Virtual.ink documentation
Overview
Virtual.ink is the real-time light-painting app in the Xangle suite. It combines a native live canvas, browser-friendly control surfaces, and post-capture review and delivery tools in one workflow.
The desktop app is still the primary operator surface. Web pages extend specific workflows when the current tier allows them, but they do not replace the native live canvas or desktop-only setup tools.
Main Surfaces
| Surface | Best for | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Live View | Main operator canvas for painting and capture | Desktop app and dashboard |
| Live Setup | Desktop capture, camera, replay, thumbnail, and file behavior | Desktop app |
| Effects | Live visual engine, presets, separation, motion, drift, shine, scene, and watermark | Desktop app |
| Control Room | Detailed browser-based live settings editor when web pages are enabled | /console |
| Remote Control | Large action surface on desktop, dashboard, or eligible web pages | /remote-control |
| Button Mapping | Per-device presets for clickers, keyboards, and gamepads | Desktop app |
| Quick Nav | Shortcut bar plus editor for Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 presets |
Desktop app |
| Troubleshooting | Recovery actions, resets, logs, and diagnostics | Desktop app |
Workflow Areas
- Capture and live operation center on Live View, Live Setup, Effects, Control Room, Remote Control, Button Mapping, and Quick Nav.
- Review and playback tools live in the Media overview, including Library, Quickview, Player, Frames, Naming, and Backup workflows.
- Output workflows currently ship across Delivery, Render, and Assets runtime areas. The authored operator docs keep those flows grouped from the Delivery overview.
- Capture-flow audio cues and sound packs are documented from the Sound overview.
Installation
Set up the hardware first, then install and launch the app.
Installation Steps
- Connect USB from the computer to the capture card.
- Connect HDMI from the capture card to the camera.
- Turn on the camera and switch it to video mode with manual settings.
- Enable clean HDMI output and match the frame rate.
A solid baseline is 23.976, 24, or 25 fps with shutter around 1/25.
Optimization
Use these adjustments if you want a more stable setup or if you start seeing dropped frames.
Stability Tips
- Use a USB 3 port for capture devices. USB 2 is not enough for stable 1080p capture.
- Use lower frame rates for stability, such as
23.976,24, or25fps, and match the app FPS to the camera FPS. - Use shutter speed around
1/25at those frame rates. - Turn on high-performance power mode and, on slower machines, keep the display at
1920 x 1080. - Close heavy background apps such as Adobe Creative Cloud or sync clients.
- Use the debug overlay and Troubleshooting page when frame rate drops, and lower resolution to
720pif needed.
A solid rule of thumb is to stay at lower FPS for 1080p and keep the camera and software frame rates synchronized.
Troubleshooting
Start with the simplest hardware checks first.
Common Issues
- No device found: confirm that the capture device appears in Device Manager.
- No live feed: close Virtual.ink and test the same capture card in the operating system camera app, such as Windows Camera. If it does not work there either, the issue is probably with the cable, capture card, or camera.
- Found a software bug: send logs using the Troubleshooting menu item.
Feature Availability
Some product capabilities depend on the active license tier and entitlements.
- Current tier vocabulary in the product is
starter,basic,pro, andpulse. - Some save-related workflows can be limited when the
canSaveentitlement is disabled. - Browser-friendly surfaces are currently Control Room and Remote Control. Starter disables web pages, Basic limits them to this computer through
localhost, and Pro or Pulse can expose them on the local network. - Dual-camera workflows and higher capture resolutions depend on tier or entitlements. Use Live Setup for the current limits exposed by the build.
- Documentation pages for gated features should show availability notes that match the app behavior.
Related Pages
- Start with Camera Connection if you are still wiring capture hardware.
- Use Live View as the main operator reference.
- Use Keyboard Shortcuts and Button Mapping when you need a clicker, gamepad, or keyboard-first workflow.
- Use Troubleshooting for resets, logs, GPU issues, and recovery.
External Resources
Use these links if you want more examples, updates, and community references.
Official Links
Videos and Examples
- First promo video
- Fun day with Patrick Rochon
- Light-painting with Darren Pearson
- Virtual.ink video booth