MadMapper vs HeavyM vs Resolume

HeavyM — Start Drawing

Easiest to start Fastest results Built-in 1,200+ effects

HeavyM is different from the other two at a fundamental level: you begin by connecting your projector and drawing shapes directly onto the real-world surface in front of you. There is no composition setup, no input/output routing, no reference photo needed. You draw. You drop an effect. It works.

This is genuinely remarkable when you first experience it. The snap tool makes drawing precise, the built-in effect library is enormous and beautiful, and sound reactivity is automatic. In my test on the same installation, I was producing visible results in HeavyM while I was still setting up my reference photo in Resolume.

Where HeavyM shines:

• Small to medium setups where you need results quickly
• Events where you are not preparing your own video content — the library handles it
• Creative professionals who are not technical nerds and do not want to become one
• Low CPU and GPU consumption compared to the other two
• Real-time GLSL shaders — the shader quality is genuinely stunning

Where HeavyM runs out of road:

• Complex geometry and multi-projector blending requires the Pro tier
• No timeline for fully scripted, cued shows
• You are working inside the library’s creative direction — custom looks take more effort
• Project reuse is not really the workflow. Each show is better built fresh

HeavyM discount: I am a HeavyM ambassador. Use code ZUNAYED15 at checkout for 15% off — heavym.net

Resolume Arena — Perform Your Visuals

Live performance DJ-style interface Massive community

I started my VJ career with Resolume Arena in 2013. It was the software that opened projection mapping to me. Resolume feels like an instrument. You load video clips into a grid, layer them, mix them in real time, and trigger effects while music plays. It is expressive and fast in a way the other two are not.

Projection mapping in Resolume lives inside the Advanced Output module — you define slices of your composition and warp them onto physical surfaces. The setup workflow for complex geometry is more time-consuming than MadMapper. In my test on the same installation, the precise multi-surface geometry work that took me minutes in MadMapper took significantly longer in Resolume — requiring a reference photo, careful slice creation, input mapping, and output adjustment one surface at a time.

But once that geometry is set? The performance experience is unmatched. Switching between eight scenes to the same music felt natural in Resolume in a way that felt more like programming in MadMapper.

Where Resolume excels:

• Live VJ performance where you are mixing and responding in real time
• Audio-reactive visuals with direct music sync
• Expandability — Wire patches, third-party plugins, an enormous marketplace
• Collaboration between VJs who know the same interface
• Fixed-geometry stage designs where you map once and then perform

What Resolume does not do as well:

• Complex geometry setup — more time-consuming than MadMapper for irregular surfaces
• No native LED display processor mapping, no laser control
• No scripted timeline-based shows natively
• The most expensive of the three at €799 for Arena
• Cannot use Avenue (the cheaper version) for real projection mapping — you need Arena

MadMapper 6 — The Precision Tool

Complex installations LED + DMX + Laser Space Scanner

MadMapper has been my go-to for complex, precision installations since 2014. When the geometry is complicated — irregular architecture, objects with many faces, multi-projector setups that need to be perfectly calibrated — nobody does it better than MadMapper.

The standout feature, still, is Space Scanner. In my test: I connected a camera, pointed it at the installation, hit Space Scanner, and watched the projector throw lines and shapes while the camera captured and calculated. In under two minutes I had a perfect projector-perspective background to work from. In Resolume, the equivalent workflow — photo, cleanup, reference import, slice creation, input masking — took much longer for the same result.

Making a show in MadMapper in my test felt more like a coding or programmer interface than a performance interface. Scene building is deliberate and organized: you select a surface group, assign materials, tweak parameters, build scenes. It rewards structured thinking. The timeline workflow — especially at Level 2 — gives you genuine theatrical cue control over a show.

What makes MadMapper 6 the professional standard:

• Space Scanner — automatic projector-perspective calibration using any camera. A true game changer for complex installations
• Surfaces and groups — organize complex multi-face geometry cleanly and reuse it across scenes
• Full timeline and cue system — scripted shows with scene transitions, timing control, and keyboard triggers
• LED display processor mapping — native, not an add-on
• DMX integration — control lighting fixtures directly from your mapping session
• Laser control via MadLaser — the only one of the three that does this natively
• MiniMad — export your show to a small hardware device for permanent unattended installations
• Resolume integration — receive Syphon/Spout input from Resolume, giving you both in one rig

Where MadMapper has limits:

• Not a live mixer — there is no A/B crossfader for real-time performance the way Resolume has
• The user community is smaller and less visible than Resolume’s
• Project interface is locked — less flexible layout customization than Resolume
• A structured learning path matters more here — fragmented tutorials leave big gaps