Navigation

Ventuz Introduction

  • Introduction
  • Getting Started
  • Ventuz Editions
  • Ventuz Products
  • Realtime Rendering
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Common Mistakes
  • Deploying a Ventuz Presentation
  • Scene Performance and Tweaks

Quick Guides

  • Quick Guide Index
  • Business Logic
  • 3D Art
  • 2D Art
  • Programming
  • System Engineer

General

  • Index
  • What's New
  • Ventuz System Requirements
  • Communication Protocol Overview
  • Configuration Editor
  • Audio / Video Configuration
  • Machine Configuration
  • Web Configuration Editor and License Manager
  • GPI Configuration for Runtime or Director
  • Supported Formats
  • Supported Hardware
  • Multisampling / Anti-Aliasing
  • Input Subsystem
  • Ventuz Proprietary Files
  • Migrating Content to Ventuz 6
  • Migrating Content to Ventuz 5
  • Summary Shortcuts
  • Terminology
  • Manual Index

Ventuz Designer

  • Designer Indices
Introduction
  • Designer Introduction Index
  • Designer Overview
  • Realtime Rendering
  • Project Browser
  • Designer Interface
  • Designer Options
  • Working with Nodes
  • Hierarchy and Content Editors
  • 2D Workflow
  • 3D Workflow
  • Animation Workflow
  • Best Practices
  • Reading Data in Ventuz
  • Display Images and Movies
  • Scene Performance and Tweaks
  • Deploying a Ventuz Presentation
  • Render to Disk
User Interface
  • Designer User Interface Index
  • Designer Interface
  • Renderer Window
  • Layer Editor
  • Property Editor
  • Property Groups
  • Hierarchy Editor
  • Content Editor
  • Find and Replace
  • Toolbox
  • Animation Editor
  • Shader Editor
  • Text Editor
  • Message View
  • Scene Tree
  • Stage Editor
  • Container Outline
  • Watches Editor
  • Performance Statistics
2D Workflow
  • 2D Workflow Index
  • 2D Workflow
  • Layer Editor
  • Common Layer Properties
  • IPP Effects
  • Color Correction FX
  • Distortion FX
  • Filter FX
  • Hierarchy and Content Editors
  • Display Images and Movies
3D Workflow
  • 3D Workflow Index
  • 3D Workflow
  • Hierarchy and Content Editors
  • Renderer Window
  • Camera Navigation
  • Manipulate Objects with Gizmos
  • Layer Editor
  • Property Editor
  • Hierarchy Editor
  • Working with Nodes
  • Isolated Objects
  • Containers
  • Text Rendering
  • Character Sets
  • Geometry Import
  • Display Images and Movies
  • Particle System
  • Creating Realistic Reflections
  • Unreal Integration
  • Notch Integration
  • E2E Node Overview
Logic Workflow
  • Logic Workflow Index
  • Hierarchy and Content Editors
  • Content Editor
  • Hierarchy Editor
  • Working with Nodes
  • Property Editor
  • Containers
  • Project and Scene Data
  • Reading Data in Ventuz
  • Display Images and Movies
  • Input Subsystem
  • Multitouch
  • TUIO Protocol
  • Open Sound Control
  • Unreal Integration
  • Notch Integration
  • E2E Node Overview
Animation Workflow
  • Animation Workflow Index
  • Animation Workflow
  • Animation Editor
  • Content Editor
  • Hierarchy Editor
  • Property Editor
  • Animation and State Engine
  • Templates
  • Template Engine
  • Unreal Integration
  • Notch Integration
Project Structure
  • Project Structure Index
  • Annotations
  • Projects and Scenes
  • Project Properties
  • Project Maintenance
  • Project and Scene Data
  • Scene Management
  • Scene Statistics
  • Scene Tree
  • Performance Statistics
How Tos
  • Designer How to Index
  • How to Run Ventuz
  • How to Work with Designer
  • Ventuz Designer Drag&Drop Workflow
  • How to work with Shadows
  • How to Build Content for Multiple Screens
  • How to Use Emoijs
  • How to Build a Template
  • How to Use the Color Difference Keyer
  • How To Use the HDR Engine
  • How Create Lens Flares and Bloom
  • How to Create Visuals Loader Node
  • How to Remote Control with a Phone
  • How to use Head Mounted Displays
  • How to work with 3D Reference Layers
  • How to create a Firework Particle System
  • How to use DDS with new Block Compression modes
  • How to use the Substance Integration
  • How To Integrate Unreal
  • How To Integrate Notch
  • How To use the Vertex Integration
  • How To Control and Customize Ventuz
Reference
  • Available Nodes
  • Animation Nodes
  • Material&Color Nodes
  • Data Nodes
  • E2E Nodes
  • Geometry Nodes
  • Interaction Nodes
  • IO Nodes
  • Layers
  • Light Nodes
  • Logic Nodes
  • Render Option Nodes
  • Slides Nodes
  • Sound Nodes
  • Text Nodes
  • Texture Nodes
  • VR Nodes
  • World Nodes
  • Summary Shortcuts
  • Layer Editor Shortcuts
  • Hierarchy Editor Shortcuts
  • Content Editor Shortcuts
  • Animation Editor Shortcuts
  • Director Shortcuts

