Multidisplay mode using one computer

The advantages of Wings Vioso RX, such as immediate playback and excellent quality, can also be used for multidisplay mode. Multidisplay shows using one computer are edited just like any other single display show. However, a few additional aspects need to be considered for multidisplay presentations.

Workshops for multidisplay applications can be found here:

• Creating a multidisplay show using one computer  illustrated at the example of a softedge projection

• Multidisplay show using Master and Client PCs illustrated at the example of a display wall with 3 x 2 full HD displays

This is what you should consider for multidisplay operation with several computers:

1. Multidisplay Mode requires a Multidisplay License for each display to be controlled (up to four are possible). I.e. there may be more than just one dongle plugged into a computer if it is to supply show contents to several displays. Note: Wings Engines require no external dongles.

2. Create a new project using the Wizard for mixed media projects. Doing so will clearly simplify screen configuration. See Wizard for mixed media projects.

3. Extend the desktop to cover all the displays used. We recommend planning one graphics card output for a control monitor. To prevent the Windows desktop to appear when the screen is closed, choose black as background color or a suitable background picture.

4. In the left section of the Media Pool click the triangle next to category Screens and select Screen 1 after which screen fields and displays are shown on the right.

5. Right-click Display 1 and select Properties. For Display PC enter Local Master PC and for Monitor select the required monitor. If you are not sure about the names of monitors and projects in Windows click Identify in the Windows dialog for screen resolution. Assign Local Master PC and the corresponding monitor to all displays likewise.

6. Align the video projector by means of test images (e.g. grid pattern) which you can simply drag into the timeline. After pressing F5 you can align the video projectors. Following this you can adjust the soft edge mask. See Adjusting soft edge masks.

Notes:

6. To open the Render displays click on button Show render displays. It may take a few seconds until the render displays are reliably open. Wait for this period to elapse before you start playback.

7. Start playback and press the space bar to pause it when your test image appears. You can now align the projectors using test images. The first step is only a rough alignment of the projectors. For a camera calibration the entire image needs to be somewhat larger than the projection screen.

8. For the time being you need to resort to camera-based calibration for final adjustment and creation of softedge masks since manual adjustment is not yet possible. See Camera-based calibration.

9. After the adjustment has been completed you can create and present your show as usual.

• For the assignment of displays or projectors, it may be quite useful to prepare images with the display number to check the assignment of monitors or projectors, respectively to the displays in the Screen Pool. The images with the display numbers must be placed on the tracks that output to the screen fields that correspond exactly to the displays. Such screen fields are created automatically if you check box Screen fields in the Wizard in dialog Multidisplay screen. Dialog Timeline tracks offers selection of option Per screen field which means that the corresponding tracks in the timeline are created as well.

• In order to ensure stable display allocation after a power failure or when the displays are defective we recommend connecting the small interfaces Gefen Detective or DVI Parrot along the signal line between display and graphics output. They save EDID (Extended Display Identification Data) and transmit it to the graphics cards even when the video projector is switched off, disconnected or defective. This keeps Windows from changing the display allocation due to altered EDID. Nvidia Quadro series graphics cards are able to save the EDID. See also Synchronization of the graphics output for Nvidia Quadro graphics cards.

• When there is an active video track in exclusive mode in the project, pressing F5 causes full screen playback of the video. If necessary, deactivate such tracks.

• If you have programmed complex sequences and playback in presentation quality (started by pressing the F5 key) is sometimes jerky, you should have the display data optimized. See Optimizing display data for pictures.