BUILDING PLAN :

What’s new in Firmware V2b (April 2026)

• Faster startup and improved HDMI stability.
 Now using a fixed 1920×1080 output.

Firmware V2 introduces major performance and workflow improvements:
• Instant looping (no gap between loops)
• Sampling and Retrig
• New Play Modes: Normal, Random, 2×, Ping-Pong, and Trig Select
• Single-button Sample In / Sample Out
• True Fast Forward and Rewind
• A real User Sample Bank

Key features
• No graphical interface to manage on stage
• Fast startup and predictable behavior
• Designed to run for hours without intervention
• Simple logic: play, loop, switch, perform
• USB flash drive hot-plug support (FAT or exFAT)
• Safe hot power-off with no risk to the SD card (internal SD card is read-only)
• Current draw: approx. 300 mA @ +5 V
• Dimensions: 6 HP, 80 mm deep (61 mm with Ribbon Cable upgrade HDMI to HDMI Mini)

How does it work?

By default, Video Slooper builds a playlist from the video files stored on your USB drive.

Videos are played in alphanumeric order (ABC or 001 → XXX).
When the last video ends, playback automatically restarts from the beginning of the playlist.

At any time, you can:
• Press Loop to repeat the current video infinitely
• Navigate through videos using Prev and Next
• Loop successive videos while navigating
• Pause playback to freeze the image
• Hold Next for Fast Forward
• Hold Prev for Rewind

Video Slooper was designed to be compact, power-efficient (300–400 mA), and thermally stable, making it perfectly suited for Eurorack systems and closed flycases.
Its small footprint (only 6 HP) allows multiple units to be stacked in a single setup.

Video formats

Recommended formats:
• MP4 or MOV
• Resolution: 720p or 1080p (up to 1920×1080)
• Codec: H.264 Baseline or Main, moderate bitrate

Avoid for live use:
• H.265 / HEVC
• ProRes
• VP9
• AV1

These formats are too heavy or unstable for real-time performance.

USB drives must be formatted FAT or exFAT.

Functions

Sample and Sample Bank

At any moment during playback, you can create a sample.
• Press Sample IN briefly to set the start point
• Press Sample IN again to set the end point

The sample will immediately loop infinitely.

To exit sample playback and return to the playlist, press Next or Prev.

Sample Bank
During sample playback:
• Briefly press S-Bank to add the sample to the Sample Bank
• The S-Bank LED will flash once to confirm

Samples stored in the Sample Bank remain available until the module is powered off.

To enter the Sample Bank:
• Hold S-Bank for a few seconds
• The S-Bank LED stays ON
• Use Next and Prev to navigate through your samples

You can use the Ban function to remove a sample from the Sample Bank.

⚠️ Important note about the Sample Bank
The Sample Bank does not copy or re-encode video files.
It only stores In and Out points referencing the original media on the USB drive.

As long as the module remains powered on, samples will remain available—even if the USB drive is briefly removed.
If the USB drive is unplugged, simply reinsert it to restore access to your samples.

Play Modes

You can select five different Play Modes.
• Hold Modes (Loop button)
• Use Next or Prev to cycle through modes
• Each mode has a unique LED blink pattern

LED patterns:
• 1 blink – Normal mode (default at boot)
• 2 blinks – Random mode
• 3 blinks – 2× mode (each video plays twice; useful for short clips)
• 4 blinks – Ping-Pong mode (Playlist reverses direction at the ends, Fast Forward at the last video jumps backward, Rewind at the first video jumps forward )
• 5 blinks – Trig Select mode (see below)

Trig function and Trig Select

Trig (reset)
The Trig input allows you to reset video playback to the beginning using a control voltage.
• Accepts modular triggers, gates, or LFOs
• On each rising edge, playback restarts from the beginning

Trig Select
Trig Select allows you to preselect the next video using pulse sequences—ideal for DAWs (Logic Pro, Ableton Live, etc.) or hardware sequencers.

How it works:
1. Select Trig Select mode (LED blinks 5 times)
2. Send a series of pulses to the Trig input
3. The number of pulses defines the video number to be played next

Notes:
• Pulse voltage does not matter; only pulse count
• Pulses can be closely spaced (up to ~180 BPM)
• A pause of at least 2 seconds is required between selections
• Pulse sequence must be sent within 9 seconds
• Media named 001 is ignored to prevent accidental triggering

Example:
Send 16 pulses → Video 016 will be selected
(Name files like 016_myVideo.mp4, 017_xxx.mp4, etc.)

A test MIDI file (16 pulses → video 016) and numbered test media (001–032) are included on the supplied USB drive. The system is proven reliable up to 32 pulses and may accept up to 88 pulses, but operation beyond 32 pulses is not guaranteed.

Retrig

At any time during playback, hold the Sample button to activate Retrig and press Next or Prev

Retrig repeatedly loops the last ~0.2 seconds based on the nearest i-frame, creating a video stutter effect.

This is especially useful for:
• Rhythmic video glitches
• Finding i-frames in heavy or poorly encoded videos

Ban

You can ban any video from:
• The main playlist
• The Sample Bank

This is useful if:
• You accidentally copied an unwanted video
• A poorly encoded video plays slowly or freezes

How to ban:
• Hold Pause for 3 seconds
• The Slooper skips to the next video
• The Pause LED blinks rapidly

The Ban function is non-destructive: files are never deleted from the USB drive.

Reboot

You can reboot the Video Slooper at any time without powering down your modular system.
• Hold Prev + Next together for about 2 seconds
• The module will reboot safely

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Troubleshooting

Video Slooper cannot magically fix bad codecs, oversized 4K files, or extremely heavy After Effects exports—but it is designed to fail gracefully, so you are never stuck on stage with a frozen system.

Common situations
• HDMI must be connected before power-on :
If HDMI is not connected at boot, the Pi disables video output to save power.
Reboot by holding Prev + Next for 2 seconds.
• Black screen with Play LED ON :
Reboot without the USB drive. Some USB drives draw too much current at boot and temporarily disable the USB port.
• Auto-skip killer media :
Unreadable or unstable videos are automatically skipped.
In extreme cases, a media file may crash the graphics engine and cause a reboot. This is expected behavior and safe for the system.

• For unstable 1080p60 files, re-encode to 720p: it dramatically reduces GPU load and makes playback reliable.

• Frozen first frame (30 seconds or more) :
Use Ban or reboot in extreme case
• Sample starts late (2–3 seconds) :
Caused by long GOPs or exotic encodings. Trigger the sample slightly earlier or use Retrig to locate usable i-frames. Short GOP videos give the best results.

USB drive advice

Use high-quality USB flash drives only.

If a drive:
• Is not detected
• Crashes the Slooper
• Causes instability

Do not use it. Some drives cause power surges, have failing components, or use unstable controllers.

Remember:
Video Slooper allows hot-swapping because it is write-protected—but it is not a desktop computer and is less forgiving of poor hardware.

After Effects warning

Videos exported from After Effects often use:
• Very long GOPs
• Too few keyframes
• Heavy motion and profiles

This forces the player to seek far back during jumps or sampling, causing latency or micro-freezes—even if continuous playback seems fine.

Razmasynth modules are made with L.O.V.E : They are developed, coded, assembled, and soldered in Angers, France. Their production takes time, and their quantity is limited.