Is Magnetosphere Now an iTunes 8 Visualizer?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)

Video link (http://vimeo.com/169308)

A number of individuals (http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/09/04/flight404s-magnetosphere-the-new-visualizer-in-itunes-8/) are speculating that Flight 404's (http://flight404.com/blog/) Magnetosphere iTunes visualizer is likely to be "trippy" iTunes 8 visualizer (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/03/itunes-8-playlist-recommendations-visualizations/) described by Kevin Rose.

Magnetosphere had been available as a free download from the developer's site until a few months ago (http://allanwhite.net/index.php/blog/comments/itunes_8_rumors/). The author responded to an inquiry by Allan White that the plug-in had been "sold to a third party".

Other example videos of the developer's impressive visual work:

- Magnetosphere (High quality QuickTime version) (http://www.flight404.com/_videos/magnetosphere/index.html).
- Magnetosphere Revisited (http://www.vimeo.com/169308)
- Turbulence w/ flares (http://www.vimeo.com/305947)
- Magnetic Sphere (http://www.vimeo.com/174357)




Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/09/05/is-magnetosphere-now-an-itunes-8-visualizer/)

[xenotaku]

G-Force is tons better, but it does cost money.

[maxrobertson]

That looks really cool.

[Harpo]

Exhausting to watch!

[capoeirista]

That looks nice. I'll never use it.

[phinnaeus]

Hot.

[roland.g]

I love the scrolling library pictures (or album art) through the Apple TV, but it would be great to see something like this, or any of the iTunes visualizers (like Kaleidostrobe) available on the Apple TV too. Only question is can the CPU and GPU in the Apple TV handle something like this.

[backsidetailsli]

im gonna start doing drugs when itunes 8 is released

[Eidorian]

Fans everywhere hit 6200 RPM.

[Mykbibby]

Bring it on!

I'd love to see visualizers on the iPhone though...

[arn]

the high quality link is worth a watch.

http://www.flight404.com/_videos/magnetosphere/index.html

arn

[r.j.s]

That's nice, but I wonder how it taxes the processors and GPUs (especially the integrated ones).

[OwlBoy]

anyone happen to have a mirror of Magnetosphere.dmg? :D

-Owl

[Aranince]

Awesome! Its actually worth watching

[zombitronic]

That is trippy. I like it. It'll be cool to have it going on my TV when I'm listening to music from my Mac that's hooked up to it...but that means I'd have to listen to it from iTunes, and not Front Row, right?

Here's hoping for visualizer support in Front Row!!

[maestrocasa]

Bring it on!

I'd love to see visualizers on the iPhone though...

Hear, hear (or is it Here, here?)

Looks like a cool new visualizer. Love to see it on the whole iPod line... even though it will suck life from the battery. sometimes you just want the graphics!.

even cooler is to incorporate the accelerometer/touchscreen of iPT and iPhone!

[ilfn143]

wish i had it when i was in college. lava lamp doesn't looks so cool now...

[xnu]

Beats the heck out of flying toasters!

O man am I old.

[deannnnn]

SO cool.

[isethx]

pretty cool

[luckylou]

I agree that it would be rad to have as a visualizer on AppleTV.

[Apple Ink]

That seems nice! 9to5 ran that first and checked it up there! But will Apple include it.... I mean its not..... theirs and SJ doesnt really believe in sharing creativity!

[unity]

Wow, no negative votes...yet... lol

[SkippyThorson]

Is this reminding anyone of the Coldplay commercial they ran for Viva La Vida? Could just be me.

There is rhyme and reason to everything Apple does. That space theme in Leopard runs much deeper than a few images. :)

I could be reading way into it, but it's a sign of the times. This appears much more advanced than it really is. Then, Steve and Jony are both good at that.

[boxlight]

what song is that?

[orthorex]

I would love to know what song that is. Anybody?

[crees!]

That looks nice. I'll never use it.
Ditto.

[Beric]

Really cool. Just wish it wasn't flash.

[boxlight]

Ditto.

I'd love it if my Apple TV could show these visualizations. I only use Apple TV to play music in my rec room and the standard flipping album cover is pretty lame -- and is even distracting.

[walala]

I didn't realize people actually used these stupid things.

[citi]

That's nice, but I wonder how it taxes the processors and GPUs (especially the integrated ones).


If it's a visualizer than even if it taxed the system 90% is wouldn't matter because you wouldn't be doing anything else with the computer. It's a glorified screensaver.

[noaccess]

First 3rd party visualizer I've seen that I like. Then again, I haven't seen many. Plus, I'm picky.

But it's amazing. :)

Hope :apple: include it.

[slu]

I didn't realize people actually used these stupid things.

Neither did I. To each his own, but I can't even come up with any reason or situation where I would use these.

[WiseWeasel]

Seriously, Apple needs to get this or just their current visualizer on the Apple TV pronto! I'm sick of watching my album covers...

[r.j.s]

If it's a visualizer than even if it taxed the system 90% is wouldn't matter because you wouldn't be doing anything else with the computer. It's a glorified screensaver.

But you can run it in the iTunes window and put it in the corner while you do something else.

[happydude]

does anyone use the visualizer? i think i did for about the first 2 weeks after it was first an option way back when, but haven't ever since. meh.

[manhattanboy]

Why topics like this take center stage on Macrumors and more important issues are relegated only to the forums is beyond me.
Yeah the thing is cool...but has this site become nothing more than an advertisement source for apple products??

[g4cubed]

It makes a nice screensaver.

[sk8mash]

I really want to know the song, anyone got any clues?

[noaccess]

I would love to know what song that is. Anybody?
Suzuki by Tosca

[vilasgn]

Pointless to me.

[Cannons]

Any idea what song this is and where I can find it and more like it?

[BoyBach]

That looks nice. I'll never use it.


I didn't even realise that iTunes had visualisers!

The high quality video is fantastic.

