2D Layers

The NDI Receiver provides the texture of a chosen NDI source together with several meta data. The Source property defines which NDI source to use - it can be provided either as a string or using the dropdown menu that is accessed by  clicking the arrow on its right.

Low Bandwidth limits the input to 640x360 pixels which saves bandwitch between the source and Ventuz andis meant to be used e.g. for preview cases. Low Latency disables frame buffering that is used to stabilize the incoming framerate. If enabled it may cause stuttering on the input depending on the NDI source and the network environment, but the frames will be processed by Ventuz without any delay.

The Tally property is based on an NDI feature that enables a receiver to tell the source that it is currently used - named after the popular concept in broadcasting. Ventuz sends a signal to the source according to the configuration of the current Pipe - so when this node is used in a Program pipe it will send an on-air signal (usually red) and on a Preview pipe it will send a previewing signal (usually green).

Like in most other Texture Nodes the Mip Map property enables automatic Mipmap generation for better quality and performance when the texture is scaled down. High Color Depth enables usage of NDIs 16-bit color depth feature while doubling GPU memory and performance.

The Volume property changes the overall volume of incoming audio. The NDI Receiver node is capable of playing back on multiple outputs Ordinals.

The Texture output provides a reference to the received texture and can be bound to any Texture input - e.g. on the Material Node.

On the output side the node provides several information about the NDI stream. Connection Meta Data outputs any information given by the source application about the connection. Frame Meta Data provides meta data for each received frame. On Preview and On Program show whether the stream is used on any of these - using the Tally concept of NDI. Web Control URL provides a URL to a Web based Control Panel if the source application provides any information on that.

Texture Width and Height provide the stream's dimensions. The State properties Connected and Active return whether the receiver is currently connected to a source and whether it is actively decoding frames.

Note that if all input properties (except the Tally and Audio properties) are the same on two or more NDI Receiver nodes they use the same internal receiver to save time for the initial connection. You can use that to open the connection to the NDI source with one node that is not rendering anything and then you can use another NDI receiver node whose texture output is used once the Active property returns true.

Common Layer Properties

All layers in Ventuz feature certain properties to control how layers are sized, composited, used masks, applied effects and so on, regardless if they are 2D, 3D or other types of layers. You can find an in-depth description of all these options on this page, for references about the different types of layers in Ventuz and their specific properties, check 2D Layers, 3D Layers and Other layers.

Blending

Blending operations, including modes, opacity and masking, can be switched ON or OFF for each individual layer by left-clicking close to the Blending caption. If the check mark appears, the blending operation, including opacity, mode and mask, is calculated for the current layer. If the check mark does not appear in front of the Blending options, the blending operations are not calculated.

As with all Layer Properties, in order to expand the Blending Options, click on the little arrow. A dropdown list of the supported blending modes will appear:

Layer Mask

Layer Masks allow isolating certain parts of the layer to be used for the final composite. In general, Masks use the color or alpha information to decide which image pixels will be transparent, translucent or opaque.

• Pixels which are 100% white in the selected channel will result in opaque areas of the layer.
• On the contrary, pixels which are 100% black in the selected mask channel will be considered as transparent and therefore these areas of the current layer won't be shown in the final composite.
• All the gray tones between black and white in the selected mask channel will result in different levels of translucency in the areas affected.

Ventuz features three type of masks by default: Mask, Vignette and Border. You can add as many MaskStages as you want.

You add a LayerMask if you click Click  on the [+] Mask like shown on the Screenshot, and select Mask or any type of Mask Vignette / Mask Border from the dropdown menu.

Layout

The Layout parameters adjust the layer size, aspect and position. The layout can work in different ways, also called modes, each features its own properties.

Full Size keeps the Layer size always to the project settings. Switch to the Percentage if you want to adjust the Layer Size and Position in percent. For example: This mode is the fastest way to bring a Layer on-screen and off-screen, since you just need to bind the X/Y values, and animate them.

Pixels will switch the layer to be pixel accurate. Per default, it will use the Project Settings. If you started your Project in FullHD it will reflect 1920x1080. The X/Y changes the on-screen position in Pixels, keep in mind that the position is dependent on the Relation Alignment. As soon as you change the Width/Height the layer will have the set size. In the Relation dropdown you can define in which relation the pixel will be. The Relation - Layer will use the pixelspace defined in the layer itself OR if the layer is inside a Layer Group and the Layer Group has a different pixelspace it will be in relation to that Layer Group settings. Relation - Project will use the defined Format of the Project Settings. E.g. your screen is set to 1920x1080 and you resize the Renderer View the layer will still render as if it will be displayed in FullHD. Resizing the Renderer View will not affect the displayed size of your content in this case. With the Relation - Alignment settings you change the alignment of your layer which also affects the positioning values.

