General VIDIYO Discussion

MinifigInSpace

I guess some good news is that the minifigure parts will probably be available on LEGO's Bricks & Pieces some time in the future. They parts are all on there, just not "available" yet. Even if the figures cost $5.00 USD to gather, it would be waaaaay better than buying a $20.00 USD set (unless of course they go on clearance).

catwrangler

I'm really curious about what people's kids are making of the actual play/app experience. In the end it's going to stand or fall on whether it's inviting, smooth and more-ish to make and upload content...

Speedman29

catwrangler said:

I'm really curious about what people's kids are making of the actual play/app experience. In the end it's going to stand or fall on whether it's inviting, smooth and more-ish to make and upload content...

Mine isn't impressed. I'm running a Galaxy S10E, had it under two years and a fairly common phone. The app takes an age to load, with long pauses at every step of the way. When we finally had it running we recorded a video, its ok but she got bored of it quickly. 
Doubt we'll be buying anymore tbh, maybe I'll get some of the more unusual minifigs.

monkey_roo

Two of my kids are hooked on it, they've drained my phone battery each day since we got the beatboxes.
The AR elements are still pretty basic (not a lot of progress from the mechanisms used in Hidden Sides), which given what is possible with gestural interaction within an app-based AR framework today is a bit disappointing, but by keeping it simple it is easy to use (my 4yr old can use it) and that is important.
There is a good selection of up-beat fun songs, the tiles and figures are colourful and fun (and very high quality) and customising elements within the app keeps them entertained for hours, so i think for kids that can use the app and enjoy making fun video's then its a winner (I love the rainbow flying cat effect :) ).

karrit

When I was in Target yesterday they had a handful of the Vidiyo blind boxes on the shelf.  Noticed above the barcode on the back there is a printed number.  Some ended with 45 & the rest ended with 49.  Has anyone determined why they have different numbers?  I didn't buy any.

The_Rancor

Hot off the press - with some hard graft teamwork from Rebrickable, various dedicated fans and New Elementary there’s now a table showing all the 2x2 tile BeatBits for those interested!

You can see the full list here: https://www.newelementary.com/2021/03/lego-vidiyo-beatbits-list-printed-tiles.html?m=1 - it turns out there are 104 individual BeatBits available in just this first wave, not the 90 as previously speculated. That leaves us with only 26 left of the 130 advertised total, available through a Summer/Autumn wave. It seems feasible these would be made available through maybe another 12 Bandmates plus 14 more spread through larger sets or BeatBoxes. Then more of the existing ‘random pool’ would fill out the rest.

I need to fully take stock of exactly which Beatbits I have, but after buying enough for one of all 12 Bandmates and all 6 BeatBoxes - I have 92 unique Beatbits, only 12 missing!

I have to say I’ve actually quite enjoyed the mosaics on the backs of the BeatBoxes which don’t get talked about much. The instructions give you secondary and tertiary mosaic builds which are sometimes better than the primary one. As two examples, there’s a great roller skate mosaic for the Llama (better than the weird tree) and a rocket for the Alien DJ (better than the blank head). 

msanders

I ordered the Beatboxes since they were heavily reduced on Amazon already. I wanted the parts as well to experiment in MOCs and the Beatbits will be great in a music store MOC in the future. 

I really want to get the Banmates but trying to figure out the best way to purchase to avoid overpaying too much. 

My first VIDIYO sets arrive tomorrow so looking forward to discovering these. 

LostInTranslation

I couldn't resist the mermaid and unicorn beatbox sets (I know, so atypical of me) and also got a couple of the random minifig boxes - I got the genie gal and ghost lady so pretty happy. Of course I still want the candyfloss cheerleader too so guess I'm heading to Bricklink later :-) 

Phoenixio

So are there unusual restrictions on the distribution of these?  Most of my local stores (Toys R Us, Chapters-Indigo, London Drugs, to name a few) are saying these will not be available in store and must be ordered online only.  I'm still looking to buy a full box of the bandmates because the current reseller/scalpers are really making a huge profit out of them (and knowing there's exactly 2 sets per box with predefined positions makes that really frustrating, compared to regular CMF which have more randomness to them).  Any idea how to get one in Canada?

