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Cortex - A some what different application

Cortex is an open-source application that provides a user-interface (UI) to the Media Roster. If you are a software developer working on applications or add-ons making use of media nodes, Cortex provides you with a basic test platform that shows you the current state of the media server and lets you easily test your node. If you're simply just a Media Kit enthusiast, Cortex is a great way to get you to know the Kit even better by working with the media filters.

The Cortex Routing Interface allows you to visually connect media nodes with each other.

Here you see the connections between the Audio Mixer and the Media Player playing Master of Puppets, and that there is also another connection between the Audio Mixer and Old Programs. The system mixer is by default connected to the systems audio output.

You can enhance the visual display by choosing entries from the The Media Add-Ons Window. The window displays a list of all available dormant nodes, which can be activated by dragging and dropping the icons to the routing window.

To start and stop nodes you use the Transport Window. It lets you control a group of interconnected nodes, for which you can also set the 'Run Mode'. Different run modes are defined by the Media Kit and include different realtime modes, an offline mode and a mode for recording from a physical input. Each node group can (and must) be assigned to a common time-source. You can also limit the range of playback by specifying a start- and end-time, and there is a per node loop-toggle.

The Info Windows give you information about any object in Cortex. You can get info on live and dormant nodes, connection formats, media inputs and outputs etc. Cortex also makes extensive use of tooltips which will provide the most important format info when the mouse resides over a wire (as the label seen on the screenshot).

For every node that publishes its parameters to the system (a 'controllable' node) you can request a Parameter Window. These contain interfaces that are created dynamically by Media Kit Add-Ons called 'BMediaThemes' and let you visually control the nodes parameters.

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