(Unofficial) Aurora Synesthesia

[npcartwright]

I just tried the Synethesia mode and the effect is really good,
but the only problem with it is that the volume has to be quite high (Probily high enough to wake next door ),

Just love the Aurora mode Its a great app I'm using it permanently now a great addition to amBX can't wait for the next version

[Milmoor]

You don't have to raise the Windows volume much, just raise the stereomix volume in recording devices.

[Teh_uberer]

Hehe, maybe he's someone with the same problem as i have!

[npcartwright]

You don't have to raise the Windows volume much, just raise the stereomix volume in recording devices.

My steromix is on 100 so I cant really do anything their

[Zodius]

Both Teh_uberer and npcartwright will be pleased to hear that I've now finished the light sensitivity options, and specifically the adaptive sensitivity. I know I've already mentioned it, but I didn't like my previous attempt so tried again, giving better results.

Rather than switching between the 8 modes available to you, the adaptive mode adjusts the sensitivity so that the output lighting is at the same level almost constantly (I've added smoothing to make it less noticeable). I did have an odd problem with this though, in that as a piece of music stopped playing the sensitivity would naturally increase to its lowest point, but FMOD oddly adds a few echo noises into the signal. These aren't part of the original sound but when visualised causes the lights to flash with different colours for roughly 5 seconds. This effect doesn't occur when manually selecting a sensitivity (unless its the wrong one for the current volume level).

As a result of this I've introduced a 5 second delay that prevents the adaptive sensitivity from being more sensitive until that amount of time as passed. So if you play a track and lower the volume, it will take 5 seconds for the sensitivity to adjust, during which time the lights will go dim. If on the other hand you increase the volume, the sensitivity suddenly increases to match it. I've found this to give an effect that's as good if not better than manually selecting a sensitivity, although both modes will exist for people to choose.

On a side note, I've finally implemented the "nice" Aero disabling feature, whereby you will receive a popup message telling you that Aero and Aurora are incompatible "Would you like to disable Aero in order to use Aurora based modes?". If you say no then Aurora will be switched off, but you can enable it again quite easily, at which point you'll receive the same popup message. If you do happen to say yes then Aero should disable and Aurora will work, and disabling Aurora at any time will enable Aero (provided it was on in the first place). Note that once you say yes to the popup message the program will treat this as true for all future times you enable Aurora. This is all theory though, as I don't have a Vista or Win7 machine to test it out on, which will be where you all come in once I get this update out the door.


The only remaining features that I need to implement are custom visualisations and saving/loading of settings. I haven't decided yet but depending on the demand for this current version I may make these the focus of a future update, particularly as I brought the volume fix forward to this one. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thanks for the continued interest!
-1

[synyster]

god bless you!
all modes work really perfect! can't stop hearing music and enyoing those light effects =)=)

thanx for this tool

[Chronicle112]

ow didnt even know this tool was out there great work ! they should post it in the download section of the site or in the update thingie in the control panel

[DeltaBlast]

I hope the application still works when all 5 amBX sets are connected, I'm going to use it for a party, will work great with the music =D

[Zodius]

Hi Guys,

Sorry that I've not been on for the past week or so. Been distracted by other things in life, mainly applying for jobs. This has also affected my time to work on AS. I am still planning to release a 1.05 but it won't contain all of the features I promised, mainly custom presets and saving/loading of preferences. Also, due to the changes made to the system, the old command line switches aren't supported. I'll either resolve this before release or make AS start with both modes disabled, so it will just wait for you to select what you want.

I have noticed some minor issues throughout my testing (actually its normal usage I've set it to run on startup, so its always on). After a long while (many many hours) a noticeable delay is present in Synesthesia mode - for now this can be solved by restarting AS but is something that should be looked at. Aurora mode needs improvement, as when watching movies the lights either don't react to small areas of light, or react too well - this will likely require a larger screen area to be sampled than what is currently used.