Phoenixio

Actually stumbled upon a full box at Toys R Us.  Risked it, and my first column was indeed the full series, I feel so relieved.  The lady at the store did tell me they were struggling to get products on the shelves: seems like Lego's online drought is not the only place, they can't produce enough to meet demand everywhere.

The minifigs look fantastic and colorful, I can't wait to flesh out the less represented musical styles with wave 2!  I know the price is pushing people away, but damn, such an original line.  I can't believe they barely ever touched music as a line before.

Lyichir

Phoenixio said:

Actually stumbled upon a full box at Toys R Us.  Risked it, and my first column was indeed the full series, I feel so relieved.  The lady at the store did tell me they were struggling to get products on the shelves: seems like Lego's online drought is not the only place, they can't produce enough to meet demand everywhere.

The minifigs look fantastic and colorful, I can't wait to flesh out the less represented musical styles with wave 2!  I know the price is pushing people away, but damn, such an original line.  I can't believe they barely ever touched music as a line before.

The closest thing I can think of to a Lego thing focused on music like this is Lego Rock Band. I definitely prefer this, though—the wholly original characters in this feel so much more developed than the somewhat mediocre renditions of a couple of famous musical acts in that game. And of course, anything where we actually get physical sets is always better!

So far I've only gotten the Hiphop Robot Beatbox, just to feel out the theme. Haven't really tried out the app yet but I love the fig, the printed tiles, and even some of the more specialized parts in the carry case. I'm thinking of picking up the Candy Mermaid Beatbox to use the white side panels from the one I have with the white "backdrop" in that set, as a simple and handy way to get photos of figs I get. I'm also thinking about the potential for the rounded case elements to be used with the Lego Super Mario theme, such as using the piece with extra storage for BeatBits for a simple way to store some of the extra stickered barcode tiles from figures like Toad and Yoshi (who don't use them on the figures themselves). The printed tiles remind me a little of the Hasbro game Dropmix, with the bold and varied original designs reminding me a little of the art on the cards in that game.

It's probably extremely unlikely, but I also kind of wish we could get figs based on other themes in this as well. In particular after watching the Monkie Kid episode where one of MK's clones becomes a "Porty (sic) DJ", I can't help but think how well that fig's vibe would go with a theme like this.

Shib

I bit the bullet and bought the Candy Mermaid on a discount to try out the app.....


yeah, I’m really not sold on this one...



While the basic use of the app is fairly simple to use it’s also incredibly limited. First off I found the beat bit scanning was quite temperamental if not in really good light. Then had issues with the figs going weird sizes because I was scanning away from where I wanted to record ( to get better light) then moving back to where I wanted the film - there are 3 sizing options but the difference between each meant the figs were either tiny or huge!

i found it very annoying that you can’t (or I couldn’t see an easy way to) just scan in your beat bits to build a library of them and load up the buttons as you want them, it always had to be scanned fresh every time. Also I just wanted an easy way to test what each beat bit does-there’s a library with descriptions of what each does but it’s not obvious how that will translate into the video.

it also really needs a bit of editing ability, otherwise the actual videos are really bland and hard to achieve anything beyond the basic. It would be nice if you could edit the beat bits after the fact too to get the timing better on them.

The song library is pretty disappointing- seems to be about 30 song which I’m hoping rotate round because all the pre release press stuff made it sound like there was going to be tons of music to choose from but I found it was a case of picking a song I object to least rather than something I really like.

it’s a shame, I really like the concept of this and think it could be something really interesting but I think between the high price for little physical LEGO and a rather underwhelming app I’m just not impressed at the execution.

CCC

My daughter (9) was playing about with it the other day. It looked a bit annoying to me, but it kept her busy for over an hour until I made up an excuse to turn it off. So I think kids may like it. My son enjoyed endlessly scanning Nexo Knights tile pictures, which I never really saw the point of either.

