Using Vuo

Can I use Vuo compositions inside VJ apps?

Vuo can integrate with the software below:

Software Status
CoGe CoGe version 1.6 and later can play Vuo compositions!
VDMX VDMX version 8.5.0.4 and later can play Vuo compositions!
With Vuo Pro 2.0 and later, you also have the option to export macOS FFGL plugins and use them in VDMX.
Resolume Avenue and Arena Vuo Pro 2.0 and later can export macOS FFGL plugins that you can use in Resolume Avenue and Arena version 6 and later.
⇔ Vuo can also communicate with Resolume using OSC, MIDI, and Syphon.
Magic Music Visuals Vuo Pro 2.0 and later can export macOS FFGL plugins that you can use in MMV.
⇔ Vuo can also communicate with MMV using OSC, MIDI, and Syphon.
Isadora 3 Vuo Pro 2.0 and later can export macOS FFGL plugins that you can use in Isadora 3.
⇔ Vuo can also communicate with Isadora 3 using OSC, MIDI, and Syphon.
2V-P ⇔ 2V-P can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with 2V-P using OSC, MIDI, and Syphon
QLab ⇔ QLab can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with QLab using OSC, MIDI, Art-Net, and Syphon
Modul8 ⇔ Modul8 can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with Modul8 using Syphon
madMapper ⇔ madMapper can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with madMapper using OSC, MIDI, Art-Net, and Syphon
Millumin ⇔ Millumin can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with Millumin using OSC, MIDI, Art-Net, and Syphon
MixEmergency ⇔ MixEmergency can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with MixEmergency using MIDI and Syphon
Bazik ⇔ Bazik can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with Bazik using MIDI and Syphon
Serato Video ⇔ Serato Video can't play Vuo compositions natively, but Vuo can communicate with Serato Video using Syphon

We'd love to enable more apps to support Vuo. If you're an app developer, check out our API documentation, or if you'd like to see Vuo integrate with other software, let us know!

How can I find out all the things Vuo can do?

There is a lot of detailed information in our node documentation, where you can find out what nodes are included in Vuo, and what they do. Vuo is continually growing, so check out our feature requests, to see what has been chosen to be implemented, and what the community is voting to implement.

What are Vuo's system requirements?

Vuo 2.4 supports macOS 10.12 and later. It natively runs on Macs with an Intel or Apple Silicon (ARM64/M1) processor.

Apps and plugins exported from Vuo have the same system requirements.

Some individual nodes have restricted system requirements. We suggest that you try the nodes you need in Vuo Community Edition and check for any restrictions on Pro nodes before buying Vuo Pro.

Which graphics cards / GPUs does Vuo support?

We aim to make Vuo work well on any GPU compatible with Vuo's supported platforms.

That said, GPUs have a wide range of capabilities. Here are the results of our testing with certain GPUs:

  • ✅ Apple M1
    • (no known issues)
  • ✅ AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, Vega 64
    • (no known issues)
  • ✅ AMD Radeon Pro 5500M, AMD Radeon R9 M370X
    • (no known issues)
  • ✅ NVIDIA 980TI
    • (no known issues)
  • ✅ Blackmagic eGPU (AMD Radeon Pro 580)
    • (no known issues)
  • ⚠️ AMD FirePro D500, ATI Radeon 7970, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650
  • ⚠️ NVIDIA 650M, NVIDIA 750M
    • Slow performance on macOS 10.13 (possible workaround: either downgrade to macOS 10.12 or set Multisampling ports to Off)
  • ⚠️ NVIDIA 9400M
    • Slow performance
    • Sporadic system crash when running compositions that use 3D object filter nodes and some image filter nodes while running other graphics-intensive applications — Fixed in Vuo 2.0
  • ⚠️ Intel HD 4000, Intel Iris Pro
    • Slow performance
    • On macOS 10.13 and 10.14, some 3D Object Filter nodes (Divide, Facet, Quantize, Trim) output empty objects. — Fixed in Vuo 2.0
  • ⚠️ Intel HD 4000, Intel HD 5000, NVIDIA GeForce 320M
    • Multisampling is not supported
  • ⚠️ Intel HD 3000

How do I update my compositions from Vuo 1.x to Vuo 2.0?

