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Sharing real-time video between macOS applications with Syphon

Scope supports near-zero latency video sharing with other local applications on macOS via Syphon. This enables powerful workflows like sending Scope’s AI-generated output to TouchDesigner, Resolume, OBS, or MadMapper in real-time, all without leaving the GPU.
macOS only. Syphon is the macOS equivalent of Spout (Windows). If you are on Windows, see the Spout guide instead.

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What is Syphon?

Syphon is a real-time video sharing framework for macOS that allows applications to share GPU textures with minimal overhead. The texture never leaves the GPU, so there is no readback to CPU, no encoding, no decoding, and no re-upload. This results in:
  • Near-zero latency (sub-millisecond)
  • Full quality with no compression artifacts
  • Minimal CPU overhead since all processing stays on the GPU
Syphon is bundled with Scope, so there is nothing extra to install.

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Syphon Receiver

Configure Scope to receive video from other applications via Syphon. This is useful for using external video sources (like TouchDesigner or MadMapper) as input for your generations.
1

Set input mode to Video

Under Input and Controls, set Input Mode to Video.
2

Select Syphon as source

Set Video Source to Syphon.
3

Choose a Syphon source

Scope automatically discovers available Syphon servers on your Mac. Select the one you want from the dropdown. A live preview thumbnail shows the current frame from the selected source.
Syphon receiver settings showing the source dropdown with discovered servers
If your source does not appear, click the refresh button next to the dropdown. Syphon servers are discovered automatically, but it may take a moment for new sources to show up.
When selecting a Syphon source, Scope automatically probes the source’s native resolution and adjusts the pipeline dimensions to match. This avoids stretching or compression artifacts.

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Syphon Sender

Configure Scope to send its output to other applications via Syphon. This is useful for post-processing in TouchDesigner, recording in OBS, or using Scope’s output in other creative tools.
1

Open the Outputs panel

In the Scope interface, find the Outputs section.
2

Enable Syphon Output

Toggle Syphon Output to On.
3

Configure sender name (optional)

The default sender name is Scope. You can change this if you need to identify multiple Scope instances. The name you set here is what appears in other applications when they look for Syphon sources.
Syphon sender settings showing the enable toggle and sender name field

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Compatible applications

Scope can share real-time video with any application that supports Syphon. The following applications have been tested:

TouchDesigner

Use Syphon Spout In and Syphon Spout Out TOPs

MadMapper

Built-in Syphon input/output for projection mapping

VDMX

Built-in Syphon support for live VJ performance

Resolume Arena / Avenue

Built-in Syphon input/output

OBS Studio

With the mac-syphon plugin

Blender

With the TextureSharing add-on
Any application that supports Syphon should work with Scope. Check your application’s documentation for Syphon integration instructions.

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Troubleshooting

  • Click the refresh button to re-scan for sources
  • Make sure the sending application is running and has Syphon output enabled
  • Both applications must be running on the same Mac
  • Try restarting the sending application after launching Scope
  • Verify Syphon Output is enabled in the Outputs panel
  • Try restarting the receiving application after enabling Syphon in Scope
  • Check that the receiving application supports Syphon (not just Spout)
  • Syphon sharing is GPU-memory based and should have minimal overhead
  • If you see frame drops, check GPU memory usage with Activity Monitor
  • Close other GPU-intensive applications if memory is limited
  • On Apple Silicon Macs, GPU memory is shared with system memory, so keep total memory usage in check

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See also

Using Spout

The Windows equivalent of Syphon for sharing real-time video between applications

Using NDI

Send and receive real-time video over the network across machines