What's new in b19

Fixes

• Fixed the preview and output windows showing blank/partial content at any non-1080p project resolution (e.g. 4K / 3840×2160): the composition layers now resize to the project resolution, so generators, images, and video fill the whole frame at 4K, 1440p, and custom sizes. (Regression in b18.)

What’s new in b18

Fixes

• Scrubbing the timeline now shows the live frame as you drag – it no longer goes black over video clips or generators (the incomplete scrub proxy was replaced with live scrubbing).
• Ruler-triangle scrubbing no longer leaves the preview black until an app restart.
• The rendered (cached) preview now composites only the currently visible layers- hidden overlay tracks are excluded, matching the live preview and exports.

New

• Open Cube projection preset — map five outputs as an unfolded cube: Ceiling on top, Left / Back / Right across the middle, Floor on the bottom, for CAVE-style immersive rooms. The in-app preview arranges the tiles in the same cross.
• Fit to Output quad-mask mode (per output) — stretch the region inside the mask to fill the whole output, in addition to the existing clip-in-place masking.

What’s new in b17

Generators – create clips that need no source file:

• Solid, Gradient, Mesh, and animated Particles generators, with one-click presets (snow, rain, embers, bubbles) and controls for shape, emitter (point or curtain), gravity, drift, lifetime, size, and direction.
  
• Add a generator as a main-timeline background clip, or onto an overlay track as a full-frame matte at the playhead.
  
• Per-generator quad mask with curved edges, interior feather, and invert — GOBO-style clipping baked into the generated image.
  
• Keyframe generator attributes (color, angle, particle params, mask) to animate them over the clip.
  
• Save and reapply custom particle presets.
  
• A new Generators tab in the media panel to create, edit, and remove generators across the project.

Fixes

• Loop cues now loop correctly over image/generator content (not just video).
  
• Feathered generators no longer black out the rendered preview under load.
  
• The Media Preview no longer crashes (replaced the AVKit player).
  
• Grab the timeline scrubber’s triangle handle to drag-scrub.

Internal: generator model + rendering now covered by unit tests (105 → 154).

New

• Drag cues on the timeline. Reposition a cue by dragging its marker, with a live time readout. Drag near the playhead to snap exactly to the current time.

Improved

• The playhead handle now stays visible while scrolling down through many overlay tracks.
• Output controls overhaul: consolidated into a single popover, with curved quad-mask edges (8 control points), edge feathering, and a global feather control.
• The Output Composition preview now follows the selected output’s routing.
• Smoother, more accurate playhead scrubbing (no drift while dragging).

Fixed

• Export Current Frame (and cue thumbnails) now include video overlays.
• Clips set to stop early now advance correctly at their out-point.

Under the hood

• Large internal refactors and compiler-warning cleanup for stability.

Outputs

• Up to 16 outputs per project (was 10). Tile mosaic gains 4×3 and 4×4 presets; the tiled preview grid expands accordingly (4×3 for 11–12 outputs, 4×4 for 13–16).

Visual crop editor (Transport bar → Output)

• New 4-corner quad editor replaces the rectangular crop. Drag any corner independently; drag the center handle, the quad interior, or any corner to translate. Corners are in composition pixels with TL/TR/BL/BR numeric fields.
• The quad acts as a GOBO-style mask: the image inside renders at its natural perspective; pixels outside go black. The editor backdrop always shows the untouched composition so you have a stable reference for placing corners.
• Feather field adds an interior soft edge to the quad. The outer boundary stays exactly where you placed the corners; alpha ramps inward across the feather distance. Useful for projector edge-blending.
• A faint band along the inside of the quad outline visualizes the feather distance.
• Done button now closes the popover.

Tile mosaic + reset

• Tile mosaic presets now also configure the quad and zoom so the tile fills its output canvas correctly.
• Untile, Reset All Outputs, and Reset This Output all reset the quad corners (and feather, on the full-reset paths). The editor preview reflects these changes immediately.

Compatibility

• b14 projects load identically — quad corners auto-populate from the existing source crop on first load.

Picking a Mac for your show

These are best-guess starting points, not exhaustive benchmarks. Real-world headroom depends on your content (4K vs. 1080p, video vs. stills, overlays, chroma keying) and whether you use DisplayLink adapters for extra outputs. Test your specific show on the machine you plan to use before show day.