Any compositions that you created in Vuo 1.x, you can still open in Vuo 2.0. However, you may need to modify your compositions to make them work as expected. In summary:

  • If your composition contains community nodes, such as ones from the node gallery, you may need to download new versions of those nodes before you can use them in Vuo 2.0.
  • If your composition contains published ports or subcompositions, it will still run in Vuo 2.0 but may behave differently. You may need to modify the composition to restore its original functionality.
  • If your composition contains only built-in nodes, it will still run in Vuo 2.0, and should behave the same as in Vuo 1.x with the exception of 3D object lighting. However, we recommend that you modify your compositions to use the new versions of nodes and stop using refresh ports.

Read on for details.

Can I embed Vuo into my application?

Yep. Vuo includes a framework so you can write a C++ (or Objective-C++) app that can load a Vuo composition, start it running in the current process or as a separate process, control the composition, and receive data from the composition.

We're already working with the authors of several visual compositing systems to enable their software to play and control Vuo compositions.

Where can I get the source code to Vuo?

Vuo Community Edition's source code is available on GitHub. It includes the compiler, editor, and core nodes (but it doesn't include the Pro nodes).

More info:

Who is allowed to use Vuo Community Edition?

  • Individuals who use Vuo for personal use only.
  • Freelancers (self-employed) whose annual gross revenue from projects that use Vuo is less than $3,000 USD.
  • Businesses (corporation, GmbH, AG, Kft., LLC, Ltd., PLC, Ab, Oy, etc.) whose annual gross revenue is less than $50,000 USD.
  • Non-profit organizations whose annual gross revenue is less than $50,000 USD.
  • Non-profit schools (university, high school, etc.) whose annual budget is less than $50,000 USD.
  • Government agencies whose annual budget is less than $50,000 USD.

If you don't meet any of the criteria above, you must buy Vuo Pro. Educational discounts and bulk discounts are available.

We understand there are gray areas. Please use your honest judgment. Feel free to contact us if you have questions.

Purchasing Vuo Pro

Which additional features does Vuo Pro offer?

Vuo Pro has additional features geared towards creative professionals:

  • Export FxPlug plug-ins for Final Cut Pro X
  • Export macOS FFGL (FreeFrame) plugins
  • Export macOS screen savers
  • Face detection — Find human faces in live video, and identify their locations, sizes, and landmarks (eyes, nose, and mouth) in the image.
  • Antialiasing and motion blur — When exporting a composition to a movie file (offline rendering via the File > Export > Movie… menu), Vuo Pro allows you to apply spatial supersampling (antialiasing) and temporal supersampling (motion blur).
  • NDI — Vuo's Send NDI Video and Receive NDI Video nodes enable your compositions to stream video over a local network using NewTek NDI®.
  • Art-Net — Vuo's Send Art-Net Messages and Receive Art-Net Messages nodes enable your compositions to control stage lights, or to be controlled by a stage lighting system.
  • Blackmagic — Vuo's Receive Blackmagic Video and Send Blackmagic Video nodes enable your compositions to get video from and output video to Blackmagic devices. (If you have an Apple M1 processor, check the Blackmagic Desktop Video release notes to see if your device is supported on M1.)
  • 3D stereoscopic rendering — Vuo's Make Stereo Camera, Make Targeted Stereo Camera, Render Scene to Stereo Images, and Combine 3D Stereo Images nodes allow you to render and encode a 3D scene using an asymmetric frustum perspective projection, suitable for outputting to stereoscopic displays. See the "Make Stereo Camera" and "Combine 3D Stereo Images" demo apps in the Composition Gallery.
  • Fisheye camera — Vuo's Make Fisheye Camera and Make Targeted Fisheye Camera nodes allow you to perform 3D fisheye projection, for use as an artistic effect or for projecting on hemispherical domes. See the "Make Fisheye Camera" and "Make Targeted Fisheye Camera" demo apps in the Composition Gallery.
  • Projection warping — Vuo's Warp Image with Projection Mesh node enables you to project onto a dome with a spherical mirror, an inexpensive alternative to traditional planetarium projection systems. Besides warping images for dome projection, it can be used for any kind of image warping — for example: keystone correction, stereo image alignment, conversion between image perspectives, and projection mapping. See the "Warp Image with Projection Mesh" demo app in the Composition Gallery.
  • Advanced image processing — Vuo's Apply Liquid Resizing and Apply Liquid Mask nodes enable you to apply content-aware transformations to images. See "Apply Liquid Resizing" and "Apply Liquid Resizing with Mask" demo apps in the Composition Gallery. Vuo's Measure Sharpness node enables you to numerically evaluate images, and Skeletonize Image performs morphological skeletonization.
  • Advanced 3D object processing — Vuo's Union, Intersect, and Subtract 3D Objects nodes enable you to perform boolean operations, and Flatten 3D Object enables you to simplify a scenegraph hierarchy.
  • Dark mode and compact toolbars — Make Vuo's interface dark and more streamlined.

