1 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

TM
VIOSO PLAYER
Autoalignment & File Playback
Program version 1.3
2 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

Table Of Contents
Table Of Contents .................................................................................................................................... 2
1. First Steps ........................................................................................................................................ 4
1.1. System requirements .............................................................................................................. 4
1.2. Installation ............................................................................................................................... 4
2. Main operation ................................................................................................................................ 5
2.1. Calibrator Window .................................................................................................................. 5
2.2. Playlist Window ....................................................................................................................... 6
2.3. Autostart Options .................................................................................................................... 6
3. Remote control via TCP/IP, UDP and webinterface ........................................................................ 7
3.1. Browser-based......................................................................................................................... 7
3.2. Automation via TCP/IP and UDP ............................................................................................. 8
3.3. List of commands for remote control...................................................................................... 9
4. Camera-based Multi Display Setup ............................................................................................... 11
4.1 Preliminary settings ............................................................................................................... 11
4.1.1 Basic Parameters ........................................................................................................... 11
4.1.2 Advanced Parameters ................................................................................................... 12
4.2 Camera setup and configuration ........................................................................................... 14
4.2.1 Camera Setup – basic settings ....................................................................................... 14
4.2.2 Camera Setup – Masking ............................................................................................... 15
4.3 Test pattern setup ................................................................................................................. 16
4.3.1 Adjust brightness of test pattern .................................................................................. 16
4.3.2 Noise reduction filter..................................................................................................... 16
4.3.3 Resolution of test pattern ............................................................................................. 17
4.4 Automatic scanning procedure ............................................................................................. 18
4.4.1 Scanning and processing ............................................................................................... 18
4.4.2 Verify scanning result (first projector) .......................................................................... 18
4.4.3 Repeat for all remaining projectors .............................................................................. 19
4.4.4 Calculate overlap and blending ..................................................................................... 19
4.5 Initial content mapping ......................................................................................................... 20
4.6 Finalizing ................................................................................................................................ 21
5. Edge Blending and Projector color matching ................................................................................ 22
5.1 Editing and existing Calibration Adjust Blending and Color (all projectors) ......................... 23
5.2 Individual Color balance of singular projectors..................................................................... 24
6. Warping and content mapping ..................................................................................................... 25
3 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

6.1 Warping tools ........................................................................................................................ 25

6.1.1 Warping toolbar ............................................................................................................ 26
6.1.2 Warping Context Menu ................................................................................................. 27
6.2 Basic Warping (4-Point) ......................................................................................................... 28
6.3 Extended Warping ................................................................................................................. 29
7. VIOSO contacts .............................................................................................................................. 31
4 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

1. First Steps
1.1. System requirements
 32 Bit and 64 Bit pc
 Windows XP – 8.1
 Quadcore CPU recommended
 4 GB RAM or better recommended
 Multimedia capable GPU (e.g. NVIDIA, AMD) recommended

1.2. Installation
Use the automated Installer to install VIOSO Player on your system.

Start VIOSO Player by double-clicking the icon on the desktop or start menu.
5 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

2. Main operation
The user interface consists of the “Calibrator Window”, which is the program’s main user interface. A
dockable playlist window is available for controlling the file playback features of VIOSO PLAYER™.

2.1. Calibrator Window

(1) Toggle playlist (2) Display (3) Output

window testing patterns warping

(4) Single
display or
display
compound for
output

(5) Output
rendering
options

(6) Start / Repeat (7) Show

muldidisplay output on
calibration selected target

The calibrator window is the central unit of VIOSO PLAYER™. It contains options to do a multidisplay
alignment (6), as well as arbitrary screen shaping (3), which is active as soon as the output target has
been activated (7).

By selecting a “target” from the drop down box (4), the display or display compound (after a
calibration) is defined that will get contents displayed. Pressing the “Activate” button (7) starts the
content display on that selected target.

