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SHOW What is a Virtual Projector?
In d3’s visualiser you can create and place out so called Virtual projectors. The Virtual projector object shares the same properties as a physical projector; resolution, position, rotation, aiming-point and lense value.
The content is being applied directly onto the object as any other video surface, independent of where the physical projectors are being placed (however, the resolution is very much based on the physical amount of projectors and their placement).
Virtual projectors been placed out in the d3 Stage, positioned and angled at the projection object exactly like the physical projectors.
Notice that the Virtual projectors do not project content onto the projection surfcace. Quite the opposite, the Virtual projectors render the content applied on the screen from their respective point-of-views, sub-sampling it to whatever resolution is being set, and sending the respective image to the physical projectors, up to 60 frames/sec.
Simply speaking, a Virtual projector behave like a camera.
If the physical projector has to move a couple of meters to the side there is no need to re-render any content, just move the Virtual projector correspondingly. It will then render a new image from the point-of-view of the new position. The actual fine-tuned onsite configuration of the Virtual projectors are done through a manual or automatic calibration process.
The corresponding outputs from the Virtual projectors described in previous image.
Note that the content creation is now completely separate from the output sent to the physical projectors. The content only neends to be made for the 3D model while the output is based on the properties of the Virtual projectors. There is therefore no need to re-render any content.
SHOW How do I run a specific d3 project?
Please see the Running and quitting d3 section in the User Guide.
SHOW Where are my project folders?
Please see the File system organisation section in the User Guide.
SHOW Where do I copy media files?
Please see the File system organisation section in the User Guide.
SHOW How do I quit out from d3?
Hold down Esc, then hit Enter.
Alternatively, right-click on the ‘d3’ label at the top left, then select save and exit.
For more info, see the Running and quitting in the User Guide.
SHOW What is Auto Calibration?
By snapping a number of virtual reference points (usually minimum 6 points) to the projection screen inside d3 and then linking them to their corresponding physical points in the output, d3 can automatically adjust the properties of the Virtual projector and thereby automatically lineup the output to the physical projection object.
See more about Auto-calibration in the Using Auto-calibration section in the User Guide.
SHOW What video codec does d3 use?
d3 uses dxv, Photo-JPEG and QuickTime Animation codecs.
For multiple layers of HD it is recommended that you use the DXV codec, which utilises the graphics card to decode the video data for more HD outputs. To download the latest DXV codec go the Downloads section.
SHOW How do I rotate around an object inside d3's simulator?
Move the mouse pointer over the object you want to swing around;
- Hold down the left mouse button;
- Drag the mouse left/right or up/down to swing around the object
- Release the mouse button to end the swing movement.
See more about navigation in the Navigating the Stage section in the User Guide.
SHOW How do I zoom in and out?
Scroll the middle mouse wheel for zooming in and out. For finer zooming use the Ctrl key to zoom out and the Caps Lock key to zoom in.
See more about navigation in the Navigating the Stage section in the User Guide.
Please note: these will only work if the simulator has mouse-focus; i.e. you should have clicked on the background before these will work.
SHOW How do I add a new layer?
Right click on a bar (where the bar is flashing), in the pop-up window select ‘new layer’. If you don’t name your layer anything it will simply take the name of the type of layer.
SHOW How do import an audio track into the timeline?
Right-click on the first bar in the timeline and select ‘set audio track’.
Make sure your audio is:
- .mp3
- 44.1kHz
- constant bitrate
- max 256 kpbs
- 16-bit
SHOW What still formats does d3 accept?
- .png
- .jpeg
- .bmp,
- .tif images.
d3 also supports alpha-channeled images when using .png or .bmp. Png-images are generally accepted as the best format for images.
See more about supported files in the Supported files section in the User Guide.
SHOW How do I pan inside d3's simulator?
Hold down the scroll wheel of the mouse, alternatively hown down the TAB key and move your mouse to left and right.
SHOW How do identify which build of d3 I'm running?
When you start d3, it displays a startup splash screen while loading up the project. This consists of the ‘d3’ logo at the bottom right of the screen, below which you will see the version identifier. This consists of two numbers; the major release (such as Release 8,9,10), and the build revision (for example revision 6035, 6054 etc).
SHOW What format should I export my 3D models in for d3?
Currently all screens and props in d3 are made of obj-files. Obj is one of the most common 3d formats exportable from 3d applications such as 3d Studio Max, Maya, Cinema4D, Blender amongst others.
Before exporting an obj-file as a video screen in d3 it needs to be UV-mapped correctly. Props do not need to be UV-mapped unless you want to apply static, scenographical textures on them.
Please contact the d3 Consulting team for best approach how to UV-map screens.
