PrettyScope Beta - Bugs & Feature Requests

[Architeuthis]

Please report if you experience the bugs in red! I don't know if it's just my computer or not.

Known issues:

• Vertical black lines show up randomly on the canvas, very annoying. Will hinder the artistic creation process. Quick fix is to resize the window (which resets the canvas)
• WARNING: Closing the gui resets the canvas.
• Dropdown menus will stop working randomly. Quick fix is to copy/paste a new copy of PrettyScope in your DAW or click on the dropdown menu like a madman for a while.
• audio and video threads have a lack of timer/sync causing a slightly stuttery image in certain situations as well as drawing inconsistencies for low frequency signals

Things I no like

• Brightness of dot and line are not the same when using the same brightness value
• Changing line/dot size changes the amount of blur when it should really just change the size and keep blur the same.
• Shape and brightness of lines and dots drastically change with different blend modes
• Alpha control doesn't really do anything different than brightness, either remove or change its functionality.
• lack of gamma correction

Planned before release:

• Mac version
• Linux version
• Scale/Rotation/Shear/Shift with an option to affecting the audio output
• x/y offset via mouse click/drag on canvas and possibly other mouse modifiers, maybe have mouse modifiers as an assignable modulation source.

Planned features (may not exist on release):

• Parameter interpolation (some parameters may require informing the GPU of modulations that happen betweens frames)
• Auto / Manual Zoom
• Delay compensation
• optional interpolation/oversampling to reduce unrealistic edges
• some kind of video rendering/export
• Screenshot button
• Screenshot load/save
• 1D mode (stereo,mono,mix with waveform detection and syncing)
• More coloring modes such as using a colormap to control the color of lines based on length
• Edit colormaps inside the plugin and see your changes in realtime
• Switch between HSL/RGB/Lab color sliders
• audio functions: panning, rotation, channel swap, channel invert, boost/compression/limiting
• video functions: zoom/offset
• modulation, use an LFO to, for example, rotate hue of your lines and dots
• linux version?
• standalone version?
• apply fun effects in realtime such as pixelate, blur, bloom/glow, calligraphy mode, paintbrush mode,spray paint mode

[Terrafractyl]

So far my first impressions are good!

From your list above it seems your on top of nearly all of my wishes/complaints. but just to re-iterate them...

The Dimming and Alpha settings are fiddly. Often nearly the whole throw of the slider does practically nothing, and then the actual spot that you want to get in a play with is only a tiny part of the slider.
Both of these are dependent on the mode, and you seem to be aware of this, but I definitely found it to be the most difficult thing about getting things to where I wanted them quickly.

Modulation and Host Automation is a must, I immedietly starting thinking about using this to make a video clip for a track, and an LFO or three certainly would not go astray. I want to have that rotation slider constantly moving!

I was thinking an auto-zoom button that would detect the volume and set the scale of X and Y appropriately so that you can forget those controls if you just want make the most of the Display area and don't wish to change it.???

[Architeuthis]

Terrafractyl, thanks for the impressions! Yep, I agree with everything you said. I was thinking about an auto-zoom feature being implemented with an internal compressor. What do you think... maybe a one-press button? So you press the button and then it sets your zoom. If your signal changes, you have to press it again to get a new zoon. The alternative to this would be a zoom that changes over time depending on the signal... huh... I think I could easily implement both, like auto-pause. Detect Zoom / Auto Zoom / Manual Zoom

[Terrafractyl]

I think I could easily implement both, like auto-pause. Detect Zoom / Auto Zoom / Manual Zoom

Yeah that sounds perfect. Will play around some more today, and try and make some videos

[HiEnergy]

I'm afraid I found a buglet...
On loading a saved project the color map isn't properly restored (uses first color map in list, something with red on white background).
This bug was reliably reproducible.

Windows 8.1 64bit, Live 9.7 64bit, PrettyScope beta build2 VST 64bit.
Will test whether this also happens on Reaper and with the 32bit VST.

[Architeuthis]

ill put it on the to do list for build 3: initialize colormap correctly

[Mumbai]

Antiquity Bug: Can't load/host doesn't find prettyscope32dll in:
Laptops ancient, Centrino 1,6 WinXP, diverse hosts
and C2D 1,6, Vista. Older Reaper, Live, Audacity, Ocenaudio.
Rusty EnergyXT 2,7 was the only host to not just ignore it, but show an error -
"MSVCP140 missing" (newer Visual C++ needed or Open GL?).

Indepth experiments on the AMD A6-4400 with Reaper - input live acoustic instrument (Sitar), treated with some reverb or other effect to get some stereo diff. Bug beta 3: log shows some OpenGL errors with numbers around 300. Bug beta 4: after recall of preset or reload/resize of effect window often, but not always the scope background goes white, despite of shown colormap. (AMD is known for bad driver and OpenGl support, so there is sporadically very high CPU and heat prob, but at least that Samsung sh*t doen't crash;-)

It took lots of adjustments of the scope to get some nice visuals that relate to the playing - Sitar has lots of harmonics. But with the right parameters it can do very nice paisley like things, some Jackson Pollock, expanding and contracting galaxies and other psychedelic things;-) Waiting for the 1D mode.

