VVFL – Virtual Video Feedback Loop

“The World’s First LIVE Continuous Streamed ITC Virtual Visual Feedback Loop”
(Using “Visions of Chaos” software by Softology\Jason Rampe)  – For more information, scroll down the page.
Since December 21, 2016

***3/24/17 Stream is back online after house move and ongoing remodeling. 

The audio you hear is from Stream 1 – LIVE from a shortwave radio
VOC Settings changed on 12/29/16 at 6pmEST
If you want this VOC setting, email [email protected] and request it to be sent to you.


CHAT: To log into chat with a username, please visit the USTREAM Website and create an account HERE.

ADS: Don’t like ads? Neither do we! Video Streaming is quite expensive, and we’re using Ustream at no cost – so ads are not going away; however, you do have the option of becoming a Ustream Premium Member at a cost of $3.99 a month and avoiding ads completely. (We receive no compensation, it is a Ustream service)
***TIP: We’ve noticed the ads are primarily on desktop computers, it may be different on iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. 🙂

MOBILE: If you would like to use a mobile phone or tablet to view the stream, please download the Ustream app (recommended) from Google Play or the APP Store and search for “idigitalmedium” OR you can just try from your browser (wait up to 30 seconds for video to start)
***NOTE: We recommend using a Wi-Fi connection when viewing this stream on a mobile device or tablet. We are not responsible for cellular data charges – this stream uses about 3-4 times the amount of data used when streaming music such as Pandora, Spotify, etc. (200-300 kbps)


The Days of Analog are Dead

In the 1980’s Klaus Schreiber became the first person in history to receive paranormal images on Television in an experimental setting. (source WorldITC.org) His work has inspired generations of experimenters since then, and methods of receiving pictures of spirit have now expanded to include water, smoke, fog, steam, digital cameras, and spectrographs. It is well known that a video feedback loop requires an immense amount of patience and time. First, there’s the difficulty in getting the setup right, and then no two experiments by separate experimenters have the same equipment or other variables. And all of this is before it comes time to review the footage! At a staggering 30 frames per second (with some cameras capable of up to 60fps now) review of even a ten minute recording could take several hours (18,000 frames – or pictures to go through one by one). It is not surprising that few people even experiment with the video feedback loop anymore. (TIP: To see examples of someone who does currently work regularly with this method, visit Adriana Alonso and Simone Santos’ website HERE.)

Evolution in a Digital Age

Time is a commodity. These days it is the most valuable commodity, so it is understandable and only natural that we find new ways to adapt and continue to evolve our experiments and communication with people in spirit. I’ve thought for years – wouldn’t it be great if we could host the world’s first online video feedback loop? This idea presented its own challenges. First – appropriate space would need to be used for the television set and camera. Second – few people would want to dedicate such a valuable resource to run 24 hours a day. The hardware will inevitably fail. And third, but not the least by far – is the challenge of slowing down the frame-rate to only show approximately one frame per every 5 seconds. This is the only feasible way that people could participate live. A slower frame-rate was accomplished in the past by using a remote camera security system accessible via a web browser – but that was a long time ago. There are ways to accomplish this, but they have not fallen into my lap and they do require special means and often advanced networking knowledge. But why should it be so hard? (Tip: To see this concept in action check out the fog/dry ice LIVE experiment conducted back in 2008, during the ITC Bridge days HERE)

Sowing the Seeds

In March of 2015 we put Stream 4 online – which is currently defined as “Computer Generated Visual Noise”. It uses a program called “Harmwave” or “STiles” and generates random pixels. It is unknown what particular method of calculation generates the pixels, as I was unable to locate the software creator, Steve Harman. There has been very little interest since then and I’ve spent about 30 hours collecting images. They’re not very good – though some of them may end up in our upcoming picture exhibit. However, I did notice something…whenever I focused on the stream there seemed to be a measurable improvement. Occasionally I would play stream 4 on my computer monitor while watching TV, glancing over at random. Most people aren’t aware that the picture needs to be viewed from afar, not up close. The software program does not have enough clarity to expect definition in a resulting image.

I saw enough change in the stream while focusing on it that I felt there needed to be more research done. So a bunch of us looked for software, and we found several. Shout out to Jeremy Michael Bloxsom who made me aware of Visions of Chaos by Softology. The first thing we did was use the plasma function to attempt to duplicate results we had experienced in Harmwave. We had very limited success. this idea was put on the shelf for awhile, but it stayed there…sitting on the back burner.

Spirit in The Machine

It is very common for me to just do things and neither know or question why. One day in November 2016 I decided to open up Visions of Chaos again. The program stated it had a software update to do, which I followed through on. Upon opening of the latest version of the software, I went to the plasma section of the software, only to be disappointed by finding that it appeared to only generate plasma images in full color. This was not productive for the purpose I intended by any means.

