Hello everyone, The new Apple M1-based MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini became available in November 2020, and some of you have written to us asking if WYSIWYG/Vivien will run on these systems. The short answer at this time is no, they do not – but they were also never intended to. The solution to run WYSIWYG/Vivien on a Mac was always dependent on an Intel processor and as such, the software cannot be supported on M1 Macs (again, at this time). The longer answer involves explaining (exploring) some of the many unknowns we are currently facing regarding this new technology. Should you be interested in these details, please read on… First and foremost, the company that manufactures our dongles does not offer a driver for Windows running on non-Intel processors. As such, it is currently impossible for WYSIWYG to start in such an environment, as it is unable to access the dongle. The dongle manufacturer does not have a solution at this time, but they are researching how to support M1 chipsets; they are currently unable to commit to a solution or a timeline for it, but our ticket with them remains open, and we will be notified of any updates as soon as they become available. Speaking of the Windows environment, with BootCamp not available on M1 Macs, the only option will be to run WYSIWYG within the Parallels virtualizer. CAST Software officially supports this environment on Intel-based Macs, but we only recommend it for working in CAD, DATA and PRES modes: due to lack of proper support of OpenGL within Parallels, the Shaded View is only able to display Enhanced Beams, which use our legacy beam technology and are much less accurate than Volumetric Beams. As such, while some DESIGN mode work may be acceptable, this is not something we endorse (or ever have). The same applies to LIVE mode – even more, in fact, since networking is required in order to connect to consoles, and such connections are inconsistent at best. Along the same lines, with Apple having deprecated support for OpenGL starting in 2018, it is not known at this time whether OpenGL is available on the M1 processor (and if so, what version); there are speculations aplenty, but our current understanding is that only Metal is supported. This is important because WYSIWYG’s Shaded View is coded in OpenGL, and therefore, if the GPU integrated into the M1 chip does not support this platform, it will not be possible to access the Shaded View. Last but not least, and back to Parallels, even if OpenGL is supported by the hardware, it remains to be seen how well it will be supported by Parallels. You may remember the recent issue related to this, so we can only hope that if OpenGL ends up being supported, Parallel’s implementation will be at least as robust as the current one (current limitations aside). All this considered, it is impossible for us to know, at this time, if WYSIWYG will run on M1-based Macs, how (well) it will do so, or when this might become possible. With that in mind though, we commit to the following: 1. We will continue to monitor for any and all information related to the above. 2. We will acquire an M1-based Mac for testing once it makes sense for us to do so (i.e. if/when a compatible dongle driver becomes available, if/when official information about OpenGL support is released by Apple, etc.). 3. We will provide updates here, as they become available. Should you wish to keep up-to-date on this matter, please subscribe to this thread, so you can be notified of updates as they are posted. Thank you, Dany
Is there maybe any update on this topic? I would love to use my M1 MacBook and WYSIWYG soon. Regards,
I think it is important to keep your eyes open on these developments. As Apple took such a leap forward in terms of performance, I think we will see other pc manufacturers jump to ARM as well. So it could very well be that in the not so distant future Cast needs to rewrite its software yet again for windows 11 ARM, if the more powerful systems will be running on this platform almost inevitably. If that happens, Parallels for M1 macs could run wysiwyg much easier. Also a proper port to Mac OS could then be possible with (a little bit) less work, which still makes a lot of sense given the amount of people in our industry using Mac over Pc’s.