Aspect can be used to redefine the aspect of the Layer independently of the Format which you set in the Project Properties.

Offscreen Render Target renders the whole layer to an internal texture which you can access in the Layer - Output Properties. With the Size dropdown menu you can choose if you want to render the layer internally in Full- Half- or Quater- size. For example a 1920x1080px Layer will be 960x540px if you select Half size here. You can also adjust the internal size manually (Manual). Ventuz has some Presets, e.g. 256x256, 512x512, 1024x1024px ..., and so on. As soon as you select any manual size, you can change these values with the Width/Height to suit your needs. Per default the RenderMode is set to Always which renders the Offscreen Render Target in every frame, you can switch to Render Once, so that the Offscreen Render Target is rendered only one time. You can trigger the RenderNow to have the Offscreen Render Target rendered again. The TouchEnabled property specifies if this Layer should be taken into account by the Touch Input Processing. The only Option left is the MipMaps. If enabled the Layer will automatically create MipMaps from its texture. It consumes some performance but will enhance the quality of the Layer if scaled down.

Mapping

The Mapping parameters are used to edit how the texture is mapped onto the Layer. Ventuz supports various Mapping modes, each one featuring its own parameters to control the texture position, size tiling, etc..

Stretch will stretch the Texture Aspect ratio to match the layer surface Aspect ratio, hence deforming the textures original proportions. With the Underscan you scale up the texture, but keeping the texture stretched to fully cover the layer and its proportions.

Fit you scales the Texture to match the maximum bounds while keeping the aspect ratio of the original and creating a letterbox or column where there is no image. Align adds control for the texture alignment.

Crop will scale the texture to match the minimum bounds, while keeping the original aspect ratio, cutting off any part of the image that is out of bounds.

Extended allows for external logic to determine the mapping, allowing for dynamic adjustment as required during runtime. It can perform as Stretch, Fit or Crop. You change the Extended Mode with the SizeMode dropdown menu. Tiles mapping type controls how textures are repeated when they are smaller than the layer. The tiles can be fully adjusted with CenterX/Y, Scale All and Rotate. The Shear X/Y values. You can stretch the texture in both directions of the same axis at once, hence making it look like it's been sheared. When Mirror is selected the texture will be mirrored in all axis or sides instead of repeated.

Polar will cause the horizontal direction to be mapped to a circular direction. For example, a straight line across the middle becomes a circle. It is very useful when creating and working with certain graphical effects.

Smaller Amount values will divide the other Polar Distortion parameters, meaning that smaller values will interpolate between the original image and the Polar Distortion effect– this is great for animating the Polar Distortion effect as a whole. With the Inverse you toggle to control which coordinate system conversion is applied. If the default Off value is selected the effect will convert from standard Cartesian X,Y to Polar coordinate system, like the "Rect to Polar" setting in other software packages on the market. The Center X/Y values move the center of the Polar Distortion effect calculation. The units are expressed as Percentage of total Image resolution. You can Scale X/Y axis individually and/or Scale All as a whole. The Segments control a number of segments iterations created. With the Radial Scale you control the result according to the Polar coordinate system with higher values stretching pixel positions in polar directions from the Center location, while smaller values will shrink towards the center location. The Swirl is to deform the Polar Distortion as a spiral, in other words, the higher the values, the more complex the spiral created by the Polar Distortion. Scroll X/Y move the Polar Distortion segments radially in the polar X and Y axis individually. The Perspective setting forces the Polar Distortion effect to try to mimic a fake perspective - it is useful to simulate Tunnel-like effects. If you enabled the Perspective you can use Perspective Adjust and it works like if you would adjust the FOV of the perspective. The Aspect Stretch can be used to apply stretching to the Image. If turned on the Aspect is used to control the Aspect ratio or proportions of the distortion.

Kaleidoscope mimics the illusion of an optical toy for producing symmetrical patterns by multiple reflections in inclined mirrors inside a tube. This technique is primarily used for creating graphical background effects and animations.

