AcidWax Windows® Media Player Visualizer “ReadMe”
Information:
Contents:
What is AcidWax?
AcidWax is a music “visualizer” that turns sounds into
graphic works of art. It features high resolution hardware-accelerated
graphics combining texture, color, and advanced mathematics such as real-time
fractals. It runs as a “plug in” inside of the Windows Media Player.
AcidWax is something to look at while you listen to music.
Updates and Purchasing:
Minimum System Requirements:
- Important: Please make sure the software runs on your computer
using the free version prior to purchasing.
- Minimum
Recommended System:
- 1.5 GHz
or faster processor
- 256 Mb
RAM or higher
- Microsoft®
Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, or Windows Vista™
- Windows
Media Player version 10 or 11
- OpenGL®
accelerated video card
- 16 bit
color or higher
- Windows
Installer version 2.0 or newer (which is on all computers starting with
Windows 2000 Service Pack 3)
- AcidWax
performance is highly dependant on the power of graphics cards. For best
performance, use a high performance video card.
- AcidWax
performance is highly dependant on the speed of your computer. For best
results run on a very fast computer.
- Running
on systems that do not meet the minimum system requirements may result in
poor visualizer performance, or not work at all.
- It may be
impossible to run it on some systems. AcidWax is not guaranteed to run on
all system configurations. Use the free download as your opportunity to
test before purchasing.
- Special
notes for those running Windows Vista:
- Expect a
performance decrease when running on Windows Vista.
Windows Vista does not display OpenGL or GDI based graphics as quickly as
Windows XP or Windows 2000. AcidWax relies heavily on OpenGL. The
hardware requirements for the video card are therefore higher for Windows
Vista in order to get the same performance as Windows XP. Also, look for
updated Vista device drivers from your video card vendor, as they may
change frequently.
- Special
considerations for the Windows Media Player version of AcidWax:
- The
Windows Media Player feature of AcidWax is not intended to run on
dual-monitor computers. (Though it can run in many cases via a
work-around - see troubleshooting section
below for details.)
- The
latest version of Windows Media Player can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download
- AcidWax
is not compatible with some Windows Media Player “skins”. It is intended
to be run in the default Windows Media Player skin configuration, and in
full screen or full window mode.
To install:
- Close any
running applications, including Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer
- Un-install
any previous versions of AcidWax, if applicable. (Use the Windows “Add /
Remove Programs” utility to do so, or use the un-install feature of the
new installer.)
- Double-click
on the AcidWax.msi installer file, and
follow on-screen instructions.
- Windows Vista: Follow these instructions for installation on Windows Vista
Installation Notes:
- In
addition, a shortcut to this “ReadMe” file will be placed on your desktop,
along with a short-cut to “Buy AcidWax”. If you do not wish these icons
to be on your desktop, simply delete them by clicking on the icon, and
pressing “delete” on your keyboard.
- All other
files will be copied to a sub-folder of the Windows Media Player (the
standard location for visualizations.)
To Remove:
- Use the
Windows “Add / Remove Programs” utility. This is accessed from the
Windows Control Panel.
Instructions for Use:
Note: These instructions assume Windows XP and Windows Media Player 11. For
other operating systems (in particular Windows Vista), or for Windows Media
Player 10, the instructions may vary slightly from what is here.
To run the Media Player Visualizer:
o
Simply open
Windows Media Player, start playing some music, then go to “now playing” to
show the visualizer. (Note that the exact method for doing this will depend on
the version of Windows Media Player that you are using.)
o
If AcidWax is
not showing, choose it from the “visualizer” menu.
o
Once running,
put on your favorite music, dim the lights, turn up the volume, double click on
the display to run it in full screen, and then stare at it for hours.
Configuration:
- To access
AcidWax controls, move your mouse towards the top left corner of the
visualizer display. Controls will drop down:
Use these controls to optimize the visualizer to your hardware
and preferences.
Note: Settings made with the drop-down controls are not saved. When you exit
AcidWax, they will revert back to default values.
Change Visualization - Randomly choose a new
visualization pattern.
Decrease Speed - Decreases the speed at which the
visualization runs
Increase Speed - Increases the speed at
which the visualization runs
Decrease Brush Size - Make the fluid flow brush smaller.
A smaller brush results in less “flicker” to the music, but also reduces the
amount of visual variety. Decrease the brush size for a more “dreamy” effect.
Increase Brush Size – Make the fluid flow brush larger.
A larger brush increases the perceptible response to the music, but also can
create more “flicker”.
Configure AcidWax - Use this to change the fluid flow
texture brush resolution, and also the view the “About” box.
Details on configuration options:
The above settings allow optimization of visual quality and
speed.
- For
fastest performance choose a “Low” detail setting. Lower settings are
best for computers with slow processors.
- For
best image quality, choose a “High” detail setting. Higher settings
only work on very fast computers.
The higher the visual quality, the higher the hardware
requirements needed in order to view the visualization at a high frame rate.