But I felt that wasn’t the end of the matter, so I opened up the section for video feedback loop. It was quite intimidating, enough settings in there to make anyone’s eyes blur…so I did what any creative person would do, I hit the “random” button.

It only took a few moments for me to realize that there was potential. I’ve spent a good amount of time observing ITC images so I’m comfortable with saying I regard myself as somewhat experienced in being able to determine the viability of an ITC project. After an hour of experimenting I made the decision to bring this stream online in the future. It simply had to be done. At this point I had seen and done too much to rule out the ability of people in spirit’s ability to affect a computer program. We’re talking about code, and zeros and ones, and tiny electrical impulses in transistors and computer RAM. With so many results seeming to indicate that people in spirit could affect computers and electronics, it was natural to bring this stream live. After all, our website and team name is iDigitalMedium. If we don’t do it…who will?

For further clarification on why I felt there was supporting evidence that external influences can change internal computer processes, see https://idigitalmedium.com/stream3 (Audio) or https://idigitalmedium.com/stream4 (Visual)


NOT Random

Out of curiosity I contacted the software author, Jason Rampe of Softology in Australia, and he provided further information on how the program works.

Visions of Chaos is completely non-random (in the true sense of randomness).  All the random static and patterns are determined by pseudo-random algorithms based on a random seed value. Here is a short video explaining how pseudo-random generators work https://www.khanacademy.org/computing/computer-science/cryptography/crypt/v/random-vs-pseudorandom-number-generators

In plain English, what does this mean to us? It means the computer is performing actions that are based on a specific calculation – a math formula – involving a fixed variable (the seed). It means that, given enough information we would be able to determine what the picture would look like before it was even created. This is not truly random, though sometimes it may seem that way. In short, pseudo-random is man’s attempt to create randomness. It is even indicated in the name – with “pseudo” being the prefix that indicates that something is not real, or genuine…or in this case – random. Now, please don’t take my layman’s explanation and copy and paste it on the internet – as I am not educated in this manner and don’t consider myself fully qualified to give a proper explanation. Do your own research if you’re curious.
If you look at the gallery of pictures made from Visions of Chaos HERE you will see that the most common characteristic is that the images tend to have structured patterns. Some are quite beautiful.


NOT a Feedback Loop

The stream is named VVFL for Virtual Video Feedback Loop because the function in use was labeled “Video Feedback”. The effects that it creates while using this software mode can be considered similar to the visual artifacts produced by a true video feedback loop process. It is in fact – not a loop at all. It is a graphical output that is predetermined by mathematical computation including a seed as the “randomizing” or “fake randomized” factor.


Controlled Experiments

Further conversation with Jason brought up an interesting topic – could controlled experiments be done? To some degree, yes. (See our Visions of Chaos Project page)

Personally, I don’t know to what extent these experimental conditions would satisfy the scientific community. For the most part it would likely help rule out the obvious pareidolia and poor judgement on behalf of researchers when asserting that an image is of external origin. To a certain extent – as lay people we cannot prove that it is spirit influence (unless we receive that perfect picture, and it is repeatable – and why wouldn’t it be?) – but we can remove some of the variable that could contribute to such formations by following experiment protocol. There are many variables of this type of experiment that would have to be considered, ruled out, compared, etc for it to ever be taken seriously. If a somewhat clear image is not obtained, it is likely that most would say “what’s the point?” However, if a clear image is obtained and 100 people clearly ascertain that they agree on the identity of such an image – then perhaps science would be interested in trying to determine if that outside influence on internal computer processes can be measured, recorded, and explained.


Time for a Community Experiment

If we could provide supporting evidence that people in spirit can impress their images upon computer programs, wouldn’t that be considered evidential? If one person can affect the experiment outcome with their mind, what could a group do? The implications are far-reaching. We see evidence around us everyday of the effect of our thoughts on physical matter. We’re hearing about physical mediumship seances and ITC experiments where the experimenters do group meditation, Reiki, or other preparatory exercises prior to the events. It DOES matter.

It’s about time we apply this to ITC as a community to see what can be accomplished.

How You Can Help

We need your help with the following:

  • Collecting images as examples and sending them to us
  • Sharing program settings that seem to provide the best pictures
  • Conducting individual and group focus experiments
  • Demonstrating that people in spirit can create ORDER in Chaos
  • Enjoying the stream

Want to Participate ? Go to our Visions of Chaos Project HERE

Want to go directly to the Visions of Chaos website? Click HERE

Enjoy!

Created by:
Keith J. Clark