Ventuz Director

  • Index
  • Introduction
  • Environment
  • Show
  • User Interface
  • Assets
  • Taking Action
  • Property Editor
  • Shot Box
  • Project Data
  • Pages
  • Playlist
  • Timeline
  • Content References
  • Topology
  • Channels
  • Macros
  • Designing Templates
  • Plug-Ins
  • Shortcuts
  • Command Line Options
  • Application Settings
  • Glossary
  • GPI Configuration

Ventuz Runtime & Configuration

  • Runtime Index
  • Configuration Configuration Editor
  • Machine Configuration
  • Video/Audio Configuration
  • Web Configuration Editor and License Manager
  • Render Setup Editor
  • Warping and Soft-Edging Editor
  • Machine Clustering
  • Supported Hardware
  • Director Mode
  • Runtime How Tos Index
  • How to Configure Audio
  • How to Use Live Options
  • How To Play Out On Multiple Screens
  • How To Render on a Machine Cluster
  • How to Use Head Mounted Displays
  • How to Setup Spout with Ventuz
  • How to Use Newtek NDI
  • How to Use a Mixed Frame Rate Cluster
  • How to Use Tracking

How To

Designer
  • Designer How to Index
  • How to Run Ventuz
  • How to Work with Designer
  • Ventuz Designer Drag&Drop Workflow
  • How to work with Shadows
  • How to Build Content for Multiple Screens
  • How to Use Emoijs
  • How to Build a Template
  • How to Use the Color Difference Keyer
  • How To Use the HDR Engine
  • How Create Lens Flares and Bloom
  • How to Create Visuals Loader Node
  • How to Remote Control with a Phone
  • How to use Head Mounted Displays
  • How to work with 3D Reference Layers
  • How to create a Firework Particle System
  • How to use DDS with new Block Compression modes
  • How to use the Substance Integration
  • How To Integrate Unreal
  • How To Integrate Notch
  • How To build and playback Ventuz Content in Vertex
Runtime & Configuration
  • Runtime How Tos Index
  • How to Configure Audio
  • How to Use Live Options
  • How To Play Out On Multiple Screens
  • How To Render on a Machine Cluster
  • How to use Head Mounted Displays
  • How to setup Spout with Ventuz
  • How to use Newtek NDI
  • How to use a Mixed Frame Rate Cluster
  • How to use Tracking
  • How To Integrate Unreal
  • How To Integrate Notch
  • How To build and playback Ventuz Content in Vertex
Director
  • How To Control Multiple Graphics Independently From Each Other
  • How to use the Companion with Director

