Hey everyone,
I’m a huge enthusiast for psychedelic video and realtime video processing. I have a setup at home consisting of the classic realtime video gear - Roland P-10 and v8 mixers, Entrancer, BPMC stuff. It’s a computer-free SD setup that has been evolving for years into something pretty wild.
I run live cameras in this setup, but of course I want to inject prerecorded video into the setup also. I currently have several ways of doing this, but they all have problems or leave me wanting features. I want to trigger video from a large bank via midi with low latency. Using my P-10 I can choose between 12 clips in a bank, which is OK. Changing banks involves holding one button and pressing another, it’s not fluid enough. And this same technique must be done in MIDI operation. If I want to play clips with sequencer I am pretty much limited to 12.
I was told about this 4Cast MVP device that can play 4K video clips with MIDI. It also can do DMX, but for right now I am going to leave that aside completely. (I currently use QLight controller+ to convert MIDI to DMX and will stick with it). The device is very new and made by a small team, so there isn’t much info about it. Or what info is available is spread across social media posts and websites. As far as I can tell there is no proper manual to reference.
Unable to find enough info, I just bought one to answer the questions myself. The online music and art community has been a resource for me countless times, so I am posting this to contribute and hopefully help out some others. Forgive me if ultimately I don’t get involved in discussion very much, I don’t have a smartphone for notifications and honestly do not use the internet much. My stated goal is to contribute the following helpful info.
The MVP:
Can play video files up to 4K 30 fps. It can player higher frame rates at lower resolution.
It can be controlled via MIDI and is a MIDI host. The control is notes only. All that can be done is triggering with a predetermined set of notes on channel 1 only. No CC or PC commands. MIDI din port works great. USB-C can power the device and receive MIDI simultaneously.
The bank of simultaneously available clips is 100! That is amazing. Slot 1 is always blackout. There is also a “play on startup” slot, which is very useful.
The files can globally be set to play once or repeat. No per-file options. No ping-pong. No gated playback. No other video manipulation of any kind.
Plays video with low latency. Even a 45 minute long SD clip starts right up. A 4 minute 4K video also played very responsively. It’s definitely fast enough playback for live performance.
There’s the main info. I think this box is amazing. I’m currently integrating it into my system. Having 100 clips is a great place to be. I wish it could have 128 banks of 100 clips, switchable with PC commands. Then it would be almost perfect.
The unit has a few minor issues. Regardless of that, this is without a doubt the best option for computer-free video MIDI video playback with low latency. Nothing else can compare.
I made a long video where I deep dive into this device. I put the pertinent info at the front, so you can watch and then bail when I start replaying test footage over and over and going on and on about various aspects of the device and interface. Additional thoughts at the end. I invite you to enjoy the video! Making the video helped gather my thoughts and I put it out there for casual enjoyment by those who like lengthy exposés about gear. It’s not meant to snare the casual viewer. I hope I can make videos like this and people will like them, even if I don’t hang around and build a brand and online presence in forums and comment sections. I would like to be around, but online interactions often distract me from what I’m doing IRL.
Thanks for letting me drop this here. I hope someone enjoys it. If anyone else has used this device I would love to hear your experiences as well.
https://vimeo.com/1051574974
I’m a huge enthusiast for psychedelic video and realtime video processing. I have a setup at home consisting of the classic realtime video gear - Roland P-10 and v8 mixers, Entrancer, BPMC stuff. It’s a computer-free SD setup that has been evolving for years into something pretty wild.
I run live cameras in this setup, but of course I want to inject prerecorded video into the setup also. I currently have several ways of doing this, but they all have problems or leave me wanting features. I want to trigger video from a large bank via midi with low latency. Using my P-10 I can choose between 12 clips in a bank, which is OK. Changing banks involves holding one button and pressing another, it’s not fluid enough. And this same technique must be done in MIDI operation. If I want to play clips with sequencer I am pretty much limited to 12.
I was told about this 4Cast MVP device that can play 4K video clips with MIDI. It also can do DMX, but for right now I am going to leave that aside completely. (I currently use QLight controller+ to convert MIDI to DMX and will stick with it). The device is very new and made by a small team, so there isn’t much info about it. Or what info is available is spread across social media posts and websites. As far as I can tell there is no proper manual to reference.
Unable to find enough info, I just bought one to answer the questions myself. The online music and art community has been a resource for me countless times, so I am posting this to contribute and hopefully help out some others. Forgive me if ultimately I don’t get involved in discussion very much, I don’t have a smartphone for notifications and honestly do not use the internet much. My stated goal is to contribute the following helpful info.
The MVP:
Can play video files up to 4K 30 fps. It can player higher frame rates at lower resolution.
It can be controlled via MIDI and is a MIDI host. The control is notes only. All that can be done is triggering with a predetermined set of notes on channel 1 only. No CC or PC commands. MIDI din port works great. USB-C can power the device and receive MIDI simultaneously.
The bank of simultaneously available clips is 100! That is amazing. Slot 1 is always blackout. There is also a “play on startup” slot, which is very useful.
The files can globally be set to play once or repeat. No per-file options. No ping-pong. No gated playback. No other video manipulation of any kind.
Plays video with low latency. Even a 45 minute long SD clip starts right up. A 4 minute 4K video also played very responsively. It’s definitely fast enough playback for live performance.
There’s the main info. I think this box is amazing. I’m currently integrating it into my system. Having 100 clips is a great place to be. I wish it could have 128 banks of 100 clips, switchable with PC commands. Then it would be almost perfect.
The unit has a few minor issues. Regardless of that, this is without a doubt the best option for computer-free video MIDI video playback with low latency. Nothing else can compare.
I made a long video where I deep dive into this device. I put the pertinent info at the front, so you can watch and then bail when I start replaying test footage over and over and going on and on about various aspects of the device and interface. Additional thoughts at the end. I invite you to enjoy the video! Making the video helped gather my thoughts and I put it out there for casual enjoyment by those who like lengthy exposés about gear. It’s not meant to snare the casual viewer. I hope I can make videos like this and people will like them, even if I don’t hang around and build a brand and online presence in forums and comment sections. I would like to be around, but online interactions often distract me from what I’m doing IRL.
Thanks for letting me drop this here. I hope someone enjoys it. If anyone else has used this device I would love to hear your experiences as well.
https://vimeo.com/1051574974
Statistics: Posted by Act Raiser — Wed Mar 12, 2025 9:57 am — Replies 0 — Views 41