FFRend 2.1.02

FFRend 2.1.02 offers users a helpful and reliable renderer for Freeframe plugins that allows you to chain any number of plugins together, automate their parameters using oscillators, and record the output to an AVI file. The input is a video (AVI/MPG), still image (BMP/JPG/GIF), or source plugin.

Most VJ softwares support Freeframe, and can record their output, so what makes FFRend different? FFRend is optimized for content generation, whereas VJ softwares are typically optimized for live performance. The key difference is that FFRend never drops frames, even when your project is too CPU-intensive to be rendered in real time.

It's also possible to perform with FFRend. The user interface is modular, dual-monitor is fully supported, and all parameters and oscillator settings can be controlled via MIDI. Version 2 also supports parallel processing on multi-core CPUs, for greatly improved frame rates.

FFRend supports plugin authoring, which means you can export a FFRend project as a Freeframe plugin. The exported plugin is called a metaplugin, because it uses other plugins as components. A metaplugin can be used in any Freeframe-compatible host application, and behaves as if you were running the equivalent project in FFRend.

Major Features:

1. All plugin parameters can be automated using LFOs (Low-Frequency Oscillators) with various waveforms (e.g. triangle, sine, ramp, square, pulse, random).
2. The plugin chain and all its parameter and automation settings can be saved as a project.
3. The plugin order can be changed at any time via dragging, without disrupting the plugin states.
4. Plugins can be temporarily bypassed or soloed.
5. The plugin frame size is variable, so you can preview the output in real time by lowering the resolution, and then record it at a higher resolution.
6. There's no 2 GB limit on the output file, so uncompressed output is limited only by disk space.
7. A master speed control is provided, allowing you to affect the frequency of all your automations at once.
8. Full screen is supported, as well as DirectDraw Exclusive mode which eliminates tearing.
9. Dual-monitor support allows you to have the application's controls on one monitor and the output full-screen on the other.
10. All parameters and oscillator settings can be controlled via MIDI; assignments can be created via editing, or "learned".
11. FFRend supports unlimited undo.
12. Multi-input (mixer) plugins are supported, and complex signal routing can be created using the Patch Bay bar.
13. A Monitor bar lets you view the output locally when running in dual-monitor mode.
14. A file browser is included, with tabs for projects, plugins, and clips, and a thumbnail view.
15. A project can be exported as a Freeframe plugin, i.e. FFRend can be used as a plugin authoring tool.
16. Jobs can be queued for batch processing.
17. Each plugin runs in its own thread for optimal throughput on a multicore CPU.
18. Load balancing allows multiple cores to be assigned to a single plugin if needed.

Enhancements:

• FFRend 2.1.02 is a bug fix release. It fixes a bug in the load balancing feature which can cause stateless plugins to behave as though they're stateful, resulting in unexpected strobing.
• Assigning multiple threads to a plugin can cause strobing if the plugin has one or more parameters that are currently zero, but have non-zero defaults. Strobing is when the output alternates between two or more distinct states. To demonstrate the bug: a) start a new project and insert the PeteGaussianBlur plugin, b) load a still image via File/Video/Open, c) set GaussianBlur's Radius parameter to zero, and d) use Edit/Load Balance to assign two threads to GaussianBlur. The strobing can seen more clearly by lowering the frame rate. Fixed.

Requirements:

• Recommended:
• • Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz Quad-Core Processor 
  • ASUS Rampage II GENE LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX Motherboard 
  • Crucial 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 Memory 
  • OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W Modular Power Supply 
  • Western Digital Caviar WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive 
  • EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB Video Card 
  • Windows XP SP2 
  • DirectX 9 
  • 1024 x 768 / 32-bit color
• Minimum (version 1):
• • Pentium III 833MHz 
  • 256MB RAM 
  • Windows 2000 SP4 
  • DirectX 8.1 
  • 640 x 480 / 16-bit color