560Heliport

CCC said:

My daughter (9) was playing about with it the other day. It looked a bit annoying to me, but it kept her busy for over an hour until I made up an excuse to turn it off. So I think kids may like it. My son enjoyed endlessly scanning Nexo Knights tile pictures, which I never really saw the point of either.

Wait... Are you saying Vidiyo might not be meant for adults?! What do we do now? ;)

Yellowcastle

I have a feeling this series is not going to help my kids with their spelling aspirations...like what Stephen King did to me and cemeteries...

Speedman29

Our VIP pack arrived this morning.

Lanyards, stickers, shoelace charms and a code for extra access

The_Rancor

^Nice! I guess I might have to wait until Monday for mine. My post often seems to be a day or more behind other parts of the UK

Speedman29

It came in a jiffy bag with a full customs sticker on the front and a value of around 14€ for the various bits and pieces. My daughter was briefly interested in it before going back to something on Roblox. Perhaps will have another go with the app and see.

CCC

560Heliport said:

CCC said:

My daughter (9) was playing about with it the other day. It looked a bit annoying to me, but it kept her busy for over an hour until I made up an excuse to turn it off. So I think kids may like it. My son enjoyed endlessly scanning Nexo Knights tile pictures, which I never really saw the point of either.

Wait... Are you saying Vidiyo might not be meant for adults?! What do we do now? ;)

Wear shoelace charms.

CCC

Speedman29 said:

It came in a jiffy bag with a full customs sticker on the front and a value of around 14€ for the various bits and pieces. My daughter was briefly interested in it before going back to something on Roblox. Perhaps will have another go with the app and see.

I guess this was the delay, when they realised customs needed to be taken into account for this freebie.

jedivalkyrie

Anyone know of a site/list of which Beatbit is unique to each Bandmate?

Edit: NM found one : https://www.cheepjokes.com/post/a-complete-guide-to-lego-vidiyo-beatbits-their-rarity-and-how-to-find-them

DeMontes

The_Rancor said:

Djblythe05 said:

• 2 backstage pass lanyards
• ...
• Welcome letter

I actually had to do a double take - I wonder what’s written inside the welcome letter? “Good luck trying to catch ‘em all”? Maybe it’ll have some nice artwork on it to frame it ;)

Hopefully I can add a VIP lanyard to my ever growing Lego-related lanyard collection - and insert the Black VIP card for the full VIP treatment.

You collect lego lanyards? I think I have a couple lying around somewhere if you want them 😂 

Brainslugged

Not sure if this will be use to anyone, but I just weighed each of the 12 Vidiyo blind boxes. It could help people identify them within the boxes. Even if my scales are calibrated slightly differently to other people's, knowing the rank from heaviest to lightest may help.

As odd as it may look taking a micro scale into a store and weighing boxes, I kinda like the challenge to try and find a specific bandmate through weight alone. Unfortunately, the one I'd like to try to identify would be an additional Banshee, but she's the closest in weight to the ones either side to her - 0.06g heavier than Bunny and just 0.02g less than Werewolf. I weighed each box twice to double-check the weights, but I just don't know how consistent the scales will be after they have been carried around to a different location.

The_Rancor

I thought the shark body was quite weighty in comparison to some of the other new moulds and I guess instinct was correct on this occasion!

MinifigInSpace

This is really helpful... If I can find a compact scale I, may give it a shot. I already get enough weird looks feeling CM bags in stores for 15 minutes at a time, so this wouldn't be too much different.

Brainslugged

MinifigInSpace said:

This is really helpful... If I can find a compact scale I, may give it a shot. I already get enough weird looks feeling CM bags in stores for 15 minutes at a time, so this wouldn't be too much different.

