OpenTZT even better things look good.

Ok ppl we have a NEW BASELINE standard for VJ apps (free and otherwise). I guess some out there need to pull their socks up ('specially in the UI dept)..... So if your a coder, ideas man, or can contribute in anyway to the OpenTZT project please come be involved.

Also on a side note, unlike being involved in the main current crop of privately developed VJ apps, this one won't die when the main developers give up and move on to other things or pack it in due to "other issues"

SUPPORT OpenTZT & Freeframe.... VJ tools for the Future.

[klumsy]

so what the the features being thrown around for the next version?

32 bit?
other resolutions than 320x240?

[akira_k]

Originally posted by MoRpH
I guess some out there need to pull their socks up ('specially in the UI dept)..... Hmmmm... never tried this proggy, being mac my VJing platform, but I might give it a go even if just to try to revamp the UI.

[tdeagan]

Hmmmm. Next version. Version is not a strong concept at the moment.

So far, folks (esotic, beatsurfer and myself) have been adding functionality as the opportunity has presented itself (some usability tweaks, huge expansion of MIDI functionality, defrustration of the japanese to non-japanese keyboard issues, some work on generators and an exploration of the audio sync'ing.)

The quest for better than 320x240 has been underway for a while. It's in the code a bunch of places, but Beatsurfer has a positive attitude, so who knows? :)

I'm hot and bothered to get the audio sync/spectrum analyzer working. Esotic has pushed hard on this and we're either very close or it'll turn out to be a big deal.

I've been working to tart up the C++ source for generators (a .dll that is used as a clip to do coolish things.) Generators work, esotic has produced a proof-of-concept and I'm working to make the source new-user friendly. Once the audio stuff is working and if we get the calls changed to pass the text from the text box to the .dll then all kinds of text and visualizer stuff is feasible.

In any event, we're currently not organized around doing planned releases, folks are just fixing stuff as it gets interesting to them. Sounds pretty slack, but a lot of cool stuff is getting built!

My guess is that eventually we'll run up against a couple of walls, like needing to do heavy refactoring around resolution or audio capture or somesuch set. Then we'll probably decide to fork the code or something for the purpose of creating a new Version. We'll need a lot of discussion around degree of backwards compatibility with effects and such. <Highly_Personal_Opinion> I'd be okay with having two versions, a 320x240 and a 640x480, mostly because I'm happy in 320x240 and I think the 640x480 will be a resource pig and will require better computers than I (a cheapskate) can afford. Sure multiple versions are a bitch to maintain and the lo-res version would wither over time, but that's okay with me </Highly_Personal_Opinion> In the end, I'm betting on MoRpH keeping us on track here. ;)

Everyone is welcome to come to the SourceForge site and add feature requests! New ideas are cool.

Nothing I write here constitutes anything at all 'official' about OpenTZT, it's just my opinions, observations and such.

[VJamm]

hiya

any news on freeframe support in OpenTZT?

all the best

Russell

[MoRpH]

I emailed pete about it the other day but no answer yet... yes yes I know pete's not the only guy that can do it, but pete and I have done worked on a few other things b4.

I guess we really should get onto the freeframe sourceforge site and see if we can beat up some interest :)

[sleepytom]

petes the one guy who expressly cannot do it - his contract with apple prevents him from developing any opensource video stuff.

it would be better done by one of the people who are actually working on the TZT code.

the 320x240 issue is far more pressing than adding any new effects features imho an app that only uses 320x240 is shockingly useless in these days of HDTV.

[MoRpH]

Well that sux, but I guess were lucky we got Freechain b4 that huh ;)

I'm not 100% sure any of the guys working on the OpenTZT source are in a position to build in native TZT support, but I could be wrong, lets hope I am :)

Hmmmm well I'm sorry to say but talking to users that doesn't seem to be the focus of what ppl are asking for *shrug* we all "want" higher resolution, but it seems are content to stick with 320x240 to get all the other benefits.

As it is the guys that are doing the majority of coding are still getting to grips with it, I think a higher res is somewhere down the track, but I don't think its a high priority. As for whats shocking, I seriously doubt that many ppl running OpenTZT are using anything @ HDTV res and it seems a sad little snipe @ what is without a doubt one of the best VJ progs around. I guess this jsut another one of those "res obsessives" picky points. As I have said a million times, I'd rather see something different and interesting @ 320x240 (scaled nicely of course) than the same old shit @ 1024x768 (most of the hi-res cheese I see)

BTW tom, can you stop in @ the "playing across screens" thread I need your or another VJammer's help... cheers :)

[sleepytom]

which thread is that i can't seem to find it?

