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This configuration just handles the player, and the base locations for the camera system. Then using the scalable editor we can generate the required files for the warping and blending.
Using Scalable to generate warp and blend files
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[Opening, licencing, and explanation of scalable.]
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Setting up Scalable for the first time
Once you’ve registered for scalable, purchased a license, or signed up for the free trial license, you will be given a download link for Scalable’s software; Display Manager.
You will also require a suitable camera, to create the blends, the list of supported cameras is HERE
You will need to install the Display manager on every machine, and have it launch on startup. It can then be configured from any machine as a single entity. However, it’s best to use the machine you have the cameras plugged into, unless they are gigE cameras (i.e. Basler)
Once you load up the client for the first time, it will ask you for your license file. This may have come with your download, or it may have been emailed to you.
You will be greeted with a wizard type system, with 4 pages. The first being:
Display Clients
The Display Clients panel presents an interface that allows you to setup the connections to the remote computers. The right side of the panel shows the displays connected to the current system, while the left side shows all available Display Clients.
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Use the Display Client on the Local Computer
If the computer running Scalable Display Manager is the only computer used in the system, select the radio button Use Local Display Clients Only. No additional setup is required in the Display Clients panel.
Display Clients on Remote Computers
If your Scalable Display Manager configuration will require connecting to one or more remote computers, select the radio button for Use Remote Display Clients.
Set Up Remote Computers
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One of my Display Clients is not showing as a client available on the network Display Clients are detected on the network using multicast. Standard network troubleshooting is appropriate when they do not appear in the list of Display Clients available on the network. Make sure that:
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Add a Display Client to the System
Scalable Display Manager automatically detects all Display Clients on the network subnet. The status of each Display Client is displayed in a colored square to the left of its network identifier.
Display Clients shown in the list on the right will be part of the system.
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The computer you are using to calibrate the display is automatically assigned to the system with the name LocalHost. If the Calibration PC will not be driving a display, remove LocalHost from the Display clients assigned to the system list. |
Click to highlight one of the clients in your system.
Click Assign > to move the clients into the system.
Repeat for all remaining clients.
Scalable Display Manager will by default output a scalable mesh file, if instead you would like to directly apply the warp and blend in the graphics driver check the option Apply Warp & Blend in Graphics Driver.
Warping and Blending in the graphics card requires Nvidia Mosaic Mode. Please check the website for the latest recommended version of the Nvidia Quadro driver.
Projectors Panel
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The Projectors panel should accurately reflect the number and resolution of the displays connected to your computer, however Scalable Display Manager can only auto-detect certain common resolutions. If it is unable to detect the current resolution of your display(s), the most common response is that it will simply show a single display at the combined resolution of all your projectors.
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Wrong Number of Projectors or Incorrect Resolution If the number of projectors or their resolution is different from the actual system, manually choose or enter the resolution of a single projector under custom resolution.
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To help with making sure that the projectors reach about an overlap value of 15-20% you can click Show Overlap Pattern. There are 3 sections Yellow,Green, and White. Having the edges of the bands touch will result in the level of overlap it represents.
Yellow is 15%
Green is 20%
White is 25%
Here is an example of a 20% overlap setup:
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Enter the Projector Arrangement
Select the physical arrangement of the projectors: Tiled, if the projectors are next to each other, or Stacked, if the projectors are on top of each other.
Select the number of projectors in a row.
Select the number of projectors in a column.
Click Redetect Displays to save the settings.
Order the Display Clients
The order of the display clients will have a direct effect on the projector numbering. To properly order projectors, set the displays such that the left-most projectors on the blended display appear first in the list. To change the order use the arrow key to move the computer IP up or down.
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Cameras Panel
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Basic Camera Configuration
Verify that the number and type of cameras detected by Scalable Display Manager correspond to your system. If the Automatic type doesn't detect the camera configuration properly, please choose your camera type manually.
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If multiple cameras types are connected to the computer, make sure to select the camera type you will use to calibrate. |
Advanced Camera Configuration
The Advanced Camera Configuration allows the user to grab a subset of the total cameras and arrange the order based on serial numbers.
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Data Collection
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Adjust the Camera Settings
For a proper calibration, it is necessary to focus the camera and adjust its exposure settings. If the camera captures an image that is too bright it will have difficulty detecting the calibration spot patterns. Similarly, not focusing the camera will reduce the accuracy of the camera detection and may cause artifacts in the resulting warp and blend. It is thus important to make sure the camera(s) can see the entire screen and are capturing well-focused and properly exposed images.
Camera Brightness
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The projectors must appear to be brighter than the ambient light on the screen. If the projectors are coming in at odd angles and have a significant intensity falloff, then the darkest portions of the projectors should be much brighter than any stray light on the screen |
Scalable Display Manager requires the image to appear with normal saturation in order to properly detect the patterns displayed during calibration. If the image presented to Scalable Display Manager is over or undersaturated, it will result in an error or produce an incorrect geometry calibration. The camera's brightness needs to be set so that there is enough contrast between the light and dark areas of the screen to see the calibration patterns. The image preview window should look similar to how you see the image in real life.
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If after manual adjustment the image brightness still has saturation problems, click the Auto Tune button. A series of pictures will be taken to auto-adjust the camera. If the image is not normally saturated after the Auto Tune, you may need to manually adjust the camera's brightness. Follow the instructions below for your particular camera.
Begin Data Collection
Click Begin Data Collection.
The data collection process will begin by showing a solid, white image on each projector, starting with the first projector and going in order to the last. The white image is used to find the location of the projector in the camera image. Make sure that the area of the screen that is intended to be the target area of the screen is completely covered by one or all of the projectors.
Next, two images will be displayed on each projector, starting again with the first projector and going in order to the last. The first image will be a 5-dot pattern which is used to determine the center of the projected image. The second image displayed is the grid pattern which is used to map where the pixels are falling on the screen.
White Pattern | 5 Dot Pattern | Grid Pattern |
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What to do if an Error Occurs
Most errors encountered during calibration are caused by poor camera positioning or improper saturation of the camera image, resulting in the inability of the software to detect the calibration patterns being displayed. When an error occurs, click the link labeled Click here to troubleshoot this error in the error message window. This will open a browser with the suggested solutions for this particular issue.
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Data Collection Error Actions
Some of the most common errors encountered during the data collection process have been included in the Error Actions. Error actions allow you to ignore issues with the data collection images which do not inhibit the data collection.
The error action below will be displayed when a camera cannot fully see a projected image. You are given the choice to "End Calibration" or "Ignore and Continue". If you are expecting that the entire projected image will not be seen, Ignore and Continue. However, if you are not seeing the entire projected image for other reasons, you should End Calibration and correct the error at its source.
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The software can not discern the difference between a projected image that does not fill the screen and one that fills the screen but spills off.
End Calibration: In this case, the calibration should be stopped so that the camera can be re-positioned to see the entire projected image. |  |
Ignore and Continue: The error action is expected and triggered because the projector is overshooting the screen. Continuing will not cause any issues. |  |
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Remember this action for this projector for session | Do not stop the calibration for this error on this projector until the software is restarted |
Remember this action for this projector forever | Never stop the calibration for this error on this projector |
Remember this action for all projectors for session | Do not stop the calibration for this error on any projector until the software is restarted |
Remember this action for all projectors forever | Never stop the calibration for this error on any projector |
Projector Visibility
Be careful when editing
Removing a projector from the visibility list for a camera can result in unwanted warp and blends and often cause the system stop calibrating
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Advanced Settings
Per Projector Settings
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[TODO] ------
[Exporting the warps to Unreal]
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