By default, the content of the Player (7) is displayed. This can be “overwritten” by checking a box for
displaying testing patterns (2).
6 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

2.2. Playlist Window

(1) add entry (2) delete (3) delete all (4) re-order (5) load/save (6) dock to
selected entry entries entries playlist Calibrator

(8) selected
entry

(9) active
entry

(10) video
position

(11) Start
Playback if
Show Mode
ON

(12) prev (13) Play (14) next (15) Pause/ (16) Toggle (17) Status
item selected item Stop selected display information
item itemitem output

2.3. Autostart Options

VIOSO PLAYER™ can be configured to autoload load a multidisplay calibration and playlist as well as
displaying the contents in show mode immediately.

1) Autoload calibration:
After a calibration has been performed, save it and select from Menu “File”: “Activate
Autoloading on Startup” => Next time the program starts, the previous stored calibration is
loaded and applied to the target output (which is saved in the calibration settings as well)
2) Check “Auto Play” in the playlist window:
This makes sure that the content of the playlist is played without user interaction required.
7 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

3. Remote control via TCP/IP, UDP and webinterface

All network and remote control related settings are made in the dialog “Options – Network Settings”,
accessible by the main menu:

Activate and configure the

network adaptor for TCP/IP
control (includes access to
the built-in WWW interface)

Activate and configure the

network adaptor for UDP
control.

There are several ways to control a running instance of VIOSO PLAYER™:

3.1. Browser-based

Establish a network connection between a remote device, open a contemporary browser and call

http://[IP:port]/player.htm

as configured in the network settings of the software.

Open the browser based player interface by entering

the network IP address and port as configured in the
network settings in a browser capable of displaying
HTML and CSS.
8 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

3.2. Automation via TCP/IP and UDP

Establish a network connection between remote devices and configure any remote control devices to
have access to the network.

Show TCP/IP
Controller A
VIOSO Player TCP/IP
HTTP
Show UDP
Controller B

TCP/IP and UPD messages are sent using both the same syntax:

ip:port/command1=parameter&command2=parameter…

Example:

tcp://127.0.0.1:9091/showmode=true&…
udp://127.0.0.1:9092/showmode=true&…
http://127.0.0.1:8080/command.htm?showmode=true&…
9 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

3.3. List of commands for remote control

TCP/IP and UDP description from
player.htm Player related actions (playcontrol.htm with human readable response) 1.0
playcontrol.htm
player.htm?state=play Sets the playback state, which starts the playback at the currently selected 1.0
playlist item
player.htm?state=pause Pauses the current playback 1.0

player.htm?state=stop Stops the current playback, the seeker is set to the beginning of the currently 1.0
selected playlist item
player.htm?select=next Selects the next item of the playlist. If playback state is set, the playback of 1.0
the selected item starts
player.htm?select=prev Selects the previous item of the playlist. If playback state is set, the playback 1.0
of the selected item starts
player.htm?select=1 Selects the first item of the playlist. If playback state is set, the playback of the 1.0
selected item starts
player.htm?select=99999 Selects the last item of the playlist. If playback state is set, the playback of the 1.0
selected item starts
player.htm?mute=1 Mutes the player audio output temporary 1.3

player.htm?mute=0 Re-Enables the player's audio output 1.3

player.htm?audio=0..100 Sets the global audio level to [0..100]% 1.3

player.htm?autoplay=1 Sets the autoplay state active 1.3

player.htm?autoplay=0 Sets the autoplay state inactive 1.3

player.htm?load=[fullpath] Loads a playlist XML file from disk, specified by [fullpath] 1.3
E.g.: player.htm?load=D:\My_Playlists\list1.xml
Note: use alphanumeric characters only (avoid characters like #, &) in
filenames
player.htm?save=[fullpath] Saves the current playlist to a file specified by [fullpath] 1.3
E.g.: player.htm?save=D:\My_Playlists\list1_backup.xml
Note: use alphanumeric characters only (avoid characters like #, &) in
filenames
player.htm?add=[fullpath, Adds a new media or control item to the playlist. If the additional parameter 1.3
pause, stop, jump]&pos=[p] pos=[p] will be used, the new item will be inserted at list position [p].
E.g.: player.htm?add=D:\My_Content\Picture.jpg adds the image
Picture.jpg to the playlist
E.g.: player.htm?add=pause adds a pause control item to the playlist
Note: use alphanumeric characters only (avoid characters like #, &) in
filenames
player.htm?move=[up, down, Moves the playlist entry [p] to the specified position. [t] can be used to define 1.3
top, end, [t]]&select=[p] an desired absolute position.
E.g.: player.htm?move=up&select=5 moves playlist item no. 5 one
position up
E.g.: player.htm?move=2&select=7 moves playlist item no 7 to the
position 2.
player.htm?activate=[p] Activates the playlist item [p] 1.3