Ventuz Node Reference

ANIMATION
  • Mover
  • Alternator
  • Simple Control
  • Timeline Control
  • Anmation Rig
  • Keyframe Animation
  • Animation Group
COLOR/MATERIAL
  • Alpha
  • Fog
  • Ground Fog
  • Sky Box
  • Color to RGBA
  • HSLA to Color
  • RGBA to Color
  • Color Transformer
  • HLSL Shader
  • Color
  • Material
  • Color Picker
  • Substance Material
DATA
  • Database
  • Excel
  • JSON
  • RSS Feed
  • Resource Linker
  • Text File
  • XML
E2E
  • E2E Axis
  • E2E Data
  • E2E Control
  • E2E Layer
  • E2E Provider
  • E2E Node Overview
GEOMETRY
  • Rectangle
  • Rounded Rectangle
  • Gradient Rectangle
  • Overlay Rectangle
  • Cube
  • Circle
  • Sphere
  • Cylinder
  • Cone
  • Torus
  • Chart
  • Random Points
  • Mesh Loader
  • Geometry Import (Live)
  • Volume
  • Get Bounding Box
  • Arrow
  • Particle System
  • Path Renderer
  • Geometry Renderer
INTERACTION
  • Interaction Rect
  • Touch Button
  • Touch Excluder
  • Touch Marker
  • Touch Paint
  • Touch Pattern
  • Touch Proxy
  • Touch Ripples
  • Touch Transformations
  • Web Browser
  • Touch Teleport
  • Touch Simulator
INPUT/OUTPUT (I/O)
  • GPI
  • Joystick
  • Keyboard
  • MIDI
  • Mouse
  • Network
  • Open Sound Control
  • Serial
  • Timecode
  • DMX
  • HTTP
  • RamDiskWriter
LAYER
  • 3D Layers
  • 3D Layer Reference
  • 2D Layers
  • PSD Import Layer
  • E2E Layer
  • Others
LIGHT
  • Light Sources
LOGIC
  • Array Processing
  • Convert To Text
  • Cluster Synchronization
  • Counter
  • Date Time
  • Directory
  • Dispatcher
  • Enumeration
  • Expressions
  • Invert
  • Log
  • Loop Breaker
  • Math Effects
  • Matrix Operations
  • Scene Event
  • Script
  • String Operations
  • System ID
  • Text Splitter
  • Timer
  • Toggle
  • URL
  • Value Switch
  • Value Buffer
  • Variables
  • Visual Indexer
RENDER OPTIONS
  • Alpha Blending
  • Color Write
  • Alpha Testing
  • Clip Plane
  • Filter
  • Mask
  • Mirror
  • Effect
  • Render Cube Map
  • Draw Modes
  • Stencil
  • ZTesting
SOUND
  • Audio Clip
  • Sound
  • Volume Control
  • Audio Analysis
SLIDES
  • Slide Manager
  • Slide
  • Slide Port
  • Pivot
TEXT
  • Text Effects
  • Text Layouts
  • Text Rendering
TEXTURE
  • Background
  • Hatch
  • Image
  • Texture
  • SVG Loader
  • Gradient Texture
  • Live Video
  • Movie Stream
  • Movie Frame
  • Movie Clip
  • Texture Loader
  • Snapshot
  • Snapshot Framebuffer
  • Texture Saver
  • Video Source Selector
  • VIO Input
  • Spout Receiver
  • NDI Receiver
  • Substance Loader
  • QR Code
VR/AR
  • Tracked Devices
  • Draw Tracked Devices
WORLD
  • Axis
  • Billboard
  • GetWorld
  • SetWorld
  • Arrange
  • Ticker
  • Layout
  • Group
  • World Z Sort
  • YesNo
  • Switch
  • Spread
  • Filter Pass
  • Set Pass
  • Hierarchy Container
  • Scene Port
  • Content Container
  • Template Port
  • Container Info
  • Camera
  • Paths