You can get amazing pocket-sized scales off Amazon that are designed to count pills for around $10. They are also hugely useful for counting Lego parts. So you put 25 (identical) parts in a tub, confirm in the scales that there are 25 in there, then just fill the tub and it will tell you how many are in the tub. A lot quicker than potentially counting thousands of Lego bricks.

MinifigInSpace

Brainslugged said:

You can get amazing pocket-sized scales off Amazon that are designed to count pills for around $10. They are also hugely useful for counting Lego parts. So you put 25 (identical) parts in a tub, confirm in the scales that there are 25 in there, then just fill the tub and it will tell you how many are in the tub. A lot quicker than potentially counting thousands of Lego bricks.

Woah... I didn't think about using a scale to count LEGO parts. I'm off to Amazon now!

The_Rancor

It’s here - and soon my shoes will have never looked better!*



* Unless I win LLAMA’s roller skates of course

CCC

The_Rancor said:

It’s here - and soon my shoes will have never looked better!*

* Unless I win LLAMA’s roller skates of course

Or you got two packs.

Bubba

I'd never wish anything but for success for TLG but this VIDIYOP thing just feels like its going o be one of those failed projects.  I understand why they are trying to find a way to tie their product into the whole digital thing but this does not feel like the right way to go. It feels to gimmicky. 

CCC

Bubba said:

I'd never wish anything but for success for TLG but this VIDIYOP thing just feels like its going o be one of those failed projects.  I understand why they are trying to find a way to tie their product into the whole digital thing but this does not feel like the right way to go. It feels to gimmicky. 

Are you a 7-12 year old girl or boy? If not, then you are probably not the target market.

Bubba

CCC said:

Bubba said:

I'd never wish anything but for success for TLG but this VIDIYOP thing just feels like its going o be one of those failed projects.  I understand why they are trying to find a way to tie their product into the whole digital thing but this does not feel like the right way to go. It feels to gimmicky. 

Are you a 7-12 year old girl or boy? If not, then you are probably not the target market.

NO but I have 2 kids both in that age range so I do have a tiny bit of experience. 

The_Rancor

I think TLG are always in a challenging position when it comes to digital-integrated themes. There is a dedicated team at TLG solely to push digital innovation with their products, which would have produced probably everything from Life of George through to Dimensions, Boost, Hidden Side, Super Mario and now VIDIYO.

The fact that there is a team solely focused on digital suggests the concept of integrating digital with Lego toys is not going to go away. I suspect the company’s mantra is something to the effect of “If children are already on their phones all the time, let’s produce products that enter that space” in most cases. This is in contrast to the fairly common counterpoint from parents of “...But I want Lego to get my children away from their digital devices”.

I think Super Mario has been particularly successful due to 1.) The license (obviously) and 2.) Although it’s digitally innovative, it doesn’t require usage of mobile devices to make it work - just the Lego components and maybe some batteries.

It’s no secret I admire the design and character work that has gone into the VIDIYO theme and I know my much younger cousins would enjoy the characters & tiles on their own. However the challenge on the digital side may be too great - there are clearly issues with some of the early moderation, but they’re fixable in time. More to the point, it is somewhat of a stretch for parents to pull their children away from the extremely powerful Tik Tok in that demographic to use a more limited app only focused on Lego. There will be some parents that appreciate the more moderated environment connected to a ‘trusted brand’ like Lego - but not as many as the theme would require to endure.

Fizyx

The_Rancor said:

It’s no secret I admire the design and character work that has gone into the VIDIYO theme and I know my much younger cousins would enjoy the characters & tiles on their own. However the challenge on the digital side may be too great - there are clearly issues with some of the early moderation, but they’re fixable in time. More to the point, it is somewhat of a stretch for parents to pull their children away from the extremely powerful Tik Tok in that demographic to use a more limited app only focused on Lego. There will be some parents that appreciate the more moderated environment connected to a ‘trusted brand’ like Lego - but not as many as the theme would require to endure.