player.htm?deactivate=[p] Deactivates the playlist item [p] 1.3

player.htm?delete=[[p], all] Deletes entry [p] from the playlist, [all] to clear the whole playlist 1.3

player.htm?refresh=[[p], all] Refreshes the meta-data (size, date, etc.) of the item [p] in the playlist 1.3
E.g.: player.htm?refresh=2 refreshes the meta data of item 2 in the
playlist
10 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

TCP/IP and UDP description from

control.htm General program control

control.htm?present=1 Enables show mode while Player is running 1.0

control.htm?present=0 Disable show mode while Player is running 1.0

control.htm?shutdown=1 Shuts down the operating system 1.0

control.htm?shutdown=2 Shuts down the operating system and reboots 1.0

control.htm?exit Close the currently addressed running instance of the player 1.0

control.htm?calibrate=M0 Starts a camera based recalibration without any user interaction (1-click 1.0
recalibration)

control.htm?calibrate=MC Stops a running calibration without changing the currently used calibration. 1.0
11 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

4. Camera-based Multi Display Setup

Make sure that camera and projectors are connected and fully functional. Start the calibration by
clicking the button “Calibrate” in the Main User Interface.

select Single PC Calibration

4.1 Preliminary settings

4.1.1 Basic Parameters

Split combined displays

select projectors

surface type

select camera
12 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

Choose the projectors you want to combine to a entire display by selecting them from the display
list.
If you need to split display, select the “display split”:

Select display to split

Set number of splits

Select the calibration method depending on the geometry of your screen.

4.1.2 Advanced Parameters

Physical arrangement of projector images

Preciseness of scanning pattern

Initial content mapping

Optional parameters

 Display arrangement: Select appropriate. If in doubt, select “Grid/Arbitrary arrangement”.

 Initial scan pattern size: Determines the initial size of the final testing pattern and therefore
the speed and accuracy of the procedure. Can be adjusted at a later step of the calibration
procedure.
 Initial content aspect ratio: Determines how the initial mapping between camera position and
projected result is handled. Can be adjusted at a later step of the calibration procedure.
13 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

There are a couple of optional parameters. They are there to cope with difficult projection scenarios. If
in doubt leave all parameters on their default value.

Name description recommendation

Beyond camera view Projected areas outside the camera’s image activated
are computed, too. This option is useful if
projecting on flat screens without having all
the projection filmed by the camera.
Compute missing dots Adds an error correction when filming the activated
dot test pattern. Missing dots are
reconstructed according to their surrounding
dots, therefore only singular failures can be
corrected.
Repair scanlines Adds error correction to line scan-based activated
calibration methods
Contour blending Improves the overall result if there is a black activated
frame around the screen
Improve low camera res. useful only if you have a comparable low not activated
camera resolution (PAL, VGA, etc.). It is not
necessary to activate this option if you have
ahigh resolution camera (FullHD and above).
Additional line scanning Adds error correction performing an not activated
additional the line scan. Note: Apply this
error correction only, if the projected images
and the camera image are aligned on the
same baseline. Increases the scanning time
very noticeable.
Extended LoD0 ignore
Deprecated parameters
Remove outliers
Autosave calibration Creates a calibration backup file after each not activated
progress individual projector scan. Use if you have a
large number of projectors and/or slow
scanning speed
Calc display pose Creates information to pass to third party not activated
applications for projector-specific perspective
rendering
14 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

4.2 Camera setup and configuration

4.2.1 Camera Setup – basic settings

The camera setup dialog assists in placing and configuring the camera for the scanning procedure.