• 1–2 outputs — any Apple Silicon Mac, 8 GB+ RAM. Confirmed: M1 8 GB handles 1 external display + Sidecar without issue.
• 3–4 outputs — M2 / M3 / M4 with 16 GB RAM, or an M-series Pro. M1 base needs a DisplayLink USB-C dock for more than 1 native external.
• 5–9 outputs — M4 base with 16 GB, or M3 Pro / M4 Pro. Outputs past the native ceiling (3 on M4 base) come through DisplayLink hubs, which add a little CPU and latency for the extra ports.
• 10–16 outputs — M4 Pro with 24 GB+ RAM, plus 2 DisplayLink hubs. This is at the edge of what’s safe for a live show — estimate based on architecture, not measured. Verify on your actual show content before committing.

Projection mapping

• Up to 10 outputs per project (was 4). Outputs renamed to Output 1…Output 10; previously named A/B/C/D outputs auto-migrate on load (custom names preserved).
• Per-output source crop + viewport replaces the old global scale/offset. Pick which region of the composition each output renders (source) and where on its canvas the cropped region lands (viewport) — that’s projection mapping for video walls, blended setups, and partial-screen coverage.
• Tile Mosaic presets (OutputsPanel): one-click 2×2 / 3×2 / 3×3 sets up a video-wall split — the first N×M outputs each render their tile of the composition, layer routing copied from Output 1. Outputs past the mosaic auto-disable so the tiled preview shows only the active mosaic.
• Untile resets transforms to full-comp/full-canvas without disturbing routing.
• Reset All Outputs restores fresh-project defaults.
• Existing Flip H / Flip V still per-output.

Tiled preview

• Grid shape now favors width: 4 outputs → 2×2, 5–6 → 3×2, 7–9 → 3×3, 10 → 3×4.
• OutputsPanel scrolls so 10 outputs (with their Transform disclosures) stay reachable.

Track Inspector

• Solo to Output 1 button: removes a track’s routing from outputs 2–10 with one click. Quick way to collapse a layer back to the default after spreading it.

Compatibility

• Saved projects from b13 and earlier load with no visible change — legacy scale/offsetX/offsetY are converted to the equivalent viewport rect on load.

Output

• Per-output Scale and X/Y Offset — each output window can now be scaled and positioned independently inside its display canvas. Useful for blended setups or partial-screen projection.
• New per-output Flip H and Flip V toggles for rear-projection and ceiling-mount rigs.
• Controls live in the Transport bar → Output popover. Output A drives the in-app Preview and movie export; B/C/D are independent.

Output windows

• View menu adds Open All Outputs / Close All Outputs (Cmd-Opt-O toggles), a Close Output submenu for individual windows, and a Close All Outputs panic command (Cmd-Shift-Esc) for when fullscreen outputs cover every screen.
• Esc closes the focused output window.

Inspector

• Text fields now save on tab-out, not just on Return. Edits no longer disappear when you tab between fields.
• Timecode fields accept plain 0 and reformat to 00:00:00.

License

• Preferences → License now refreshes from the server on open, so trial-day extensions show up immediately instead of waiting on the 24-hour cache.
• Added a manual “Refresh from server” button next to the trial countdown.

Multi-output

• New OutputsPanel for routing layers to multiple display destinations from a single timeline.

Audio

• Per-clip volume + mute for both the main timeline and overlay layers.
• Movie export now includes unmuted main and overlay audio (previously stripped to track-only).
• Rendered preview plays video/overlay audio when cached mode is active.

Export

• Range picker: export the full project, or just the in/out point selection.

Stability

• Worked around a macOS 26.5 SIGBUS in CoreMedia by adding a brief blackout on audio route change and throttling overlay drift checks.

Window behavior

• Red traffic-light close button now returns to the welcome screen instead of quitting (matching Cmd-W and standard macOS document-app behavior).
• App stays in the Dock when no project is open; Cmd-Q still quits.

Menus

• Fixed duplicate “View” menu — inspector toggle, fullscreen, and Appearance now live under the single Apple-provided View menu.

Welcome screen

• New two-pane welcome layout: branding/actions on the left, recent projects on the right. App always lands here at launch — no more auto-opening the last project.

About

• Version is now read from Info.plist at runtime, so beta builds report their exact bN number for bug reports.