The VideoLAN Forums

Hello. I was wondering if there are any plans to implement the projectM visualizer in the Mac OS X Yosemite version of VLC.

There is an old projectM visualizer plugin for iTunes, but I never use iTunes, and the plugin no longer works anyway, because iTunes must now be run in 64-bit mode, while the plugin is 32-bit.

There is also an iOS version of projectM in the Mac App Store, but I don't use any iOS devices.

Neither is there a Mac OS X standalone version of projectM.

Thus, I am hoping that the VLC developers will add projectM to the Mac version of VLC. It is my understanding that the Linux and Windows versions of VLC already have the projectM visualizer included.

Thanks in advance.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

I am happy to announce that after conducting some extensive online research, I have successfully installed the projectM visualizer as a standalone app on my iMac running Yosemite 10.10.3, and it works great with the latest OS X version of VLC, including the 3.0.0 nightly build. This was accomplished by installing JackOSX and using the JackRouter as my sound output device in VLC. If anyone is interested in knowing how I did this, let me know, and I will put together more specific instructions, based on what I read online.

Well, I went ahead and took the time to write up specific instructions regarding how to install the projectM standalone visualizer app on Mac OS X, along with instructions regarding how to use VLC with it. So here you go, folks:

1. Download the "projectM-jack" DMG file from this URL:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/468 ... ackOSX.dmg

2. Mount the DMG file on your desktop and drag the "projectM-jack" app to your "Applications" folder. It will not work if you place it in any other location.

3. Download the appropriate "JackOSX 0.90" installer package from the URL below. If you are on Yosemite, grab the first binary under the Mac OS X section:

http://jackaudio.org/downloads/

NOTE: Step 3 is included here because I received an on-screen error message when I tried to use the JackOSX installer that is included in the aforementioned DMG file. The installer package I am directing you to does work on Yosemite.

4. After installing JackOSX, restart your computer when prompted to do so.

5. Launch the "JackPilot" app which is located inside "Applications/Jack".

6. Click the "Start" button in the "JackPilot" window.

7. Launch the "System Preferences" app and select the "Sound" preferences pane.

8. When the "Sound" prefs pane opens, select the "Output" tab.

9. You should now see "JackRouter" as a sound output device. Select it.

10. Open VLC.

11. Under the "Audio" menu, select "Audio Device/JackRouter".

12. Begin playing a song.

13. Launch the "projectM-jack" app in the "Applications" folder.

14. Assuming that everything was installed properly, you should now see a window on your screen with the project-M logo in it. Within seconds, it will be replaced by actual visualizations which move in sync with the currently playing song.

15. The visualizations are based on 529 ".milk" preset files which are located in the application bundle here:

/Applications/projectM-jack/Contents/Resources/presets

16. You can use the following keys to control the "projectM" visualizer app. I believe the app starts up in "random preset" mode by default:

f - Toggle fullscreen
y - Toggle shuffle
l - Lock/Unlock the current preset
n - Next preset
p - Previous preset
r - Random preset
m - Open the menu (for organizing playlists)

That's it. Enjoy your new VLC visualizer.

BTW, this projectM-jack setup should work with some other Mac audio players as well, if they allow you to choose your audio device like VLC does.

Whoah! This is cool! If you are not happy with the 529 preset files that come with the OS X version of projectM, use the following URL to download the Milkdrop Presets zipped archive:

http://milkdrop.tk/milkdrop/download/zip

As a matter of clarification, projectM is actually a much improved version of the original Milkdrop visualizer, which is why the projectM app can use ".milk" preset files.

The above zipped archive currently contains about 42,708 preset files.

You can use the "Add Presets" option under projectM's "Playlist" menu to import a few, some or even all of the ".milk" files that are found in the "presets" folder in the downloaded zipped archive.

After you add the desired presets, you need to save the new "playlist" you have just created by selecting the "Save Playlist" or "Save Playlist As..." option under the "Playlist" menu.

From that point forward, projectM will use your playlist, instead of the default playlist.

Another Update:

I just learned -- and have been in email communication with -- a person by the name of Mischa Spiegelmock who has just begun working on a github project to build a new standalone version of projectM for Mac OS X. I believe that he is using the 2.1.0 codebase. Here is the github URL, for those of you who may be interested in helping him:

https://github.com/revmischa/projectm

I can't under estimate how helpful you were Ive been trying to get this working on my mac for months now and it looks like you figured it out cause Im using it right now

Great! Glad to hear it!

BTW, you can also install the Soundflower audio router for OS X and use that to route your music if you like, instead of the Jack audio router. It is up to you.

Or . . .

If you just get tired of having to go through so many steps in order to get the projectM visualizer working on your machine, you can also do as I did and simply purchase G-Force Platinum for Mac OS X from Soundspectrum. The nice thing about G-Force Platinum is that it includes an iTunes plugin, a standalone visualizer, and a screensaver visualizer which you can set up with your microphone -- such as an iMac built-in mike -- to react to ambient sound, such as you talking or making noise in the room. It's pretty cool.

I in fact use G-Force Platinum full-time now and uninstalled projectM completely.

[quote=SnidelyW post_id=425518 time=1433053505 user_id=86491]http://milkdrop.tk/milkdrop/download/zip [/quote]

That link is total bullsh[size=20]*[/size]d.

Try [url=https://archive.org/details/milkdrops] MilkDrop Preset Collection [/url] [size=8]via archive.org[/size]
[Br][/Br]
Check out Ryan Geiss' [size=8] dev w/ Winamp [/size] [url=http://www.geisswerks.com/milkdrop/ ]page for MilkDrop[/url]. In the download section you can get a zip of his favorite presets, along with the source code for drops of milk 1 & 2. Additionally, the Winamp forums have a [url=http://forums.winamp.com/forumdisplay.php?f=133] visualization section [/url], specifically a MilkDrop section, that had its last post yesterday.