Alignment of the live camera

Picture

Available camera streams

Options of camera driver

Camera mask handling

The camera is an essential component for whole calibration process. Configure the camera so that
the entire surface being used is visible and the entire projection is captured by the camera:

OK Bad: too far away Bad: image is

incomplete

The more realistic the camera image, the better the calibration results. In many cases, automatic
calibration fails as the result of incorrect camera settings. To adjust the camera settings, use “Adjust”
and “Format”.

Deactivate the camera’s auto-focus feature and focus the camera manually. Deactivating other
automatic camera settings such as white balance or brightness adjustment is also essential.
Experiment with different brightness levels on your camera in order to achieve optimum correction
results.
15 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

common camera settings and how to adjust:

Automatic focus = off

Automatic white balance (AWB) = off
Exposure = manual
Shutter speed = set to the lowest value (e.g. 1/50)

Hint - how to test whether “Autofocus” or “AWB” is deactivated:

Move your hand up and down right in front of the camera. If the camera does not automatically
adjust the image, automatic settings are disabled, which is mandatory for camera-based wall
correction.

4.2.2 Camera Setup – Masking

You should mask the live picture shown in the alignment window with the tools on the left side, so
that the camera only recognizes the important areas.

Masking tools

Masked areas (not used)

It is strongly recommended to save the mask somewhere locally on the disk. Use the “Save Mask”
button to create a BMP-file that resembles the mask. It’s possible to edit this mask using third-party
imaging applications.

“Load Mask” loads masks definition from a BMP file and applies it instantly to the camera image.
16 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

4.3 Test pattern setup

4.3.1 Adjust brightness of test pattern

You can manually adjust the brightness of the testing pattern using the corresponding control. The
color of the surface visible in the camera image must be optimized for color rendering that is as
realistic as possible – not too dark or too bright.

Live image for instant feedback

Avoid a bad camera image. Try to get a more

realistic image of the surface.

4.3.2 Noise reduction filter

In the next step, adjust the noise filter used for reading the test patterns. The objective is to obtain
continuous lines with no visible camera interference (see illustration below). Experiment with the
controls in order to achieve optimum results.

Good Bad
Lines are too thin
and not
continuously visible.

Lines are too thick

and no longer visible
at the top edge.

Noise is visible in the

centre of the image.
The level is set too
high.
17 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

Note regarding the “Line Weight” control:

The line weight should primarily be selected so that the lines are continuous. However, thin lines are
preferable since thick lines are related to the risk of excessive camera brightness.

Note regarding the “Level Control”:

Set the level control so that all lines are easily visible at the edges and in the corners of the test
image (striped pattern). However, be sure to avoid visible interference patterns!

Click “Next” to proceed with the calibration.

4.3.3 Resolution of test pattern

This is the most important visual feedback loop. The very result of the autoalignment depends on
how this pattern is viewed and interpreted by the camera.

Good Bad

Adjust the dot size to make sure all of them can be identified correctly. Avoid red dots whenever you
can.

Pattern crop: This will leave out parts of the projection. This is useful if bad projection happens due
to defocus, bad surfaces, etc. and influences from such bad projections must be avoided.
18 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

4.4 Automatic scanning procedure

4.4.1 Scanning and processing

The calibration process is fully automated. The progress bar visualizes the current status of the
calibration process. The process speed depends on the data transmission rate of the camera.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The projectors and camera must not be moved while calibration is in progress (indicated by the
output of moving test patterns from the projector). In addition, the measurement process must not
be interrupted by external influences (e.g. changes in ambient light, persons between the projector
and projection surface).

4.4.2 Verify scanning result (first projector)

After the calibration of a projector the assistant will pause and show the result of the measurement.
If there are errors in the displayed image simply go back to the adjustment of the parameters and
optimize them for the next measurement.

Scan result test pattern

Repeat the scanning with different parameters until the result is satisfying.