How do you determine which features are only in Vuo Pro?

Although determining whether a feature should be in Vuo Pro only or also available in the Vuo Community Edition can be somewhat subjective, we consider several criteria when making the decision. A feature is likely to be Pro if any of the following are true:

  • It requires the purchase of special hardware, such as stage lighting or a VR headset.
  • It requires multiple computers.
  • It interacts with advanced software, such as a database management system or a video editing application.
  • It enables advanced graphics, such as 3D stereoscopic rendering or a fisheye camera.
  • It enables exporting compositions to a format in which they could potentially be offered for sale.

When we open a feature request for community voting, we decide if it will be Pro or included both in Pro and the Community Edition. This is indicated on the webpage of the feature request.

Do you offer educational discounts? What about academic bulk licenses?

Yes! We offer an 80% discount for college/university students, and for staff and faculty at all grade levels. Just fill out this form.

This discount can be combined with our bulk discount. (It doesn't impose any additional restrictions, so it's OK to use Vuo for commercial projects if you like.)

I just purchased Vuo Pro. How do I upgrade or download it?

Both Vuo Community Edition and Vuo Pro are contained in the same download. Now that you've upgraded to Vuo Pro, you should launch Vuo, go to the Help menu, and click "Activate Vuo Pro…". It will contact the vuo.org website to verify your new Vuo Pro license, and you'll then have access to the Vuo Pro features.

Where do I find my activation code / license key / serial number?

When you launch Vuo, if you haven't activated your license yet, Vuo will show a dialog. Click the "Activate Vuo Pro" button.

A screenshot of Vuo's Welcome dialog

In the next dialog, follow the instructions to activate Vuo Pro.

A screenshot of Vuo's Activation dialog

When you click the link in the above dialog, your web browser will open. You can log in to vuo.org, if you haven't already.

You'll then see a page with an activation code for the computer you're currently using.

A screenshot of vuo.org's Activation page

Copy and paste that code into Vuo's activation dialog, click the "Activate Vuo Pro" button, and you'll then be able to use the additional features in Vuo Pro.

How do I deactivate Vuo Pro on a computer?

After activating Vuo Pro on a computer, you may later want to deactivate it — for example, to make sure that your Vuo Pro license is used on only one business computer at a time.

To deactivate Vuo Pro:

  • Log in to macOS with the same user account that you used to activate Vuo Pro.
  • Open Terminal.app.
  • Enter the following text and hit Return: defaults delete org.vuo.Editor vuoLicense

Can I use Vuo Community Edition as a free trial of Vuo Pro?

Yes, you may use Vuo CE temporarily for evaluation. But if you're not otherwise eligible to use Vuo CE, you must purchase Vuo Pro before using Vuo to create any distributable or otherwise production-ready result.

