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This quick FAQ answers the most common questions about using NuVJ. For in-depth explanations about the configuration and use of NuVJ, please refer to the product documentation.
Quick links
- I downloaded some video files from Internet and not all of them play..
- I can no longer use Text Generators or Flash animaions since I upgraded QuickTime (Mac)
- Some video files are not scratching very well, why?
- NuVJ does not play the audio of my avi files, what can I do for this?
- How can I play DVD content in NuVJ?
- How can I use the audio from a media player application in NuVJ?
- What is the maximum resolution supported by NuVJ?
- What is the maximum resolution of the final display?
- What is the maximum movie length?
- Can I create my own effects?
- My computer is too slow when playing movies, how can I optimize this?
- What codec is recommended for compressing video loops for NuVJ?
- What is the best video card to use with NuVJ?
- Do you recommend using a laptop with NuVJ?
- How many cameras can I use with NuVJ?
- My Logitech web cam is not working / after installing a logitech Web cam I can't use the NuVJ controller anymore (Windows)!
- I try to use my video input device but it does not appear in the NuVJ video devices list.
I downloaded some video files from Internet and not all of them play..
Make sure the encoding format is supported by NuVJ on your platform. NuVJ supports almost all formats. On PC, any movie playing in Windows Media Player or QuickTime should work. On Mac, if QuickTime can read it, NuVJ will.
On PC, make sure the codec's for your movie is installed. AVI is just a file format, like a container and can contain various compressions: DivX, XVID, M-JPEG, Cinepak, Sorenson etc. You need the codec's for this compression to be installed. Always try to find the “official” codec's if you have to install it.
On Windows, QuickTime is not installed by default, make sure you installed QuickTime if you want to play QuickTime (.mov) files.
Note also that most files on the internet are encoded in a format that is very poor and not at all suited to be manipulated. See further answer and the Optimization section of this document.
I can no longer use Text Generators or Flash animations since I upgraded QuickTime (Mac)
Text generators are Flash animations and on Macintosh, the NuVJ Software uses QuickTime to play Flash files. Since since version 7.1.3 Apple has removed Flash support in QuickTime.
This has been fixed in the NuVJ 1.5 software update which you can get from the Downloads page.
Some video files are not scratching very well, why?
Scratching efficiency depends on the way video files are encoded.
For optimal performance, recompress your files into QuickTime PhotoJPEG format. If you choose another format/codec, the most important thing is to have one key frame per frame (all frames are key frames). You can do it with QuickTime Pro, Vegas, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut or any video edition programs.
NuVJ does not play the audio of my avi files, what can I do for this?
NuVJ does only play the audio when using QuickTime .mov files and you need to enable it in the NuVJ Preferences dialog.
How can I play DVD content in NuVJ?
You must first convert it into video loops on your hard drive, there are many utilities that can do this very simply on Mac and on PC. Try to convert the DVD in small sections and use QuickTime PhotoJPEG if possible.
How can I use the audio from a media player application in NuVJ?
When listening to the audio for BPM measurement or to display a Generator, NuVJ opens the 'default' sound recording device defined on your system.
Under Windows, go in the Control Panel --> Sounds and Audio devices --> Audio --> Sound Recording --> Volume. Depending on the sound card, there might or might not be an entry to select the sound output of your computer as a recording device. Its name depends on the card manufacturer and is something in the flavor of "Wave Out Mix", "Stereo Mix", "What you hear", etc. If there is no such entry, check the Options / Properties menu to see if it can’t be activated from there.
On Mac, and for copyright reasons, it is not possible to receive the audio output of a media player. The only solution is to use a male / male audio cable and plug the output from the sound card into the input…
What is the maximum resolution supported by NuVJ?
NuVJ is only limited by your hardware capabilities. On a powerful computer, even very high resolution files (1920x1080) will work perfectly.
What is the maximum resolution of the final display?