Fluid flow calculations are running on the processor of the computer (not the
video card.) These settings determine the size of the calculation to perform.
The larger the size of the calculation, the faster of a computer is needed, but
the more stunning the clarity of the fluid flow in the visualization. It takes
a very fast computer to use the “High” setting, and it takes 4x the speed of a
computer to run the Super-High setting.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Q: If I
buy a license, can I install it on multiple computers?
- A: If it
is for your own personal use, then yes. Refer to the software license
agreement for details.
- Q: How do
I know if an update is available?
- A:Check http://www.plasmavis.com/acidwax/,
and compare the version number on the web site with the version number in
the AcidWax “about” box. If they are different, then there is an update.
- Q: Is AcidWax
available for other media players?
- Q: What
other visualizers does Olsen Software make?
- Q: What
do I get if I upgrade to the full version?
- Q: What
can I do to get the best performance from AcidWax?
- A: Performance
is primarily a function of 2 factors:
- Your
video card
- Your
computer’s speed.
Updating your video card to the latest CAD or “gamer” level
video card, and / or updating your video cards device driver can make a big
difference. AcidWax is tested on modern ATI™ and NVIDIA® video cards. Also,
your processor speed is very important for the fluid flow calculations. Faster
computers allow running at higher levels of texture detail.
- AcidWax
also needs processor time and memory. Close other running applications
for best performance.
- Reducing
the visualization window size will also improve the speed at which it can
display, since less work is required to render smaller scenes. However,
if running at high texture resolutions, reducing the window size may not
help.
- Q: How
can I get the best image quality from AcidWax?
- A: AcidWax
looks best when running at high resolution and full-screen with a fast
video card on a large monitor with a high contrast ratio, and a fast
computer. Dim the lights in your room for improved visual clarity and
ambience.
- Q: How
can I take a screen-shot of the image?
- A: press
the “print-screen” key on your keyboard to copy an image of the screen to
the Windows Clipboard, and then “paste” the image into another document
or paint program. Third party applications such as HyperSnap (http://www.hyperionics.com/) are
also excellent choices for taking screen-shots.
- Q: I have
a suggestion, comment, or feature request. Who do I contact?
- A: We
welcome your feedback please email: info@plasmavis.com
. We will read all emails we receive, but note that we may not be able
to reply.
- Q: I
would like a custom version of AcidWax for my promotional purposes (concert,
magazine distribution, tradeshow, etc.) Where should I start / who should
I contact?
- Q: I’m
having troubles.
- A: See
“Troubleshooting & Known Bugs” section below.
Revision History (oldest at top):
- 1.0.0.0 (March
3, 2007)
- 1.0.0.1
(September 2, 2007)
- Fixed a
conflict in Windows Vista with AcidWax sharing the same configuration
files.
- 1.0.0.2
(October 30, 2007)
- Fixed a
minor glitch in the visuals that was causing square corners to show up in
the fluid flow.
- 1.0.0.2
(June 1, 2008)
- Updated
installer to behave better on Windows Vista or on computers where the
installing user does not have administrator level privileges.
- 1.0.0.3 (September
16, 2008)
- Added
Stand-Alone version of AcidWax which does not require Windows Media
Player, and uses a microphone input to generate the visuals.
Troubleshooting & Known Bugs:
- Windows Vista: Follow these instructions for installation on Windows Vista
- Some
Windows Media Player “skins” may not display the visualizer properly, or not at all. In
particular, skins that have external windows for displaying. In these
cases, it is necessary to choose a different skin, or use the Windows
Media Player default interface.
- Hiccups: When playing on low
performance computers, AcidWax may experience stuttering frame rates at
times (or all the time on really slow computers). Running at a lower
texture detail setting can be a big help in many cases.
- Generic
things to try: If
you have other troubles, here are some generic things to check:
- Check
that computer meets the minimum
system requirements
- Check
that computer is running the latest video card device drivers appropriate
for your video card
- Re-boot the
PC to clear out any computer “pollution”.
- Uninstall
and re-install AcidWax after a fresh re-boot. Perhaps there was some
computer “pollution” that prevented a proper installation the first time.
- Consider
that there might be OpenGL video card settings that are overriding the
ability of AcidWax to operate.
- Check
that hardware acceleration is turned on for your video card (Right-click
on windows desktop, choose “properties”, then the “settings” tab, then
“Advanced”, then the “troubleshooting” tab, then experiment with various
settings. Don’t forget to write down the original settings, in case you
care to restore them.)
- Visit http://www.plasmavis.com/acidwax/
for updates and bug fixes
Copyright ©2007 Olsen Software, LLC.
http://www.plasmavis.com
Microsoft, Windows Media, and Windows
are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries.
ATI is a registered
trademark of ATI Technologies Inc. in the United States and other countries.
NVIDIA is a
registered trademark of NVIDIA Corporation in the United States and other
countries.
OpenGL is a trademark of Silicon
Graphics Inc.
