Video Critter: Custom, DIY Video Synthesis
I wrote today about the Critter Board DIY synth/controller board for CDMusic, but I’m even more excited about the Video Critter:
Video Critter DIY, open-source audio/visual electronics platform
US$74.95 buys you a fully customizable, programmable DIY board with video out. (There’s also a $45 “mini” board that looks equally tantalizing.) The video routines are already programmed into the board, so you can write really easy, higher-level video code to put stuff on the screen. Just as with the Critter Board, you can use C programming from any Linux/Mac/Windows computer.
Of course, it’d be great to go even further, and have a totally open-source video mixer / effects unit. It’d be pricey, I’d imagine, but imagine an Edirol V-4 you could program yourself. (Uh, Edirol — ever fancied getting into open source yourselves? After all, no one could compete with your sales and manufacturing volume. Yeah, I know — snowball’s chance of this happening — but I can dream.)
In the meantime, this is a brilliant way of creating some quick, retro-looking custom video effects, and it’ll be ideal for installation work. I have too many other toys to play with to pick one up for at least a couple of months, but if you get one, dear readers, send photos and video.
2 Comments or Links
Leave a CommentCDM Articles Linking Here
Create Digital Music » FM Synth in a Cigar Box, with Critter Board DIY Board
[...] Critter: Custom, DIY Video Synthesis [Create Digital Motion] 1 Costs of “Content Protection” in Vista: The Sky isFalling? [...]
December 29, 2006 @ 1:50 pm
Create Digital Motion » DIY Cellular Automata Synthesis Hardware with Video Critter, and a Contest
[...] The Video Critter hardware video synth kit seen here last year has been incarnated as a Cellular Automata kit from the good folks of MAKE Magazine. MAKE has been nice enough to do the scary bits for you: the board is assembled and programmed, so all you have to do is make a nifty case. [...]
April 9, 2007 @ 11:35 pm
Create Digital Motion » Derraindrop’s Hand-Painted Video Synths and Organs
[...] Video Critter: Custom, DIY Video Synthesis [...]
June 15, 2007 @ 6:43 pm
Create Digital Music » Making Music with the Arduino: Wires, Solder, and Sound Round-Up
[...] The Critter and Guitari folks, whom we already loved dearly for their video synths and organs and DIY video kit, have built a shield for the Arduino adding on synth capabilities. -PK This is a board for making [...]
September 28, 2008 @ 10:38 am
Create Digital Motion » Groovy Color TV Oscilloscope Box from Critter and Guitari
[...] creation from the wizards at Critter and Guitari, the folks who brought us the brilliant DIY Video Critter custom video synth and other wonderful video creations. In an age when hardware has waned as video [...]
December 23, 2008 @ 12:53 pm
Comments
Jaymis
Peter. It’s really hard to focus on the way-too-many projects I currently have under way when you keep posting stuff like this.
Can you please try to constrain your posts to quoting press releases from major companies?
Thanks.
J
December 30, 2006 @ 1:43 am
Peter Kirn
No, see, you put them all *together*.
Then you have like a giant video robot that reads sensor inputs to mix and control video you manipulate from a Nintendo DS and outputs custom visuals through LCDs in its eye sockets.
December 30, 2006 @ 3:43 pm
Other Sites Linking Here
FM Synth in a Cigar Box, with Critter Board DIY Board » Ringtones Blog
[...] Video Critter: Custom, DIY Video Synthesis [Create Digital Motion] [...]
January 1, 2007 @ 11:26 pm
create a critter
[...] [...]
July 28, 2008 @ 2:10 am
Leave a comment
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI