Configuring the Helios and Mimik panels

Using Megapixel VR Helios on MagicQ (v4.0)

In order to use the Mimik panels it is important to connect the Mimik panels in the correct order to the Helios.

The Heliostracks the panels by the order that they are daisy chained together.  Any change to this order will change the assignment of receivers to Groups and will change the area of the input signal displayed on the panels.  The Helios does even when using the web interface to control it, regardless of whether a lighting console is used.

The Mimik 120 panels have two receivers and two network ports.  In order to get a left to right operation of the panel the network cable from the Helios should be plugged into the top network port and the network cable to the next panel in the line should come from the bottom network port.

To keep things simple the panels should be connected from left to right around the set.

On the Helios or MagicQ when set to Identify the panels will show their number as in the picture above.  The first number is the network output port on the Helios.  The second number is the ID within the chain of the receiver.  For example 1/3 is the 3^rd in the chain on the first network port output.

Assigning receivers to Groups on the Helios

In order to control the receivers from a lighting console they must first be assigned to Groups on the Helios.

Every time a Group is added on the Helios it assigns an internal Group number.  When Groups are removed, the Helios will continue to use new (increasing Group numbers) unless the Auto Remove Groups is set to “Yes”.

The Helios auto names new groups based on the internal Group number – but note that it is possible to change the Group name on the Helios – and this will not affect the internal Group number – this can cause much confusion.  We strongly recommend not to change thenames.

It is important for lighting consoles that the Group numbers remain static – otherwise all the programming on the lighting console will reference the wrong receivers.

When starting a new installation we recommend:

·        Setting Auto Remove Groups = “Yes”

·        Remove all Groups

·        Position your receivers from left to right in the Helios mapping window so they are in the same order as the physical panels

·        Moving from left to right assign each receiver to a Group – so the first receiver in your left to right chain is Group 1, and the last is e.g. Group 6

After you have created the Groups If you need to change the assignment of receivers (e.g. because there is an error in the order) then set Auto Remove Groups = No and then you can add / remove receivers from each group.

We recommend for simplicity and maximum control only having one receiver per group, and keeping a simple mapping of left to right ascending Group numbers.

After changes have been made to Groups on the Helios either restart MagicQ or press the REFRESH soft button in Media, View VR, View VR Groups to update MagicQ.

For use with the flags the whitefullhd.png should be loaded into the Still Store in the Helios.  Select Settings on the right hand side then the Still Store.

Each Group should then have the whitefullhd.png selected as the mask within the Group properties.  This is a workaround for a Helios limitation and will be fixed in a future version.

Install MagicQ

Go to the MagicQ advanced download site to see all the downloads including the stable, betas and alphas.

https://secure.chamsys.co.uk/bugtracker/download_magicq.php

We recommend using v1.9.6.0 or above software – versions before this may not connect properly.  We continue to make improvements in each latest MagicQ stable and beta software.

Starting MagicQ

Then select File, New Show from the toolbar and confirm YES, and then select LIVE (CUE Stack) mode.  This will clear any existing shows out of MagicQ and make your setup simple.

Then select the correct network interface.  Press SETUP button on the right hand side of the panel to open the Setup window.  Then select VIEW SETTINGS on the top buttons and select the Network tab.  Double click on the IP address to see the interfaces on your computer.

The IP address and Subnet mask should be the same as the network adaptor in your computer that you are using to connect to the Megapixel VR Helios.  You should ensure that the network adaptor is on the same address ranges as the Megapixel VR Helios – for example if the Helios is on 10.0.0.1 subnet mask 255.0.0.0 then your computer (and Setup in MagicQ) should be on e.g. 10.0.0.2 subnet 255.0.0.0.

Patching Megapixel VR Helios

MagicQ has support for the Megapixel VR Helios LED processor.  Within MagicQ the Megapixel VR Helios is treated like a media server with control of multi layers (referred to as MP Groups) each with intensity, position and colour control.

Whereas media servers generally take multiple layers of video with different position and size and combine them into one media output, the Megapixel VR Helios takes one media source and distributes it onto multiple LED outputs at different positions. However, from a control perspective it is similar control of multiple items that have Intensity, Position and Colour and have live previews.

