Luminancer vs sleepy vidOS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Luminancer
Create abstract video art with this powerful app inspired by analog synthesizers. Ideal for live performances, music videos, or artistic expression. It uses a luminance threshold filter and a unique video processing pipeline to generate stunning visual effects.
- Analog synth-inspired video effects
- Live performance ready
- Luminance threshold filter
- Abstract video processing pipeline
- Enhance VJ rigs
- Create music videos
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Luminancer is a powerful one of a kind video effects app. It's modeled after classic analog synth hardware and is designed for live performances . It could be just the app you need to enhance a live VJ rig, create a music video, or just spend a moment manifesting yourself in the Luminiferous aether This is the app for masters of lightwave painting. Luminancer has been in the app store for 5 years and has been recognized for it’s early innovation and high performance. Skilled artists have utilized Luminancer in the flow arts of poi, fire, and hoop dancing. Luminancer can be found in use on the stage for headliner bands at major musical festivals and at the most underground rave parties. How it works: By overloading the luminance channel with strobing colors and video feedback, Luminancer defines itself as an instrument of abstract video. Luminancer starts with a luminance threshold filter and sends it’s signal down a video processing pipeline modeled after the early innovations and machines of the pioneers of video art. Luminancer is a truly independent app. It was conceived, developed, and designed by a single real person without any sort of external help or funding. The money raised from this app quite literally goes towards feeding my 2 children thank you and God bless.
sleepy vidOS
Create unique 3D visuals for performances, music videos, or personal enjoyment. This app is designed to be controlled by a MIDI controller, offering extensive customization of shapes, colors, and effects.
- 3D SDF Oscillators with shape sculpting
- Per-Shape 3D Domain Repetition
- Live Shape Orientation Control
- OKLab Colorizer/Selector
- Internal Modulations for every control
- Audio Follower for every parameter
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vidOS is sleepy's flagship video synthesis ecosystem. It is able to create novel 3D visuals that are great for preforming on stage, creating music videos or just for fun. It is a companion app to Mezzz our wireless haptic midi controller, check out sleepycircuits.com/mezzz for more info about this app and how to purchase our controller. See our Mezzz video guide for a detailed walkthrough of what this app is all about: https://youtu.be/dzWRLWQJRaw Please Note: This app does not (yet) have any touchscreen controls, it is made to be controlled by Mezzz or another MIDI controller (CC Maps can be found @ docs.sleepycircuits.com/mezzz) Features: - 2x 3D SDF Oscillators with parametrized shape sculpting & smooth intersection modes - Per-Shape 3D Domain Repetition Modes - Contextual Help Mode Shows Open Page's Controls - Live Shape Orientation Control w/ Mezzz Gyroscope - Internal Feedback Modes - OKLab Colorizer/Selector (Perceptually Uniform for smooth transitions!) - Internal Modulations for every control with selectable wave shape - Per-Shape Rotation, Offsets, Mirroring & Twisting - Every parameter has an Audio Follower (via mic or USB audio input) More free and premium features on the way!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: sleepy vidOS at Free against Luminancer's $2.99. sleepy vidOS also leads on rating (4.7 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (75% vs 64%). Luminancer's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 months) and chart position (#187 vs unranked). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
sleepy vidOS is free to download; Luminancer costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
sleepy vidOS holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 16 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Luminancer's written reviews are positive against 75% of sleepy vidOS's.
Luminancer ships an update every 6 days, sleepy vidOS every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Luminancer | sleepy vidOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.9 (16 ratings) | 4.7 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.9% of reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #187 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 26 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tron Quixote | Ronald Sardarian |
Customer experience
Luminancer
sleepy vidOS
Bugs and requests
Luminancer
Reported bugs
55 issues- Camera won't work
- Video import crops/squeezes image
- App zooms in on videos
- Switches back to square video size
- Paid features don't work
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- App is unusable
- Videos zoomed in and cannot zoom out
- App crashes and exits
- App glitches and deletes videos
- App freezes
- Video not loading/saving/rewatching
- App stuck on loading screen or crashes
- App doesn't like videos over a minute
- App ends up stuck on loading screen after recording
- App crashes altogether
- Videos are compressed and stretched
- Settings are confusing
- App crashes and exits the app
- App crashes and doesn't save videos
- App crashes after a minute or two
- Video comes out upside down
- Error saving to phone library
- App crashes when putting video from camera roll
- App saves videos upside down
- App is slow at exporting videos
- Update has broken the app
- App force closes
- App won't save edited versions
- App shows error message and won't save recordings
- App not loading videos taken
- App loads indefinitely, not allowing playback
- Videos save upside down
- App stops recording when phone auto-locks
- App crashes as soon as phone auto-locks
- App crashes 3 times on first use
- App says error and won't save to phone
- App crashes or tells error while processing
- App crashes regularly
- App doesn't let user set phone down and record
- Phone goes black and video doesn't save
- App gets stuck on loading screen until it crashes
- Cannot save anything longer than about 2 minutes
- Cannot save uploaded videos
- App crashes on auto lock
- App crashes when phone auto locks
- App freezes upon opening
- App doesn't work at all
- Camera shows dark screen
- App crashes on auto lock
- App crashes when phone auto locks
- App crashes and doesn't always save videos
- App crashes regularly
- App doesn't load images from library
- App doesn't record audio on video capture
- Swap button does not appear on iPhone 4
Requested features
17 requests- Add scales to Decay and Threshold controls
- Add more modules/effects
- Allow importing videos from library
- Add a dark mode option
- Add advanced analytics dashboard
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- Improve video import/cropping behavior
- Add ability to save presets
- Add input/output feature for external ins and outs
- Add a specific DATA-MOSH filter
- Add sound to light feature
- Make UI hideable
- Add landscape mode support
- Add exposure slider and locker
- Allow selection of main color for effects
- Add ability to record audio
- Add ability to upload pictures
- Add ability to use AirPlay
sleepy vidOS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Luminancer
No in-app purchases
sleepy vidOS
No in-app purchases
