Capture
Millumin is capable to capture live video streams, so you could use them during your show.
When Millumin detects a new stream, this one appears in the library, in the Inputs group :
- FaceTime HD Camera
- Screen Capture
- iPhone / iPad
- Slideshow
- Camera
- Syphon
- NDI
- GigE
- After Effects / Photoshop / Unity / Cinema4D
FaceTime HD Camera
Most of the computers have now an integrated webcam. Any webcam connected to your computer will be detected as well.
If I use it in my dashboard, I will be able to play this stream :
You manipulate your webcam settings in the properties panel on the right :
More info about these settings in the dedicated article :
Screen Capture
This allows you to capture the window of another application or a whole display.
In this example, I capture the window of Firefox :
For info, on macOS Catalina and higher, Millumin needs to ask you to authorize screen capture. If you ever clicked NO, you can re-authorize Millumin in macOS System Prefrences / Security & Privacy / Privacy / Screen Recording.
More info about settings in this dedicated article :
iPhone / iPad
The display of an iOS device can be mirrored in Millumin. Simply connect it to your computer so it can be detected in Millumin’s library.
Since macOS Ventura, you can even stream the camera and microphone :
More info in this dedicated article :
Slideshow
It allows you to display all the images of a particular folder :
More info in this dedicated article :
Camera
Now, let's see how to retrieve the stream of a real camera. First, you need to use a capture card.
Capture Device
Many brands are supported by macOS and Quicktime, thus by Millumin.
The Blackmagic cards, for example, are quite affordable and efficient. The Intensity, UltraStudio and Decklink families are a good choice, and are natively supported by Millumin. The latency is between 60ms and 120ms depending on the device.
The AJA, Epiphan, Magewell or Inogeni cards are also a good choice.
For more complex setup, a Thunderbolt chassis can even embed one or more PCIe cards.
Lastly, you may be interested in converting a camera stream to NDI. You can easily do so with The Newtek Spark or a Birddog device. See next section for more details about NDI.
Example with a Blackmagic card
Blackmagic UltraStudio Mini Recorder is a very basic capture device for HDMI or SDI streams :
In this picture you can see a GoPro connected via HDMI to the Blackmagic UltraStudio Mini Recorder, connected via Thunderbolt to the computer.
Now, you can find in the library a new media (if you do not, be sure you installed Blackmagic drivers) :
As usual, use this media in your dashboard to get the video stream of your camera.
The Mini Recorder can handle many different video formats :
By default, Millumin tries to select the best format. But if you want, you can change them in the properties-view.
Syphon
You may encounter a situation where you have to retrieve your video stream from another software, like TouchDesigner if you need real time animated content. To do so, Millumin supports the Syphon technology. It allows a software to create a video stream that can be accessible by any other software that supports Syphon.
When a Syphon stream is detected by Millumin, it appears in the Library :
Then you can use it as a media :
On the left, TouchDesigner generates a Syphon stream, and on the right, Millumin receives it.
NDI
This protocol, created by NewTek, does pretty much the same thing than Syphon, but through the network. It is now widely used as a standard by many softwares such as Adobe ones for example.
You use it exactly the same way than Syphon. You find it in the library :
And use it as a media in your dashboard. Here is an example with VDMX :
Lastly, when there are dozens of NDI streams on the same network, you may want to see only the useful ones in Millumin’s library. Open the NDI Setup panel from the Window menubar to filter your NDI sources :
GigE
This protocol is popular among industrial/network cameras, allowing a low latency.
The sensor of these cameras is often monochrome as well as suitable for infrared purposes.
After Effects / Photoshop / Unity / Cinema4D
Millumin comes with plugins that can be activated from its Preferences/Addons.
To learn more, please read the dedicated article : Addons