Unlike other media servers the Megapixel VR Helios is not controlled over DMX - instead MagicQ connects directly to it over the network using the public REST API provided in the Helios enabling greater control and flexibility.  MagicQ converts its internally calculated DMX values to suitable values for sending over the REST API.

The Megapixel VR Helios is patched in the Patch Window by selecting CHOOSE DIM/MEDIA which gives a choice of head type.

Select "media server" and then select "megapixel".

This will have chosen the personality.  Now press PATCH IT.

Press ENTER to select the next free address – the address is not important as connection to the Megapixel VR Helios is via network not DMX.  When prompted regarding inserting into the visualiser select No.

This will automatically patch 30 Megapixel Group 20ch heads each named MP GrpX where X is 1 to 30.  It will also create a Media Server in Setup, View System, View Media set to type of Megapixel VR and referencing the patched Megapixel heads.  Each head in MagicQ is automatically defaulted to control a Megapixel Group (1 to 30) on Media Server 1 - although this can be overridden when programming.

The number of Groups required depends on the number of separate Groups you wish to control on the Helios processor.  In MagicQ, use the REMOVE button to remove any unrequired Megapixel Groups from the Patch.

The Magapixel Group 20ch personality has the following attributes:

Note that there is no correlation between the normal MagicQ groups and the MP Groups on the Megapixel VR Helios.  When the Megapixel VR Helios is patched fresh into an empty show on MagicQ then the MP Groups will be patched as Heads with Head numbers 1 to 30 in MagicQ.  There will only be one MagicQ Group generated - which has all 30 MP Group heads in it.  We recommend that the Megapixel VRHelios is configured with one Megapixel Group for each LED panel controlled starting at Megapixel Group 1.

In order to connect to the Megapixel VR Helios set the IP address of the media server in Setup, View System, View Media to the IP address that the Megapixel VR Helios is using (displayed on its front panel display) and then set Live Preview to Enabled.

Checking connection

In MagicQ you can check connection in the Media Window.  Open the Media Window, use the top left soft button to bump through to VIEW VR.  Then select VIEW VR GROUPS soft button.

To see the receivers, press the VIEW VR RECEIVERS soft button.

After changes have been made to Groups on the Helios press the REFRESH soft button to update MagicQ.

Controlling Megapixel VR Helios

The Helios can be controlled using MagicQ standard lighting programming controls and windows – Group, Position, Colour Beam.  Each Megapixel group can be controlled independently.

Select a Megapixel Group using the keypad – e.g. 1 ENTER to select MP Grp 1 (Head 1 on MagicQ).

To set intensity use the intensity wheel or use the keypad to set a level – e.g. 1@ FULL.

Press POS to open the Position Window.  Then use X and Y encoders to move the position of the MP Grp.

Press COL to open the Colour Window.  Then use the encoders to change the Red, Green, Blue values.  To select a specific colour open the Colour Picker window using the top left soft button.

Press BEAM to open the Beam Window.  Press PAGE 5 to access the controls for the flags – Top flag, Left flag, Bottom Flag, Right Flag.  These reduce the pixels used on the Mimik panels.

Note that the Server will default to Media Server 1 – if you have setup the Megapixel Server in the Media Server window as a different Server then you will need to set the Server (Beam Page 1, Encoder A).

Using the Media Window

The Media Window enables controlling of all attributes of a media server in one window without changing to individual Int, Pos, Col, Beam windows.  The Media Window defaults to opening in VIEW SERVERS view.

The Media window has a VIEW VR view which can be selected by toggling through the views on the top left soft button.  In VIEW VR the whole window is used to show a large preview from the media server.  Note the Megapixel VR Helios limits the preview refresh rate to every half a second.  Unlike the View SERVERS View in the Media window, the Preview will continue to be refreshed even when the Megapixel VR Server is not selected in MagicQ - thus enabling the Preview to be constantly viewed regardless of selected heads.

The MP Groups are drawn on top of the preview.  Pressing within a MP Group selects it within MagicQ.  Selecting a MP Group selects that MP Group (Head in MagicQ) enabling it to be controlled.  The MP Group can be dragged around the preview to a new position. Hold SHIFT and click on multiple groups to select multiple groups.