NuVJ offers as rendering sizes all the resolutions available in your system (see Preferences / Display). The maximum resolution depends on your graphic card and on the display device you have connected (monitor or projector).
If you are using the S-Video output it is useless to define a resolution superior to 640x480 for NTSC standard (US) or 720x576 for PAL standard (Europe).
What is the maximum movie length?
There is no limitation in the length of the movies. Generally it is not a problem to use long movies, it will not require more memory than a shorter one.
It is not possible to create your own effects. But future NuVJ software updates will come with new effects.
My computer is too slow when playing movies, how can I optimize this?
There can be two different issues when dealing with movie files: a low frame rate or a delay when triggering movies. These two problems have different origins:
- Low frame rate:
In the status bar of the NuVJ window, you can see the frame rate. If the frame rate is below 20 FPS (frames per second) it will not be smooth. In most case this problem is due to the decompression of the movie, which takes too much resources for your computer.
The solution in this case is to recompress the movie in a better format (QuickTime PhotoJPEG advised) or smaller resolution. - Delay when triggering:
The delay when you start a movie can be due to two different factors: the lack of free physical memory, or heavy compression format. You can first try to recompress the movie in a better format. If it doesn't help, you should maybe use less visuals in your show, add some memory in your computer or regularly remove unused files buy using the Edit>Purge menu (see documentation for more details).
What codec is recommended for compressing video loops for NuVJ?
The recommended codec for VJing is the QuickTime PhotoJPEG codec. The resolution will have an impact on performances. The quality does not need to be 100%. Using a quality from 60% to 80% is a good option.
What is the best video card to use with NuVJ?
NuVJ does support a very large range of graphic chips, from NVidia, ATI or Intel.
On Windows, make sure you installed the latest drivers for your graphic card (usually you can find them on the manufacturer's web site).
If your graphic board is not powerful enough some effects will just be disabled.
Ideally the graphic card should support pixel shaders 2.0, all cards sold today supports this. Some laptops or some built-in motherboard chips don’t perform very well, so if you plan to buy a laptop or a small pc to use with NuVJ you should check if you have pixel shaders 2.0 or later. For more information, please refer to the software documentation.
The video memory should be 64 MB or more. Working in high resolution will require more memory. Avoid cards with shared memory.
All current Apple machines have pixels shaders 2.0 or over. However, the first Mac Mini's (with a Power PC processor) did not have a powerful graphic card, whereas the current Mac Mini's (with Intel processor) are running fine with NuVJ.
Do you recommend using a laptop with NuVJ?
There is no particular problem with laptops. Laptops are often more suitable if you have to travel, but be sure to check the capacity of the graphic card and the amount of memory available. If you can, try to limit the resolution of your video loops because laptop hard drives tend to be slower and smaller than in desktop computers.
Another solution if you use hi resolutions videos loops is to use an external Firewire or USB2 hard drive that spins faster than on-board laptop disks.
How many cameras can I use with NuVJ?
NuVJ supports as many cameras as you your computer can support, through USB, PCI acquisition boards or FireWire input (DV cams).
Under Windows, make sure your device has a DirectShow compatible driver, else it won't be recognized by NuVJ. On a Mac, your camera must be supported by QuickTime.
My Logitech web cam is not working / after installing a logitech Web cam I can't use the NuVJ controller anymore (Windows)!
There may be some conflicts between NuVJ drivers and some Logitech web cam drivers. If you are in this situation, please contact Numark’s technical support.
I try to use my video input device but it does not appear in the NuVJ video devices list.
Make sure the device in not in used by another application and verify that the latest drivers for your device are installed (web cam or PCI cards).
Under Windows, any device compatible with DirectX (DirectShow, in this case) will work in NuVJ. You can also check the settings of your camera in NuVJ's camera setup (see User Manual).
Under Mac OSX, any device compatible with QuickTime will work in NuVJ. Check that you can open your device in QuickTime to see if it is correctly installed.
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