Hypno Manual
A full description of Hypno's "Features".
Last updated
A full description of Hypno's "Features".
Last updated
As of May 2024 use of Hypno in Eurorack is no longer supported by Sleepy Circuits and the expanders have been discontinued due to reliability issues. If you are a new user plan to use Hypno as a standalone device.
Trying to decide whether you need a kit or a prebuilt? Not sure which Pi you want with your Hypno? Check out our: Hypno Expanders & Pi Selection guide
Need more help? Read the FAQ, Ask a Question on the Forum, or Contact Us
Below are the 3 "most basic" setups with Hypno.
The circled numbers indicate the order in which the connections should be made.
Plug an HDMI cable into your display (TV, monitor, projector, caputre card, etc...), power your display on, and plug the other end of the HDMI cable into the Hypno BEFORE powering the Hypno on.
Hypno can act as a USB-MIDI host through its front microUSB port (or rear USB-A ports on a completed Hypno Kit), allowing you to edit or animate the module’s parameters with MIDI controllers, keyboards and more. In some cases, a USB OTG (microUSB adapter) is necessary. A list of recommended adapters and known-compatible MIDI devices is available on the forum.
Note: direct host to host USB-MIDI connections, such as between Hypno and a laptop, are not supported.
When organizing [presets via the usb the presets follow the below naming scheme.
patch” 0 - 1 - 2 “.json” are the three presets that are saved by default on the Hypno and are only recallable with the button combination (see page 9 of the manual)
From “patch3.json” on, you can recall them with a Eb0 message on midi channel 16
As the Midi Quick Guide video says, midi F# G# and A# keys are used to trigger the three buttons of the Hypno, meaning that in the naming system, you have to mind skipping numbers corresponding to those keys ! For instance, “patch6.json” won’t work
(Thanks @mcdouglas from the forum for the naming scheme breakdown!)
As of firmware revision 2.0, Hypno is capable of accepting video input from UVC compliant devices (USB 2.0, MJPEG compressed output), such as webcams or capture cards, through its top USB port. Our forum guide will walk you through setting up and troubleshooting this awesome new feature.
As of Firmware 2.2, Hypno can also load 720x480 resolution .MP4 videos and .JPEG Images from a connected USB drive. See the PDF Manual for more information (quick guide video coming soon).
Video Input can be switched on-the-fly video loading from USB
Navigate to the root folder and take the file index knob all the way to the right (Clockwise)
UVC Video Input Setup & Troubleshooting Guide
Hypno is able to load and loop videos on a USB drive, just plug one in to the USB port on the top or with a USB-micro to USB-A adapter depending on your Hypno version and it will automatically load the first video or image that it finds!
For now, Hypno loads only one video/image or UVC input at a time via the teal shape
Place files in root directory or in a folder. Hypno will explore folders when exploring the root directory and load all mp4s but folder based video selection is only available for 1 level of folders.
Recommended USB Drive Filesystem Format is FAT32.
Hypno also supports filesystems: vfat ext2 ext3 ext4 ntfs-3g ntfs exfat hfsplus
Filesystem formatting may need further real world testing, please report issues in the forum.
Images: Use square or common (640x480 recommended) resolution JPEGs
Videos: Use 640x480 (or 720x480 for widescreen) .MP4s (480p30) for best performance (no length requirement)
Download Handbrake
Click Open Source and select your video
Select the 480p30fast preset – this should convert the source file to a 640x480 h.264 .mp4 video
Pick a destination folder by clicking the Browse... button in the bottom right corner of the window.
Hit Start (Bulk conversion is also available in Handbrake but not covered here)
It is easiest to record Hypno with an inexpensive capture card + Laptop.
Setup a new Source and select your capture card (hit the plus under sources tab).
In Settings - Video tab; setup your canvas/scaled to 720x480
In Settings - Output tab; Setup your desired output directory and format as follows
Setup your hardware according to the "OBS Capture" Setup diagram below.
Make sure your OBS screen shows the Hypno frame as expected, if it does not look right click the Hypno image coming in and click "Resize Input (Source Size)"
Hit Record.
End the recording. Wait a second for it to finish writing the file and check your output directory for your new video!
The bridge between Hypno and Ableton
Compose visuals to your music
Control all parameters
Please note, you will need a host to host converter in order to send information from your computer to Hypno.
The CME WIDI Bud Pro is our recommended way to connect your Hypno to a Computer.
*For Windows Users, You'll need to download both MIDIberry and loopMIDI to get the CME WIDI bud to effectively register on your computer.
*Apple Users will be able to use their default MIDI drivers to select destinations.
Insert micro SD card into your computer (for a fresh new micro SD card created with Etcher, you have to eject and insert it again)
Create a new file on micro SD card in the /boot/ directory called wpa_supplicant.conf with your computer
The basic text editor from your operating system is recommended (Notepad, TextEdit etc.).
Make sure the file has the .conf extension, sometimes your os will try to add a .txt extension to the filename (wpa_supplicant.conf.txt will NOT work! the filename has to be exact)
Copy/Paste the following lines in this file
Replace variables with your SSID and password, and change the country value to your region (Example above is for USA region)
Save the file to the /boot/ directory on micro SD card with the name wpa_supplicant.conf
If these directions aren't working for you or switching this is too cumbersome for your setup you may simply pick up one of these generic adapters HDMI->AV adapters at your preferred electronics supplier, just make sure its made to convert HDMI to Composite not the other way around as these generic boxes can look similar to each other in the product photos.
Composite on PI4 requires enable_tvout=1 in config.txt
This section concerns European Composite Users only, NTSC is enabled by default.
Hypno PI3/4 Note: Modern Pi models combine the audio out and composite out on to the same 3.5mm jackplug. This requires a particular type of lead, with audio left on the tip, audio right on ring 1, ground on ring 2, and video on the sleeve. This is the same as leads used on Apple devices. A full list of quirks based on your pi can be found here.
If you require PAL composite output you will need to replace sdtv_mode in /boot/config.txt in your firmware image with the following line
Hypno CM3/4: you can access the onboard /boot/ partition by flipping the switch to update, plugging into a computer via the front USB port and initializing the drive in etcher (select an image and your target pi but do NOT hit flash). You should see the directory appear in your File Browser when initialized.
Hypno PI3/4: Simply plug the SD card into your computer and the /boot/ partition will appear in your File Browser.
OR If you require NTSC (this is the default configuration)
Save the file and eject the drive!
Hypno CM3/4 Users: Don't forget to switch OFF the update switch (away from the word "update") when finished.
If you require a more specific display mode please consult Pi's Official Documentation of /boot/config.txt Video Options
/boot/config.txt should include the following lines to
Make sure any duplicate instances of dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d are deleted or commented out (only the above is present)
Also add this to the end of cmdline.txt (after rootwait)