[Apple Ink]

the high quality link is worth a watch.

http://www.flight404.com/_videos/magnetosphere/index.html

arn

Thats beautiful!:eek:

[zombitronic]

But will Apple include it.... I mean its not..... theirs and SJ doesnt really believe in sharing creativity!

If it leads to success for Apple, he does.

But I'm not sure what you're suggesting they'd be sharing. I'd assume that if they wanted this they'd buy the guy out. This is nothing new to Apple. See: FingerWorks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerworks).

[zombitronic]

I really want to know the song, anyone got any clues?

Try one of those iPhone song identifying Apps like midomi.

[DarkRail]

im gonna start doing drugs when itunes 8 is released

I do drugs now, but I'm not going to do them in my office just so I can watch this thing.

Please, Apple, port these visualizers over to the Apple TV so we can all comfortably enhance our drug-doing activities.

[Peel]

the high quality link is worth a watch.

http://www.flight404.com/_videos/magnetosphere/index.html

arn

That is quite awesome! However when the demo gets about 2/3 the way through, and the world starts to spin and jump, I think I would get vertigo, and possibly get nauseous if this was in full screen mode

[r.j.s]

But will Apple include it.... I mean its not..... theirs and SJ doesnt really believe in sharing creativity!

From what I understand, it was acquired a few months ago by a third party.

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

I would love to see this on the ipod.

[uva25]

I am just curious why anyone is interested in visualizers? What are they used for? Do people sit in a room listening to music with a visualizer on their PC. I'm not trying to stir anything up but I honestly have never used them so maybe I'm missing something. Thanks.

[Josso]

When I get my Mac, I think I'll relax with this. :)

[sk8mash]

Suzuki by Tosca

Thanks, I just did a bit of digging and found out.

[Peel]

That seems nice! 9to5 ran that first and checked it up there! But will Apple include it.... I mean its not..... theirs and SJ doesnt really believe in sharing creativity!

Well, the initial post says that the creator sold it to a third party a couple months ago. And buying what he likes and integrating it into the rest of Apple's software is very much what SJ does.

[kevzy]

Very nice.....pity I never use the visualiser

[SkippyThorson]

I would love to see this on the ipod.

Battery? What battery? I have no battery. :p

No, but that would be very cool.

[gguerini]

Is this the "big" feature of iTunes 8??? :eek:

Very use(less)ful!!!

[iJon]

I used to use Magnetoshpere when he first came out with it. It was very good and but had a long ways to go. I haven't checked it out in probably a year, forgot all about it. If this is the new visualizer in addition to the new one they added in Leopard then I will be a happy camper.

Now if they only would add a visualizer to the AppleTV I may buy one.

jon

[mainstreetmark]

That seems nice! 9to5 ran that first and checked it up there! But will Apple include it.... I mean its not..... theirs and SJ doesnt really believe in sharing creativity!

Even iTunes came from someone else (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundJam_MP).

[iJon]

Even iTunes came from someone else (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundJam_MP).

Ah, the good ol' SoundJam days. Used to be all I used before iTunes came out. Excellent piece of software and smart move by Apple.

[amac4me]

This is cool!

[Lightmensendme]

That is so cool. That would be sweet if that was in iTunes 8.

[Apple Ink]

From what I understand, it was acquired a few months ago by a third party.

Well, the initial post says that the creator sold it to a third party a couple months ago. And buying what he likes and integrating it into the rest of Apple's software is very much what SJ does.

Thanks for the heads up!

If it leads to success for Apple, he does.

But I'm not sure what you're suggesting they'd be sharing. I'd assume that if they wanted this they'd buy the guy out. This is nothing new to Apple. See: FingerWorks (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerworks).

Agreed!


Even iTunes came from someone else (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundJam_MP).

I keep learning new things! Thanks!

[mail4asim]

Where is this????
http://morefriends.notlong.com
http://kiree.notlong.com

You can find it here
http://rianjs.net/dump/Magnetosphere.bundle.zip

[SRSound]

I suppose it would be foolish to think iTunes 8 would bring more features than just new visualizations...

[walnuts]

Even iTunes came from someone else (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundJam_MP).

You know, for all the third party stuff out there for apple to buy and incorporate into their software, why a visualizer? Isn't there anything else more useful? Why not incorporate Quicksilver into OS X or something like that?

While I'm sure that some people enjoy visualizers, I'm surprised that this receives so much attention. Even for those of you who really enjoy visualizers, would you think a new one would be important enough for a mention at a stevenote? It would seem from this hubbub that this is going to get stage time at next Tuesday's event.

[137489]

Ok, took a couple of minutes to look at these. Very cool. A lot better than what is in MS Media Player. However, I do not use visualizers. Most of the time I am listening to itunes while doing something else; rather than watching itunes.

what I want is a way to export these visualizers so that I can use them in:

Final Cut express
Adobe Premier Elements

Those are my two movie making software I use. I could do some cool things with music and other videos.

[busterbluth]

Am I missing something? Who cares about a new ********** visualizer Jobs, I WANT A NEW LAPTOP DAMNIT.

[brywalker]

I'm so glad they are doing this.

We need this FAR more than we need iTunes Server.

My family thanks you, Apple.:rolleyes:

[Apple tree]

:eek:

[Eidorian]

You can find it here
http://rianjs.net/dump/Magnetosphere.bundle.zipNow that's very nice.

I just hope it doesn't spin up my fans too much on my Macbook.

[WhySoSerious]

this would be better if it could be a screen saver. who even uses visualizers in itunes? don't you just start music and then go about your business as it plays???

[merrymoon]

this would look sweet in an iPod+iTunes commercial - I can totally imagine colored silhouettes dancing in there.

[mogzieee]

Damn! That looks insanely cool!

[alphaod]

Love it.

[fenster1977]

I am just curious why anyone is interested in visualizers? What are they used for? Do people sit in a room listening to music with a visualizer on their PC. I'm not trying to stir anything up but I honestly have never used them so maybe I'm missing something. Thanks.

