VIBRESIA

Live video compared

Resolume vs Millumin: a VJ application or a show sequencer?

By Syd Lawrence, a visual artist and developer who makes Vibresia. Facts last checked 2 November 2026; updated 2 November 2026.

If you are performing video from a laptop, picking it as you go, pick Resolume: Avenue is €299 and it is an application for playing decks of media and effects. If you are running a show with prepared media, cues, projectors and lighting, pick Millumin, which is a media server and a timeline at €399 for a lifetime licence. One is a performer, the other is a control desk, and the show you are running decides which you need.

ResolumeMillumin
What it isVJ and media-server software (Avenue, Arena) and a visual programming tool (Wire), for macOS and Windows.Software for creating and playing audiovisual shows on stage, with media playback, projection mapping and lighting control.
Price€299, one-time€399, one-time
Runs onMac, WindowsMac
RequirementsmacOS 13.4 Ventura or later, or Windows 10 or later, with 8GB of RAM and an AMD, Iris Pro or Apple silicon graphics cardmacOS 11 Big Sur or later, optimised for Intel and Apple silicon machines
Free versionFree to use indefinitely, but video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until a serial number is entered.The trial lasts 30 days with no limitation, after which white lines are watermarked onto the outputs, while saving a project and using every feature stay possible.
Known forAn industry-standard pair: Avenue for VJing, Arena adding media-server featuresProjection mapping toolkit with perspective transform, mesh warping and masks, applied from layers up to outputs
Best forWorking VJs and venues running video on screens and projectors.Operators, technicians and production teams running live shows in theatres, dance performances, videomapping events and interactive installations, who need to programme a show in advance and trigger it from controllers.

Control and connections

ResolumeMillumin
MIDIYes: Avenue and Arena take MIDI in and send MIDI out, including pad colour feedback, from multiple enabled devices, and Wire adds MIDI In and MIDI Out nodes for generating and reading MIDI data.Yes: Millumin receives MIDI and can send MIDI out, and it also handles MIDI Show Control.
OSCYes: Avenue and Arena accept OSC input and can send OSC output to other applications over the network, and Wire adds OSC In and OSC Out nodes for reading and writing OSC inside a patch.Yes: Millumin listens for OSC messages and can send OSC to other applications, with OSCQuery support.
SyphonYes: Avenue and Arena provide Syphon input and output on macOS, and Wire can read and write Syphon textures through its Texture In and Texture Out nodes.Yes: Millumin can send its output as a Syphon stream and can receive Syphon streams from other software into its library.
SpoutYes: Avenue and Arena provide Spout input and output on Windows, and Wire can read and write Spout textures through its Texture In and Texture Out nodes.No: Spout is not documented anywhere in Millumin's own help centre, and Millumin has no Windows build, so the Windows-only Spout protocol is not available.
NDIYes: NDI input is always enabled in Avenue and Arena, and NDI output can be broadcast from the composition, with Arena additionally treating NDI outputs as separate screens in the Advanced Output.Yes: Millumin receives NDI sources into its library and can send NDI output, with the option to embed audio in the stream.
DMXYes: DMX output over Art-Net is available in Arena only, and Arena also accepts Art-Net DMX input from a lighting desk, so Avenue has no DMX support.Yes: Millumin sends and receives DMX over Art-Net, sACN and USB DMX, and uses it to drive fixtures and LED pixel mapping.
Video in and outYes: Video input works from webcams and capture cards, with native low-latency support for Blackmagic, AJA and Datapath devices, and video output goes to the displays connected to the computer.Yes: Millumin outputs video to external displays, Blackmagic and AJA cards, Syphon, NDI and RTMP streams, and captures from cameras, capture cards, screens and network sources.

Every row comes from the app's own documentation, on the date shown in the sources below. "Not that we could find" means we could not find it documented, not that the app cannot do it.

Pick Resolume if

you are performing video in front of people and want to trigger clips and effects as you go, you want to work on Windows as well as a Mac, or you would rather not sit in front of a timeline. Avenue is €299.

Pick Millumin if

you are running a show with prepared media, cues to fire in order, projectors to drive and lighting to control, and you want the whole thing on a timeline you can hand to a technician. It is Mac only.