[MoRpH]

http://www.vjforums.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=66352#post66352

[Rovastar]

I agree with Tom the low res seems all wrong I am relutant to recommend this app to newbie VJ because of this.

The people using OPenTZT might not mind as they are used to that res and no doubt create clips in that chunky res too so they are less likely to want it. But other that have normal res then it is heartbreaking to downres your work........I cry everytime I make a DVD........:):cry:

[MoRpH]

Originally posted by Rovastar
I agree with Tom the low res seems all wrong I am relutant to recommend this app to newbie VJ because of this.

........I cry everytime I make a DVD........:):cry: Hahaha well that just goes to show the "realisim" here.

As for recommendations to newbie VJs, thats sad cause with the the software being free and open source I would say its a great recommendation.... and it focuses on performance, ease of use and interaction all KEY VJ areas, far more important that "resolution obsessiveness" IMHO

[VJamm]

well i recon simple freeframe support is more of a priority than rez - but then I would, wouln't I?

seriously though, there's about 200 FF plugins out there now, and it just seems really poetic for TzT to be open sourced, and then to support FreeFrame after the whole story of Petes Plugins, FreeChain etc.

Russell

[MoRpH]

I agree russell its something I would all like to see come together, both FF support and Hi-Res..... as usual we rely on our coders, who I maight add have so far done a wonderful job, Esotic, Beatsurfer, etc... BUT others would be MORE than welcome.

GAME ON!! :jump:

[sleepytom]

yeh well freeframe is a great way to add more effects for almost no work.

however i still feel that TZT has a lot to implerment before it will have the power of its rivals
eg.
its file handling is stupid - adding a proper load clip interface to allow brousing to clips that are not in the media directorys would be a good start.

[MoRpH]

Call me strange but I actually like not messing with clip loaders and such, I prefer jsut browsing thumbnails in windows and the packing my directories, also it makes it very transportable (both jsut materials directory or the entire app), load it with clips, throw the whole directory on a CD/DVD and your set to take it to any PC...... try doing that with any of the other "rivals". I guess you could say that "power" is in the eyes of the user :)

[Esotic]

Getting TZT to be higher res (any res you want) would be fantastic, but nothing near an easy task. I'm looking into this as an option and slowly laying in the groundwork. It may never get here, but that doesn't mean I'm not pressing in that direction.

At this point I'm super-stoked and motivated to be working on the code, but time being what it is can only get so much done. Wysiwyg and Beatsurfers have been doing a good job with updates as well, though.

My "short" term (personal) goals for OpenTZT:

Enhanced Generator Support
- Pass Text to Generators (done)
- DVD Player Generator
- Receive Video Stream Generator
Enhanced Effectors Support
- Export Effectors for MoRpH
- Add FreeFrame support
- Continue to Make effectors
Learn and Code Assembly/MMX
Empirically Quantify Optimum File Formats/Codecs
Create a TZT(SDK) CD/DVD

There is no particular order to what will get done when, so feel free to make suggestions for what you'd like to see happen first. Or additions for the list.

Cheers,

-Esotic

[unfold]

not in reply to previous posts:

How is the midi-thing working ? What is it basically capable of ? Can the effects be hooked up ? How well can video be scratched ?

*curious*

[tdeagan]

MIDI now ROCKS in OpenTZT, it's capable of doing even more than the keyboard can do. Effects, speed, clip selection, x-fade, etc. Scratching is enabled about three different ways and kicks ass!

Check out:
http://opentzt.sourceforge.net/midi.htm
for a full listing of capabilities

--Tim

[unfold]

HOT MIDI SATISFACTION !

is there a changelog being kept af all the changes ?

[topherz]

a note on Esotics post.
TZT SDK sounds cool.
I am a programmer but am put off by having to get deep into native OS code. Its always nice when I can accomplish a goal by using an existing code base / engine.

-topher

and anyways, thanks to all working on OpenTZT project!