Note that it is possible to open a second media window – press 2 MEDIA.

The MagicQ Megapixel demo show

The MagicQ show file MegaPixelVRxx.shw contains the latest version of a demo show for use with 3 Mimik 120 panels (6 receivers), where xx is the latest version of the file.

There are 3 programmed layouts on Layout buttons 1 to 3.  On the Stadium Connect they can be quickly accessed using the F1 to F3 buttons.

Layout 1 – full preview

Layout 2 – colour picking

Layout 3 – flag control

Playback Control

The playbacks on page 1 are programmed with 10 Cue Stacks.

Using the Mimiks as “Mimiks” of the volume

Playback 1 (PB1) is the main Video Cue Stack.  Raise playback fader 1 to output video to the Mimiks using the input source received into the Helios.  In the demo system this is received from the Black Magic Hyperdeck.

The Cue Stack has two Cues, each triggered by timecode.  Timecode is received into the Stadium Connect via XLR from the Hyperdeck.

The two Cues are very similar except that the second Cue samples a slightly different part of the input image – in the day video it samples the sun and in the night video it samples the ferris wheel – the sun and the ferris wheel are in different positions on the input source.

Using the Mimiks as lighting fixtures

Playback 2 (PB2) enables the use of the Mimiks as lighting fixtures.  Raise the fader to control all the Mimik panels using a single colour.  Press GO and PAUSE to step forward and back between White, Red, Green, Blue.

There is also a step for HDMI input (input will be taken from HDMI instead of SDI1) and a step for Test pattern.  The test pattern is the Identify on the Helios where the panels go blue with the ID numbers in white.  Note that PB2 is set to have priority of PB1 so will override any video.

Individual Intensity adjustment of the Mimiks

Playbacks 5 to 10 can be used to adjust the intensity of Mimiks individually.  Each of the playbacks has a Master Intensity for the particularly Mimik receiver.

To activate the playbacks press the GO button above the fader.  The fader will then operate as a master intensity, adjusting the level of the Mimik receiver.  Note that the fader is purely a master – it is not setting the intensity – so the overall intensity must be set by another playback – e.g. playback 1 or 2. 

Showing flags

The area of the Mimik panels used can be reduced by bringing in flags.  Playback 3 (PB3) demonstrates this.  As the fader is raised different flags will be brought in on receivers 1,3,4, and 6.

Note that PB3 is set to have priority over PB1 so will bring in flags on the video content.

Control of the Hyperdeck

Playback 4 can be used to jump the Hyperdeck to different parts of the video.  This can be useful when demonstrating the different lighting states – daylight, evening, night.

Use the GO and Pause buttons above the fader to step forward and back through the steps.

All the Steps loop the whole video except for the 5^th step which stops the video at the current position.  Day, Sunset and Night jump the video to the respective point – the video will continue to fully loop through its entirety from that point.

The Cue Stack consists of Cue Stack macros that are sent over custom TCP/IP protocol to the Hyperdeck using the Hyperdeck TCP/IP protocol.  There is no lighting Cue data – it is purely using Cue Stack macros to send TCP/IP messages.

See the Hyperdeck manual for a full list of commands.  To send a MagicQ command just enter the Hyperdeck command in the Cue Stack Macro field prefixed with Y” and postfixed with “,13,10

For example to go to 00:01:032:00 in the current clip, enter:

Y”goto:timecode:00:01:32:00”,13,10

Note that MagicQ shows ‘ instead of “.

There is a full set of commands in:

https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/HyperDeckManual.pdf

To configure MagicQ to send the messages go to the Setup Window, View Settings, Network. 

Set the Custom TCP/IP port type to TCP, the Custom TCPIP IP address to the IP address of the Hyperdeck and set Custom TCPIP port to 9993.

Pixel Mapping from MagicQ onto a Mimik (via the Helios)

MagicQ can control the Megapixel Helios to choose which input source the Helios uses.  This enables us to switch between an incoming video signal (from e.g. the Hyperdeck) and from a Pixelmapping video source direct from MagicQ.

