TekDetek nodes — browser VJ pipeline

TekDetek is a node-based browser VJ tool and ASCII video tool online. Wire left to right: INPUT → (optional DETECT / HAND) → ASCII / RD / CA / Depth / PreText / GEO → OVERLAY → EXPORT. Open the app at vikmil.com/tekdetek — no install.

TekDetek is not completely free. Try phone looks and edit for free. Free export is watermarked and 20 seconds. Free OBS is watermarked and 5 minutes (restart anytime). Pro unlocks clean unlimited export and adding RD, CA, Depth, Alt ASCII, PreText, GEO 3D, and Sonify on the desktop graph.

Free

INPUT, AI DETECT (luma + capped objects/pose), ASCII FX, HAND, OVERLAY, EXPORT (watermark + 20s). Phone swipe + edit for RD and CA looks.

Pro

Add RD, CA, DEPTH, ALT ASCII, PRETEXT, GEO 3D, SONIFY on desktop. Clean unlimited record and OBS. Shuffle. Higher detection caps.

Diagram of TekDetek pipeline: Input through effects to Export — Typical order. Delete nodes you do not need. INPUT plus EXPORT is the minimum useful chain.

INPUT Free

The video source for every look. Select INPUT, then Activate camera (front or back on mobile) or Upload video file. H.264 MP4 is the most reliable decode for an ASCII webcam filter or file pass.

Output aspect (1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:3, 21:9) letterboxes for social crops. Zoom / pan / tilt frame the subject without re-encoding. Pair with QR selfie funnels or desktop VJ into OBS.

For live gigs, activate the camera once during soundcheck and leave the tab focused. Switching tabs can pause capture.

AI DETECT Free · caps

AI object detection video art and luma tracking in-browser — no cloud API. Boxes (and optional labels) on bright regions, objects, or body poses drive ASCII “only in boxes” and Overlay fan lines.

Mode	What it does	Free cap	Pro
LUMA	Bright-cell grid — no ML download. Best for club silhouettes.	16 boxes	64
OBJECTS	Object labels in real time. First load downloads weights.	4 boxes	Unlimited
POSE	Body keypoints — pose detection visualizer for dance.	2 people	Higher

Tune threshold, grid, and min cells for luma. Disable objects/pose on low-power laptops. Guide: AI detection VJ.

phone-luma-brackets — luma detection on dancers — Look: **phone-luma-brackets** — labelled luma boxes on a readable scene. Free path (16-box cap).

phone-luma-crosshair — crosshair luma boxes — Look: **phone-luma-crosshair** — crosshair-style luma boxes for a tighter track.

ASCII FX Free

The core ASCII video tool / text video effect: character grid or block mosaic mapped to brightness. Key controls: columns, density, font size, charset, palette, pixel-RGB blocks, silhouette fills, “only in boxes” (needs DETECT), show/hide raw video.

Raise contrast before density — noisy feeds turn the grid to mush. Guide: ASCII video tool online.

ASCII terminal — green glyph body — Look: **terminal** — clearest ASCII body + rings. Free to load and edit.

phone-ascii-ember — ember ASCII glyph field — Look: **phone-ascii-ember** — warm ember ASCII on live video.

ALT ASCII Pro to add · try on phone

Separate WebGL charset path (p5) — quieter glyphs, face-first and field looks. Phone funnel Alt ASCII looks are free to swipe and edit. Adding the ALT ASCII node on the desktop graph is Pro.

phone-alt-rings — Alt ASCII rings field — Look: **phone-alt-rings** — Alt ASCII rings. Try on phone; desktop add is Pro.

phone-alt-noise — Alt ASCII noise field — Look: **phone-alt-noise** — Alt ASCII form + color field on the WebGL path.

DEPTH Pro to add · try on phone

Depth-style mesh / melt driver for stylized volume — not a true depth camera. Phone Depth-family looks are free to swipe; adding the DEPTH node on desktop is Pro. Depth built-in presets on desktop are Pro.

REACTION DIFFUSION Pro to add · try on phone

A live reaction diffusion video / gray scott webcam-style field on your clip — stripes, spots, mazes, crawl. Phone RD looks are free to swipe and edit. Adding the RD node on the desktop graph is Pro. Recording a Pro-gated look needs Pro.

Guide: reaction-diffusion video tool.

phone-rd-spots — reaction-diffusion spots on dancer — Look: **phone-rd-spots** — RD melt on a readable body. Best live RD demo.

phone-rd-out — reaction-diffusion silhouette — Look: **phone-rd-out** — high-contrast RD silhouette sibling.

CELLULAR AUTOMATA Pro to add · try on phone

Cellular automata video on webcam or MP4: stepped grid, rule evolution, layer color, beat inject. Phone CA looks are free to swipe and edit. Adding the CA node on desktop is Pro.

Guide: cellular automata webcam.

phone-ca-crystal — cellular automata crystal — Look: **phone-ca-crystal** — clearest CA field on live video.

phone-ca-snowflake — cellular automata snowflake — Look: **phone-ca-snowflake** — CA snowflake sibling for denser grids.

HAND Free

Hand tracking with a dedicated camera plus side-by-side hand preview. Pinch, span, and gestures can drive parameters. Free on phone and desktop. Not in Shuffle inject pools. Pair with ASCII or GEO looks when you want performer-driven control.

PRETEXT Pro (beta)

Paragraph type flowing inside or outside a luma silhouette — poster and club-title energy on a live clip. Phone can try PreText looks; adding PRETEXT on the desktop graph is Pro.

phone-pretext-cyan — cyan PreText terminal copy — Look: **phone-pretext-cyan** — readable CYAN TERMINAL type on live video.

phone-pretext-vermilion — vermilion PreText poster — Look: **phone-pretext-vermilion** — type-fill poster PreText.

GEO 3D Pro (beta)

Procedural 3D (wire, particles, greeble, SDF) composited like an overlay for a browser VJ mesh pass. Phone GEO looks are free to try; adding GEO 3D on desktop is Pro.

geo-sdf-ico-acid — SDF morph GEO 3D — Look: **geo-sdf-ico-acid** — organic SDF GEO morph.

phone-geo-particles-knot — particle GEO 3D — Look: **phone-geo-particles-knot** — particle cloud GEO.

SONIFY Pro (beta)

Detection → sound (drums / synths). Adding SONIFY on desktop is Pro. Phone can try sonify looks. Not in Shuffle inject pools. Keep the graph light if you also run pose or objects.

OVERLAY Free

Free finishing node: lines between detections (all pairs, nearest, fan) plus 20+ video effects — pixelate, glitch, VHS, CRT, bloom, slit scan, feedback, edges, chromatic. Target inside boxes, outside boxes, or the full frame. Halftone-style dither lives here or on ASCII — not its own node.

phone-overlay-1bit — overlay on dancers — Look: **phone-overlay-1bit** — free OVERLAY node on a readable scene.

phone-overlay-crt — CRT overlay — Look: **phone-overlay-crt** — CRT scan look.

EXPORT Free watermarked · Pro clean

Records the full pipeline to MP4 or PNG sequence ZIP — the end of every no install VJ pass.

Free: watermark on the picture, 20 seconds per take.
Free OBS: watermark, 5 minutes per share, restart allowed.
Pro: no watermark, no time cap, clean OBS, background keep-alive.

Quality follows preview resolution and graph weight — simplify before long captures. Guide: user guide.

TekDetek by VJ Vik Mil · [email protected] · @tekdetek · MIT license · Third-party notices