Hi there, M1 support is still currently being investigated however, as soon as we develop a viable solution for the M1 Silicon based Macs to work with WYSIWYG/Vivien, we will post an update for you. Regards
Hi there, We are still looking into M1 support but as soon as we develop a viable solution for the M1 Silicon based Macs to work with WYSIWYG/Vivien, we will post an update for you. Regards
Hi There, please do something, nearly every software works with mbp m1 and Win Arm (under //17) except your software ! The m1 architecture has been released last year, i don't understand why it has not been updated yet ,if the software was free I could have understood but it's not the case, actually it's one of the most expensive that i got. Thanks for reading Philippe
Just have to say ANY forum of piracy is not welcomed here. From your posted photo, you seem to like that route for many things. I myself would not be trusting windows 11 for anything in my job world. Covid has put some road blocks on the progression of the software line, as with many software developers and production companies in the world. But stuff is still happening. as to saying 'nearly every software' is just that 'Nearly' which I take to mean not every one and not cast or several other lighting programs that I know of. I read about issues with the M1 and Arm formats in almost every forum group I read. To me it's like upgrading your system before reading the min specs of a new release. it can change at any time and does from time to time, so if the program or any program is of that great importance, then why did you upgrade before confirming if the software works with the new chips. That's on you not the software companies. Then to post a reference to a pirated copy of 2 software programs. If I could I'd just block you and forget you even asked a question. Instead I'll leave this message and just hope you go away. Knowing the development team well. I am pretty sure they are working on a solution to the issue. but as any of the Cast Soft software titles is not Mac based. I'm also sure it's not a drop everything and fix issue. Should the software be Mac incorporated. as I know that be something you say. sure. but developers discretion. they have a work around and they seem fine with it. If you really need M1 / Arm usage, then I suggest you use a legit version and write an email to tech support with the dongle number and registrar info and ask. you can provide any info that may help them move in the right direction if you know of any tricks to making it work. Then patiently wait. you may be lucky enough to be provided a test file to try for them to make sure its working. they are friendly that way with users. Now I hope management has a way to get rid of your pirated reference message and continue with their great work.
Hello, my intention is not to promote crack but rather to pinpoint the failures, the m1 processor was released a year ago, the software seems to work but nothing has been done to make the dongle work , how long should we wait, your competitor are already up to date and it didn't take years to do it (we remember the 64-bit version), as a GOOD CUSTOMER (I own a dongle since 2004 , so count what i already pay ! ) I think that I have the right to express my dissatisfaction and don't tell me that i have to buy an oldies laptop because of your software, I hope that we will quickly see a solution ! Happy end of year to all Philippe
Any mention of Crack software has no place here period. what you do out side of here.. no one cares. Pirate talk just gets you ban period. Cast-soft is working on the next release due sometime in the next month if typical pattern follows. So you may not have to wait much longer. I have no idea. Have you talked to them directly? They love to talk to their users. I'm sure they would explain the issues they may be having and or let you know it's on it's way. Cast-soft releases two updates a year. They kept that schedule even with the harder lock downs they faced and smaller in office staff over this Covid period thanks to Ontario rules. If I follow the news they may be headed into another slight lock down. Fingers cross I'm wrong, but who's really following it anymore. so I hear ya. you wish they were 100% full speed and everything be done tomorrow. I been a user just as long as you or longer. I can tell you some funny chats over the 64 thing. I could also spend a day and write all the things they have added from conversations I had with them. And I have a lot of conversations with them.. not all cheery. But if the needs there they will almost to the point of stopping in the middle of a launch week and work on the issue. Their users come first. not something most companies do. One thing Cast-Soft has always done. Is do it right once, Followed by listening to their users to offer new stuff they suggests. I can tell you from experience you don't get binder feed response's to inquiries or issues. If you prefer that go engage with Vectorworks or AutoCAD, Denence. You did the one thing no one tolerates. Posting shots of crack software. more so with an unsupported operating system. (I noticed they took the shot down. so they are aware of your gripe) When you talk to the guys at Cast, They I'm sure, have stories of me and new software or other beta software and jumping on