I've never used the visualizers either, but that's because they never seemed to actually visualize the music. They always seem to just produce random pictures that never seem to jive with the music. This looks like it actually does.

I'd put it on if I had people over. Why not? Kinda fun to have on the screen while the music's going. I don't think people would sit there and stare at it, but it adds a certain something to the atmosphere during a party, etc.

To each his own 'an that.

[phinnaeus]

You can find it here
http://rianjs.net/dump/Magnetosphere.bundle.zip

How do I use that file?

[Kilamite]

I'm still not impressed - it is a good visualiser for a sequence, but it gets boring quickly.

I've said this a lot in all the iTunes Visualiser related threads that, nothing even comes close to the quality and trippyness (inhale a balloon of Nitrious Oxide!) of WinAmp's MilkDrop visualiser. It has so many variations, forms that literally take about an hour before it repeats itself in some other variation format.

[pavvento]

I've never used the visualizers either, but that's because they never seemed to actually visualize the music. They always seem to just produce random pictures that never seem to jive with the music. This looks like it actually does.

I'd put it on if I had people over. Why not? Kinda fun to have on the screen while the music's going. I don't think people would sit there and stare at it, but it adds a certain something to the atmosphere during a party, etc.

To each his own 'an that.


I agree, it's cool to have on while having a party or just some friends over. It's just another thing going and working with atmosphere.

[Eidorian]

How do I use that file?I just copied it into ~/Library/iTunes/iTunes\ Plug-ins/Magnetosphere.bundle

[Shtekeris]

I don't get it - what's the big deal with one new visualizer? Not that it will change way you listen to music or anything else, it is just ... visualizing .. something ... i never use them anyway because you have to go to menus and whatever else, maybe they could bring back on/off button somewhere on iTunes interface

[Eidorian]

I don't get it - what's the big deal with one new visualizer? Not that it will change way you listen to music or anything else, it is just ... visualizing .. something ... i never use them anyway because you have to go to menus and whatever else, maybe they could bring back on/off button somewhere on iTunes interfaceCmd + T :p

[zombitronic]

I'm so glad they are doing this.

We need this FAR more than we need iTunes Server.

My family thanks you, Apple.:rolleyes:

You can already do this.

Just make an alias of the iTunes folder which stores your music, send the alias to another Mac, and replace the iTunes folder in your home -> Music directory, or where ever it is, with the alias. Make sure you have File Sharing turned on for the folder or drive with all the music and iTunes Library file. If you need to get around any permissions problems just stick the iTunes folder at the root directory of your drive, or better yet, throw it on it's own drive. Now, when iTunes starts up it'll mount the network drive or folder and you're good to go. Your own iTunes "Server."

[bytethese]

the high quality link is worth a watch.

http://www.flight404.com/_videos/magnetosphere/index.html

arn

WOW.

I need this. Would be AWEsome to display on my 56" tv during parties. :)

[sparkleytone]

A visualizer I'd actually use. Sweet.

Also, the song is phenomenal.

[shrtmkr]

anyone who's wondering the songs name
its

tosca-suzuki
album : hotel costes 3

cool visualizer!

[bytethese]

I am just curious why anyone is interested in visualizers? What are they used for? Do people sit in a room listening to music with a visualizer on their PC. I'm not trying to stir anything up but I honestly have never used them so maybe I'm missing something. Thanks.

Ambiance during parties? I have hooked my MBP into my 56" tv during parties just to have somethng "cool" going on in the background. :)

[iJon]

Ambiance during parties? I have hooked my MBP into my 56" tv during parties just to have somethng "cool" going on in the background. :)

No kidding, or for eating drugs. Steve Jobs did drop acid once or twice in his lifetime.

[weg]

what song is that?

Suzuki, by Tosca. It's on the album "Suzuki".

[rhino102228]

anything would be better than that windows media player crap they have..

[rockthecasbah]

That visualizer is hot. That would make iTunes' visualizers actually worth using! I really hope that comes with iTunes 8 :D

[lazyrighteye]

Can't remember the last time MR featured an article with zero negatives (as of this posting).
Wacky.
Stat boys, can you confirm?

Maybe the trolls are wallowing in Seinfeldian bliss.
Maybe not.

Anyway, that's a nice looking plug. Wish I had known about it to grab it when it was available. I welcome it in iTunes 8... amongst other things.

[blakespot]

Nice. Magnetosphere is the best iTunes visualizer by far. I noticed it going unavailable a few months ago.

My article (http://www.ipodhacks.com/article.php?sid=2376) on the visualizer.

See it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pEyPcWvJZ8) running across three large screens on my Mac Pro.




blakespot

[nagromme]

I hope so--it's my favorite visualizer and I hope he got some money for it. It responds instantly to the sound, unlike most visualizers.

[17thletter]

nevermind. the visualizer is hot though.

[dal20402]

Visualizers are fine, but they shouldn't be taking one picosecond of time that Apple could be using to solve actual problems, that people other than stoned hippies actually care about, with the iTunes ecosystem.

It's a joke that, after almost a decade, iTunes still has no way to gracefully and simply manage music located on multiple drives. :mad: My whole collection won't come even close to fitting on my MBP drive, but I do want substantial parts of it with me on the road.

As features on features have been added, iTunes takes up hundreds of megabytes of RAM and has become very slow to launch. With my collection of about 17,000 items, it also gets unresponsive every now and then.

The App Store, especially the updater, is not stable.

There should be a reasonable way of managing classical tracks, for which the "artist -> album -> song" paradigm almost never makes sense.

iPod syncing should be a systemwide service. It makes no sense whatsoever to sync contacts or calendars in iTunes. For that matter, video should also be in a separate app.

All of this matters 25,000 times more than an idiotic visualizer. Come on, Apple.

[MarkMS]

If anyone else was wondering, the Magnetosphere (Hi-res QT version) song is Miss You by Trentemøller.

Can be found on Amazon's MP3 site or iTunes.

