Part of our mission is to create “living controllers.” What this means is that over the course of what is hopefully a long relationship with your Livid controller, we will consitently provide new ideas, new capabilities, and new ways of being creative. While the industry at large focuses on single purpose and disposability, we think you deserve better.

The Code controller has a bootloader in it, which means you can update the firmware over USB. The firmware is also open source, so if you know how to program a PIC chip, you can alter the source, and update it yourself. But we have our own ideas, and want to incorporate some of the suggestions we’ve gotten over the past 6 months, so we’ve made an update for everyone.

With that in mind, we have a new firmware for the Code controller that adds some cool new features that we think you’ll like.

• Dual Speed Encoders: You can set 2 different speeds for encoders, where this shifted speed is accessed by assigning one of the buttons on the Code controller as the speed shifter. Any button can act as the speed shift, and a convenient macro is in the Encode panel in the CodeEditor to set the Logo button as the speed shift.
• Prettier Lights: LED rings have the options of working as “walk” or “fill” mode. The “walk” mode (default) illuminates only one or two leds to indicate value. The “fill” mode will illuminate all LEDs that precede the current value, eventually lighting all LEDs at the maximum value.
• More pretty lights: The LEDs for the button LEDs have 3 modes for illumination controlled by velocity values.  1-31: LED Blink, 032-063: LED Blink Fast, 064-127: LED On. Velocity 0, of course, turns it off.
• Roll Your Own: Sysex command for independent control of all LEDs in the encoder LED rings. This is a feature that will be enjoyed mostly by programmers and those writing custom software.
• Local Control for Encoder rings lets you take over the LED rings with your own illumination designs.
• Relative mode (inc/dec) has been changed to better integrate with Ableton Live and Native Instruments Traktor.
• Feedback Friendly: The encoders work better with Traktor.
• A new CodeEditor software gives you access to all these new features in the Inspector and the new Encode panel. See the wiki manual for more information http://wiki.lividinstruments.com/wiki/Ohm64_Editor
• Complete technical details of implementation can be found here http://wiki.lividinstruments.com/wiki/Code#Code_Sysex

So how do you get this? First, you have to have a Windows, Intel Mac OSX.5+, or Linux computer. You can download the update zip from our downloads page, then follow the simple instructions in the ReadMe. Here’s a video that show how it’s done:

Now that we’ve made it seem so simple, there’s some things you should know. If you DON’T follow instructions, or lose power during the few seconds this process takes,  you’ll brick your Code, and have to send it into us to re-flash the firmware and bootloader (or find someone with a PICKIT2 programmer, take apart the Code, find the programming pins, and DIY!). We don’t want to do that, and you probably don’t want to lose your Code for the several days it has to travel to Austin, Texas.

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news by Peter

Pete made a new version of the Ohm64Editor is available (version 1.0.3). This version introduces LED pattern mapping. Using the LED pattern maker in the Editor software you can create patterns on the indicator LED’s (a.k.a. talkback) to create interfaces, patterns, or animations for interacting with your controller. These patterns can be saved in presets and there is also an option to import an image with threshold adjustments to turn it into a pattern. This can be useful for creating sections of the clip bank to be used as a drum pad, or setting up rows and columns for triggering. Here is a brief video where I show you how it all works. The standalone application and source code are available on our downloads page.

Here is another little video Pete made showing the details of the picture to light converter in the editor

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news by Jay

So this morning I was searching for a software that turns audio tracks into MIDI notes and I came across a little program called WIDI Audio to MIDI. What I wanted to do was take a track and turn the Ohm64 into a “player piano” so the LED’s would blink when a note was playing. I did a quick look into my itunes library and took a Coltrane track (I almost chose “Total Soul Future” from Beck, but I needed more piano). After opening the track in WIDI, I connected my Ohm64 and here is the result.

Pointless? Perhaps, but still pretty cool. I actually have it playing at my desk all day with John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” and it does add to the free jazz philosophy of Coltrane.

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news by Jay

Anthony Guterac is the touring VJ for the Chilean rock band Los Bunkers. With shows all over Latin America, Anthony has been putting his Livid gear to the test with almost every setup from Projectors to VersaTUBES. We caught up with Anthony in the middle of his tour to find out how he went from roadie to VJing for one of Chile’s most popular bands.

How long have you been touring with Los Bunkers?
I have been touring with Los Bunkers for two years.