Why people compare them

They both end up in the same rack, driving screens in a theatre or a club, and they get compared because both are paid and both are for shows. But they sit at different points in the evening.

Resolume is vj and media-server software (avenue, arena) and a visual programming tool (wire), for macos and windows. Millumin is software for creating and playing audiovisual shows on stage, with media playback, projection mapping and lighting control. If you are the artist on the night, you are in the first. If you are running the show and handing it over, you are in the second.

Where Resolume wins

It is built to be played. Resolume does an industry-standard pair: Avenue for VJing, Arena adding media-server features. You trigger clips and effects as the music goes, rather than cueing a timeline.

It runs on Windows as well as macOS. Resolume is listed for Mac, Windows. Millumin is Mac only, and its maker says a Windows version is a very large project that is not a priority, so a Windows show has to use MilluNode, the separate player that carries video and nothing else.

You can try it for as long as you like. Resolume is free to use indefinitely. The catch is that video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until you enter a serial number.

Where Millumin wins

It is a show sequencer. A sequencer and timeline in the dashboard, so a show is written as columns of cues that launch in order, so a show is written as columns of cues that launch in order and can be handed to a technician.

Mapping and lighting are in the same place as the video. Live inputs including MIDI, OSC, DMX, timecode, Kinect, LeapMotion, Arduino and gamepads, with data sent back out to other software and hardware, and it drives DMX fixtures, LED strips and ILDA lasers from the same timeline as the pictures.

It goes further with the picture. Multiple displays up to 16K, with 8 or 10-bit depth, and video routing between canvases and outputs, and it can send the output to capture cards, to Syphon, to NDI and out as an RTMP stream, with Warp and other tools for fitting video to a surface.

The trial is a real trial. The trial lasts 30 days with no limitation, after which white lines are watermarked onto the outputs, while saving a project and using every feature stay possible.

Where both fall short

Both need the show made first. Whichever you pick, the visuals are only as good as the material you prepared and the cues you built. Neither turns a folder of files into a performance by itself.

Both take something away for free. Free to use indefinitely, but video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until a serial number is entered. After 30 days the free trial puts a watermark of white lines on the outputs, although every feature and project saving stay available.

Neither is a music visualiser. Both are general tools for video, and both expect you to bring the content and decide how it reacts. If what you want is visuals that react to what the Mac is playing, with nothing to prepare, that is a different job than either of these does.

What it costs

Resolume Avenue is €299, one-time, Arena is €799, one-time and Wire is €399, one-time, each a one-time purchase with 12 months of updates included, and the licence keeps working after that.

Millumin is €399, one-time for a lifetime licence on one computer, and €85, one-time for an upgrade to V5 or an extra seat. Rental licences are also sold: 29 euros for 7 days, 69 euros for 30 days and 199 euros for a year, and any version of Millumin can be used with them. Both are priced in euros, so the rate on the day you buy is yours to check.

Questions people ask

Is Millumin cheaper than Resolume?

Millumin is €399 for a lifetime licence on one computer, plus €85 for an upgrade or an extra seat. Resolume Avenue is €299. Millumin's figures are per computer and rise with the number of seats.

Does Millumin run on Windows?

No. Millumin runs on macOS only, with no Windows or Linux version planned, so Windows users depend on the separate MilluNode player. On Windows, Millumin's separate MilluNode player carries video, and The MilluNode player that runs on Windows and macOS is limited to video, with no interactions, data-tracks, lights or capture cards.

Which one is better for lighting control?

Millumin. It takes DMX over Art-Net, sACN and USB DMX, and drives fixtures, LED strips and ILDA lasers from the same timeline as the video. In Resolume, DMX output and fixture control are Arena features rather than Avenue ones.

Can I try Resolume or Millumin for free?

Yes, both. Free to use indefinitely, but video output has a Resolume watermark and audio has a robot voice until a serial number is entered. Millumin's trial runs for 30 days with no limitation, after which white lines are watermarked onto the outputs.

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Sources

Every fact about another app on this page comes from the source listed for it, on the date shown. We make Vibresia, so we've tried to say where each of the others is the better choice. If something here is out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.