Supporting Vuo

How can I become a Vuo Contributor?

Thanks to our contributors!

There are many ways you can contribute to Vuo:

Feel free to post on the forum or contact us if you need help.

How can I get notifications of posts on the Vuo website?

The Vuo website sends email notifications for posts that you're following.

  • When you post a new topic or comment in the Discussions, Feature Requests, Bug Reports, Composition Gallery, or Community Spotlight areas, you automatically receive email notifications of further comments on the post. If you want to stop receiving emails for the post, you can go to the post and click the "Stop following" link.
  • If you want to receive email notifications for a post you haven't participated in, you can go to the post and click the "Follow" link.
  • You can follow all posts of a specific type (Discussions, Feature Requests, Bug Reports, Compositions, Community Spotlights, Newsletters, Polls, Tutorials) by going to your user account page, clicking the "Following" tab and the "Content types you follow" link, and choosing the types of posts you want to follow.
  • You can follow all posts by a specific user by going to that user's page and clicking the "Follow" link.

The Vuo website offers several RSS feeds that you can subscribe to:

How can I help decide which features will be in future versions of Vuo?

As a member of the Vuo community, you can tell the Vuo developers which features you want most through community feature requests.

Feature requests

  1. You request a feature that you'd like to see in Vuo.
  2. Team Vuo reviews the feature request and usually opens it for voting.
    • If your feature request is similar to another, we might merge them (so that both are tracked on the same feature request page).
    • Occasionally, if a feature request is far from the direction that we'd like to take Vuo, we'll shelve it (choose not to implement it).
  3. You and other community members can vote for the feature.
  4. Team Vuo may choose to implement your feature request.
    • With each release, we implement some of the community feature requests.
    • We choose the features to implement based on how many votes they have, how much time they'll take to develop, and how much potential they have to expand the community.
    • You can browse the features chosen for an upcoming release and already released.

If you're on a tight schedule or need a niche feature, consider hiring us to develop it.

Votes

Each community member has a certain number of votes that they can use on feature requests.

You can "spend" all of your votes on your favorite feature request, or you can "spend" a few votes each on many different feature requests.

To vote for a feature request:

To see how many votes you have:

  • Go to the community feature requests and look at the "My available votes" box on the right side.
  • Or go to your user account page and click the "Votes" tab.

You can earn more votes by contributing to the Vuo community in various ways.

Complexity

Before we open a feature request for voting, we make a rough estimate of how much work it will take to implement, on a scale from 1 to 4:

Complexity Approximate cost range for commissioning
●○○○ — Up to a few days of work $   300 – $ 1,800 USD
●●○○ — A few weeks of work $ 1,800 – $ 9,000 USD
●●●○ — A few months of work $ 9,000 – $36,000 USD
●●●● — Many months of work $36,000 USD or more

Contact us if you'd like us to make a more specific and detailed estimate for a particular feature or group of features.

How can I get more votes to use on feature requests?

You can earn more votes to use on feature requests by helping sustain Vuo financially or contributing to the Vuo community in other ways.

Action Votes
Buy Vuo Pro 100
Share your first composition in the gallery 50
Share a subsequent composition in the gallery 5
Get an upvote for your composition in the gallery 1
Post a helpful bug report 10
Start your first discussion 20
Provide a helpful answer in a discussion 10
Make a tutorial that we add to our tutorial page 50
Share nodes to the gallery Depends on the nodes
Contribute source code Depends on the code

How do I make a helpful bug report?