[Big-TDI-Guy]

I'm not sure how many of you have used Winamp in the past, and of that group - how many actually knew how to set up all the free plugins that were available for it.

But this thing is a total yawn, if my pos Dell 1.4ghz laptop can render circles around this via Milkdrop (Winamp) - WTF is up with OSX? I expected orders of magnitude more than what we have.
:(

[Eidorian]

I'm not sure how many of you have used Winamp in the past, and of that group - how many actually knew how to set up all the free plugins that were available for it.

But this thing is a total yawn, if my pos Dell 1.4ghz laptop can render circles around this via Milkdrop (Winamp) - WTF is up with OSX? I expected orders of magnitude more than what we have.
:(Imagine a 400 MHz K6-2 with a GeForce 2 running circles around iTunes with WinAmp visualizers. :rolleyes:

[blakespot]

I'm not sure how many of you have used Winamp in the past, and of that group - how many actually knew how to set up all the free plugins that were available for it.

But this thing is a total yawn, if my pos Dell 1.4ghz laptop can render circles around this via Milkdrop (Winamp) - WTF is up with OSX? I expected orders of magnitude more than what we have.
:(

I'd like you to show me a WinAmp visualizer that's better than Magnetosphere.



blakespot

[Big-TDI-Guy]

Anything made by Ryan Geiss.

To be technical: XP SP2 1.4GHZ "Centrino" Chipset, Nvidia Go FX5200 (64MB) and 768MB ram.

My point is - seriously - the visualizers for OSX are years behind, IMO. I've yet to see anything for OSX that compares to what I had when I switched ~3-4 years ago.

Get a feeling I'm gonna experiencing some love over this one...

This is just a tiny, tiny fraction of what it does... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ZCZTobuMw

[Eidorian]

I'd like you to show me a WinAmp visualizer that's better than Magnetosphere.



blakespotMilkdrop anything.

Anything made by Ryan Geiss.

To be technical: XP SP2 1.4GHZ "Centrino" Chipset, Nvidia Go FX5200 (64MB) and 768MB ram.

My point is - seriously - the visualizers for OSX are years behind, IMO. I've yet to see anything for OSX that compares to what I had when I switched ~3-4 years ago.

Get a feeling I'm gonna experiencing some love over this one...

This is just a tiny, tiny fraction of what it does... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ZCZTobuMwI got better visualization performance 8 years ago on Windows 98 then I do today on my MacBook in iTunes. :(

[bbotte]

There better be a update for AppleTV on September 9th for this and hopefully a apple remote app update to go on my iPhone so I can select my rented HD movies to watch and be able to use the remote application to rent HD movies.

[Zack45668]

Magnetosphere Website:

'Thanks for looking for Magnetosphere, our first iTunes visualizer product. We’ve had a ton of interest in it, and we’ve got some exciting plans, but it’s gonna take us a couple months to make it all happen. In the meantime we’ve temporarily taken down the Magnetosphere installers. But don’t fret! Keep an eye out here for more info, or contact us to stay in touch with the Barbarian Group about further software endeavors."

[e-coli]

How about fixing the POS iPhone 3G before spending your time making worthless screen noise for your jukebox.

I think iTunes will survive without these features. But the iPhone 3G has got to be the most embarrassing steaming heap Apple has ever released...

How about a fix!! :mad:

[Compile 'em all]

so a new iTunes visualizer is news now?

wow

[bbotte]

How about fixing the POS iPhone 3G before spending your time making worthless screen noise for your jukebox.

I think iTunes will survive without these features. But the iPhone 3G has got to be the most embarrassing steaming heap Apple has ever released...

How about a fix!! :mad:

Mine works great, even MM is great now for me. :p

[davidangel]

How about fixing the POS iPhone 3G before spending your time making worthless screen noise for your jukebox.

I think iTunes will survive without these features. But the iPhone 3G has got to be the most embarrassing steaming heap Apple has ever released...

How about a fix!! :mad:

Um, how about those are still selling for $800+ on eBay. How about that? How a freakin' bout that...

[blakespot]

Anything made by Ryan Geiss.

To be technical: XP SP2 1.4GHZ "Centrino" Chipset, Nvidia Go FX5200 (64MB) and 768MB ram.

My point is - seriously - the visualizers for OSX are years behind, IMO. I've yet to see anything for OSX that compares to what I had when I switched ~3-4 years ago.

Get a feeling I'm gonna experiencing some love over this one...

This is just a tiny, tiny fraction of what it does... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ZCZTobuMw
Magnetosphere seems much superior to this, IMHO.



blakespot

[Eidorian]

Magnetosphere seems much superior to this, IMHO.How many hours have you spent with the iTunes visualizer? I would but I really hate now my fans hit 6200 RPM every time as it attempts to hit 30 fps.

[Kilamite]

I'd like you to show me a WinAmp visualizer that's better than Magnetosphere.

Right, I URGE you to download WinAmp and try the MilkDrop visualiser for yourself. Run it on BootCamp so you can get full graphics acceleration.

http://www.winamp.com/

Go get it. Make sure you use the MilkDrop visualiser. Magnosphere is just one thing repeated. MilkDrop has so many random variations I could watch it for hours and hours and never see the same thing twice.

[mainstreetmark]

Anything made by Ryan Geiss.

...

Get a feeling I'm gonna experiencing some love over this one...

This is just a tiny, tiny fraction of what it does... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ZCZTobuMw

Yes, we've spent many nights with fancy cigarettes and funny looking vases looking at Geiss's stuff, but it never really synced up to the music. None of them ever have seemed to sync up to the music. Magnetowhater does, somewhat, even in it's early days. Geiss's use of videofeedback makes superb visualizers, but none of them are quite as nice looking as this one.

How about fixing the POS iPhone 3G before spending your time making worthless screen noise for your jukebox.

I think iTunes will survive without these features. But the iPhone 3G has got to be the most embarrassing steaming heap Apple has ever released...


