Here goes!

Available in experimental form since a while already, vvvv gamma finally will ship proper stable video playback options with upcoming 2021.4. So here is what we've got for you:

Video files

Typing "video" in the nodebrowser shows the VL.Video.MediaFoundation nuget. Reference it to get these nodes for video playback:

• VideoPlayer (Stride): returns a texture for VL.Stride
• VideoPlayer (Skia): returns an image for VL.Skia

Both play the same wide range of containers and formats and some more can be added by installing the Mediafoundation codec pack.

Image Sequences

For the playback of image sequences, find the following nodes shipping with the respective nugets:

• ImagePlayer (Stride) and ImagePlayer (FrameBased Stride) for VL.Stride
• ImagePlayer (Skia) and ImagePlayer (FrameBased Skia) for VL.Skia

Check their help patches for details on supported formats and some more fine-print.

For arguments regarding when to use the VideoPlayer vs. the ImagePlayers nodes, see the new chapter on video playback in the gray book.

Network synchronization

Yes, please! Using the ImagePlayer nodes, vvvv also offers to have them play in sync on multiple PCs.

Available for testing now in latest 2021.4 previews.