I think this is a really good call out.  If LEGO wants to produce digitally tied in product lines that really last, I think they have two real options.  The first, as you called out with the Super Mario theme, is really minimally digitally connected.  It's electronic, and technically digital, but it's really not trying to be on the internet or on the phone/computer during play.  I think with the right thing, this can definitely be wildly successful. (I think Super Mario or related electronic game themes have a decent chance of being long term successes in this regard.)

The other option is to build something that is highly digitally connected, includes play on the phone/computer, and (anymore) is on the internet.  Hidden Side and VIDIYO fall under this category, and I think LEGO really wants to have successful product lines that fall in this category.  The biggest issue that LEGO is going to run into here, and the reason that you called out and I think VIDIYO will likely not be a long-term success, is that LEGO likely wants to avoid the wild wild west that is the open internet, and keep their products in at least a semi-walled garden that they can exert control over.  What this means is that it's very hard to for LEGO to work with existing internet 'brands'.  They have to develop their own site/creative ecosystem.  And the internet isn't the wide open space that it used to be.  Creator spaces and social media are a packed market now, and creating a new one that can succeed and thrive on its own is HARD, and that's WITHOUT the need to tie in a product like LEGO.  If LEGO really wants to have success in these spaces, they are almost certainly going to have to do it by working with an already established internet creator brand like Tik Tok or Twitter or whatever, but I don't know if they are willing to give up the control over the established creator space that would entail. (And personally, I think they are probably right to be wary of that.) 

PS:  I think that Dimensions falls under the latter option, and actually serves to prove the point to a certain extent.  Dimensions wasn't wildly successful, but it still was one of the more successful 'digital' themes to date.  LEGO had to work with established brands and in their framework for the theme, even though the nature of the medium it was on meant they were, in this case, better able to control the space.  That aside, Dimensions is kind of special in this discussion BECAUSE the medium is unique, so I don't think it likes up perfectly with the divide I think we see between the Super Mario and VIDIYO themes.

Shib

The_Rancor said:

However the challenge on the digital side may be too great - there are clearly issues with some of the early moderation, but they’re fixable in time. More to the point, it is somewhat of a stretch for parents to pull their children away from the extremely powerful Tik Tok in that demographic to use a more limited app only focused on Lego. There will be some parents that appreciate the more moderated environment connected to a ‘trusted brand’ like Lego - but not as many as the theme would require to endure.

I think it really is the limits of the app that’s going to stop Vidiyo becoming a real “tiktok but safe for kids” that they’re going to. So many really basic things are missing from the app - the ability to edit videos, the ability to import and export assets - I assume LEGO are afraid of kids exporting the videos then uploading to unmoderated videos to “unsafe” social media sites while carrying the Vidiyo branding over but a big reason why TikTok spread as quickly as it did with a it allows the videos posted elsewhere with the tiktok marks carried over.

It doesn’t help that LEGO are trying to market this as a creative outlet, which the app just doesn’t achieve. It needs proper editing ability to achieve that. Also it’s very one track in what can be achieved with it - when you consider that some of the best viral videos (that aren’t just capturing something amazing by accident or a prank) tend to involve things like clever editing or something that involves a lot of production time I just can’t see how these little clips that are all basic variations on the same thing can achieve very much. And being limited to only sharing on the Vidiyo app means there’s not going to be much reach on them either...

I find stuff like this really difficult to judge, because I like that LEGO are trying new things and I do like some aspects and ideas, but ultimately there feels like too much wrong with this attempt. I’ll happily eat my words on it if Vidiyo does perform really well but I just think without major changes it can’t go very far.

CCC

I don't think any highly digitally connected theme is going to be successful in the long term, because that frontier changes so much and LEGO is not an internet company. They cannot even get their website working properly, let alone keep apps going or update them for years to come. I expect they will run Vidiyo for 2-3 years then let it die when the next thing comes along. Much like what they do with many of their brick based themes. Then it is just down to how much of it is brick based that will survive and can be used in the future, while the digital side perishes.