..aren't you overreacting somewhat? What exactly is wrong with your iPhone that you have to call it a steaming heap? I guess because it dropped a call for you once, or some of the third party apps crash on launch? Jeez, man, take it back and go away. If you're unsatisfied, we don't care.

Anyways, you were probably thinking of MobileMe.

[johnmcboston]

so a new iTunes visualizer is news now?

THANKYOU. I thought I was just being an old fart, but I had hoped itunes would fix some nits and features that I've been longing for. But yet all the hubub has been about a new visualizer. snore.

[wazungu]

Greetings! I'm the author of the original post (http://allanwhite.net/index.php/blog/comments/itunes_8_rumors/), and thought I'd comment.

I am just curious why anyone is interested in visualizers? What are they used for? Do people sit in a room listening to music with a visualizer on their PC. I'm not trying to stir anything up but I honestly have never used them so maybe I'm missing something. Thanks.
That's a fair question - they are mostly useless. However, I do a lot of event, worship, and VJ events as a video & event producer - they're perfect for that. What I'm trying to figure out right now is how to pipe live audio (from an instrument or person) into the visualizer like this one (perhaps with Quartz Composer), and then have lyrics appear over that in an app like ProPresenter (a first class app). That's what really started me thinking about the possibilities for live events.

VJs have been doing this kind of stuff for ages; it's only now that it's becoming more mainstream. So, while it's not a huge deal for everyone, this is one of the first that I've seen that's truly beautiful.

[e-coli]

Um, how about those are still selling for $800+ on eBay. How about that? How a freakin' bout that...

Well that's absurd, IMO. And I wasn't disappointed with mine at first, until it started hard crashing all the time, failing to dial calls, and taking 10-15 minutes to sync (not music, just data). Who has 10-15 minutes to just wait around for a phone to sync?

And the 3G connection is dodgy at best (and I live in the middle of NYC). I took mine to the Apple store the other day, where it got ONE bar, and then switched to "No Service" then to Edge...IN THE APPLE STORE, and they told me everything I just described was "normal." And they recommended "shutting off 3G until you need to use the data connection." WTH?!

[GottaLoveApple4]

This will be pretty sweet! I like it! I agree that they should put this on Apple TV even though the album artwork is awesome too. I would definitely rather watch this for a minute and thirty seconds as oppose to that extremely stupid and pointless Microsoft commercial!!

[wazungu]

Right, I URGE you to download WinAmp and try the MilkDrop visualiser for yourself. Go get it. Make sure you use the MilkDrop visualiser. Magnosphere is just one thing repeated.
That isn't accurate. There's several different types of visualization available (cycle by hitting 'm'), and there's other settings like number of particles and intensity.

I've captured the output of several setting combos and used that in other compositions and animations. It looks really fresh - this visualizer really breaks new ground.

Again, great if you need it for events or parties.

[riversky]

How many hours have you spent with the iTunes visualizer? I would but I really hate now my fans hit 6200 RPM every time as it attempts to hit 30 fps.

I just got a new MacBook and even watching a freaking Flash video for about a minute on msnbc my fan goes full blast. I am beginning to think I have a bad MacBook!

[The Tall One]

I remember in college being really high and/or drunk in this girl's dorm sitting there watching the iTunes visualizer for what felt like hours, totally tripped out. :D

[r.j.s]

I just got a new MacBook and even watching a freaking Flash video for about a minute on msnbc my fan goes full blast. I am beginning to think I have a bad MacBook!

That's because flash sucks. It's way too processor intensive.

[zombitronic]

...they shouldn't be taking one picosecond of time that Apple could be using to solve actual problems, that people other than stoned hippies actually care about...

You don't know much about the history of Apple, do you?

[7on]

I just got a new MacBook and even watching a freaking Flash video for about a minute on msnbc my fan goes full blast. I am beginning to think I have a bad MacBook!

Nah, Adobe just makes bloated apps o.O

[Cannons]

Artist: Tosca
Title: Suzuki
Album: Asian II

[tsice19]

OK... OK... that's cool.


I just hope that the focus of iTunes 8 isn't visualizers.

[kabunaru]

So, iTunes 8 is coming this Tuesday?

[Compile 'em all]

OK... OK... that's cool.


I just hope that the focus of iTunes 8 isn't visualizers.

Actually i heard rumors that a new visualizers subforum will be created here on macrumors for all those millions of itunes users out there that want to discuss the latest and greatest about visualizing visualizers.

[rychencop]

very cool!

[DigiCatRedux]

It held my interest for the first 2 minutes or so... after that, Eh.
Don't get me wrong, it's cool & all - but I still like the the trippy melting psychedelic visualizer that's been around for awhile.

But maybe this is just one of several effects - don't know, neeever played with the freeware product.

[n8236]

Duuude, lemme go grab my w33d.

[Shadow]

I downloaded this visualizer a while ago and its really not that great. It looks good but is a bit repetitive.

[groovyds]

very cool man..now if i could only go back to when i was taking mushrooms and look at this i would have been a happy camper :)

[Clive At Five]

There's no way the GMA 950 well be able to do this in full-screen on even a 19" display. The MacMini will be left in the dust. Take the hint, Apple!

-Clive

[Mattjeff]

That's nice, but I wonder how it taxes the processors and GPUs (especially the integrated ones).

It doesn't I just tried it and iTunes only bumped up 5% in processor (processes). I would love it a lot if this where true!

[kabunaru]

There's no way the GMA 950 well be able to do this in full-screen on even a 19" display. The MacMini will be left in the dust. Take the hint, Apple!

-Clive

So new MacBooks with better GPUs will be coming soon as well.

[Kilamite]

That isn't accurate. There's several different types of visualization available (cycle by hitting 'm'), and there's other settings like number of particles and intensity.

I've captured the output of several setting combos and used that in other compositions and animations. It looks really fresh - this visualizer really breaks new ground.

Again, great if you need it for events or parties.

You have to hit 'm' to vary something a bit? And changing the number of particles and intensity is not the same as the visualiser being random and varying every cycle it can.