[Esotic]

Coding up generators and effectors is actually quite simple in comparison to some of the more hardcore tasks like composite modes and what-not. With a little SDK guidance it should be fairly elementary for anyone to get in and start "rolling thier own".

I've been talking about some TZT coder tutorials for a long time, so that's definitely something I'd like to get done.

:D

[Rovastar]

Originally posted by MoRpH
Hahaha well that just goes to show the "realisim" here.

As for recommendations to newbie VJs, thats sad cause with the the software being free and open source I would say its a great recommendation.... and it focuses on performance, ease of use and interaction all KEY VJ areas, far more important that "resolution obsessiveness" IMHO

Seriously MoRpH if you think a native low res 320 clip looks better then a native 1024 clip then you have a problem.

[Esotic]

"A clip of what?" would be the more relevant question.

Hell, you might as well discredit van gogh for using such coarse brush strokes.

There is good distortion and bad distortion. It's all about how you use it.

Boring VJ crap at 1024x768 is still boring VJ crap. Style and content are far more important than sheen. Or maybe you'd prefer listening to Britney Spears over Minor Threat

But that's not to say that I don't respect Rova, cuz I do. He's been doing great things for the visual community for quite some time.

Maybe it's time we had a VJ battle? Like a DMC for VJs. Or we could post some demo clips and have people vote.

Beat It, Just Beat It, Wooooo!

-Esotic

[elbows]

I refute the notion that resolution is ever unimportant to people.

True it depends what kind of content, true lower res has interesting style implications of its own, can be used to good effect etc.

But, I feel the real argument is about what minimum resolution different people are happy with. If resolution was unimportant, then surely theres no bottom limit, why isnt everyone happily vjing at resolutions such as 160x120 or 80x60?

What I think should be acknowledged is that resolution is a barrier for certain styles/content/end results every bit as much as 320x240 is quite acceptable for certain other styles/content/end results.

For the stuff I hope to achieve one day, resolution is an issue, so its a barrier to me using openTZT, every bit as much as lack of flexible midi was a barrier.

Try telling people who are used to creating cinematic releases that the quality of film compared to typical internet streaming video quality is just sheen.

I dont see any fundamental difference between screen resolution and colour depth compared to audio spec. Yes the songs need to be great in their own right, but would I want to listen to them encoded at 8bit 22Khz?

Stuff about content such as "boring VJ crap" is a distraction to the point of the issue if you ask me. In what way does caring about resolution in any way suggest that there is less room to care about all the other important things? They arent mutually exclusive. Just because it happens to be rich corps that can most often afford to put a fake gloss over empty soulless message of adverts, doesnt in itself mean that striving for better sheen = compensating for lack of other aspects of quality in the work.

[MoRpH]

Originally posted by Rovastar
Seriously MoRpH if you think a native low res 320 clip looks better then a native 1024 clip then you have a problem.
I never said that I said, it depends on the material... simple

[MoRpH]

Originally posted by elbows

Stuff about content such as "boring VJ crap" is a distraction to the point of the issue if you ask me.

Its integratal to the point, whats the point of having a higher res if your not going to use it for something WORTHWHILE.

As for resolution harping I think a lot of it comes down to ppl that are obviously champions of other software pointing out the ONE thing they see as a stumbling block in OpenTZT and harping on it, which is pretty SAD IMHO.

ONCE AND FOR ALL.

We ALL OBVIOUSLY want to use higher res stuff and for something WORTHWHILE. Its going to take a huge amount of effort to in OpenTZT (yes, strangely enough ppl we have discussed it, were not against it), I'm not ure anyone @ the moment has the time or stamina to take on the task.

MY REQUEST to the community is:

GET on the OpenTZT site, download a copy (especially if your a coder with some time), mess with it, check out all the GREAT stuff thats already in it, then if you decide the resolution is still an issue for you, get involved with the ppl handling MAKING it higher res! If it doesn't suit your performance style, delete it.... simple, no money wasted.

The whole idea of buying the TZT source was to not have to re-invent the wheel to continue improving what is quite simply one of the best VJ apps around (UI, ease of use & performance, system requirements, etc).... CONTINUE IMPROVING! is the key in MANY ways (including output res).

I have to admit for the normal support level of the community I'm a little disappointed now that we have a solid base to work from for a OPEN SOURCE project, that so many ppl are sniping and not getting involved with the project itself.

