Millumin 5.14.j — macOS

If you have used QLab for playback or Resolume for video mixing, Millumin sits somewhere between them — a tool for building interactive audiovisual shows that mix video, sound, lighting and projection mapping in one timeline. It is not a media player or a VJ tool in the usual sense; it is closer to a show control application for small-to-medium productions where one Mac runs the whole thing.

Millumin V5 runs on Intel 64-bit Macs with macOS 11 Big Sur or later, including the newer macOS Tahoe 26 and Golden Gate 27 releases. The interface is in English, and the app opens with contextual help panels to get you moving. It connects to an expanding list of lighting consoles, media servers and external devices, which makes it practical for live events, theater, installations and exhibitions where you need to cue video and control lights from the same machine.

This is not a beginner video editor or a casual presentation tool. If your work involves synchronizing multiple outputs, triggering cues from a lighting desk, or running a show that mixes DMX lighting with video layers, Millumin is worth a look. The current release is version 5.14.j.

Setting up for a show: a typical session

Imagine you are prepping a small theater piece — maybe a dance performance with three video projectors and a handful of LED fixtures. You open Millumin for the first time that day. The contextual help panels appear, showing the main workspace sections: the media library, the timeline, the output previews. You spend a few minutes importing video clips and still images into the library, dragging them in from a Finder folder. The library keeps everything organized in one place, and you can preview each clip without opening another app.

Next, you build a timeline. You drop a video onto the first cue, then add a second video that will crossfade when the first ends. Millumin handles transitions the way a lighting desk handles fades — you set the duration, and the app takes care of the rest. You add a DMX cue to dim the house lights at the same moment the first video starts. This is where Millumin starts to feel different from a plain video player: you are programming cues, not just pressing play.

You run through the sequence a few times, adjusting the timing. Because the timeline shows video layers and lighting cues side by side, you can see where the blackout falls relative to the music. You make small changes — shift a video start by half a second, adjust a light intensity — and the timeline updates immediately. No rendering, no export step.

On show night, you connect your Mac to the projectors and the lighting console via a USB-to-DMX interface. You open the saved project, hit the first cue, and Millumin runs the sequence. If something goes wrong — a projector loses signal, a cue fires early — you can jump to any point in the timeline and override the automation manually. The app stays responsive because it is not doing anything behind the scenes that you did not ask for.

Still edits video in Resolve and audio in Ableton

Millumin does not try to replace every tool in your workflow. You still edit video in Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve, design lighting in a dedicated console's software, and compose sound in Logic Pro or Ableton Live. Millumin's job is to play back those finished assets and coordinate them in real time. It reads standard video formats — MP4, MOV, ProRes — so you do not need to re-encode anything before importing.

On macOS, the app works with multiple displays naturally. If your Mac has an HDMI port and a Thunderbolt port, you can send a different video output to each projector while keeping the control interface on your built-in screen. The macOS display preferences handle the arrangement; Millumin sees each screen as a separate output. This is the same approach used by other pro media servers, and it keeps the hardware setup straightforward.

For lighting control, Millumin communicates over Art-Net or sACN, which are standard protocols in the theater and event industry. If your lighting console speaks those protocols — and most modern consoles do — you can trigger Millumin cues from the console, or send Millumin cues back to the console. This two-way communication means a lighting designer can run the whole show from one desk, with Millumin acting as the video engine.

You can also sync Millumin with QLab via OSC messages if you need sound playback from a separate machine. Or you can run everything inside Millumin if the show is small enough. The app is flexible about how much you let it control.

Built for theater technicians and projection artists

Millumin is not aimed at the general Mac user who wants to play a video for a presentation. It is built for people who think in cues and layers: theater technicians, projection designers, video artists working with projection mapping, and interactive installation builders. If your show has more than one video output, or if you need video to respond to a lighting console, this app is one of the few options that does both without a second machine.

Videomapping artists will find the projection mapping tools useful for aligning content to irregular surfaces — building corners, curved walls, props. The workflow is similar to Resolume Arena or MadMapper, but Millumin adds the timeline and cue structure that theater productions need. Dance companies that use video as a backdrop benefit from being able to program light changes and video changes in the same session, so the choreography stays in sync without a separate operator for each element.

Interactive installations are another strong fit. If you build a kiosk or an exhibit where video responds to sensors or triggers, Millumin can receive MIDI, OSC or DMX input and react accordingly. You might set a video to loop until a sensor sends a signal, then advance to the next cue. The app runs unattended once the cues are programmed, which matters for installations that run for hours each day.

Runs on macOS Big Sur through Golden Gate 27

Millumin V5 requires an Intel 64-bit Mac running macOS 11 Big Sur or later. It is compatible with the current macOS Tahoe 26 and Golden Gate 27 releases, so you do not need to stay on an older system. The app is a single download — a disk image that you mount, then drag to the Applications folder. There is no installer wizard, no background services. You bypass Gatekeeper once via Terminal, and the app launches normally after that.

The interface is in English only. If your workflow relies on other languages, you will need to work with the English menus and labels. The contextual help panels that appear on first launch give a quick overview of the workspace, and the online tutorials cover the main features. There is no printed manual in the box — everything is on the website or inside the app.

The app does not install additional frameworks or drivers. If you use a USB-to-DMX interface, you will need the manufacturer's driver separately. Millumin handles the software side; the hardware connection depends on whatever adapter your lighting setup uses. The same goes for projection mapping — you align the surfaces inside Millumin, but the projectors and their cabling are your own.

For anyone considering a millumin download, the current version in this package is 5.14.j. A newer V5 release is available from the developer, but this build is stable enough to evaluate the workflow. Millumin is a professional tool for live video playback, projection mapping, and multi-screen shows. It is a practical starting point for anyone building a show around a single Mac.

• macOS 11 Big Sur or later
• Intel 64-bit Mac
• English interface