I’m going to start posting development updates on my own site. You can find my previous development blog on tumblr here.
All posts by George Brown
Reality Augmenter Release Notes 1.1.0
Another update that’s been a long time coming. The main focus of this update is the underlying OpenGL code, which has been upgraded to support Core Profile 3.2. This was done for a variety of reasons. To enable better code sharing with a future iOS app, to better support new features to come soon and generally bring the code up to modern OpenGL Standards. The Fixed Function Pipeline is gone, drawing has been simplified and shaders upgraded.
In addition I’ve also fixed the annoying hang or crash that could occur mainly when adding or removing chop areas. A little more GPU memory is consumed when using views with previews, the output view has no such views and should be used for when optimal performance is required. Drawing to GUI views is now only done in the main thread, the background rendering no longer tries to lock views and should be more performant, this means a bit more latency on the previews, but the full screen projection areas still render at the maximum refresh rate with as little latency as possible.
OpenGL Changes
- Updated all OpenGL code to support Core Profile 3.2.
- Previews render in the main thread and made thread safe.
- Quartz Composer is still supported via a seperate Legacy Context.
Other
- Fixed crash or hang when adding or removing chop areas.
- Removed rendering start delay on opening a new file.
- General code clean and removal of outdated code.
Projection Mapped Skinz
Using the reality augmenter to map custom visuals to my turntables and mixer:
You can get the QC compositions used here.
New Skinz for Decks and Mixer
I got myself some all white skinz for my technics and mixer from 12inchskinz, they look amazing. Did a quick couple of QC files using shaders and masks to show them off:
I added the QC files here:
Really simple shader means it’s super quick.
Enhanced Rane Sixty Two
Made a few improvements to my previous post. Added readouts to the filters, the FX Depth knob, and an indicator if the cross fader is open.
Video:
Custom QC Processor for Rane Sixty Two
Spent the afternoon building a custom QC overlay for the Rane Sixty Two that can be used as a processor in the Reality Augmenter. Ideal resolution is 370×720 px for the processor. (Based on the dimensions of the mixer, 265mmx360mm, I just double the values for a nice crisp finish)
It takes image inputs for the Preview area and loops, and let’s you quickly setup a layer covering the entire Sixty Two in one go, reducing setup time.
It also enhances the EQ knobs, giving a nice readout on their levels.
Quick vid showing it in action:
EDIT : I updated the QC File to use a macro instead of a custom library patch, wasn’t sure if custom library patches are exported with compositions. Anyway, this one should be completely self contained. No plugins required.
Scrolling Text Composition
A simple Quartz Composition that displays scrolling texts that you can use with the Reality Augmenter.
See it in action in this video:
Serato Video Album Art Loader
A Quartz Composer file you can drop in your media crate, and it will attempt to load album art from a shared directory based on the Album name of the current playing track.
The default path for the album artwork is ~/Music/AllAlbumArtwork. You can change it in the file using the AlbumArtworkPath input splitter patch.
You can see it in effect in this video:
Reality Augmenter Release Notes 1.0.4
It’s been a while since the last update, to be honest, I took a bit of a break over Christmas and new year after working non stop for so long! Been getting back on the horse again, new updates and developments to start coming again.
New Features
- Can now add Quartz Compositions as sources as well as processors.
- Saved files now use the extension .rag instead of .binary, files using the old extension will still load.
OpenGL Optimisations
- Better context management means fewer context switches and locks.
- Reduced openGL flushing.
Other
- Reduced use of OSX Cocoa specific code to enable a future iOS release with shared code base.
- Code restructure as part of the above.
- General code clean and removal of outdated code.
Reality Augmenter as Window Display
Reality augmenter, self adhesive frosting, instant window display without precise projector alignment.