It's been a while since the last blog entry! Most of the information regarding vMix is now available on the forums:

http://forums.vmix.com.au/

In addition to the Forums I thought I would include a brief overview of the new features that will be available in vMix 2012 v4.
v4 is a significant milestone for vMix and includes the following:

• Virtual Sets: Integrate live chroma keyed footage into a high quality 3D virtual set.
  - A screenshot of what a Virtual Set looks like can be found here:  http://www.vmix.com.au/screenshots/virtualsets.jpg
  
• Advanced Video Delay: Easily save video delay clips to file. This is especially useful for saving sports highlights for slow-motion replay.
  
• New Audio Recording Engine: This improves the audio recording functionality by just recording the vMix audio instead of all programs.
  
• Integrated Audio Mixer: The Audio Mixer gets moved to the main interface instead of a separate window. This allows at a glance monitoring of all audio sources.
  
• Native 64bit Support: Take advantage of the additional memory available on 64bit systems.
  

A discussion forum for vMix has just been added at the address below:

http://forums.vmix.com.au/

Feel free to join and ask any questions you may have.

Beta 1 has now been released, visit the Download page for a copy.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been testing vMix on a variety of systems in preparation for the first Beta release.
One of the more surprising systems it has been tested on is the ACER Aspire One netbook.

With only an intergrated 945G graphics chip and an Intel Atom processor, vMix was able to play video clips in SD (720x576) resolution effortlessly.
Recording was out of the question due to the weak processor and a Netbook is obviously not recommended for vMix. The hope is that if I can get the basics working on older hardware then things should run all the more smoothly on the systems Beta testers are likely to be running it on.

In contrast the following system is what I have been using as a test platform for live performances:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400
NVIDIA 9600GT 512MB
2GB DDR2 Ram
Gigabyte EP45-UD3L (4x PCI-EX x1 Slots come quite in handy!)
3x Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro
500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive

The system runs with 2x Consumer HD Cameras as inputs, 1x Output to a DVD Recorder (via DeckLink output) and 1x Recording to Disk in 1280x720 CineForm HD.
A 17inch monitor runs vMix via the DVI port, and a projector connects to the VGA output and runs as the fullscreen secondary display.

All up the computer system (not including monitor) cost less than $2000

vMix is a new Software Video Mixer that allows HD mixing of live and pre-recorded sources on common desktop and notebook computers.
Full information is available from our Main Web Site

A brief history of vMix

vMix has been the culmination of many years work. Back in 2006 I was set with the task of recording to DVD the Christmas Carols production at my Church.
At the time we were able to hire the Sony Anycast system, which involves a laptop sized video mixer capable of mixing multiple SD and VGA sources.
While the Anycast system is an excellent video mixer, the cost (over $20,000 at the time) proved to be difficult to justify.

This is where I came up with the idea of building a video mixer through software and I was fortunate enough to be able to utilise the skills learnt through my day job as a programmer to bring life to the very first version of vMix!
From there both the 2007 and 2008 carols nights have been recorded through vMix along with regular use as an advanced video clip player during normal Sunday services.

2009 has seen the addition of High-Definition support and will see the eventual release of the software to the public.

First Public Beta

My current plans are to release the first public beta within the next week or so, as soon as the current version has been tested thoroughly.
I am aware many are keen to begin trying out the beta version so I appreciate your patience!