them when they didn't even know about new stuff coming out lol. or the usual changing something in your system and shitting when everything goes to shit. They still listen and usually find a calm way to say 'give me a day and I'll get back' more often it's 'did you try this. never thought of doing it your way, I'll look into that when I get a sec next week', I can get just as annoyed as you are, but they listen and now a days will even let me in on some new stuff. You had to wait a year. I'm sorry. It's not like were pushing out 20 drawings a week right now though we are returning to a normal routine ... slowly. and as far as I recall Wysiwyg not on the Mac Platform officially and I do think it should be. That could be a surprise on one of the updates in the future. I would not know.. I don't use a Mac other than to do quick testing of things. Their pretty or use to be. but missing mouse buttons I like to have everything usually works when you hook it up the first time . The dongle is also their main security device. If anything like the cloud authentication They are very keen on making sure their products are secure. new platform means more time. not saying the time line is fair but I rather have the subscription or buy in at the same price and not have to pay more because they rushed a dongle patch out and loopholes were discovered. I rather pay more for the Mac port done right if they ever release one. Talk to them.. ask them. send a picture with you on you knees... or give it a month there bouts and see if they done it. But unless you talk to them and not gripe on a forum they check once a week or every few days you won't be heard. (getting 30 of your closest Mac wysiwyg friends to request an update helps get the request noticed a little too.) I never noticed this post. If not for the fact I love to jump on anything relating to crack software. I would have never had a though on it. I said my piece. I don't want to flame your request.. just next time leave the 'look ma... I can use a cracked version see' stuff alone. keeps the fanboys in front of the Wyg screen
Hi Jason, thanks for your comments, you know i'm working with mac since they release the 1st intel generation (2006/2007), all my workflow is under this os and the only software remaining is wyg , i don't want to come back to windows computer just for one software, also my primary station is not my laptop, i just need when i'm on the road to be able to open / modify a plot, that's all i'm asking for ! Have a nice day Philippe
Hi DaveJ, i spoke with them few days ago, the problem does not come from the software (try to install the demo version and you will see that it works fine), but from the dongle that haven't been updated and i guess it won't, i'm actually thinking to sell my mac m1 to buy a pc because of this issue, imagine that i'm a happy customer !
Hadn't realised the issue was just with the dongles. This is a real shame! Just installed demos of parallels, windows 11 and WYG on my new M1 Max MBP 16" and it runs like a dream. I've never had shaded view performance so good! Really hope you can can come up with an alternative to dongles soon and get this working. Dongles are very 90's...
Hello everyone, As mentioned in a previous post, we had planned to investigate viable solutions for using WYSIWYG on this platform. We did as promised and we now have more information to share on this subject. If you are familiar with the current challenges of running WYSIWYG on ARM64-based Macs the attached .PDF document contains the results of our testing; however, we would recommend reading this entire post (especially if you are not) as it expands on some points mentioned in previous forum posts, in addition to outlining our plans going forward. The Operating Environment Before we talk about what our tests revealed, we wanted to reiterate that when WYSIWYG, which is a 64-bit (x64) application, is running on a 64-bit Intel-based Mac under Parallels, this is a virtualized environment, meaning that the x64 version of Windows 10/11 64-bit is running “on top of” MacOS. (As a result, as you know, Windows does not have access to the machine’s full resources, only what’s allocated to Windows via Parallels – and this can never be all of the system’s resources.) Moreover, OpenGL support in Parallels is limited, and therefore the Shaded View cannot be run at its full potential. (For this reason, we were only ever able to recommend or endorse the use of WYSIWYG running under Parallels for drawing and paperwork.) None of this was ever an issue when running under BootCamp, which allows an Intel-based Mac to boot directly into Windows, effectively “turning the Mac into a PC”, and where Windows had full access to all of the machine’s resources. The hope with M1 Macs was that as a result of the new and improved ARM64 hardware they are based on, WYSIWYG would run much better (under Parallels, since these Macs do not support BootCamp). Unfortunately, this is not the case, due to this very hardware: on an ARM64-based Mac, Parallels is still required, but now the ARM64 version of Windows 11 needs to be virtualized – not the x64 version under which WYSIWYG runs natively. Since this operating system is not x64, WYSIWYG cannot run on it natively, and must therefore be emulated. As a result, there is a chance that some operations