[SpinDrift]

Seriously, Apple needs to get this or just their current visualizer on the Apple TV pronto! I'm sick of watching my album covers...

Indeed. Exactly what I thought. The only place I could see a real use for visualisations really. I don't have them on while I'm working on my computer, but a bit of audio/visual art in the lounge is great!

Come on Apple. Get these on AppleTV!

[Eidorian]

There's no way the GMA 950 well be able to do this in full-screen on even a 19" display. The MacMini will be left in the dust. Take the hint, Apple!

-CliveWinAmp could.

Why can't Apple use its OpenGL, Quartz Extreme, and Core Image magic to make the visualizers more efficient?

[impierced]

There's no way the GMA 950 well be able to do this in full-screen on even a 19" display. The MacMini will be left in the dust. Take the hint, Apple!

-Clive

Looks great on my plasma from my Mac mini.

[sprice25]

looks cool. who knows?

[optophobia]

anyone happen to have a mirror of Magnetosphere.dmg? :D

-Owl

there is one on TPB:cool:

[carve]

Woah...amazing job apple!

[dizastor]

G-Force is tons better, but it does cost money.

Actually, G-Force looks like more of the same visualizers already in itunes. This video makes the visualizer look like a 3d swirling universe... My vote goes to magnetosphere.

[bombjack]

..I just... dont know... what to say...

I am about to do the jump over to OSX as soon as the new MBP is released. I heard alot about mac fan boys earlier and this thread makes me realize it's not just rumours. 140 replies about a new visualizer in iTunes 8, and it's not even confirmed... jesus...:rolleyes:

[kabunaru]

and it's not even confirmed... jesus...:rolleyes:

Oh, it will be very confirmed when iTunes 8 is released this coming Tuesday at the Apple Event. :rolleyes:

[richard.mac]

..I just... dont know... what to say...

I am about to do the jump over to OSX as soon as the new MBP is released. I heard alot about mac fan boys earlier and this thread makes me realize it's not just rumours. 140 replies about a new visualizer in iTunes 8, and it's not even confirmed... jesus...:rolleyes:

OK theres currently 4782 users online at MacRumors atm and only 143 people have replied about rumors of a new iTunes visualiser… thats 3% of the community. doesnt seem to be that much of a big deal to me… troll.

[AvSRoCkCO1067]

That's because flash sucks. It's way too processor intensive.

...which is probably why it's not available on the iPhone :)

[Dagless]

It looks amazing and all but, well, I'll never use it! Much like screensavers (much rather have the monitor go into standby). Ho hum!

[Hyde]

nevermind. i looked for the plugin and found it. if you want it you'll have to do the same.

[TYDZN]

Main refresh I would like to see is a change finally to the display window. I love the classic 1st gen iPod feel and all....but time to move on.

[Steflinsky]

Bonjour,

j'adore la music utilisé .... dommage qu'on l'entendra jamais en france...

Hello

I adore the music ... very cool ..; but i think i most change land for listen a good french ****ing music for a french ... you now

[t22design]

Milkdrop.

It's all a bit Atari ST.

My Amiga beats it hands down. :p


As for iTunes...give me 'Watch folders'

NOW!

[jamesarm97]

It's all a bit Atari ST.

My Amiga beats it hands down. :p


As for iTunes...give me 'Watch folders'!

Hey now, I still have my Atari ST and TT030 ;)

[mr.steevo]

OK theres currently 4782 users online at MacRumors atm and only 143 people have replied about rumors of a new iTunes visualiser… thats 3% of the community. doesnt seem to be that much of a big deal to me… troll.

Troll?

Sometimes I just don't understand the Apple community.

s.

[Marky_Mark]

Anybody given Eyephedrine a look? That's a pretty good visualiser for iTunes on the Mac. Its got about 75 different visuals:

http://eyephedrine.en.softonic.com/mac/images

"Eyephedrine is an OpenGL 3D visualization plug in for iTunes which renders your preferred music with 75+ different visualizations where real 3D entities react to spectrum and waveform values using advanced OpenGL techniques like multiple layers blending, realtime cube mapping, reflections, motion blur and light bloom. Eyephedrine can also handle Cover Arts and any picture folder you want, not only to show these pictures in Track Info Area but also, with the exclusive texture replacement (optional but recommended!), to create infinite combinations of colors."

[azentropy]

Yawn.... just what we need - something else to bloat iTunes...

[Kilamite]

Anybody given Eyephedrine a look? That's a pretty good visualiser for iTunes on the Mac. Its got about 75 different visuals:

http://eyephedrine.en.softonic.com/mac/images

"Eyephedrine is an OpenGL 3D visualization plug in for iTunes which renders your preferred music with 75+ different visualizations where real 3D entities react to spectrum and waveform values using advanced OpenGL techniques like multiple layers blending, realtime cube mapping, reflections, motion blur and light bloom. Eyephedrine can also handle Cover Arts and any picture folder you want, not only to show these pictures in Track Info Area but also, with the exclusive texture replacement (optional but recommended!), to create infinite combinations of colors."

That looks a really good visualiser! Pity it is payware, and the download link is broken too. But if it was free, I'd definitely check it out.

Since the link is broken from the actual developers website, would be a nice surprise if this too was part of iTunes 8.

[stainless]

So many people are asking, "Who uses these anyway!?" So I thought I would pipe in and answer that questions.

I DO! Why and how? I have parties at my house and have a large living room (can sit 20-30 people), in my living room I have a projector set-up on my vaulted ceiling. This allows me to have an 10' 16:9 screen on the wall where the bar is and is viewable by most of the living room and seating. So I use the visualizers while my itunes is playing the music of the night to my guest and makes for a GREAT conversation piece, is entertaining and beats having TV/Movie on! I also dim the lights have have the projector on the higher lumens output, earlier in the evening, so it also provides nice mode lighting and later in the evening I'll change the lumens and color schemes.