GOOD: BAD:
test image after scanning comes without visible test image shows distortions due to scanning
distortions, holes, etc. failures
=> proceed => repeat scanning
19 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

4.4.3 Repeat for all remaining projectors

If the scanning result is satisfying, the scanning procedure is repeated for each subsequent projector.

Clicking “Next” repeats the steps 4.3.

If “proceed hands off” is checked the parameters for the calibration will be set once for all
projectors. The assistant will not pause after the calibration of each projector and perform all
subsequent scans without the need of human interaction.

4.4.4 Calculate overlap and blending

The blending and image allocation is calculated automatically after projector scanning is completed.

The camera is not used for scanning anymore after this step. However, it is recommended to keep
the camera in place for any required re-calibrations.
20 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

4.5 Initial content mapping

The result of the auto-alignment is a singular image containing all projectors. Depending on the initial
screen aspect ratio value the projection screen is fully or partly filled with a seamless testing pattern.

Live-preview and interactive

warping tool

Tools for editing screen

warping (see Fehler!
Verweisquelle konnte nicht
gefunden werden.)

The content mapping and warping is also used to correct optical influences caused by the camera,
e.g. compensating pincushion distortion by using wide angle lenses.
21 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

4.6 Finalizing

The projector alignment and blending procedure is now finished, and the dialog based setup
assistant closes and the main user interface shows up.

The result needs to be saved, so select “File – Save Settings” to write a full Calibration Dataset (SPS)
to disk.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Saving takes a noticeable amount of time and requires a lot of disk space. Do not interrupt the saving
procedure, even if it takes minutes (depending on the resolution of projectors and camera) and make
sure that there is sufficient space on the disk or drive.

Save calibration results A “Display Compound” is available after the calibration

assistant has finished

.
22 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

5. Edge Blending and Projector color matching

Any calibration can be edited basically in two ways:

a) Blending and Color of all projectors (“display compound”)

b) Individual Color balance of singular projectors
c) Warping (content mapping – see chapter )

To edit a calibration, either continue immediately after a calibration procedure is finished or load an
existing calibration from disk.

This is the look of the user interface when having a calibration active or loaded:

Currently loaded Content to display Select “display compound” to get access to

calibration file for testing purposes the Color and Blending parameters

Toggle preview of projection Warping tool, based on the

result camera picture
23 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

5.1 Editing and existing Calibration Adjust Blending and Color (all
projectors)

The color balance as well as the blending parameters can be edited after a multi projector calibration
has been finished and the “display compound” is selected as “target”.

Control of the brightness of

all projectors

Color balance of all

projectors

Edge blending parameters

The color balance and overall brightness parameters affect all projectors that are connected by a
display compound.

The edge blending parameters also affect all blend edges of all projectors. Though the parameters of
the blending are automatically optimized during the calibration procedure, you might want to adjust
these parameters to create the best blending experience based on the current content:

 Plateau: Emphases or damps the intensity in the blending zone

 Gradient: the size of the blending gradient applied to each overlapping edge
 Gamma: The brightness of the overlapping area

Right-click menu on the dialog:

Right-clicking the mouse on the opened dialog provides options to reset recently done actions to the
state when the dialog was initially opened.
24 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

5.2 Individual Color balance of singular projectors

Each projector within a display compound can be edited in its brightness and color balance. This is
useful to match the visual differences of projectors according to a seamless color representation.

Selection of projector to be edited

Check to control the brightness of the

selected projector

Selection of projector to be edited

Reset recent changes to initial state

(when dialog was opened)

Projector masking tools (alpha state,

just for testing purposes)

Displays a red string on the selected

projector to aid in its identification
among the other projectors of that
display compound

Use the color sliders individually or check the box “join channels” to change the pprojectors intensity
and color balance. Use this to increase the quality of the blending.

Projector masking tools:

This set of tools display and/or create a mask on the selected projector. This toolset currently is in
alpha state and therefore meant for evaluation only.
25 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

6. Warping and content mapping

This software provides numerous tools to map your content to the surface. This is called “warping”
or “content mapping” – though it is always the same task.

