Smooth Video Loop - Dx11 FileStram (VLC)

[massimiliano_c]

Is there a way to get a smooth video loop? As the video ends, the FileStream node reloads the video with a little pause. Is there any way to restart smoothly?

I thought with a double FileStream, a crossfader/video mixer, and so on… but i was wondering if there’s a easier and more elegant solution.

Thank you.

[sunep]

there are several way to do that,

1. use a intraframe compressed codec that will allow for faster jumping around in the video.
2. spread the input of the VLC filestream and play one at a time, so you can flip between them.
   3 make a DDS sequence and use the Player nodes to play the videos back as file sequences.

[massimiliano_c]

Thanks @sunep . I’m interested in solution 2.
I tried with a Cons(String) as input path to the file stream. Then? How can i “unzip” the texture to a mixer? (Sorry but i’m new to VVVV).

[tonfilm]

@massimiliano_c

How can i “unzip” the texture

this would be a GetSlice node which gives you one texture of a spread for a given index.

[sebescudie]

You could also give HAP a try.

[massimiliano_c]

Thank you @tonfilm !

@sunep, for the solution 3, i’m testing the Player EX9 Node.
How can i play the sequence? Should i use a FrameCounter or Stopwatch to manage playeback? Is there a guide or demo?

@sebescudie thanks. I’m new to VVVV and i don’t kown HAP, but thanks again. I’ll study it.

[sebl]

despite it is really new and even not yet released, i feel hap is the easiest, quickest and most reliable solution.

tbh i never used vlc, because everytime i gave it a chance it behaved very unreliable (timing, playback start, looping, crashing, …).
so i always used player or filetexture (pooled). this is cool as long as your harddrive(s) are fast enough.

[massimiliano_c]

Thanks @sebl

Regarding the Loop performaces, i noticed that EX9 Filestream (VLC ) with EX9 Renderer performs well, with virtually no jump as the loop cycles.

If I use (on the same machine/configuration) the DX11 Filestream (VLC) i’ve got a jump/stop at the end of the loop.

If i use EX9 Filestream (VLC) with a DX9toDX11 converter, i still get the jump/stop at the end of the loop. Any ideas to bypass the problem or any other combination to test?

Sadly in this project i need to use MP4 files, and i can’t use other codecs.
At most i could try the Player node (but i didn’t figured out how to use it. Any guide/manual online?)
Thank for your soultions!

[massimiliano_c]

I followed your tips and solutions.
I’ve tried MJEPG as codec for my video loops in this configuration:
Dx11, Filestream (VLC), MJPEG Codec, but without the audio track.
I tried different combination and found out that MJPEG with audio track still has a stop at the end of the loop.
So i finally found a solution for smooth video loop with DX11, but sadly with no audio form the video itself.
Hope it can help other people.
Thanks again.

[pbcmatthew]

@massimiliano_c

Are you able to make the mp4 video to loop smoothly ?

if yes can you teach me how ?

[massimiliano_c]

Hi @pbcmatthew! It’s been a while since I used VVVV… sorry, I’m not up to date.

My advise is to convert your files into MJPEG, HAP or PNG animation. You’ll have very big video files, but they run very smoothly. You can also think to automate the conversion process with shell exec and ffmpeg.
Hope is a useful tip!

bye!