You can relocate the Center X/Y for the Kaleidoscope, Scale X/Y and Scale All. With the Segments you change the number of instances of the original image created internally and duplicated along the polar coordinates. The Radial Scale changes the scale of the segments in the radial direction, meaning the number of segment levels to create the final kaleidoscope effect. With Bulge you apply a bulge like deformation at the center of the Kaleidoscope, meaning that kaleidoscope will be distorted radially from the center, a new level will be generated according to the values. With negative values, it will keep expanding the center deformation and positive values will compress to the deformation center. You can Rotate which works like if you would rotate the Kaleidoscope Tube. Rotate in Segments will rotate the Kaleidoscope individually, in other words, each segment will be rotated around its own rotation center. The Swirl is to deform the Kaleidoscope as a spiral, the higher the values, the more complex the spiral created by the Kaleidoscope will be - negative values work the same, just turning the spiral in the opposite direction. Scroll X/Y will move the Kaleidoscope segments radially in the polar X and Y axis individually. Toggle Perspective to activate the Perspective calculation. When turned on the Perspective Adjust can be used to control the Perspective calculation. The Aspect Stretch can be used to apply stretching to the Image. If turned on the Aspect is used to control the Aspect ratio or proportions of the Kaleidoscope.

Effects

For every layer, you can apply different kinds of effects. You can Group effects by creating Effect Groups and assigning individual Blendings and Masks.

Margin will be mostly required if you apply the dropshadow or blur effect. The Margin, which is expressed in percentage relative to the original layer size, adds a border around a nonfull-size layer. That is especially required for effects that affect a greater area than the layer itself.

Blending

Uses the same available modes like for the layer blend modes. Please see Blending modes for layers.

Mask

Uses the same available masks like for the layer masks - the exception is the additional mask self-property. Please see the Layer Masks for an overall detailed explanation.

Effect

Click  the [+] Effect and add any of the effects listed below. Keep in mind that you can Group Effects! You can change the order of the effect or effect group the same way like you would do with the mask layers - simply click the arrow next to the fx stage or the cross to delete it.

For effect stages you can clone or clone with bindings.To do so Hold Right Click Hold  on an effect stage for a second and a menu with these options will show up.

You can collapse or unfold effect properties by simply Right Click click  an effect stage.

Effect Group

Creates a group of effects that will be applied together at once. It works exactly the same as the Effects Stack, so the same Effects can be added, moved, deleted and enabled inside of the Group in the same way you operate with the Effects Stack.

Color Correction

These effects are used to correct the color values of the layer. The available Color Correction IPP Effects are Grayscale (simple Grayscale effect), Color Grading (a standard color correction effect working with the RGB primaries), Color Correction (similar to Color Grading, but using the HSL/HSV Color model) and Gain (quick Gain color correction effect).

Please refer to the IPP Color Correction Effects section of the User Manual for additional information.

Filters

These effects filter the pixel values of each layer, changing their position, adding new elements, or even changing the opacity.

The available Filter IPP Effects are:

Mosaic: Creates a set of tiles colored according to the original color values.

Blur: Averages each pixel color values with the surrounding pixel values.

Glare : Creates a smooth halo around the brightest areas of the layer.

Crash Zoom: Is often called "God Rays".

RGB Noise: Adds a video noise-like effect.

Feedback : Creates a trail effect by blending with previous frames.

Posterize RGB: Rounds up/down pixel color values.

Posterize HSV: Posterize effect based on the HSV color mode.

Edge Detection: Detects the outline of shapes in the Layer.

Color Difference Keyer: Used to Key out the green from "green-screen material" - similar to a Chroma Keyer but uses different math.

Please refer to the IPP Filter Effects section of the User Manual for additional information.

Distortion

These IPP Effects work mostly by changing the relative position of pixels in the layer.

The available Filter IPP Effects are:

Drop Shadow: 2D shadow effect based on Layer Alpha.

Lens Distortion: Replicates artifacts created by lens spatial aberrations.

Distortion: A standard distortion effect, combining most of the options available in the rest of IPP distortion effects.

RGB Distortion: Offsets and scales Layer RGB channels individually.

2D Displacement: Displaces the Layer pixels according to the Luminance information of an external file.

Noise Distortion: Uses a randomly animated texture to create a fake Noise Displacement effect.

Polar Distortion: Transposes the x and Y pixel coordinates in the original image to a Polar Coordinate system.

Kaleidoscope Distortion: Kaleidoscope pattern effect.

Please refer to the IPP Distortion Effects section of the User Manual for an overall detailed description.

Layer

These Properties may vary for the different Layer-types. The most common Property is the Orientation Property which makes it possible to Rotate the Layer in any direction or Mirror and Flip it. There are several Layer-specific properties depending on the Layer Type. The Image Layer has Properties like the TextureFile and TextureHint which controls the Gamma and Alpha loading, while for example the Constant Color Layer has a TextureColor Property. As mentioned before, each Layer Type may vary in the Layer Properties.

One important property to mention is the RenderFilter. You can chose here to have set All which is the default or explicitly set any of the available filter channels from A - H.

You can use these filter flags to have the Layer filtered from being shown on the given output. You can select on the Render Setup Editor in the outputs properties to have a RenderFilter applied - its the same range from A - H.