What is your background?
This is going to sound funny. I started working as a roadie and did a lot of work with MIDI keyboards and samplers. I also worked as a studio assistant and the band that I was working at the time La Ley, incorporated visuals for their show, and it called my attention very much more than doing the roadie thing. From there I went and got a Mac and started to work with all kinds of programs for video editing and learning to use Flash, Photoshop, and After effects. In High School I had all kinds of arts classes, graphic and programming, so then came the day that this very big rock band from Chile I was touring with called Los Prisioneros wanted to make a new tour with projectors. I was lucky that I had the chance to do the visual work for that tour and from there it just took off for me. We did something very simple for that tour we used two huge weather balloons that we projected the images on, I would hang the orbs, set up the projectors, plug in all the cabling, and then test the system. It was similar to the Primus ( filthy ape ) setup, though I did it with out knowing of course that they were doing the same thing, and it was awesome to see the effect that it had on the fans when video would come out during the show. I also work as a tour manager and for Los Bunkers and production manager for many production companies and local promoters worked on U2 Vertigo, Monsters of Rock (Ozzy Osbourne, Korn, Bls), Chayanne, Robbie Williams, Soda Stereo, Festival de Viña del Mar, and basically all local rock bandas many others here in Santiago, Chile.

How has your setup changed or progressed since you started incorporating video in the show?
Since I have been working with video it has made a huge difference for the show, it is now a very important need for us.

The way the band looks on stage has been also a way to integrate the band members with the LD (Lighting Director) and VJ.

What does your setup consist of?
For this tour I use a 15" PowerBook G4 and a 13" MacBook, 200 GGg and an Livid Ohm MIDI controller. The software consist on the Livid software Union 2.5, works just perfect! I am working on getting two MacBook Pros, and a second Ohm controller.

How do you create content for the show?
I use different software to make content depending on what is the artists need visually for the show.

Do you use live camera feeds in your show?
I use four wireless security cameras for the drum kit and two Sony Dcr Trv 330 cameras, one on each end front of stage when we go to big festivals. I also use the final output from the local switcher so I have an extra camera feed. Usually there are at least four cameras. The cameras I process using Union 2.5 with chroma and luma keying.

Do you usually use the same content for each show or does it change from night to night?
Usually I use the same content for each show but still work on new content when I am in hotels and buses during the tour. It also depends on the set list, usually I have something set up for Los Bunkers at the end of their set in case they play a few more songs that are not on the set list. My Omh and Union software it makes it so easy to just improvise and follow the band.

How important is it to have realtime control of the video?
It is very important because you can just do anything you can imagine for a live show. I can change colors and visuals using live feeds and am able to put all kinds of effects and layer them without having to render or spending lots of hours making flash animations. With live video you can make your set more dynamic and have hands on control over your visuals and effects.

What kind of screens and projection/LED technology are you using, and do you tour with all of your own gear?
With Los Bunkers we rent our gear depending on where we will be touring, though I really prefer LED screens. Martin LC Series 40 mm pixel pitch. We have used Versatubes and plasmas as well as all kinds off different models of projectors from Barco, Nec , Christie etc…

What is the biggest obstacle to performing visuals for each show?
If I am doing a show with projectors it’s the LD because it is always a fight with him over the way he does his programming with his lights without getting in to my screens.

Sometimes I just want to kill him, then we do shows with LED screens and then I just kick his ass with the power of the LEDs! But seriously, I try to work as much as possible with the LD to get the show as tight as possible.

How do you see your visuals changing as new technology becomes available?
I see my work hopefully getting better, thanks to all this new technology coming out and being available at lower prices. It is very nice to see that you are not alone anymore because now you have products made by VJs for VJs and not some square inventor. I think that will help to develop better VJ technology overall.

Have you run into any situations where you have not been able to integrate your setup into the show?
Yes and it was terrible because we where doing a sound check with Los Bunkers and I had worked like a month on the visuals for the show and preparing the set. It was going to be the first time with a new set up and everything was working just fine so when soundcheck was over we left from the venue and came back one hour before the show. I noticed that something was really going bad and it was that the local crew of the venue. They blocked the projector and unplugged it so many times my gear that they burned my visual setup. My Lacie firewire external hard drive died with everything in it and so did one of my cameras right before the show.

Can you remember your first time doing visuals? How have things changed since then?
Well it was for Los Prisioneros and what I was doing at the time was working as a roadie and visuals. I would edit the entire show with the sequences that the band would use and I then export all the visuals song by song in the set list order to my Sony camera Hi 8. During the show I would press play at the same time the band would start each song, and that way most of the time the images would be almost in sync with the band. Then I could keep the guitars tuned for the next guitar change. Now working with my Mac and Ohm I just have total control of every show. I also don’t do the roadie job any more, and don’t sit there and press play, so I can really play with my visuals.

Do you have any memorable stories from the road?
I don’t know If I can tell a few tour stories might get in trouble ja ja

What are your plans for the future?
Keep working very hard to make better shows visually and investing. Maybe someday having my own LED screen here in Santiago Chile .

DO I GET A T SHIRT? FOR THIS INTERVIEW?? JA JA

(editors note… A Livid T-Shirt has been sent to Anthony)

For more information on Los Bunkers visit www.losbunkers.cl

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news by Jay