may not be able to process due to lack of support by the emulator; we are hesitant to develop solutions to any issues we have identified (and will likely continue to identify) because they can become invalid as a result of future changes in Windows 11 ARM64’s x64 emulator. A couple of side notes before we proceed: (1) At the time of this writing, Windows 11 ARM64 Edition is only available as a Preview, and is therefore not available for sale. (2) CAST Software’s policy here is to not support an operating system until it is officially available for sale. At the time of this writing, WYSIWYG is only supported on Windows 10 and 11. (3) We also investigated using alternatives such as Crossover and VMWare Fusion, but quickly determined that Parallels remains the only virtualizer that’s worth our attention. We will continue to monitor possible alternatives, but there aren’t that many others out there. Dongle Support on ARM64 The first hurdle in getting WYSIWYG to run in this environment is the dongle. Our dongles are manufactured by a 3rd party company, and, like any other hardware connected to a computer, requires a driver; since a driver cannot be emulated, the existing x64 drivers cannot be used in Windows 11 ARM64 Edition, and therefore an ARM64-native driver is required. We have been in discussion with the dongle manufacturer about this, but at this point, it is extremely unlikely that they will provide such a driver, as they have categorized this dongle model a Legacy Product. An ARM64-native driver may be available soon with an alternative dongle security system, which is something that we plan to explore in the future. Testing WYSIWYG on an ARM64-based Mac Our tests were performed using a modified version of WYSIWYG which does not require the use of a dongle. This was not an exhaustive test, but we covered enough to share our results with you. For details, please consult the .PDF document attached here. We will provide more such information as we continue to test and examine the intricacies and relationships between ARM64 CPUs, Parallels, Windows 11 ARM64 Edition, and WYSIWYG. Conclusion All in all, seeing WYSIWYG actually run emulated under a preview version of an unreleased operating system was a pleasant surprise and a good indication that there is hope for this yet! However, our testing so far has made it clear that the road to a version of WYSIWYG that’s fully supported on this platform is going to be long and likely full of obstacles (such as the ones presented in the attached .PDF, and others). As a result, at this time, we cannot even begin to guess when such a version might be ready; our best guess is not until next year. Going Forward Later this year, we may be able to release, to those interested in helping us test, a Beta version of WYSIWYG which can run in this environment. (No details about this Beta and no potential release date are available at this time, but we hope to be able to provide more information in the fall; at that time, we will also let you know how you can sign up to test, should you wish to do so.) As individual system configurations will vary along with software installed, such beta testing will provide extremely valuable feedback, which we can use to help us build a version of WYSIWYG that will run emulated on Windows 11 ARM64 Edition under Parallels on an ARM64-based Mac. Please keep in mind however, that even such a version of WYSIWYG will likely continue to be dependent on updates to the operating system, the emulator, and other software. For example, to point to two of the issues mentioned in the attached .PDF, it must become possible to configure the Windows Firewall under Windows 11 ARM else WYSIWYG will not be able to connect to consoles, DMX-over-Ethernet protocols, NDI streams, laser protocols, etc.; similarly, native CODECs for this version of Windows must be created by their respective manufacturers, else it will be impossible to play videos within WYSIWYG. Regards,
Thank you very much for your extensive testing and your report on your tests. I have good hopes that Bootcamp might return on Apple silicon Macs, once the ARM version of Windows is officially out. Until then using two emulation layers on top of each other is not ideal. I can imagine that one day you might consider porting Wysiwyg to MacOS natively. This way you would match with Capture and Vectorworks.
Are user reports of any interest? I've just tested a few things: M1 Max WYG 1.48.28.15 Parallels 17.1.2 (51548) Parallels network adaptor set to bridged mode - VM has unique 192 range IP on my network Testing NDI from Resolume Arena (Running on Mac side of things) Works as expected Demo file that I whipped up had an 8m x 3m LED screen, 2048 x 512 pixels with matching NDI resolution streaming over from Arena NDI from external device Tried NDI HX Camera from iPhone Works as expected Tried this using a "Screen" object initially and also as a source for a projector in a model Testing Artnet input (live mode) from MaqicQ MagicQ Wysiwyg Driver would not install successfully on ARM windows. Pure Artnet worked fine, with IP set in both software I could patch and control one of the demo files
Hi @DrewAVM, thank you for this report, very much appreciated. This is a bit of a strange one for us: how did you get your dongle to work on Parallels? Thanks a lot, Dany
