What is Syphon?
Syphon is an open-source technology that enables real-time sharing of video frames between applications on macOS. It allows one application to broadcast frames of video or graphical data, which can then be received by one or more other applications for processing, effects, recording, or display.
Some key capabilities and uses of Syphon include:
- Streaming video frames between apps like Resolume, MadMapper, Quartz Composer, Processing, OpenFrameworks, Unity, and more.
- Applying real-time effects by piping video through multiple apps.
- Enabling advanced multi-screen video setups, projection mapping, and LED walls.
- Capturing and recording live visuals from performances and presentations.
- Prototyping and experimenting with computer vision, interactivity, generative visuals, and more.
Syphon is extensively used by digital artists, live visual performers, installation artists, and creative coders to work with video and graphics interactively. It allows them to route video frames between a wide range of tools and environments on the macOS platform to create immersive visual experiences and productions.