When you make a bug report, please:

  • Review existing bug reports and contribute more information to them
  • Provide precise steps that enable Team Vuo to reproduce the problem on the latest version of Vuo
  • Reduce the complexity of your composition and steps to reproduce the problem
    • Provide the simplest possible composition and steps that cause the problem to happen
    • If possible, remove custom nodes from your composition
  • Attach a crash report or process sample to the bug report
    • In the top of the crash report window, there's a file icon. You can drag this icon to your desktop, to save it in order to attach to your bug report.
      • If you've already closed the crash report window, or if Vuo disappeared without showing a crash report window, you can find crash reports by opening the Console app (in the Applications > Utilities folder), and looking under the User Diagnostic Reports list in the sidebar. Find the crash report for the Vuo editor or VuoCompositionLoader that matches the date and time the crash occurred.
    • If the Vuo editor or your composition hangs, open Activity Monitor, select Vuo or VuoCompositionLoader (it should be red, with the label "Not Responding"), and select View > Sample Process. In the window that appears, click Save…, and attach this file to your bug report.
  • Attach console logs to the bug report
    • Open the Console app (in the Applications > Utilities folder)
    • Select "All Messages", and in the Search field in the top-right, type vuo
    • Make the bug happen
    • Edit > Select All, then Edit > Copy
    • Open TextEdit (in the Applications folder), paste the logs, and save
    • Attach that file to the bug report

How can I support people who share Vuo compositions? How can I get paid for Vuo compositions I share?

You can show your support to composition authors by making micropayments with Flattr or Paypal.

All transactions are made between two people through those payment services — Team Vuo does not collect any fee.

Read on for details.

How can I contribute code to Vuo?

Great! We welcome code contributions from the community.

We publish Vuo's source code on GitHub. Here's the process we encourage you to use:

First, please read the Vuo Contributor Agreement and be sure you understand it and agree to the terms.

If you're developing a new node, follow the process in Developing a Node Class. In particular, follow the conventions described in the "Naming node classes and ports" section. When you're ready to contribute your code, create a feature request, and attach the .c file to the feature request. Or you can create a pull request on GitHub. Or you can share your new node in the Node Gallery.

If you're modifying an existing node, create a pull request on GitHub.

We'll then review your code and, if possible, integrate it into Vuo. Since Team Vuo is responsible for ensuring that all of Vuo's nodes work properly and are consistent and well-documented, all of Vuo's built-in nodes go through an extensive planning, review, and testing process — and contributed nodes are no exception. This process may take some time, but we'll do our best to get back to you as soon as we're able.

Vuo development and licensing

Who owns Vuo?

Kosada, as creator of Vuo, owns copyright on the Vuo Core (compiler, editor, and built-in node sets). Kosada also owns the Vuo trademark.

Things you make using Vuo — compositions, node sets, compiled applications, generated images — are all yours. You own copyrights.

In order to make contributions to the compiler and core node sets, licensing requires that the copyright of contributions be transferred to Kosada — so that we may incorporate your contributions into Vuo. (This enables Kosada to act as the single legal steward of Vuo — so that we may enact the license cascade, and so that you, as a contributor, will be shielded from potential legal action taken against Vuo.)

What is Kosada's role in the Vuo community?

Kosada (the company behind Vuo) plays the following roles:

  • Develops, publishes, and provides documentation for Vuo.
  • Markets Vuo to grow the community and make the project financially sustainable.
  • Maintains and moderates the Vuo website and social media.
  • Provides limited free support to community members.
  • Provides priority support, custom development, and other consulting services to community members and the wider creative technology community.

Why is the Community Edition open source?

Being able to see the source means you can take Vuo apart to see how it works. Knowing how Vuo works can be particularly helpful if you're developing your own nodes for Vuo, or if you want to integrate Vuo into an application you're developing.

Having the Community Edition source code also means that you have access to the full stack of software used by your Vuo compositions — your compositions will not contain any black boxes that block your ability to understand what's going on.

Why are the Pro nodes proprietary?

We sell licenses to Vuo Pro in order to bring in revenue to enable us to continue developing Vuo (both the open-source parts and the proprietary parts). We do not release the source code for Pro nodes because that would make it much easier to distribute free copies of those nodes, which would reduce revenue and thus reduce the time we can spend developing Vuo.

What license does Vuo use?

Most components of the source code for the Vuo Community Edition (including the compiler, editor, and SDK) are under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) version 2 or later.

The source code for non-Pro nodes and the example compositions are under the MIT License.

