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Video Sampler

What's a Sampler?

MidiVid GPU includes a built-in video sampler. A sample is a chunk of memory set aside to hold a sequence of video frames. Where those frames come from is up to you - Samples are taken "live", and can come from the display, a capture source, or anything else. Once a sample is taken, it requires very little CPU power to play it back, since the sample frames are stored uncompressed. This does mean that they take up a lot of RAM, but if you keep them short, they're a powerful tool.

Creating a Sample

The sampler settings are configured in the performance options, and are stored along with a performance. In summary, you specify the name, size, length, frame rate, and image format of a sample, reserving that memory for recording.

Recording a Sample

Creating a sample just reserves the space for it - You still have to record something into it, which is where the Sample Video plugin comes in. Assign this plugin to a note, and you'll see the dialog on the right appear.

You can choose the sampler you want the note to sample into (if you have more than one sample reserved in the sampler). You can also specify a fixed number of frames to sample, or leave that option off to sample for as long as the note is held (up to the number of frames reserved in your sample).

Playing a Sample

Once you've set up a sample in the performance options settings, your sample is already available for playback. There's nothing in it until you record something, but it's ready and waiting for when you do. To use a recorded sample as a source, simply choose it from the list of non-file sources in the Choosing Sources "source chooser". It'll show up as whatever you called it. If you're using more than one sample, name them well, or you won't be able to tell them apart. Samples are heavy on RAM use, but require very little CPU during playback, since the frames are stored uncompressed. You can even play from some sample while recording to another!