VM-1 // A Video Mixer for Everyone
I am happy to announce that I'll be working on the VM-1 for another round. This will happen as a cooperation between the HfS Ernst Busch, it’s “Laboratory for Digitality” (headed by Julian Jungel) and myself. The project is funded by the Aventis Foundation.
This is what HfS Ernst Busch announced on their website (translation from german original):
Thanks to funding from the Aventis Foundation, the “Laboratory for Digitality” is now developing a video mixer for theater and media art. This mixer will enable a common scenario: mixing up to two video cameras with pre-produced videos and projecting them onto up to two video projectors. The VM-1 will also serve as an introduction to programming, allowing users to create their own video effects.
Designed to be cost-effective, user-friendly, and open-source, the VM-1 aims to provide an alternative to proprietary video systems, thereby enhancing user independence. Additionally, HfS Ernst Busch seeks to use this project to showcase the creative potential of video and film as mediums. Techniques of image composition will be taught and explored in an accessible manner using the VM-1. Ultimately, this project aims not only to drive technological innovation but also to open new avenues for creative theater-making among students.
Background
In 2023 Julian and I started this project by creating a proof-of-concept of an affordable and open-source video mixing device in 2023.
The POC was developed using Python and GStreamer on the Raspberry Pi 4 platform. It showed that the hardware is capable of decoding and displaying multiple 1080p30 (video and camera) streams at once. Although we were convinced that our idea is doable using the RPi4, we would have had to compromise on some features due to the limited performance of the platform.
As the powerful new Raspberry Pi 5 was released by the end of 2023, we felt like we are on the right track. So we started the development of a prototype using C++, Dear ImGui and OpenGL ES and also developed our own PCB for the hardware controller. This layed the foundation for the current project iteration.