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Vuo is an intriguing alternative to Apple’s Quartz Composer

Kosada’s Vuo is designed as an alternative to Apple’s Quartz Composer. Aimed at media producers, VJs, interactive artists, and media-making non-programmers, it enables users to interactively create and mix audio, video, and 2D + 3D effects. 

Vuo is designed for media production of heavy-duty graphics effects, professional stage production, multimedia installations, audio integration, and interactive data displays, while still being simple enough for casual experimentation. As mentioned, it’s an alternative to Apple’s Quartz Composer, a popular visual programming tool used in settings from live performances to studio post-production.

Designed for efficiency, Vuo implements CPU and GPU optimizations through automatic multi-threading and OpenGL graphics support, both features Quartz Composer lacks. The tool is built using cross-platform frameworks to simplify future plans for Windows and Linux versions, and apps that run under iOS and Android.

Vuo supports several popular media hardware protocols, such as Open Sound Control (OSC) and Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) Art-Net for lighting and stage controls. In addition to media integration, users can experiment with other aspects of multimedia, such as stereoscopic vision and with Leap Motion and Kinect motion-capture devices.

Vuo is available in $49 standard and $149 pro versions. A demo is available for download.

Apple World Today Rating (out of 5 stars): ★★★★

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.