MagicQ can now output a Pixel Mapping source direct as pixels to the external monitor on a MagicQ PC or MagicQ console.  This enables us to play single CMV movies and pixel mapping FX direct onto the Mimik without needed a separate video content generator.  In our Cinegear demo we have a fire effect as a CMV movie.

To set up MagicQ for outputting pixels direct from an Output grid to the external monitor do the following:

·        Add a Pixel Mapper to the MagicQ show.

·        Open the Output 2 Window (press 2 Output), select the required Grid Id.

·        Set the Grid Size to the size of the Mimik panel– for 1 Mimik set it to 120 / 60.

·        Do not insert any Heads in the grid.

·        Set the View Type of the Grid to Pixels.

·        In Setup, View Monitors set the Fixed Display for the 2^nd Monitor (or 3^rd for MQ500M) to Outputs 2.

·        Depending on the size of the canvas for theMimiks in the Helios you may need to Zoom the Output Grid in the 2^nd Output window so they fit to the Mimik panel.

Note that when MagicQ is outputting pixels directly on the 2^nd monitor or above it removes the top banner, so the pixel mapping pixels will start at 0,0 on the video output.

On a Mac you should make sure MagicQ is running full screen to ensure the pixels are placed at the correct offset on the 2^nd monitor.  Sometimes with Mac it shows the top banner which means the pixels are offset.

To switch sources from MagicQ set the test channel on the first patched Megapixel Group to 255.  This switches the Helios to use the HDMI input instead of the SDI1 input.  Changing back to any other value than 255 will return to the SDI1 input.

When sampling from the Pixel Map stream from MagicQ normally you set the position of the Mimik panels using the Groups in Megapixel to be 0,0 and 60,0 – but this may depend on the size of the Megapixel canvas.

Single Mimik Demo for Exhibitions

For exhibitions we have developed a separate show file to demonstrate the console integration with a single Mimik panel.  This is currently the cinegear1mimik.shw file.

Note that a single Mimik has two receiver cards (each 60x60 pixels) so is treated as 2 Megapixel Groups by MagicQ.  This enables one half of the panel to sample one area of the video stream and the other panel to sample a different area.

The show is very similar to the Megepixel VR show but reduces the number of playback faders allocated to Intensity groups in favour of Pixel Mapping and other features.

PB1 has the video input for showing the “Mimik” functionality – the Cues in the Cue Stack move the sampling area depending on the timecode – so different areas of the input are sampled for the day and night scenes of the Santa Monica pier and Ferris wheel.

PB2 controls the Hyperdeck to enable bumping between the day/night scenes.

PB3 brings in flags (shutters) to reduce the amount of the Mimik used

PB5 swaps the Helios input to use the MagicQ pixel mapper and plays back different pixel map FX including the Fire CMV and some internal generated pixel FX.

PB6 is pure block lighting on the whole panel – this can be coloured using the colour picker.

PB7 has a Police lights red/blue effect.

PB9 and PB10 are the Group Masters for the 2 receivers in the Mimik Panel.  Note as per normal Intensity Masters on MagicQ, GO must be pressed to activate them.

Troubleshooting

If the preview is not showing in Media, View VR then make sure

·        Media Server has been set up on MagicQ in Setup, View System, View Media

·        the Megapixel Group is selected in the Group window.

If you are having problems connecting seeing the Mimik panels in Media, View VR, View VR Groups please check:

·        Groups have been set up on the Helios.

·        The Group IDs in Helios (not the name) match those in use on MagicQ.  If in doubt, remove all Groups in the Helios and recreate them.  Then on MagicQ, View VR, View VR Groups press REFRESH.

If you are having problems controlling the Mimik panels check

·        The Sever and Group in the Megapixel Head are correct (check in the Output Window, View Heads)

·        Only one Megapixel Head is outputting to each Group on the Server

To troubleshoot problems in MagicQ set Extended Logging in MagicQ in Setup, View Settings, Hardware to Extended Logging.  Then go to the Media Window, View VR, VIEW VR Groups and press REFRESH.  This will log information into the log file regarding the connection. 

Please then save the Support file – Setup, View Status, Save Support and send it to [email protected] together with an explanation of the problem you are seeing.