Remember our review of the MadMapper MiniMAD? We were excited to see how well a raspberry pi could perform when held up to the projection mapping challenge. Built on the same platform the PocketVJ has just hit it’s 3rd version (3.0) and it’s stellar. (Video below demonstrates version 2.0) The PVJ is the work of: http://www.magdesign.ch/
The PocketVJ has a small learning curve that is easily remedied by the built-in web-proxy (mobile friendly) control panel. A user can connect via direct-wifi or ssh through the RJ45 ethernet port on the raspberry pi. The whole bundle comes in a laser cut wooden box with love from Berne, Switzerland. Awesomely enough, the project is open source, buy the complete kit, SD card only, or download the source code here. This little projection installation tool houses a feature set similar to that of some high end media servers.
Unlike the MiniMad, the PocketVJ is fully customizable, open-source, preloaded presentation mode, video player, date/time schedule for self management, web interface for remote control, video-wall feature, syncable player setup, and screen sharing through VNC. With TCPSyphon you can send your video files directly from your computer to the player (with a little bit of latency based on connection). You can even have the PocketVJ auto power up and down your projector via the RJ45 jack.
It is less intuitive than the MiniMad, but has a much more robust feature set and is 100% standalone.
You can take a projector, PocketVJ, and your mobile phone anywhere.
Food for thought…
Option 1: If you are looking for a quick projection mapping player, the MiniMad is hands down the best option, Madmapper continues to innovate their product and software, but it is for Mac OS X only and at the moment you need to own a full copy of mad mapper to use it.
Option 2: If your a budget conscious tinker then you can buy a raspberry pi, power cord, and sd card for <$50 and install ofx PiMapper for projection mapping. Between compiling, updating, versioning, crashing, and learning, this option won’t burn a hole in your pocket, but eventually you will see results.
Option 3: Get the PocketVJ. The fact that this can be set up on location, connected to the internet and tweaked from the comfort of your home is an awesome experience. Right now I have the demo PocketVJ setup in an Art space 15 minutes from my house — ready to auto-power on at sunset. With a <$100 wifi ip-camera on location, I can make adjustments to the projection mapping with very little latency and if they art house needs the projector for a presentation, they can simply just send the file to the pocketVJ and start up presentation mode. All in all this is a really useful tool that has been well thought out and keeps getting better.
Lastly I have been told that version 3.1 is currently in Beta, and boasts new features such as slow motion playback, improvements in the sync script (for customers building 27x screen video-wall’s), and a new case design.
Looking for source code? Check it out now:
https://github.com/magdesign/PocketVJ-CP-v3