[WordVirus23]

just a note... TZT will load SWFs that are larger than 320x240 but it only displays the upper left portion of it... hidden support for rez about 320? :)

..james...

[many2]

Originally posted by MoRpH

I have to admit for the normal support level of the community I'm a little disappointed now that we have a solid base to work from for a OPEN SOURCE project, that so many ppl are sniping and not getting involved with the project itself.

Don't let the talking disturb you : talk is cheap, attacking the work of other people is easy.

[elbows]

I dont accept your point at all morph. I contributed financially as you well know, Im hardly trying to snipe at it, that would be counterproductive.

You can put the word worthwhile in capital letters as much as you like, its meaningless for reasons I have already described.

Once upon a time you looked at visualjockey and were quite happy to talk about what would need to improve in it for it to be useable to you personally. For example the User Interface.

Would it be reasonable for me to tell you not to worry about the user interface, because it doesnt matter, what counts is if you do something WORTHWHILE.

I repeat, these things are not mutually exclusive. Its a complete red herring to even bring up WORTHWHILE, that stuff is created by the human being(s), and they choose whatever software/hardware tools fit their needs at the moment.

Its impossible to have a useful and worthwhile debate that furthers the software without talking honestly about parts of it that people see as flawed. Youve never been afraid to criticise things that dont fit your needs, so dont think for one moment Im going to feel in any way like Im harming openTZT development by posting my true thoughts.

You want it all, you want it free, you want it yesterday. You are disapointed because the very real and free effort people have put in so far hasnt met your expectations. The way I see it you are being more negative than me about openTZT on this thread, if you want to be constructive, then at least learn that you dont motivate people by whinging. Im probably as guilty as anybody of not listening to my own advice in that regard, but oh well, were all human after all.

[MoRpH]

I have no intention to... just suprising if this issue is so important to ppl they don't get involved to express it and DO something about it.

For possibly the first time in VJC/F history we finally have a project WE have TOTAL control over.. and ppl wanna bitch? I thought we were community of DOers.

[elbows]

Re-read the thread from the start and tell me the res stuff started off as bitching. It was someone taking the time to say what they considered to be the most pressing feature improvement. You then stated that res wasnt the top priority for you. All fine.

But then there has to be some sort of issue about whether people are allowed to consider res their top issue, or whether we all have to toally agree. We dont have to, and it doesnt have to be seen as bitching.

[elbows]

Or to put it another way, dont let the odd post that goes negative distract from the vast volume of stuff that is intended to be of help.

Re-reading one of my posts above, my criticism that you want it all, yesterday, is probably the same as how you felt people were treating the resolution issue - people being impatient and not giving it a chance. Which is probably similar to how I felt when some vjo flaws made you not care too much to explore the positive sides until the flaws were fixed.

Possibly therefore its all to do with soft spots we have in our emotional makeup for different VJ software. If we can become emotionally attached to material objects in our life as well as other living creatures, I guess software is no different.

You have my apologies for the several times so far in this thread that my posts appear to have come out slightly harsher than intended.

[MoRpH]

Hmmm valid points elbows (as usual well thought out). I guess I tend not to get wrapped up in the particulars, which I should be more careful about and jsut walk away from most post with a FEELING of what the person was getting @. And I will admit to the seeming hypocrasy of my comments on other softwares, with only the jsutification that different elements of a software are more important to different users (and I know that works both way). I jsut guess we need less software evangelism and more co-operation.

In these I felt that ppl were being very negative about encouraging others to check out OpenTZT based on 1 issue that IS on the list of improvements, however improvements can't be done unless ppl contribute and the the more contributers the better and if ppl aren't encouraging others to check it out how do you get more contributers?

I guess I was focusing a little more on the big picture than jsut this small issue, right or wrong I couldn;t stand to see this project loose momentum due to the comments of some ppl.

I don't think anyone would disagree that its a great opertunity for the community.

And yes elbows I know you contributed $$$ (thanks) as did quite a few of us. Now we need to use what we got.

[Rovastar]

Originally posted by Esotic
"A clip of what?" would be the more relevant question.

Hell, you might as well discredit van gogh for using such coarse brush strokes.

There is good distortion and bad distortion. It's all about how you use it.