So I REALLY hope that iTunes 8 has one VERY important feature for visualizers... HD output, 1080p! This would make for even better experience.

Oh and Yes, having some of those "trippy" visualizers on while *********g does make for a interesting experience.

[FightTheFuture]

this will be cool if it comes true. remember when coverflow was adopted into iTunes? small developer creates a cool visual app as a hobby and Apple adapts it into their own; course it wound up being used in the Finder too.

it would also be good for iTunes to integrate it natively, from what i can tell the plugin is running at 640x480 on my 23" ACD.

[bobertoq]

That is quite "trippy". If that's a good thing :confused:

[TwinCities Dan]

So many people are asking, "Who uses these anyway!?" So I thought I would pipe in and answer that questions.

I DO! Why and how? I have parties at my house and have a large living room (can sit 20-30 people), in my living room I have a projector set-up on my vaulted ceiling. This allows me to have an 10' 16:9 screen on the wall where the bar is and is viewable by most of the living room and seating. So I use the visualizers while my itunes is playing the music of the night to my guest and makes for a GREAT conversation piece, is entertaining and beats having TV/Movie on! I also dim the lights have have the projector on the higher lumens output, earlier in the evening, so it also provides nice mode lighting and later in the evening I'll change the lumens and color schemes.

So I REALLY hope that iTunes 8 has one VERY important feature for visualizers... HD output, 1080p! This would make for even better experience.

Oh and Yes, having some of those "trippy" visualizers on while *********g does make for a interesting experience.

That sounds amazing! :cool:

[stainless]

That sounds amazing! :cool:

Yes it is, and all of my new guest end up talking about it for the next week or more. :D But whom really likes it is my Cat, Max! He gets on the shelves that boarder the screen and tries to catch things on the screen... evenings that end early, he looks directly at me and then the screen and then back at me with the look of, "Hey! Put that back on... I was enjoying this! :mad:" His expressions are really amazing! :eek:

I have taught him to play catch, fetch, hide-n-get and the stare game. His the best! And for those whom would like to know the breed, his Tonkinese.

[phytonix]

Even it is true, it is such a minor feature. I don't find any reason to be excited about this.

[Trajectory]

Boring.

[BrownPlopz]

I'm not sure if anyone else has already posted this (too lazy to read all posts :P), but that looks like it would make an awesome first boot / intro video to a future version of OS X to me.

[kalafalas]

hopefully apple took that and then added the apple finshed product-look to it, all nice and purdy and smooth, and it will be perfect! but ill have to see, i dont think this will be as cool as current ITMV

[KevinSkocik]

Kevin Rose confirmed (http://twitter.com/kevinrose/statuses/911395014) that that was what he saw.

[puckhead193]

Update: Kevin Rose confirms that the Magnetosphere is the "visualization I saw in a build of iTunes 8.0".

If it wasn't for techtv and leo where would he be today? :confused:
:p

[stainless]

Hi All,

Here is a list of visualizers, not all are updated and some are simply gone, either way, enjoy! :cool:

http://itunes.pluginsworld.com/index.php?directory=apple&software=itunes&category=28

[Lumi]

what song is that?

It's called "Suzuki" by Tosca, from the Album "Suzuki", I can also recommend the album J.A.C. by the same artist.

[oticon6]

You can already do this.

Just make an alias of the iTunes folder which stores your music, send the alias to another Mac, and replace the iTunes folder in your home -> Music directory, or where ever it is, with the alias. Make sure you have File Sharing turned on for the folder or drive with all the music and iTunes Library file. If you need to get around any permissions problems just stick the iTunes folder at the root directory of your drive, or better yet, throw it on it's own drive. Now, when iTunes starts up it'll mount the network drive or folder and you're good to go. Your own iTunes "Server."

The advice of someone who's clearly never done it :p

It all sounds fine in theory, but I tried this, and while iTunes doesn't notice the alias, it locks the library upon opening... so basically, if you run iTunes on one machine at a time, it works, but two at once will deny the second instance. Not much of a server, then :P

Regardless of that... why don't you just use the Shared Library feature? Have your library on one computer, and all the others access that. They can't add any music or change any ratings/tags, but they can listen to whatever they want from it.

[Darkroom]

this work is brilliant... plain and simple...

[moslayne]

Wow, I really like that! I think that it will make a great addition to the visualizers. Go Apple for great design again...

[CJM]

Already got it. Unless it's been massively updated; yawn.

[Dagless]

So I REALLY hope that iTunes 8 has one VERY important feature for visualizers... HD output, 1080p! This would make for even better experience.


Do you know how these things work? You set it up as an external monitor to either clone the image, or have a dual setup. Then you set the projector to the main screen (drag the menu bar on the display options screen) and bam. iTunes no longer needs a seperate HD output.

[techlover828]

this is so sweet! I've been using this since yesterday now, and it's great. No big deal on cpu and fans on my mbp either. It would be sweet for apple to integrate it but it's not a big deal so you can just download it now. If you want a link to it pm me.

[jMc]

That's nice, but I wonder how it taxes the processors and GPUs (especially the integrated ones).

Well, on the hacked up 750mhz G4 with Radeon 9600 I use as my media server it runs better than the iTunes visualiser, G-Force or Whitecap (doesn't appear to be a way of displaying fps unfortunately)... But as soon as (and if) Apple integrate it with iTunes I'll no doubt get 1 fps.

jx

[viniciusc]

Who cares about visualizers? I never use them...

[MrCrowbar]

does anyone use the visualizer? i think i did for about the first 2 weeks after it was first an option way back when, but haven't ever since. meh.

It's a drinking game. Put on the regular visualiser and when the Apple logo shows up, everybody has to drink!

Just don't leave it on during sex. It's seriously hypnotic and distractinng...

[odinsride]

honestly, what's the point of this? why can't they spend more time making worthwhile upgrades to itunes?? :confused:

[jmyers0341]

Please!

When I am baked out of my gord, I would love to watch this on my huge Sony 1080 TV!