The binary (Vuo.app) and Pro features are under the Vuo Proprietary License. Actions permitted with the Community Edition app and Vuo Pro app are listed on the FAQ "What actions are permitted under my Vuo license?".

What actions are permitted under my Vuo license?

Vuo Community Edition

  • Use Vuo for personal projects.
  • Use Vuo's API to incorporate Vuo into software you're developing, allowing your software to create, compile, and run Vuo compositions.
    • Distribute applications you create that link with the Vuo Framework.
    • Distribute the Vuo Framework along with applications you create.
  • Turn a composition (.vuo file) into an executable that you can run on your computer.
  • Develop new nodes using the Vuo API.
  • Develop new nodes using code from Vuo CE nodes and Vuo CE types.
    • Distribute the new nodes you create.
    • Sell the new nodes you create.
  • Turn a composition (.vuo file) into a macOS application (.app file) that you can distribute to others.
  • Examine and modify the Vuo compiler, editor, and CE nodes' source code for your own use.
    • Access the source code for the Vuo compiler (which turns a composition into an executable) to see how the code works, fix bugs, or add new features.
    • Access the source code for the Vuo editor to see how the code works, fix bugs, or add new features.
    • Access the source code for the CE Nodes to see how the code works, fix bugs, or add new features.
    • Distribute applications you create using your modified Vuo compiler, editor, and CE source code.
  • See all of the documentation for Vuo's API to help you program nodes for Vuo and applications that use Vuo.

Vuo Pro

In addition to the above…

  • Install the Vuo editor on any number of computers you personally own.
  • Install the Vuo editor on one computer owned by the business you work for.
  • Use Vuo for commercial projects.

How might the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) impact what I create with Vuo?

The Vuo Framework and compiled Vuo compositions use the ZeroMQ networking library. This library is licensed under the LGPL, and its licensing terms explicitly state that the copyright holders permit it to be used in commercial applications without requiring source distribution or a dual license.

Some Vuo nodes use LGPL code:

  • Play Movie, Decode Movie Frame, Step Movie Frame, and Get Movie Info use FFmpeg and Hap (YCoCgDXT)
  • Send RTMP Video uses FFmpeg
  • Receive Kinect v1 Images and Receive Kinect v2 Images use libusb
  • Apply Liquid Resizing and Apply Liquid Mask use gettext, glib, and liblqr
  • Fetch Table and related nodes use libcsv

These nodes (and compositions you create using these nodes) dynamically link to the LGPL code, so anyone is free to swap in a modified version of the LGPL code. If you create a composition using nodes that use LGPL code, you are not obligated to distribute your source code.

The Vuo Framework does not otherwise incorporate LGPL code.

How do export regulations impact the applications I create with Vuo?

If you plan to distribute an application made with Vuo, and you are based in the United States, your application may be subject to United States Export Administration Regulations if it includes nodes that can access files via HTTPS, such as "Fetch Image," "Fetch Scene," or "Play Audio File". With nodes that access HTTPS files, your application will include the OpenSSL library for decrypting files downloaded via HTTPS.

Read on for details.

What are the requirements for distributing Vuo apps that use Leap Motion?

The Leap Motion SDK Agreement allows you to distribute your Vuo compositions and exported apps, unless your apps meet Leap Motion's criteria for being a "Specialized Application":

“Specialized Application” means an Application which is: (i) sold, licensed, leased, or otherwise disposed of for a list price of more than US$500 or local equivalent, or more than US$240 per year or local equivalent if on a subscription, lease or similar basis; or (ii) sold, licensed, leased or otherwise disposed of as part of, or for use with, another application, system, machine or device (other than a personal computer), having a list price of more than US$500 or local equivalent, or more than US$240 per year or local equivalent if on a subscription, lease or similar basis; or (iii) designed for use, or that is primarily used, with or for control, whether direct or indirect, of industrial, commercial, military or medical equipment.

If your project meets those criteria, before you distribute your app, please contact Leap Motion to establish a distribution agreement.