Advanced and Development

  • Advanced and Development Index
  • Command Line Options
  • Ventuz IP Ports
  • Ventuz Machine Service
  • TUIO
  • .NET Scripting
  • HLSL Shader Programming
  • Ventuz API and SDK
  • Ventuz Extension API
  • Ventuz VIO API
  • Ventuz File Format (VFF)
  • Ventuz Stream Out API
  • Lens Calibration File for FreeD
  • E2E Node Overview
  • Unreal Integration
  • Notch Integration
Remoting
  • Remoting Index
  • Remoting Overview
  • How To Control and Customize Ventuz
  • Remoting 4
  • Remoting 4 via Websockets
  • Remoting 4 via HTTP
  • Director Remoting
  • Deprecated Remoting
  • Remoting Machine Signature

Misc

  • Presets
« Previous:
» Index «
Next: »

Getting Started

Table of Contents

  1. Installation and Versioning
  2. License Media
    1. Online
    2. Dongles
    3. Trusted Platform Modules (TPM)
  3. License Management
    1. Registering & Activating
    2. Update License
    3. Expired License
  4. Other Licenses
    1. Prototyping & Learning Edition (PLE)
    2. Not For Resale (NFR)
  5. Ventuz Designer
    1. First Launch
    2. Tutorial/Demo Projects
    3. Dynamic Help
    4. User Manual
    5. Video Tutorials
  6. Ventuz Director
  7. Feedback and Forum

Installation and Versioning

To install Ventuz, go to the ​Ventuz Download Page and download the appropriate installer. Ventuz is a rapidly developing software, with frequent updates. The primary number indicates the overall release family or version, for example Ventuz 5. The next number is the major release number. A major release contains new features and may break forward compatibility (i.e. scenes stored in a newer version may not be able to load in an older major version). The minor release number indicates the respective update of a major release. Minor releases contain as little changes to the software as possible to ensure the uttermost stability and will only contain bugfixes.

Example: Ventuz 6.01.02 (This is Ventuz 6 with the major release 1 and minor release 2.)

In general, you should download the latest version available, as it will contain all current bugfixes and the newest feature set. Some bugfixes require large changes in the software and cannot be done for a minor release. However, if you are working on a critical project and do not require any of the new features, you might want to consider only applying minor releases and sticking with the same major release until the project is complete. Regardless of the amount of testing, there is always the off chance with every code change that a new bug is introduced which remains undetected.

Note that you cannot have ​Microsoft Hyper-V activated on your Windows installation in order to run Ventuz with the Community or Core Editions. If you disable it on your system you may need to restart your machine several times until Ventuz can start properly again.

License Media

Upon start-up, Ventuz will check for any media with an already activated license. If it finds no such license, the Ventuz License Manager dialog will appear automatically. The License Manager lists all your Ventuz Dongles and your local machine info, and you can enter your License information and Key.


With Ventuz 6.6 and above we added the License Manager to the Web based Configuration Editor.

Online

Supporting Editions Community, Core
Internet Connection Required YES
Transferrable to Other Machines NO
Supported Purchase Options Free, Perpetual

When installing the Community or Core Edition you have the option to obtain an Online License. We will send a License Key to your registered e-mail address once you have obtained an according license. Use that key to activate the license on your machine (see below for more information on activation and registration). While being able to instantly install an Online License - because no delivery of physical goods is necessary - it requires a stable internet connection to operate and cannot be transferred to other machines.

Dongles

Supporting Editions Core, Enterprise
Internet Connection Required NO
Transferrable to Other Machines YES
Supported Purchase Options Perpetual

If you've purchased a Ventuz Dongle License, you are delivered the license code along with a trusted USB security device that you should plug into your computer, a USB Dongle. Dongles enable the use of Ventuz on different machines, since you can just re-plug it to any work station. With dongles you do not need a stable internet connection neither making the use of Ventuz in environments with higher security standards more viable.

