Maid questions (about cleaning up projectors and movie players multiplication)

Armando

Hello all

I recently had full professorship position in the dance Department in University of Quebec in Montreal. I write this email on the plane that takes me to live there today. And I’ll be teaching Isadora quite a bit as I did for the last ten years. Now, when I do that I find myself spending a lot of time talking and making examples about projectors. I find a bit confusing the new (probably still hybrid) classic project / projector / texture projector / external video output / 3D projector /3D quad distort/ 3D rect projector division and I want to share it with the community. I’d like to share some thoughts and some plowable cleaning strategies with community, our amazing list souls and of course Mark.

And I have similar questions about all the 8 Movie players.

Projectors first

1) About non 3D projectors. The new movie player with new “eye” projector (better known as “mutable input” projector) seems to be the intelligent fusion of the classic and texture. So my question is: why do we still need the classic projector, the texture projector (maybe backwards compatibility with old patches?). Even the virtual stage actor (gpu based) can be connected to both texture and new mutable output projector….NB: since we have the new mutable one eyed projector and Isadora is now done for Blackmagic do we still need the “external video output” actor? Could it be an option inside the new mutable input eye options projector ?

About 3D projectors. When I put all of 3 the 3D projectors one next to the other I wonder why they shouldn’t just be one 3D projector also with eye options. And this could also include the only projector I was never able to use (although I need it a lot now in my new dome project) the 3D mesh projector
And now the magic suggested by the recent eye options projector. Since Mark has put some 3D options in the eye options of the mutable input projector, why not to have a only ONE projector with eye options that make us choose what options we want on the projector. This could maybe simplify of teachers and of programming isn’t it? Any thoughts?

Movie Players afterwards

Let’s forget for the moment the direct movie players and the sound movie player one in order to focus on the Classic the new mutable output movie player and the CI movie player

Movie player and texture movie player: I’m sure I didn’t get all the differences (who did?) but shouldn’t texture movie player disappear in favor of the new mutable movie player? They both are gpu based renderers. I ran hap movie files (now codecs are also optimized for avfoundation) on the new movie player into the mutable input “eyed” projectors and it worked like a charm…..
Movie player and ci movie player. I’m probably not competent enough to understand but when Ci actor appeared mark told us that these actors used the core image layer of mac os x that used the gnu in to render video. But now with the avfoundation the new mutable output movie players and projectors what is the difference between the vid-ci and vid-gpu (only present and the ci and the qc actors?)

I’m sorry I know it is a lot to process. I could have broken down this in a few mail but it seemed all “connected” (so to speak, hahaha) to me.

Thanks for you thoughts and happy new year!!!!

Bill Cottman

@Armando: Thanks for posting your questions and observations. I think backward compatibility is the answer, but since I have not used all the actors you mention I am curious to see a comparison of features between "old and new" so that I can know when starting a completely new patch which actors to use.

Armando

Well, vanderzee,

there is the knowledge base page for the new [movie player](http://troikatronix.com/support/kb/izzy20-playback/) (the one with mutable input : vid-ci, vid cpu and vid-cpu). This means that the new projector is universal. It can play from any movie player (texture, classic, CI and new movie player. And that is precisely why I think that the texture projector, the Classic projector and the CI projector are useless and time consuming pedagogically speaking. And even for users.

Take care

Armando

Michel

@Armando

As far I now is, that with the final release there will only be one movie player and one projector. The old ones will still be there but hidden, that means you cannot add an old movie player/projector actor anymore but your old files will still use the old actors. Not sure about the 3d projectors though.

It is true, it does not make sense using the old actors anymore, they will only be there until the final release.

@Mark: Correct me if I am wrong.

Best
Michel

crystalhorizon

Sounds logic and a nice clean up

Skulpture

I hear you. But each 'type' of image/video processing using different coding and libraries. So I imagine it's not quite as easy as turning things off and on.

Mark has been trying to support as many types of processing as possible whilst maintaining a high level of stability. By this I man CPU and GPU processing.

During out talks and emails with the IzzyGuru team it has become clear there are lots of types of processing and the names can come across confusing. The names themselves have been tricky to define: texture, CI, video, image, etc.

So I am pretty sure as Michel says that the final release will be easier to navigate. Again; not sure about 3D actors as they are quite specific.

Armando

Thanks,

I'm sure there will be a cleanup. Just a matter of time.