MadMapper to Lights
Publish a mapped MadMapper projector over NDI so Spectralite can drive conventional fixtures alongside your projection mapping.
MadMapper handles the mapped surfaces, and Spectralite handles everything the projector cannot reach. On most installations that means the moving heads, washes, and architectural fixtures around the mapped object. When you publish a projector over NDI, both applications work from the same content.
Publish a projector to NDI
In MadMapper, select the video projector that you want to send. Then press Publish to NDI. MadMapper streams whatever that projector shows, with mapping and warping applied.
The stream takes the published projector's resolution, so set the projector to the size that you want on the network. There is no separate NDI resolution control.
To cap the frame rate:
- Open Preferences > Engine.
- Set Engine FPS to Manual.
- Choose the rate that you want.
MadMapper 4 and later support this setting. The MadMapper troubleshooting notes recommend it specifically for limiting NDI output.
MadMapper's manual documents receiving NDI and limiting the frame rate of NDI output, but not the publish control itself. The garageCube team describes the Publish to NDI button on their support forum, and MadMapper's features page lists NDI send.
Pick up the stream in Spectralite
Open Edit > Inputs > NDI. Turn on NDI input enabled and Auto-discover sources.
Put the video on your fixtures
Add a Timeline layer with the built-in NDI Input effect. For a custom mapping, sample the stream with an NDI Input node in the Node Editor.
Extending the mapping past the projector
Build a region of the MadMapper canvas that no physical projector shows, and use it only for lighting. Give it the colors and movement that you want in the room. Add a projector that covers this region, and publish that projector to NDI. Then aim your Spectralite layout at that region. The mapped surfaces and the surrounding fixtures then read from the same canvas, and a content change updates both.
MadMapper can also drive DMX fixtures directly. If both applications output DMX, decide before the show which one owns each universe, because two senders on one universe conflict.
Related
- Receive video from another app: performance and troubleshooting.
- Layout Editor: choose which part of the video each fixture reads.
- Art-Net setup: sharing a network with other lighting software.
- Connect Your Software: guides for other applications.