Ventuz has used various dongle models along the years, some of them are not compatible with older versions or vice versa, so please use this table as a reference

DONGLE PICTURE VERSIONS SUPPORTED STATUS NOTES
Ventuz 2008, Ventuz 3 Deprecated
Ventuz 3 or newer Deprecated
Ventuz 3 or newer Deprecated
Ventuz 3 or newer Deprecated Serial engraved on USB Connector
Ventuz 4.7.2 or newer Active Serial engraved on USB Connector
Ventuz Rental Dongle Active


Either for your own inventory list or whenever you contact us about any issues with your dongle or licenses you might want to have a unique identifier for each dongle. This is what the Serial Number is for. You can find it in different places. The first location you will come across is the label on the bottom of its package, which it was delivered in. Here you have the full serial number at the bottom and its last 6 digits on the top right.

Besides the package you can also find the full serial number of the dongle in the license manager. Note that you can review the serial number of any dongle in the same network using the Web Interface's License Manager that can be viewed from any device - e.g. smart phones.

Lastly you can find the last 6 digits engraved on your dongle.

Note that most of the times the last 6 digits of a serial number suffice to clearly identify a dongle among all existing ones.

Trusted Platform Modules (TPM)

Supporting Editions Enterprise
Internet Connection Required NO
Transferrable to Other Machines NO
Supported Purchase Options Perpetual

If security standards prohibit the use of USB Devices it is possible to test a system license against a Trusted Platform Module. Also if the delivery of hardware might be a problem this option can become interesting. This option is available for purchased licenses only (Core and Enterprise). Using a TPM bypasses the need for an internet connection but still is bound to a single work-station. Like online license keys, TPM keys are distributed over e-mail.

Ventuz currently supports ​Infineon TPM Modules with TPM version 2.0, namely the OPTIGA™ TPM SLB 9665 series.

License Management

Registering & Activating

Together with your product dongle you should have received a License Certificate, please make sure to keep it in a safe place - you could be asked to send this info when solving license problems in the future. Also make sure to save your license key in case you have received it via e-mail.

If you have received a new dongle, it should contain an empty license, and you just have to click on Update License in order to download the latest license keys associated with this dongle.

When you are running your license for the first time or if your dongle does not contain any license keys, you must click on Enter License, and a new screen will appear (see below). The same goes with system and TPM licenses. You should fill in this form with your Licensee User, Company and Contact E-Mail information, and with the License Key information provided on your License Certificate.

After you fill in the form and press the Activate button, the activation process will create a license file on your dongle.

In order to activate a license, an active internet connection and a Ventuz USB Dongle are required. Once the license has been activated, the connection is no longer required. Only the dongle must be attached to the machine.

Please insert only one dongle. Licensing does not work with more than one dongle inserted into your computer. It is also recommended that you disconnect any external USB hard disk drives connected to your computer prior to licensing.

On dongle models prior to Ventuz 5 (Rounded, White and Red, check table above), license file is accessible from within Windows Explorer, so please make sure not to remove, rename, delete or otherwise modify this file. In addition, it is recommended that you create a backup of this file.

On Ventuz 5 dongle (Rounded, White and Red, check table above), this information is only accessible through the Ventuz License Manager, by clicking on the "Copy License Details" button, which copies the License and Licensee information to the clipboard so you can keep a backup copy. Nonetheless, it is strongly recommended that you keep your License certificate in a safe place as mentioned above.

Update License

If you already have a Ventuz License and want to add additional Ventuz Features you can start the Ventuz License Manager tool and update the Ventuz License with the newly purchased Ventuz Features.

A green border around the Update button signals that the button needs to be pressed because the local license is not up to date as it has been modified on the license server (e.g. customer purchased a new feature like SDI out).