Warping is referred as “VC”, which is an abbreviation for “virtual canvas”. A virtual canvas consists of
one or more projectors, so applying a warp is basically independent from the number of projectors
used in a soft edge blended setup.

6.1 Warping tools

All warping tools are available from the main user interface:

Visualize the warping Warping toolbar Corner point Side point

grid on the projectors (keystoning) (scaling)

Move projection Rotate projection

26 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

6.1.1 Warping toolbar

The warping toolbar resides within the warping area. It provides the most used warping features.
Some buttons are toggle buttons, which display their state by visualizing different icons.

Toggle scaling / deformation mode

Toggles sensitivity of keyboard interaction (fine/coarse)

Increases the dimension of horizontal warping points (x-axis)

Decreases the dimension of horizontal warping points (x-axis)

Increases the dimension of vertical warping points (y-axis)

Decreases the dimension of vertical warping points (y-axis)

Toggles between curved and linear warping

(only on single projectors): toggles On-Display Warping

Make in-memory snapshot of current warping grid

Recover warpings from previously made snapshots

27 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

6.1.2 Warping Context Menu

The warping area also contains a context menu, which is available on right-clicking the mouse.

Extended warping (see chapter 6.36.2)

Reset the current warping to initial state or fullscreen (no warp)

Rotation and mirroring

Control the display and operation of the warping grid

Toggle warping grid features

Save and recover the Warping grid persistently

28 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

6.2 Basic Warping (4-Point)

A typical warping and mapping task is to align a misaligned projected image to a flat surface. The very
basic usage of the warping tool therefore consists of a 4-point warping, where each corner is handled
accordingly:

Case 1:
The sides of the projected image are of different length,
e.g. projectors are angled laterally. Drag the red corners
to the smallest size of the projected image.

Case 2:
The upper and lower sides of the projected image are of
different length, e.g. projectors are tilted vertically. Drag
the red corners with the mouse in order to straighten the
sides.

Case 3:
The projected image is larger than the projection
surface, e.g. projectors are too far away from the
projection surface. Drag the red corners to the size
of the projection surface using the mouse.

Case 4:
All 4 sides of the projected image are of different
length, e.g. projectors are tilted laterally and vertically.
Drag the red corners as shown in the illustration.
29 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

6.3 Extended Warping

In addition to the basic warping functionality, the warping feature supports nearly unlimited
complexity of screen shaping and content mapping. By increasing the number of control points,
complex warping grids can be established.

Extended warping functionality, available via context menu

Right-click anywhere on the warping area. The context menu is displayed. It contains the entries
“Grid Points X” and “Grid Points Y” in addition to two entries to select the interpolation and
extrapolation method, all of which refer to the extended warping functionality. You can also change
these settings in the “warping dialogue”. You will find it by selecting “Warp” and then clicking
“Options”.

 Grid columns and rows:

Use this function to insert warping points on the horizontal and vertical axis.

Warping grid with 4x4 points

 Interpolation method:
Here you switch between linear and cubic support point interpolation. Linear interpolation is
suitable for corners, edges etc. while cubic interpolation is suitable for rounded surfaces.
Cubic interpolation is the default.
30 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

Linear support point interpolation: For Cubic support point interpolation: For
corners, stairs etc. cycloramas, columns etc.

 Extrapolation method:
This is where you select the extrapolation method used for cubic warping. The changes affect
the details. Making changes to these settings is generally not required.
31 VIOSO PLAYER manual english

7. VIOSO contacts
Should there be any questions which cannot be answered in the help section, please tell us about
them. Please use the Support Function if there are any problems or errors. Wings Platinum can be
updated via function Software Update. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can reach also
us on the phone on weekdays from 8.00 am to 17.00 pm.

VIOSO GmbH
Ronsdorferstr. 77a
D-40233 Düsseldorf
Tel. +49 211 544 75 33 – 0
Fax: +49 211 544 75 33 – 33
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.vioso.com

Documentation Status
Last review: 22.08.2014
VIOSO Player version: 1.3