[150hp]

Who cares about visualizers? I never use them...

I do. My baby enjoys the current "jelly" one best. I will turn it on & show her for about 1 minute when she's fussy & it quiets her right down. Then I turn it off.

No, I do not let her stare @ it for hours on end.

I am excited about this new one coming.

[bobertoq]

I'm not sure if anyone else has already posted this (too lazy to read all posts :P), but that looks like it would make an awesome first boot / intro video to a future version of OS X to me.I concur! It could also make a nice desktop.

[behrmon]

Neither did I. To each his own, but I can't even come up with any reason or situation where I would use these.

Perhaps to kick back & listen to a nice Dark Star, my kids love to go to sleep listening to tunes w/ the visualizer on - maybe thats why they are crazy? :eek:

I like it & look forward to it.

[MagnusVonMagnum]

If only they would give AppleTV units the option of displaying Visualizer effects while playing music. My 93" screen and HD projector are just dying for more things to display than just my photo album collection while playing music.

[Riemann Zeta]

Cool. That looks so psychedelic--a much welcomed update for us psychedelia enthusiasts out there. If you've never tripped and/or don't like trippy visuals, then you probably won't care, but I certainly like eye candy. Hell, we've got these powerful GPUs, why not put them to use. I've used the Jelly visualizer during psychedelic sojourns before, but it is a little repetitive. Now I'm actually quite looking forward to this iTunes 8 release for another reason than just the iPhone 2.1 firmware.

[bombjack]

honestly, what's the point of this? why can't they spend more time making worthwhile upgrades to itunes?? :confused:


Amen.

[bombjack]

OK theres currently 4782 users online at MacRumors atm and only 143 people have replied about rumors of a new iTunes visualiser… thats 3% of the community. doesnt seem to be that much of a big deal to me… troll.

I rest my case.

[GradientMac]

How many hours have you spent with the iTunes visualizer? I would but I really hate now my fans hit 6200 RPM every time as it attempts to hit 30 fps.

All my animations are smooth, my iMac runs just as fast as normal, no fan speed up, processor's not working any harder...

What are you talking about?

[KingYaba]

The visualizers would be better served as a screen savor. I never use them when playing music through iTunes. Just extra bloat in my opinion.

[spydr]

A decade back I thought visualizers were cool when a ton of plugins were newly available for Winamp. While they were better than what is even currently available on iTunes, they still became jarring visual cliches in a matter of few days of playing.

But now this is something else! Quite a piece of art – a continually evolving one, that is constantly sculpted by sound! Would be thrilled to see it on iTunes — and will be floored if they make it available for appleTV and iPhone too :D

[Cirrius]

I didn't realize people actually used these stupid things.

I know its shocking, but some people like to sit back sometimes, put their feet on the desk, and enjoy music. A (good) visualizer can enhance that experience.

Go ahead and try it. No no, pick something a bit better than John Tesh.

[MagnusVonMagnum]

honestly, what's the point of this? why can't they spend more time making worthwhile upgrades to itunes?? :confused:

Such as? I'd like to see more formats supported (e.g. Flac, Ogg, WMA, etc.), but somehow I don't think Apple looks at that as a "feature" issue, but rather as a "We want to force you to use what we want you to use" type of issue. The video formats are sorely lacking in things like AppleTV where you do not want a hassle to simply get your home videos and what not to display on AppleTV (or in iTunes) without having to constantly convert everything when both are clearly capable of handling them (i.e. hacked AppleTV units can play just about anything and even browse the Internet; Macs and PCs can, of course use any of those formats outside iTunes so the only limiting factor is Apple themselves).

As for visualizers, I almost never use them on computers as I'm typically on my computers for a reasons (i.e. I'm doing something), but for AppleTV, it's another story. If I'm relaxing and listening to something like Pink Floyd in my home theater room, I'd like some trippy visuals on my 93" screen while relaxing on the couch.

[.adam]

The only iTunes visualiser I have ever used (and it's not a visualiser in any way!) is DockArt. I wouldn't sacrifice having DockArt for the sake of some other visualiser.

[RichardI]

Muhahahaha. They wanna charge money for that??
I think I'll get one to go with my pet rock..:);):D:o:confused:

Rich :cool:

[ellsworth]

Check out these two cool visualizers:
I've been beta testing and so far so good:
http://www.trapcode.com/TrapcodeKlangfarbe.html
http://www.trapcode.com/TrapcodeAlphaOmega.html


oh and they are free

[SpinDrift]

So is Magnetosphere the new iTunes 8 visualizer? I'm not convinced it's the same. It looks a bit like it, but the iTunes version doesn't look quite as good. Is it just my choice of songs?

[Greg Weston]

The only iTunes visualiser I have ever used (and it's not a visualiser in any way!) is DockArt. I wouldn't sacrifice having DockArt for the sake of some other visualiser.

You don't have to. DockArt works without being selected as the active visualizer. The only reason you'd have to select it is for configuration, after which you can change to any other one you'd like to use for more "interesting" feedback.

[anti-microsoft]

So is Magnetosphere the new iTunes 8 visualizer? I'm not convinced it's the same. It looks a bit like it, but the iTunes version doesn't look quite as good. Is it just my choice of songs?

I think Apple "softens" it down... just like Cover Flow... The original was better IMO...

Ams.

[techlover828]

I think Apple "softens" it down... just like Cover Flow... The original was better IMO...

Ams.

sorry, what do you mean, just like cover flow?

[FightTheFuture]

sorry, what do you mean, just like cover flow?Coverflow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverflow) was originally a standalone application that worked along with iTunes. at the time it was really well done but didn't always work properly... so i don't know why anyone would say Coverflow was better as a stand alone app. seems to work great in iTunes and leopard finder.

as for 'magnetosphere' as the new iTunes visualizer; it certainly looks a little more polished if it was in fact integrated in. but magnetosphere allowed you to change to different particle patterns. but at least this new version seems to be scalable.

[optophobia]

answer to the OP ... yes :)