Expired License

If you try to run Ventuz Designer, Director or Runtime and are presented with the Ventuz License Manager with red text in the license panel this is an indication that your Maintenance period has expired and the version of Ventuz that you have installed is too new. In such a case please contact your Ventuz reseller or ​sales@ventuz.com. Highest available version under Maintenance indicates which is the most recent version of Ventuz that will run with your current license. You can download older versions here: ​https://www.ventuz.com/archive

Other Licenses

Prototyping & Learning Edition (PLE)

In case you haven't decided yet whether or not to buy the Enterprise Edition and want to test it's full featureset, you can use the free Prototyping & Learning Edition (PLE). This is a fully featured, non-time restricted trial version of the Enterprise Edition. The only difference is that a Ventuz watermark will be visible in the rendered output. A PLE license can be requested free of charge from within the Ventuz License Manager.

The Prototyping & Learning Edition is offered for evaluation purposes only. Scenes built in PLE cannot be loaded in any other Ventuz version even if a full license is bought later on!

Not For Resale (NFR)

Ventuz Partners can, in certain circumstances, receive a Not For Resale (NFR) version of their licenses. This NFR version features some limitations compared to standard commercial versions, and it is strictly forbidden to use these licenses for any commercial or paid project.

Ventuz NFR licenses show a warning splash screen when opening the software and feature an NFR logo on the interface. As opposed to PLE version, NFR licenses do not feature a watermark on the output, so they can be used for training, demos and the like.

All scenes saved with NFR version will be marked as NFR only and will show the NFR warning screen when used on other Ventuz Commercial versions - be careful not to open standard projects on Ventuz NFR licenses or they will switch to NFR projects!

Ventuz Designer

First Launch

Assuming an active license is available, you will be presented with the Ventuz Project Browser. You could create a new project and dive right into the software but first time users are strongly advised to use one of the many learning resources. Due to the complexity and shear number of possibilities of Ventuz, trying to create a first scene from scratch can be frustrating at best.

Tutorial/Demo Projects

Ventuz provides several Tutorials and Demos to help you start with the software in general or with a specific use case. In the Project Browser make sure that you have the Show Online Demos & Tutorials option is enabled. Then you can browse through the Tutorials and Demos and download any project of interest. These projects always open a description with steps to use the presentation and also describing the general structure and important approaches to the showcased solutions.

Dynamic Help

Ventuz features a Dynamic Help System so you are never left to your own devices. When activated via Menu/Tools/Dynamic Help (or by pressing SHIFT + F1), a yellow bar is added to the bottom of the application window. It contains the name and short description of whatever the mouse is hovering over. By pressing F1, you will be presented with a list of available help items, whether it be entries in the user manual or example scenes.

User Manual

In addition to the Dynamic Help, this user manual contains in-depth knowledge, how-tos and much more. While it is intended more as a reference guide than a book, the Start Page and subsequent help pages have been structured to accompany you while you delve deeper into Ventuz. Especially make sure to have a look at the How Tos and the Overview of the Designer.

Video Tutorials

Lastly you can always find video tutorials on the ​Ventuz Youtube Channel. Additionally to showing the basics of the software there are also a lot of small video snippets show casing several features or ways to use Ventuz.

Ventuz Director

Ventuz Director is a template-based show control application introduced with Ventuz 4. Where the Ventuz Designer is an authoring tool used to design visually rich and highly interactive 3D content, Director focuses exclusively on the job of using such content as part of a larger show.
For an introduction to the Ventuz Director, see the Director Introduction.

Feedback and Forum

If you have feedback on this documentation or the software application itself, the preferred way is to join our community and post on our ​Ventuz Forum. Let us know if certain aspects need further documentation or the existing documentation is unclear. By using the forum, other Ventuz users with similar problems can benefit from your contribution and the Ventuz Team can answer your questions once and for everyone.

You can also use the Feedback Button in the top right corner of the application. Please make sure to enter your email address and as much information as possible so we can get back to you in case of questions or if we've found a solution to your problem.

See also:
  • First Steps in Ventuz Designer
  • System Requirements
  • ​Ventuz Forum
  • ​Ventuz Designer Tutorials
  • ​Ventuz Download Page

« Previous:
» Index «
Next: »
Copyright 2022 Ventuz Technology