Boring VJ crap at 1024x768 is still boring VJ crap. Style and content are far more important than sheen. Or maybe you'd prefer listening to Britney Spears over Minor Threat

But that's not to say that I don't respect Rova, cuz I do. He's been doing great things for the visual community for quite some time.

Maybe it's time we had a VJ battle? Like a DMC for VJs. Or we could post some demo clips and have people vote.

Beat It, Just Beat It, Wooooo!

-Esotic


No you misunderstanfd I am talking about the 'same' native clip, etc shot/made in high 1024res and again in low 320 or below res.

You could film a lansdscape or view some computer graphics.

E.g. running a computer game at the lowest res etc or as I know you have used Mildrop run at with the lowest mesh (what is that a 8x12 or something), lowest texture (256x256) and a low res and low framerate compared to running it at the highest ones. ( on a capable machien obviousy)

I am comparing like-to-like how can anyone argue that low res (esp remember blow up to huge pixle seeing sizes) looks better for the same material as high res. :/

Edit: as for a battle I am still waiting for a challanger....

[sleepytom]

one of the main advantages of having openTzt threads on VJF is to get input from a wide number of people - some of these people will never use TZT but their input is still relevent as they represent a slice of the potential userbase.

the current user base clearly doesn't have an issue with the low res otherwise the wouldn't be users. - what i'm trying to say is if the resolution was higher then the user base would expand dramatically - you'd no longer be limmited to people who were happy with 320x240

personally i don't really have any clips than are 320x240 (most of my clips are 384x288 or 768x576) so i can't use the program in its current state unless i choose to rerender all my clips at a lower res (yuck)

anyroad up i don't think you should take posts by people here as a personal attack on a program you love - see them more as a straw pole of which direction the app should take in the future.

[Esotic]

I love that VJs love to talk smack. I love that my peer group cares enough about what they do to honestly share thier opinions (whether they agree with me or not).

Rova should know just as well as anyone else that some MilkDrop presets don't run over 10 frames a second if you max out the options and screen resolution. Wouldn't you rather see that same preset at "lower quality" running 30 or 60 FPS? Of course you would.

It's a matter of working within the contraints of the system and what you want to accomplish. We all know that. If I was really concerned with the highest quality I would prerender all my clips in Vegas at 1024x768 (the native resolution of my projector), but I love being able to pile on video layers and effects and ride that crazy wave of visual energy live, so I use TZT cuz it's fast and easy to manipulate and I can code the features/effects I want. I never felt very competent at MilkDrop presets, but I can kick much butt writting video effects that create similar visual abstractions.

If you attack TZT as being unworthy due to a calculated limitation I'm gonna have to lay down some defense cuz I impress people with it all the time.

Respect,

-Esotic

[tdeagan]

This is COOL! People gettin' revved up :nod:

It's all good. No one's rep or income is on the line here. It's all about pushing the big rock of an idea that is OpenTZT up the hill.:jump2:

For those of you who don't play in open-source scenes, the passion level people get around open-source programs is freaky-powerful. Good stuff. (We) true believers are so entertaining :yep:

The res issue surfaces in so many threads on these forums (I've got rants on the topic in at least three threads,) it's no surprise it pushes buttons here. Bottom line with OpenTZT (geez I love writing the Open part :) ) is that the orginal source has hardcoded values for res strewn about like costumed freaks at DisneyWorld. We're batting around some ideas for how to ease into fixing this (it's an afterhours thing for everyone, unless they get bored at work.... heaven forbid :eek: .) This discussion occurs on the OpenTZT developer's list, which is archived and open to everyone over at http://sourceforge.net/projects/opentzt

The discussion in this thread has been really interesting to me. It made me wonder if the issue was that we were getting feedback from folks who weren't the target audience. It then occurred to me that no one had ever discussed who a target audience would be
:P

If I win the lottery I'll sponsor a week long retreat for folks to come and work on a mission statement! But without such an august document, I'd only venture my opinions, worth exactly what you are paying for them.

I'd say that if you've ever paid more than $50USD for a VJ app, you've probably already moved out of the middle of the theoretical OpenTZT target audience bell-curve. No one wants to put commercial vendors out of business (though they _should_ have to earn their income :nod: .) I'm just happy that folks who don't have the cash still have a high quality full-bore performance VJ app available. Me foremost among them :rolleyes: .

