Advanced Visualization Studio
Encyclopedia
Advanced Visualization Studio (AVS), is a music visualization
plugin for Winamp
. It was designed by Winamp's creator, Justin Frankel
. AVS has a customizable design which allows users to create their own visualization effects, or "presets". AVS was made open source software in May 2005, released under a BSD-style license. AVS is currently at version 2.82 and is included with Winamp
.
The introduction of the superscope and dynamic movement components improved the possibilities of AVS, with users able to write their own code. This new, near-limitless style became known as "new-skool AVS".
Version 2.81b of AVS was released by Nullsoft
in 2003. It was faster and added several new features like arrays and interactivity in visualizations. 2.81d is the current release after some minor updates by DrO.
Recently, AVS has received more recognition as an art form. VISBOT performed at 320x240, the Croatia
n visual arts festival, and appeared in the Coded Cultures exhibition in the Museumsquartier
in Vienna
. The author of Line Rider
, "fšk", created AVS visuals for nightclub
s.
On May 18, 2005, it was announced that AVS would now be open source software, released under a BSD-style license.
The following components can be scripted:
AVS comes with a set of built-in components, but third party components, AVS plugin effects (APEs), can be added.
User-generated presets may be featured on websites such as Winamp.com or DeviantArt
.
Music visualization
Music visualization, a feature found in electronic music visualizers and media player software, generates animated imagery based on a piece of music...
plugin for Winamp
Winamp
Winamp is a media player for Windows-based PCs and Android devices, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is proprietary freeware/shareware, multi-format, extensible with plug-ins and skins, and is noted for its graphical sound visualization, playlist, and media library features.Winamp...
. It was designed by Winamp's creator, Justin Frankel
Justin Frankel
Justin Frankel is an American computer programmer best known for his work on the Winamp media player application and for inventing the gnutella peer-to-peer network...
. AVS has a customizable design which allows users to create their own visualization effects, or "presets". AVS was made open source software in May 2005, released under a BSD-style license. AVS is currently at version 2.82 and is included with Winamp
Winamp
Winamp is a media player for Windows-based PCs and Android devices, written by Nullsoft, now a subsidiary of AOL. It is proprietary freeware/shareware, multi-format, extensible with plug-ins and skins, and is noted for its graphical sound visualization, playlist, and media library features.Winamp...
.
History
The first versions of AVS came without the "superscope" or "dynamic movement" components, and presets were quite different than they are today. Among fans and users of the plugin, these versions (and, consequently, visualizations made when using them) are known as "old-skool AVS".The introduction of the superscope and dynamic movement components improved the possibilities of AVS, with users able to write their own code. This new, near-limitless style became known as "new-skool AVS".
Version 2.81b of AVS was released by Nullsoft
Nullsoft
Nullsoft, Inc. is a software house founded in Sedona, Arizona in 1997 by Justin Frankel. Its most known products include the Winamp media player and the SHOUTcast MP3 streaming media server. In recent years, their open source installer system, NSIS, has also risen in popularity as a widely used...
in 2003. It was faster and added several new features like arrays and interactivity in visualizations. 2.81d is the current release after some minor updates by DrO.
Recently, AVS has received more recognition as an art form. VISBOT performed at 320x240, the Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n visual arts festival, and appeared in the Coded Cultures exhibition in the Museumsquartier
Museumsquartier
The Museumsquartier is a 60,000 m² large area in the 7th district of the city of Vienna, Austria; it is the eighth largest cultural area in the world. The Museumsquartier contains Baroque buildings as well as Modern architecture by the architects Laurids and Manfred Ortner . The renovation of the...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The author of Line Rider
Line Rider
Line Rider is an internet game. Versions are available for Microsoft Silverlight and for Flash. It was originally created in September 2006 by Boštjan Čadež , a Slovenian student...
, "fšk", created AVS visuals for nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s.
On May 18, 2005, it was announced that AVS would now be open source software, released under a BSD-style license.
Making presets
Every preset is made up of different components. There are three categories of components: Render, Trans and Misc. Render draws shapes, Trans transforms the current image and Misc contains the components that don't fit in other two categories. The components are plugged into a list, which is executed from top to bottom, each component doing something with the image and sending the result to the next one. A lot of components are configurable and a few are codable. Effect lists can be included, which act as presets within presets.Codeable components
The codable components allow the most customizability, when a preset author can control and program effects through AVS' simple scripting language. The scripting language is compiled to native code at runtime for maximum performance.The following components can be scripted:
- Superscope
- Triangles
- Texer II
- Movement
- Dynamic Movement
- Dynamic Distance Modifier
- Dynamic Shift
- Bump
- Effect List
- Global Variable manager
AVS comes with a set of built-in components, but third party components, AVS plugin effects (APEs), can be added.
User-generated presets may be featured on websites such as Winamp.com or DeviantArt
DeviantArt
deviantART is an online community showcasing various forms of user-made artwork. It was first launched on August 7, 2000 by Scott Jarkoff, Matthew Stephens, Angelo Sotira and others. deviantArt, Inc...
.