Bug: In Reaper I couldn't get the parameter modulation/lfo to affect the visuals - I only see the para faders moving.

Unrelated: Now am trying to get screen recording working - with OBS I can record the scope window OR the sound plus the Reaper track window, but not both? Will find a way, vid is in the works.

Features: adjustment of contrast/brightness/gamma would be nice. Possible to have a jpg or some kind of not uniform background? Editing/making own colormaps?

Thanks very much for the promising Scope, with some adjustments it can be very pretty (and unpretty, if needed;-) for non-electronic music. Greets and happy Easter, I.

[Architeuthis]

"MSVCP140 missing" (newer Visual C++ needed or Open GL?).

download: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downloa ... x?id=53840

Bug beta 3: log shows some OpenGL errors with numbers around 300.

Please post or attach the log here.

adjustment of contrast/brightness/gamma would be nice.

planned

Possible to have a jpg or some kind of not uniform background?

What would you do with that? If you're doing a video, there's plenty of ways to do that post-production. This feature request will require a use-case.

Editing/making own colormaps?

You can already do that, the colormap files are xml. Use one as a template to create a new one.

[Mumbai]

Already tried to post this yesterday, but an Orca swallowed it(?)

* Visual C update didn't help - these two laptops have OpenGL 2.0 and 2.1 - to low? ENergy XL now says can't open dll.

* Hunderts of these two errors int he log for AMD 4400:
GL_INVALID_OPERATION - ..\..\Source\ScopeDisplayOpenGL.cpp:336
GL_INVALID_OPERATION - ..\..\Source\ScopeDisplayOpenGL.cpp:381

* Gamma: good.

* No post-production here, live play into it and stream or beam. For this some influence on the background would be nice, as far as technically possible.

* XML: good.

Videos:
https://vimeo.com/214362941
https://vimeo.com/214363237

[Architeuthis]

Mumbai, yeah your post disappeared, did I hit the delete button by mistake?

I need to know more info about what you want to do with the background.

[Mumbai]

Yes, was wondering about that post. If I find it (other puter at other place) I'll glue it in here again.

Concerning backgrounds: ATM with the right colormap and some tweak of the settings, very nice foregrounds evolve (getting better everytime I play around with it), but if the background could be finetuned (ex. with color gradients, shades, subtle patterns or a pic) Prettyscope would have another 'dimension'. Like: I play some nice Jackson Pollock (with variable dots), change settings and do a piece with an impressionist palette (more blur, Monet colors). Or: I do trad lute music and have a pic of the granddad of my guru on the scope;-) Or: I feed some very wild Synthi A sounds into the scope and there is a EMS circuit bord in the background. Etc.

This needn't be complicated - possibility to load a pic as background or some simple XML adjustments (background maps?) should do. Don't know if and how something like this is technically in reach?

[Architeuthis]

So far I understand you want to have an image as a background. What parameters would you then want to adjust? You mentioned blur. That would be a strange thing to adjust for a background image. I would think you'd want some coloration sliders for the background. Brightness/Contrast/Saturation/Hue..x/y position, zoom?.. a bunch of controls dedicated to the background would clutter the interface and would be not very useful. It would be interesting to change these parameters to the beat of the music, sure, but... that's going in the wrong direction for an oscilloscope. I have other plans for aesthetic options that will need a bunch more sliders.

Loading a background image is something I could add though. I planned on having a similar feature to this for a different reason.

Hmm... however... having a bunch of controls for the background would not clutter the interface if they were hidden by default. I plan on having somewhat of a customizeable interface, a modern take on the performance page.

Edit: OH I see. You want color controls for the background, not color controls for an image for the background. Not sure what you mean by subtle patterns though you should be more specific on that.

[Mumbai]

Hi, sorry for confusion: option to load a static background image would be perfectly fine (- my remarks on patterns etc. were about getting away from the uniform backgrd as it is). Controls hue, sat, contrast, whatever, were about possibly fine tuning the whole oszi window/output.

But if you could put some optional/hidden controls for evolving backgrounds - that would be fine, too;-) Interface clutter: bad, but the more options, the better.

>I have other plans for aesthetic options that will need a bunch more sliders.<

That sounds very good - the more I use PrettyScope, the more I like it. Color for the music.

[pilotredsun]

Feature request: Can you add a mode to render the waves such that the lines are exactly 1 pixel thin and resemble an old-school wireframe? Here's a screencap of what Oscistudio can do if you turn up the intensity all the way and turn down the thickness.



For the record, I am trying to achieve a retro vector effect like on old computers and game systems

[Architeuthis]

pilotredsun, that is possible, an ugly cheap mode. When it comes time to work on PrettyScope visual features I'll see about adding that.