For folks making content out of Prelinger Archives, lowend DV cams, affordable USB vid capture, 320x240 is no stranger. If you have good access to higher res source material then it would be very painful to see it reduced to a shadow of what it was. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's any better _just_because_ it's higher res. But if your expression isn't feasible in VHS quality imagery (which is, for all intents and purposes, 320x240) then you should be using a higher res. Easy enough. (But heck, back in the stone age I had a LOT of fun with Super8 film :scared: )

Coming down the pike in OpenTZT are going to be some serious needs for folks to help by testing the snot out of attempts at making some big changes. So even if you're not a coder, we've got work for you! Writing docs, help files, tutorials is a big bonus as well.

OpenTZT could also be a great place to get a shot at having a wacky new idea tried out. Features you've dreamed ought to get bounced off the OpenTZT list, maybe it's doable ;)

[tdeagan]

Everytime I get all preachy about OpenTZT and it's so great and it's free and it will cause worldpeace and stuff, about 15-20 minutes later I think to myself, 'hey doofus, you forgot about NeuroMixer!'

http://www.vjfader.com/neuromixer/neuromixer.htm

VJFader has put together a really cool free VJ app. OpenTZT has no competitors since it's all about enablement. Neuromixer is another great enabling VJ app. VJFader is working hard and is part of this community, so I want to put out the word for his efforts too!

[VJamm]

personally i don't really have any clips than are 320x240 (most of my clips are 384x288 or 768x576) so i can't use the program in its current state unless i choose to rerender all my clips at a lower res (yuck)

mmm good point
320 does lock out europe quite badly

BTW on FreeFrame support, I'm expecting the MSVC template host inclusion code to get sorted out quite a bit very soon. When this is done it will be criminally easy to add FreeFrame support to any MSVC VJ app.

I don't mean to be rude here - I know it's all work and someone has to do it - tell me about it.

R

[MoRpH]

Hmmm yeah well 320 isn't quater PAL but but with the scaling on my TV out on the laptop it actually looks quite reasonable, no where near as bad as some of the low zooming scannies on a 320 zoom, ugh artifact city.

Sounds great Russell, hopefully it should be a snap then for our talented code heads :)

[VJamm]

yeah no it's not the scaling we're bothered about

its just that in europe normally we don't ever make 320 clips so all our archives and stuff we've swapped between ourselves tends to be at 384x288 and 352x288 rather than 320, so we just couldn't load most of our clips

R

[MoRpH]

They would load, TZT scales clips internally aswell ;)

[VJamm]

ah well that's not so bad then

Marcus and Thomas are working on the FreeFrame C++ template host code now.

You guys are working in MSVC aren't you?

which version?

R

[Esotic]

I do my coding in VS6, Wysiwyg has been using VS7. As long as we don't clobber each others project files everything is good.

:)

I've seen some talk about getting the VC7 compiler into VC6. Is the VC7 compiler somehow better? Just wondering.

Thanks for the heads up on the FreeFrame code updates.

-Esotic

[VJamm]

Thomas Hellesen has now updated the C++ FreeFrame template host code to FreeFrame1.0

it's on FreeFrame CVS at sourceforge:

module - FreeframeHostMFC

we're hoping to improve it - it's a bit fiddly right now, but extremely useful already to anyone trying to include FreeFrame in a C++ host

i recon it'll work in MSVC 6 and 7 - it's done in v 6 sp 5

Russell

[beatsurfers]

just to let you guys know. there will be another very enhanced version of openTZT. here the new features/changes:

- native 640x480 Resolution support !!!

- alpha functionality for all(!!) blending modes

- enhanced Midi Support (including midi fading)

- 128 preset channels (for saving and reading composition presets)

- optimized code (including v-ram support)

well, to be honest it will still take some time as coding is really time consuming...if you guys want to support me to get these features earlier, just let me know: jens@beatsurfers.com

if you have any suggestions let me know aswell...

bye.
jENS

www.beatsurfers.com

[Esotic]

Way to rock out on the code base!

:)

-Esotic

[WordVirus23]

some people rock out with their C%^& out!
<chants around fire> Beatsurfer Rocks!

any chance of native freeframe support?

..james...

NoInput:VP

[unfold]

that's great news !

*VICTORY DANCE!*

[Fullscreen]

jens, big respect!! really, I'm filled with excitement by this major upgrade of OpenTZT.

peace