ArKaos Releases GrandVJ 1.5

ArKaos has announced the release of GrandVJ 1.5, which includes major new features and enhancements.

GrandVJ is a real-time video mixer software allowing VJs to compose up to eight layers of video on the fly. It is defined by two new features: Transitions and ArKaos Connect VST plus several other enhancements.

With the addition of 37 transitions, transitions are distributed across the following groups: eight fades, three blinds, six masks, four distortions, three 3Ds, two pixelizations, seven rectangles, one slide, one swipe, and two waves. Each transition can have up to four parameters plus a fade time, all of which can be controlled through MIDI. In Synth mode, the new transitions add fade in/fade out between visuals. In Mixer mode, users get advanced live control on the transitions through the A-B mixer.

ArKaos Connect VST is billed as being the missing link between Musicians and VJs it allows GrandVJ to receive sound and MIDI from any audio sequencer compatible with VST plug-ins, running on the same machine or on another machine from the network. ArKaos Connect has been successfully tested with Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, Cakewalk Sonar X1, Reaper and FL Studio.

Other new features:

The browser now allows the user to preview visuals, effects, transitions and sources before displaying them in the output window, just like a DJ would listen a track before playing it to his audience.

GrandVJ 1.5 brings bidirectional support for Akai's new MIDI controller, the APC20, through a dedicated template, just like for the APC40 in the previous release.

GrandVJ will now accept most acquisition devices under Mac OS X thanks to the added support for QuickTime Sequence Grabber and QT Kit.

Under Windows 7 it is now possible to use multiple monitors from a graphics card with several outputs, even when the spanning functionality is not available, as it was under Windows XP.

The new color pass filter transforms a colored visual into a grayscale image, allowing only one color to pass through. Four parameters can be used to select the color range.

GrandVJ accepts all common video and image formats. Its intuitive interface lets you turn your keyboard into a super controller for zipping through the functions.

GrandVJ is very easy to customize to each user's preferred setup, the company says. The interface can quickly be modified to fit individual needs and preferences.

Behind the scenes, GrandVJ speeds up with a multi-threaded hardware-accelerated graphics engine, which benefits from ArKaos experience of more than 10 years in live visual processing software development.

It can play video at up to 60FPS without dropping a single frame thanks to Software Genlocking and supports frame blending and soft-edge without any compromise on output quality or software stability.

Grand VJ has been developed, tested, and refined to get the best possible performance out of any modern computer or laptop, the company says, and just like all other ArKaos products, GrandVJ runs on both PC and Mac.