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Forum: VirtualDJ Plugins

Topic: Capture virtual light show software driven by VDJ?
I thought I would throw this out there and see if anyone bites or knows anything about this. Capture Visualizations, a lighting-design software company from Sweden , makes a software called Capture 2022, which not only allows you to design a light show, but (unlike other lighting design and control software) the light shows you design and create in Capture are rendered into a "virtual" light show that looks almost like the real thing, like you are watching an actual real light show. It is expensive for the full version called Solo (>$300), but they also make a limited version for free-use called Capture Student Edition.

https://www.capture.se

This is like, totally incredible and can you imagine the possibilities for online DJ video-streaming? So the question I have to all you plug-in developers or script-writers is: Is it possible to create a plug-in that will interface or allow the audio (beat & loudness) and controls from VDJ to control and drive a virtual light show in Capture?

Whoever is interested, I watched a video made by Christian Jackson on his YouTube channel. He designed a virtual light show in Capture which he controls with his GrandMA2 lighting control board and software. Now ....think about if something like this could be controlled by an interface, script, or plugin in VDJ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAPnyLcRSx0

I think this could be absolutely huge! I swear I hope someone checks out this video and runs with this....
 
Posted Wed 04 Jan 23 @ 3:05 am
More or less, Capture requires a lighting software/console (like GrandMA you mentioned) to talk to it for the show to get really alive.
VirtualDJ is NOT a lighting software. It cannot talk directly to Capture.
However VirtualDJ can communicate with a few lighting software titles, which can also talk to Capture.
Sure, it gets more complicated, but it's also the way a real light show works.

So, the "correct" way this could work is this:
VirtualDJ -> Lighting Software -> Capture

A few lighting software that support OS2L protocol and can work for this kind of implementation are Soundswitch, QLC+, Sunlite Suite, Chamsys MagicQ.
 
Posted Wed 04 Jan 23 @ 11:17 am
Thank you for your reply and the info PhantomDeejay! :-)
 
Posted Thu 05 Jan 23 @ 5:23 pm
MagicQ is a good choice and I was going to try using that, but since I've posted this, I've come to learn a LOT more about Soundswitch. I finally invested in Soundswitch software, and their Control One hardware console. I also was able to reach out to one of Soundswitch's main techs, and they have already been using Capture as a means to demo their products. When I talked to him about the possibilities of using this set-up for more than demos (real-life online DJ streaming), ...I think the light-bulb finally came on in his head. :-) We already know Soundswitch has worked w/ VDJ to integrate their products better. It will be neat to hopefully see this whole idea of light show visualizers bear to fruition.

There is a DJ on YouTube named DJ Boney who has successfully done this using Capture, and was featured on light tech Shashika's YT channel. It doesn't look bad at all. It is "toned down" a lot from the Christian Jackson video example I posted previously, but portrays better what an "online" streaming event DJ can do with this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB1zaAFgjao
 
Posted Thu 15 Jun 23 @ 8:45 pm
I use soundswitch with virtual dj with unreal engine as a visualizer. Works pretty well, lots of possibilities.
 
Posted Wed 15 Nov 23 @ 4:09 pm
Just thought I would add this, one year later after my initial post. I've been using and tinkering with Capture 2023 Student Edition (free). for myself it has lots of limitations, but it's still a good basic light show and recommend it to anyone looking to get their feet wet into virtual lighting. Their next step is over $300, so I know I'm not gonna go there.

https://l8.ltd/m/lc/l8-ce.html

However, I just learned about "Media L8 CE", which is less than half the price of Capture, and although it's the entry version and its limit is 64 fixtures, ...it seems to be unlimited on its staging, light types, etc. It also seems a slight bit more "realistic looking" to me as well. If it is a perm license (and not an annual subscription), this could be a good way to go. Here's an example of using Media L8 by Thomas Bera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gKuPM0bx3Y

I'm using SoundSwitch & SoundSwitch ControlOne. The good news is that Soundswitch software was made to integrate with Virtual DJ, and looks like it will work on the other end with L8 (...no GrandMA needed).
 
Posted Thu 04 Jan 24 @ 10:31 am
Since you only care about "virtual" lights, everything is ok I guess.
The real struggle begins when you want to visualize a real rig.
In this case, having the visualiser (e.g. Capture) support as many fixtures as possible is almost the most important factor. Especially these days that cheap "generic name" fixtures are all over the place and make themselves present even on big rigs.
 
Posted Fri 05 Jan 24 @ 8:28 am
for me, I'm only a part-time hobbist DJ. I could never even begin to afford (or rent/lease) real stage lighting. My world is online and virtual, as is many other DJ's who do primarily video-streaming with OBS Studio, Streamlabs, etc. This mainly is an option for them, a way to incorporate what "looks like" a real & advanced DJ light show into their online livestreams.
 
Posted Tue 09 Jan 24 @ 9:18 pm
well, it looks like Media L8 CE is not gonna work for me. That $150 for CE1 is an annual fee (per year). If I was doing this as a business with revenue coming in, yes, it's a great thing. Unfortunately, I can't justify this for myself as a hobby, I'll stick to using Capture Student Edition for free.

DWAYNARANG, can you share with us what tools or modeling you are using in Unreal Engine to build a light show?
 
Posted Tue 23 Jan 24 @ 7:11 pm