Breaking story from Messe — the V-4 video mixer, the gold standard VJ mixer that’s almost uncanny in its ubiquitous appearance on live visual sets, finally has a sequel. No word on pricing yet, but the V-8 is already tantalizing in that it ups the input and output count and finally(!) adds a 15-pin connector for computer video. Full details on Create Digital Motion:

Edirol V-8 Mixer: 8 Ins, 3 Outs, Computer Ins Mean V-4, The Next Generation

With this arriving this month and the boutique Vixid mixer to play with, it could be a great year for audiovisualists.

Roland has published a compatibility list for all its current relevant hardware, under the BOSS, Roland, and Edirol brands.

Windows Vista Compatibility Release

The table setup is a bit unusual. “Yes” means “will be compatible” in the future tense, but that apparently translates to “it works now”; links are included to 32-bit and 64-bit drivers. A dash means compatibility is unconfirmed one way or another, as you’re on your own with current drivers. A “No” means “We are sorry but we have no plan to realese the compatible software with Windows Vista.”

In other words, Roland/Edirol/BOSS have basically finished drivers for most of the devices they plan to support, and a lot of what isn’t supported now won’t be supported, ever.

Winners: USB, USB2 audio and MIDI hardware.
Losers: Older gear, bundled software, and editing apps.
Undetermined: FireWire (as of 1/31; I expect we’ll either learn it works or see an update).

One of the most sought-after devices this year is the R-09 portable recorder from Edirol. It’s got what everyone’s been looking for in an audio recording device: integrated mics, a gorgeous silver case with iPod-like, pocketable dimensions, SD cards for recording, rechargeable batteries you can actually replace when you need to, and some nice extras. The key question: will it fit people’s needs? You don’t want just one review; you want a whole bunch of reviews. And we’ve got them, from readers and authors all around the world who have been testing these recorders on sources ranging from acoustic music to barking dogs to interviews to ambient sound:

Ever since I first spotted the Edirol R-09 SD-based flash recorder at the NAMM show, it’s been an absurdly hot item. There are some 50 comments going on that item, largely from people wanting to know how it is. Only problem: I don’t have one. While I talk to Edirol about that, here’s an early reader report.

Via the CDM forums, our friend masterslave (guessing that’s not his real name), sends a detailed first impressions report, complete with sound samples. It’s not a full review, but the sound samples are impressive; the built-in mics sound great. (Never knock lowly electret-condensers; they’re cheap, reliable, rugged, and have a nice, warm sound.)

Edirol R-09 First Impressions [r09.ocbka.org]

Anyone else who’s gotten a hold of this or other gear and wants to share the results, don’t be shy!

Finally, ultra-portable digital recording is catching on. Edirol got the party started with the R-1, a CompactFlash-based USB device packed with a decent built-in stereo mic, effects, a metronome, and tuner. The extras on the R-1 are nice, but the unit was big and boxy, so when M-Audio introduced their cuter, iPod like MicroTrack, also a CF recorder, much of the attention turned to them.

Now it’s Edirol’s turn again with the R-09. It’s got a small, curvy form factor like the MicroTrack, costs $450 list, and includes an excellent built-in mic. How do these units compare (on paper, anyway)?

Computer VJing is about to hit prime time, thanks to gains in computer performance. Mixing 2-channel 640×480 Photo JPEG-compressed video is finally possible — no more 320×240x15 jaggies. One of the tools I’m most excited about is the new Edirol hardware/software package, and I got to try it out at AES.

While we’re on the subject of VJing, curious what the future looks like? Think HD.

Amateur VJs need not apply. Edirol has unveiled pricing and availability on their new V-440 HD Multiformat Video Mixer, and it’s not for mortals: US$$12,995 — an incredible deal for HD mixing if you’ve ever priced pro video equipment, but, uh, probably out of reach of most readers.

That said, the V-440 is an amazing box, and a great glimpse of what’s to come. Up to full 1080i HD resolutions, multiple formats (standard, HD, computer RGB), blue and green chroma keying, daisy-chaining support, and everything you’d expect from an HD mixer from Edirol. And musicians are in the mix, too: thanks to V-LINK, you can control the mixer by playing any supported Roland or Edirol keyboard. So who’s snapping these up? Expect pro tours and (believe it or not) the religious market, which spends a lot of the dollars on this kind of equipment.

And, oh, it’s gorgeous.

V-440 HD Multiformat Video Mixer and Switcher [Edirol.com]

First off, welcome readers of Keyboard Magazine, which has bravely taken on a new regular feature on VJing for musicians. Don’t read Keyboard? Check out online stories or subscribe at Keyboard’s site.

In the September issue of Keyboard, there’s not only a great cover story on Trent Reznor, but I did a two-page feature on VJ Holly Daggers. There were a lot more links that I wanted to talk about than I could fit into the article, so here goes:

Holly Daggers, Reflective Chroma-keying, and the Korg Entrancer [CDM]

Holly’s rig: Reflecmedia’s miracle surface, perfect for chroma-keying, Edirol V4, the favored 4-channel hardware video mixer of VJs everywhere, and of course the Korg Entrancer, the key to Holly’s setup

VJ resource list from community sites to VJ performance reports [CDM]

Hands-on with the Kaptivator, Korg’s beefed-up new video sampler (Holly? Have they sent you one yet?) [CDM]

Forward Motion Theater, Holly’s collaboration with Eric Dunlap that produces the Eyewash VJ event here in NYC

VJing: Now in convenient book form! Lastly, much to my surprise, we have a new VJ book to look forward to that features the Eyewash crew and many of the other top VJs and video artists, and provides essential how-to information:

The VJ Book [via share.dj]

Not only that, but the writer is Paul Spinrad, who I also get to work with via Make Magazine. We’ll have to all have drinks in the fall when his book, plus my upcoming (delayed) book Real World Digital Audio are both out!

Got other VJing tips or resources to share, technical questions to ask, or just want to brag about your demo reel? Drop me a line, because remember, “I don’t sleep.” (TM)

Search for “VJ” for more coverage at CDM, or check out the latest news.

Hard-core VJs have long known about Motion Dive. This VJ app is so rock-solid, intuitive, and flexible that people were willing to import it from Japan and use it with all-Japanese menus. Weirdly, it was easier to use that product in Japanese than many others in English. Now, Roland division Edirol is handling US distribution, and good things are happening. The menus are in English, for starters, and this week Edirol announces the motion dive .tokyo Performance Package, complete with a very practical-looking custom hardware controller. (What I’d like to know is whether it sends MIDI; the absence of simple crossfader hardware has meant almost everyone relies on the X-Session; it’d be nice to have another choice. I’ll let you know if I find anything out.)

But what if you want to run visuals while you play? Here’s another Edirol/Roland extra: the software now supports V.Link, the company’s initiative to make it easy to trigger visuals from music hardware. You can use your existing Roland/Edirol hardware (like the Fantom-X series keyboards, MC-909 sampling groovebox, SP-606 sampling workstation, and Edirol PCR series (PCR-30/50/80/M1/M30/M50/M80/A30), and run visuals, without manually mapping controllers. Very cool.

I expect to take a closer look at this soon, so stay tuned. CDM 5 words: VJing for musicians gets easier.