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LaserSynth v1.0 Release Instruction
Introduction of LaserSynth features:
1. The software is divided into two versions, one for kinect2.0 and the other for kinect azure hardware devices. Relatively speaking, the kinect azure camera is more compact and convenient to install, and its detection distance can be further. The maximum distance of kinect2.0 is usually about 4 meters, while kinect azure can reach 5 meters. Of course, there is also a big price difference between these two devices.
2. It can emit 13 laser beams, the first one is fixed for the pitch wheel function, and the notes of the other 12 can be customized within three octaves. The customized scheme can be saved and switched at any time. The beam color can be selected from different presets, or the activation color and background color can be customized.
3. Built-in odin2 software synthesizer, with a large number of presets, it can load VST3 synthesizer plugins from other brands, and can also connect to other synthesizer software or external MIDI synthesizer hardware through the MIDI protocol.
4. Supports Beyond, Helios or EtherdreamDAC conversion box output to laser.
5. Supports hanging or vertical upward installation.
Equipment installation instructions
First, make sure that the camera and laser fixture are aligned and fixed. The white model in the picture represents the Kinect2.0 camera. Because the depth camera of this camera is not in the middle position, it needs to be offset from the laser beam outlet position. The specific position of the depth camera can be seen in the figure below. If you are using kinect azure, you don’t need to do this, just align it with the center of the beam outlet. The above picture is for vertical upward installation, and you can also hang the equipment.
Detailed description
First, the software interface is roughly divided into three parts: left, middle, and right.
The left side is for laser-related settings, the middle part is for camera image adjustment and MIDI-related settings, and the right side is for color schemes and notes customization area.
In the left area, the first one is the laser beam switch, and the right side is for BEYOND or other DAC conversion box related settings.
Next are DAC-related settings. If you use BEYOND software, you can ignore the Sample Rate, StepSize, and Vetex Hold options. These three items are related to Helios or EtherDream conversion boxes. The following Scale, Intensity, and Rotate are global parameters.
Here it should be noted that if you use a DAC conversion box, you can adjust the StepSize and Vertex Hold parameters to keep the beam stable.
If you use BEYOND software, make sure that the Vector Frame option is turned on. The Vertex Repeat parameter can adjust the number of repetitions of points to increase the thickness of the beam. If the beams on both sides are not sent over, you can also adjust this parameter.
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The first button in the first row of the middle part is the kinect camera activation option, and the second button can open the MIDI-related settings dialog box.
The MIDI Out option can send MIDI messages through a MIDI virtual connection or a MIDI cable. When you need to use third-party synthesizer software or hardware, you can activate this option.
The second parameter is the loading path of the built-in synthesizer plugin, which only supports VST3 synthesizer plugins.
Builtin Synth is the built-in synthesizer switch option.
The Display SynthGUI option can open the interface of the built-in synthesizer.
The Test Builtin Synth option can be used to test the timbre of the built-in synthesizer when it is turned on, making it easier to test and adjust.
Sample Rate is the sampling rate setting for the synthesizer.
Audio Volume is an option for adjusting volume.
When you need to use other synthesizer software or hardware, you need to send MIDI messages outward. Clicking on the MIDI Map option will open the MIDI Mapper window to set the corresponding MIDI output device. I use MIDI Loop virtual connection as an output device here.
Next, these options below are for processing camera images.
The first four items are for cropping images in left, right, up and down directions. Threshold can cut off distant images and also affect the overall brightness of the image. Blur can improve image stability and reduce jitter.
After you have installed your camera on the laser fixture, you can first adjust the Scale option to an appropriate value to facilitate control of these beams.
Then use the Threshold option to darken unnecessary backgrounds. You only need to let the camera see your hand’s movement height range. After adjusting, place your mouse cursor in the background of the camera image below, and below will display the corresponding UV coordinate position and RGB values. The adjustment is 0 for RGB values in the background.
Then use your hands to cover both ends of the laser beam and use left and right cropping options to crop off excess parts on both sides of the camera image. Then adjust up and down cropping options to only crop out approximately where your hand touches with beams. Specifically based on your hand’s up and down movement range during performance.
After adjusting these options, if you still feel that each beam’s trigger area is too large, you can adjust the Crop Border option at the bottom, which can further reduce each individual trigger area. The picture at the bottom is a preview picture of the final trigger area.
For pitch wheel settings, you can place your hand above the first beam at its highest or lowest position during normal performance. At this time, you can directly click on SetVal1 or SetVal2 buttons to set corresponding pitch values. Of course, you can also place your mouse cursor in trigger area of first beam to view corresponding RGB values and directly enter values in column behind it for setting.
The background color of title block on left side Pitch Wheel is color of currently set beam.
The first option on the right side is Color Scheme. You can select different color combinations from the drop-down menu here. BGColor is the background color (color when the beam is not blocked), and ActiveColor is the activation color (color when blocked). Except for the first and last options, other options here can change the corresponding activation color and background color at any time. The first item is a fixed background color, and the second item A+BG is a combination of activation color and background color. The other three R+(W/G/B) have R representing red as the activation color, and the colors behind are the corresponding background colors. The last item is a rainbow color scheme.
In the lower part of the color picker, there are two icons in the upper left corner representing activation color and background color. The PW below represents the pitch wheel color. When you click to activate the corresponding button, you can select the corresponding function color by adjusting the color wheel.
After adjusting the corresponding colors, you can click on the round button in the lower right corner to add these colors to a row of preset colors below for easy access at any time.
The Presets area is a note configuration area.
You can click on buttons 1-5 behind Add button to switch between different note configuration schemes.
The colored numbers D2-13 represent laser beams from second to thirteenth, and their corresponding colors depend on currently activated color configuration scheme. The first beam is fixed as a pitch wheel effect, so it cannot be modified. When you trigger a note, its corresponding color will also change accordingly. Behind number is note switching drop-down menu, you can click to modify corresponding numbered beam.
If you want to modify a configuration scheme, you can first click on corresponding number button to activate this scheme, then click on drop-down menu to right of number to select desired note. After modification, you need to click ADD button to confirm saving this modification to corresponding preset number. Otherwise, if you switch between these presets back and forth, previous modifications will not be saved.
