PRG Mbox Designer Manual 3.9 - Manual (Page 133)

MBOX ® MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 125
PIXEL REMAPPING TUTORIAL
Training Videos: Pixel Remapping (9 videos): http://www.prg.com/mbox-training-videos/
Overview
The concept of Pixel Remapping can be best explained using a tutorial. The example provided in the following tutorial
will use a square that will be broken into nine smaller squares. The following image represents this square:
The tutorial will create two configurations. One configuration will be set up as "Projected Mapping" - as if a projector
were pointing at some screens that can move through the projector's beam. The second configuration will be
"Discrete Mapping" - where the image on each square will stay pinned to square as it moves in space. To accomplish
these modes, each of the smaller squares (the screen objects within each configuration) will need certain controllable
properties - opacity, texture position, position - depending on the intent of the configuration.
External control over the screen object properties of the Pixel Remapping is handled through Art-Net. While this Art-
Net can be patched to the same universe as Mbox, this is impractical unless very few channels are required. Ideally, a
unique universe should be used. In the case of moving scenery, this external Art-Net may be derived from positional
data that a scenic feedback system creates and which is then converted into Art-Net. In other cases (and in this
tutorial), you can just patch extra fixtures/channels on a console to generate the necessary Art-Net.
For the purposes of this tutorial, each of the nine squares will need three (3) extra channels patched per layer to
control its properties: X Position, Y Position, and Opacity. You need per-layer controls because the gobo can be used
on each layer of Mbox and might require separate, unique control of some aspects on a per-layer basis. (Note that in
the case of scenic tracking, per-layer position control may be unnecessary, but opacity may be necessary.) You'll use
8-bit control for everything in this tutorial. So with nine squares at three (3) channels each, and six (6) layers set up on
the server, you will need to receive 9 x 3 x 6 = 162 additional channels from some Art-Net source. If you can write a
profile for the console, these could be set up as a channel for Opacity, and then a pair of channels for X and Y
Position. 54 of these three-channel fixtures could be patched (9 squares x 6 layers).
To make the math simpler, make the dimensions of the large square 900 pixels on each side, and the smaller squares
300 pixels on each side.