Please feel free to post your comments and feedback.
-1

P.S I look forward to seeing some pics of your setup working with Synesthesia once all the kits are online

[powerbar]

Hey,
Really great app!
I do only use the aurora mode, but I got some comments for you:
- Works with Win7 x64 in Desktop (Aero is switched off), my DVB TV application and games (new Command and Conquer).
- Doesn't work with Windows Media Center Any idea why?
- There is a big delay in games (>1 sec). This is because you have to get the information back from the grafic card, if i have understood you correctly?
- The whole amBX lights switch off for a very short moment, if a new tooltip or menu pops us. This is really annoying, because when you are surfing/working, the lights flash all the time
- It won't work with BluRays - but that is ok, because even Phillps hasn't found a solution yet, because the data stream between the BluRay and the screen is encrypted.
I am really looking forward to getting the new version!
Keep going on, you help many guys out here!
Thanks.

[Robert]

Very nice app, without it you won't get the full power out of ambx.

I've done some quick tests, and I only didn't see it working with full screen pictures (with Windows Vista's picture viewer).

Thanks and keep on going!

[Fritzz]

Hey, I thought this would be cool, so I installed it, but when I try to start it, it only says:

FMOD error!

in the start screen, with an OK button.
When I click it everythings gone.
Do I need to change some settings in order for this to work? I'm using Windows 7.

[Zodius]

Hey,
Really great app!
I do only use the aurora mode, but I got some comments for you:
- Works with Win7 x64 in Desktop (Aero is switched off), my DVB TV application and games (new Command and Conquer).

What DVB TV app are you using, as I use AverMedia and just get a purple colour appear on the lights.

- Doesn't work with Windows Media Center Any idea why?
- There is a big delay in games (>1 sec). This is because you have to get the information back from the grafic card, if i have understood you correctly?

It has never been the intention of Aurora to support games or programs that use graphics. If it does work on a particular game that the FX Gen doesn't then that's great (QuakeLive is the one I know of). Its ownly intention was to work with your normal desktop, using your typical print screen command. Therefore if you want a quick test to see what Aurora is seeing, do print screen and paste it into paint. This is probably why Media Centre doesn't work because it is just being seen as black (or some other colour).

- The whole amBX lights switch off for a very short moment, if a new tooltip or menu pops us. This is really annoying, because when you are surfing/working, the lights flash all the time.

I've never encountered this and nobody else seems to have reported it. The only reason the lights would flash is if Aurora is forced to reinitialised itself, which should only occur when changing screen resolution or locking your computer. The fact that every tool tip causes this problem, suggests that vista must be displaying them in some way that isn't conventional. I would suggest you play arround with your settings and see if anything has an effect, in which case please let me know as I can then start including a fix for it.

- It won't work with BluRays - but that is ok, because even Phillps hasn't found a solution yet, because the data stream between the BluRay and the screen is encrypted.

As I've mentioned above, do a print screen. If you just see a blank video window then thats all Aurora see's and there is nothing I can do about it. This goes for everything that doesn't work with Aurora, and is a good way of seeing whether it will work with certain games. For example I've started playing the original Unreal again, and although the Control Panel doesn't pic it up, Aurora quite happily makes the lights react (but I think the effect could be improved).

Please keep your feedback coming in, as well as any testing being done.
-1

[Zodius]

Hey, I thought this would be cool, so I installed it, but when I try to start it, it only says:

FMOD error!

in the start screen, with an OK button.
When I click it everythings gone.
Do I need to change some settings in order for this to work? I'm using Windows 7.

FMOD error can be caused by any number of reasons, that unfortunately the current version doesn't properly describe. I just sent all errors to the same message. I would suggest you wait for the 1.05 version as even if that doesn't work, you'll get a more descriptive error that I'll be able to use to help me diagnose your problem. Also if memory severes, I've made changes so that if one mode doesn't work the other mode will still be usable.

Keep checking back for updates
-1

[Milmoor]

Going to document it better, but I have those flashes too. But my Windows is rather buggy at the moment so I haven't reported it yet.