Comparison

TouchViZ vs SmashCut Visual Synth

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

TouchViZ

Create and mix impressive video visuals on your iPad. Import multiple videos, use live camera feeds, and apply numerous effects. Output to external screens and control wirelessly via MIDI or OSC.

Highlights
  • Import up to 125 videos
  • Mix two video channels with independent speed and blend modes
  • External display output
  • Live camera input
  • Real-time video recording
  • 54 effect filters
  • MIDI and OSC control
Read full description

At home or in the club, professionally or just for fun - create impressive visuals right on your iPad. FEATURES - Import up to 125 videos into your set via File Sharing or from the iPad's library - Playback and mix two channels of video with independent playback speed control and 10 different blend modes - Display the output on an external screen or projector using iPad-compatible video adapters - Use the iPad's front and back-facing cameras as input to integrate live footage into your set - Record video of the app's output in real-time, and use immediately in your set or transfer to a PC later - Apply one of 54 effect filters to each channel and the master output - Control effect parameters using the multi-touch enabled preview area - Preview the output in full-screen on the iPad - Save and load your set to recall, backup or transfer sets between iPads using File Sharing - Configure the interface layout to your preference - 10 demo clips by hexler and pixeldelay included - CoreMIDI support allows full control of TouchViZ wirelessly using CoreMIDI Network sessions, iPad MIDI interfaces or by connecting a compatible USB or wireless MIDI-controller - Open Sound Control support allows full control of TouchViZ from any application that supports OSC such as Max/MSP, PureData, Max4Live, TouchOSC and others

About

SmashCut Visual Synth

Control video playback and transformations using MIDI messages, similar to how musicians control audio samplers. Set cue points, trigger playback, and manipulate video in real-time for presentations, live streaming, or creative video art.

Highlights
  • Load and cue video from camera roll
  • Control playback with MIDI notes
  • Transform video with MIDI CC messages
  • Built-in MIDI controller for second device
  • Wi-Fi based device connection
  • Universal app for iOS and Mac
Features
Read full description

Musicians have used audio samplers for decades, triggering drum sounds, pianos, and hundreds of other instruments using MIDI keyboards and sequencers. SmashCut brings the same sort of functionality to video content. Load in any video from your camera roll, easily set cue points in the video, and you're ready to play with video in a new way. The app responds to MIDI note messages to seek to cue points, and start or stop playback. With MIDI CC messages, you can scale, rotate, and transform the video in a live and interactive way. And if you don't have a MIDI keyboard, you can still use all of the features of the app -- there's a built-in MIDI controller that you can use on a second iOS device. What can you do with SmashCut? If you're making a presentation using video, you can trigger play and stop using the remote, and move to different cue points easily. If you stream video or podcast, you can use SmashCut to cue to a video clip with no hassle or headache. The iPad version of the app runs on a Silicon Mac, and works well with streaming software such as OBS. If you have a band, and are putting on a show, you can sequence video to keep in time with the music. SmashCut is a great way to put together a music video, or to just cut, splice, and glitch video for fun. Instead of trimming video clips in a conventional editor, you can play with video like you would a musical instrument. There's full support of MIDI, and also an easy Wi-Fi based connection system; if you have two devices on the same Wi-Fi network, they'll connect in seconds. You can use the iOS built in screen recorder to capture video and audio from the app. The app is universal, running on iPad, iPhone, and Silicon Macs. There's a watermark on-screen that can be removed with an in-app purchase.

Screenshots

SmashCut Visual Synth3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: SmashCut Visual Synth at Free against TouchViZ's $9.99. SmashCut Visual Synth also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). TouchViZ's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 40 months). On ads and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

SmashCut Visual Synth is free to download; TouchViZ costs $9.99 up front. SmashCut Visual Synth sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TouchViZ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SmashCut Visual Synth holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 44 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of TouchViZ's written reviews are positive against 100% of SmashCut Visual Synth's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TouchViZ ships an update every 3 months, SmashCut Visual Synth every 40 months. Both last shipped on September 18, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
TouchViZ versus SmashCut Visual Synth: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTouchViZSmashCut Visual Synth
Price$9.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (44 ratings)4.9 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings44 — better14
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 40 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHexler LLCSecret Base Design

Customer experience

TouchViZ

All ratings44 ratings
Positive65.9%
Neutral15.9%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral15.0%
Negative18.3%

SmashCut Visual Synth

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

TouchViZ

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • App freezes when accessing Camera Roll
  • Crashes when trying to upload photos from Camera Roll
  • Crashing issues
  • Cannot load videos (version 1.5.1 and iOS 15.2)
  • Support for loading video from camera roll is broken/outdated
Show 12 more
  • Unable to load own media (only stock content)
  • Freezes every time Camera Roll button is pressed
  • App freezes when trying to load new visuals from library or Camera Roll
  • MIDI implementation is opaque, cannot recognize MIDI CCs
  • App crashes constantly
  • MIDI messages cause freezing or shutting down
  • Crashing when using constantly
  • Crashes with full HD video on iPad 2
  • Cannot load from own videos, only Recently Added
  • Media access denied automatically
  • Crashing on iPad Pro when loading videos
  • No media available in library or camera tabs, only preloaded demo files

Requested features

34 requests
  • Modernize the app
  • Improve file handling
  • Expand FX options
  • Pass through audio from imported videos
  • Controller mapping with learn feature
Show 29 more
  • Scenes, tempo sync, MIDI clock integration
  • Add text overlay
  • Scene store and recall (presets)
  • Sync effect rates to MIDI tempo/clock
  • Wait to switch until next beat
  • Nested folders and search for media
  • Tagged searching
  • MIDI learn feature
  • Video scrolling and loop selection
  • Sequence clips by tap tempo or clip completion
  • Forward and reverse playback of clips
  • Ability to record from camera
  • Ability to record master mix
  • Higher output resolution (1080p+)
  • Control in and out points of clips
  • Scrub video position
  • More effects
  • One more video layer
  • Text or image layer
  • Use accelerometers for effect control
  • Ableton Link compatibility
  • Sync effects with music/BPM
  • Manual field entry for effects
  • Inverse strobe/Strobe color choices (black)
  • Cue button for clips
  • Tunnel FX
  • Layer mixing modes
  • Ping pong loop option
  • Chroma key layering

SmashCut Visual Synth

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

TouchViZ

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SmashCut Visual Synth

One-time1
  • Watermark RemovalFree

Questions

Is TouchViZ free?
TouchViZ costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmashCut Visual Synth free?
SmashCut Visual Synth is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TouchViZ or SmashCut Visual Synth?
SmashCut Visual Synth is rated higher. TouchViZ averages 3.9 out of 5 from 44 ratings, while SmashCut Visual Synth averages 4.9 from 14 ratings.
Do TouchViZ or SmashCut Visual Synth have ads?
Neither TouchViZ nor SmashCut Visual Synth shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TouchViZ or SmashCut Visual Synth?
TouchViZ ships an update every 3 months, and SmashCut Visual Synth every 40 months. Most recently, TouchViZ was updated on September 18, 2026 and SmashCut Visual Synth on September 18, 2026.

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