The_Rancor

DeMontes said:

You collect lego lanyards? I think I have a couple lying around somewhere if you want them 😂 

@DeMontes While you’re asking - I gathered my VIP lanyards together yesterday - the VIDIYO one is by far the largest and the lenticular card inside is a nice touch. I’m probably missing a ‘fan media’ lanyard but maybe one day!

Shib

I have this LEGO Rock Band one I got from a comic con quite a few years ago

KungFuKenny

Mine came as well... 

It looks like @The_Rancor is all sorted but I’m happy to pass a lanyard and some shoelace charms on to someone who wants them!

The_Rancor

This kind of overlaps with the ‘Lego on TV Programmes’ thread but The Voice UK Final just had a VIDIYO interspersed ad break at peak time.

The ads showed LLAMA turning up at the studio, changing Olly Murs’ dressing room into his own then proceeding to hit the button as a coach for Lego minifigures. Then a few themed kid parts were shown in the last sections - a family has built a gingerbread stage for the Candy Pop minifigs for example.



Interesting seeing TLG use some TV advertising time for this in a themed programme.

juno_2023

Shib said:

I have this LEGO Rock Band one I got from a comic con quite a few years ago

I've spent more time with LEGO Rock Band than any of the other plastic instrument titles- and that's after getting it as a bonus from a family member after they spent above a dollar amount threshold at Old Navy on Black Friday!

Blockwork_Orange

I have no experience with these products or other ones that have been mentioned such as Hidden side, but I was wondering if there is any possibility that someone could develop a third party software or app to take advantage of, and expand on the usability of these these base products.  

panchox1

Got a full side out of a new unopened box. Hope they are a full set of 12

panchox1

YUP! got a full set and only one duplicate beatbit.  Went to download the app to give it a try with the kids and got a message that my Samsung Galaxy s-10 was not compatible. wut? That was a surprise.

a bit of a bummer as I think my kids would have liked it.

PJ76uk

panchox1 said:

YUP! got a full set and only one duplicate beatbit.  Went to download the app to give it a try with the kids and got a message that my Samsung Galaxy s-10 was not compatible. wut? That was a surprise.

a bit of a bummer as I think my kids would have liked it.

Had the same message on my Samsung S20 so dug out my old Samsung S9 handset which works fine with the app! So worth trying with an older handset if you have one lying around.

My 7 year old loved it but was sad we couldn't send the video to my wife who was at work!

Speedman29

Thats weird @panchox1 I have it running on an S-10E

panchox1

I wonder if a setting or permissions need to be changed. or something updated.  the app won't even come up in a search in the google play store. but when I navigate to it from the lego web site, I get the not compatible message. granted, i'm not very tech savvy these days.

ArkansasBricker

I bought three complete boxes of Vidiyo Series 1, 43101, at three different Walmart stores in Arkansas. Each box had two Ice Cream Saxophonists but no Bunny Dancers. Have others had similar problems with Series 1 boxes?

ArkansasBricker

I misspoke. Each box had four Ice Cream Saxophonists and no Bunny Dancers.

Brainslugged

ArkansasBricker said:

I misspoke. Each box had four Ice Cream Saxophonists and no Bunny Dancers.

Well that sucks. 

I went back to my original store (B&M) and noticed they had a full box again. If it was indeed a fresh box, I wanted two more Cheerleaders and another Banshee. I selected the CMFs from the relevant positions, but I suspected the store may have just filled the gaps in the older box with minifigs from the new box.

When I got home, I compared their weights to the weight chart above, but but they seemed a little off. Plus I didn't think that two of them were close enough in weight to be the same one. So I didn't open them and will probably return them.

Today I found a seemingly complete box at a different B&M, so grabbed what I hoped would be the Cheerleaders and a Banshee. Once I got home, my scales pretty much confirmed success, although they all showed about 5 hundredths of a gram heavier than last time - a pretty small margin of error. 

So I guess the takeaway is that even if the weights don't absokutely guarantee what figure you get, it should help increase the chances of success.

As an aside for those in the UK, B&M seem to have put the price of the Individual guys to £3.99.