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Thread: Beyond Universe setup - How To?

  1. #1
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    Default Beyond Universe setup - How To?

    Hi
    Im trying to figure out how to make a Universe in Beyond, to fit my needs and setup.
    I find the documentation uncomplete when it comes to explaining this, and especially when it comes to what is supported in what version for Beyond. For the record - i have a license for Essentials. I I also have the license that grant me full access to the old 2.1? version of Beyond if that might do things better.

    The setup I want to make in Beyond is quite simple.
    Using 3 FB3`s and 5projectors where 1 PJ in center top - 2 PJ as sattelite top mirrored and 2 PJ as sattelite bottom mirrored.

    When opening Universe, there seem to be no way of editing anythin in my version of Beyond 4 B1309. So the question then is. Is this function disabled in Essentials? (Compaire version chart did not give me an answer)
    Will i be able to use the old Beyond version to create a universe, and then use it in 4.0?

    Edit:
    Reason for asking is to be able to use the preview window to get the best idea of how the result of the show would look like.

    Thanks for any answers kicking me in the right direction.

    Espen
    Last edited by Datsurb; 04-10-2020 at 04:00.
    __________________________________________________ __________

    More projects than time available.
    More projects started than finished.
    More money spent than earned.
    More failure than success.
    Just got to love lasers!

  2. #2
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Datsurb View Post
    Im trying to figure out how to make a Universe in Beyond
    Suggest you get in touch with Rick (Hitekvoop here on PL); he's spent a lot of time building his universe for Beyond. I'm sure he can point you in the right direction!

    i have a license for Essentials. I I also have the license that grant me full access to the old 2.1? version of Beyond
    If you are using FB3s or FB4s, you may want to be cautious... I know that Beyond version 4.0 requires you to update the firmware on any FB3 or FB4 hardware you have connected before the software will run. But once you upgrade the firmware on your controllers, you can not run the earlier versions of Beyond on that hardware ever again. I know this is the case for both Beyond 3.0 and Beyond 2.1, because I've tried it myself after updating a couple FB3s to the latest 4.0 firmware.

    I don't know if the special launch edition (Beyond 2.0) will work with newer firmware or not, but I believe it will not. (Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken here...)

    Note that if you are using the QM-2000 with Beyond it will work with all versions.

    Adam

  3. #3
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    Default

    Thanks for answering Buffo.

    I have done a little investigation, and i found out that it is possible importing a universe made in Beyond 2.0 into 4.0. So if the design option is no longer possible in the Essentials edition, then I could try to make something in the older 2.0 version.

    As for the firmware upgrade of the FB3`s.
    There seem to be NO issue at all for me. But i think in order to make this work properly, you have to download the legacy version of 2.0 Build 699B that Pangolin have made available in the downloadsection on the website. That said, I have trouble starting the 3D editor when doing so, but I have gotten it to work as well. Just don`t remember how at the moment. So there shold be no issue upgrading the FB3`s to work with the newest version of Beyond. Only thing nagging me badly is that you even so often have to download the newest version to make it work. Pangolin have adapted Microsoft forced updateregime in order to get off as easy as possible when it comes to maintain the software. Just waiting to se when it all becomes an Beyond365 subscription.

    Still to do
    For the setup i 2.0 I have come as far as understanding that the Zones are the area where the beams or graphics lands in the landscape. That was kind of logic. What is not so logic is that i can`t find any way of assigning an FB3 to the Projector placed in the Universe. For now all projectors show the same output regardless. Beeing able to tell the software what PJ are assigned to what FB3 would be nice to know. Next step then would be to assing a mirrorfunction to a projector hooked up to the same FB3. I guess this is how many of us do it in real life.

    Wishing all my friends here at PL a happy easter, and please stay healthy during this diffucult periode of time.

    Espen
    __________________________________________________ __________

    More projects than time available.
    More projects started than finished.
    More money spent than earned.
    More failure than success.
    Just got to love lasers!

  4. #4
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Datsurb View Post
    I can`t find any way of assigning an FB3 to the Projector placed in the Universe. For now all projectors show the same output regardless.
    Not sure I understand correctly... Did you assign each controller to a separate zone first, in the Zone Settings menu?

    Being able to tell the software what PJ are assigned to what FB3 would be nice to know.
    I'm pretty sure you need to do this in the zone setup and hardware setup menus, not in the Universe, assuming I understand your question properly.
    I'm curious as to what Rick Hellman has to say about this...

    Next step then would be to assigning a mirror function to a projector hooked up to the same FB3.
    With the Advanced and Ultimate versions of Beyond you have access to the "Also To:" zone feature, which makes this really easy - just make a zone called "ALL" and use "Also To" to copy the output from ALL to a bunch of other zones. But without that feature you have to assign multiple zones to the individual cues (or the tracks on the timeline) by hand.

    Adam

  5. #5
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    Laser Warning

    Quote Originally Posted by Datsurb View Post
    Thanks for answering Buffo.

    I have done a little investigation, and i found out that it is possible importing a universe made in Beyond 2.0 into 4.0. So if the design option is no longer possible in the Essentials edition, then I could try to make something in the older 2.0 version.
    That's cool! Didn't know you could do that.

    Still to do
    For the setup i 2.0 I have come as far as understanding that the Zones are the area where the beams or graphics lands in the landscape. That was kind of logic. What is not so logic is that i can`t find any way of assigning an FB3 to the Projector placed in the Universe. For now all projectors show the same output regardless. Beeing able to tell the software what PJ are assigned to what FB3 would be nice to know. Next step then would be to assing a mirrorfunction to a projector hooked up to the same FB3. I guess this is how many of us do it in real life.
    I can tell you how I run my setup:


    I number my projectors (in the hardware window) like so: C=1, L1=2, R1=3, L2=4, R2=5, L3=6, R3=7, etc i do it like this because I never know exactly how many lasers I'll have on site, so I always start at the center. If I'm running no center projector, I put a dummy in @ position #1. Now there is a rule: Everything left of center is an even # projector, everything right of center is an odd # projector. Once that's done, I move on to zones:


    I name my zones like you see above. So for a 9 projector setup I'd do something like: L4, L3, L2, L1, C, R1, R2, R3, R4


    In the Zones menu, if you assign these in order such that L4 (or your left-most projector is the first entry in your projection zones) then your left to right will be sequential in your preview window if you select gallery view in the upper right of the preview window. That's one easy way to get your zones where you want them to be just using the preview window.

    One super handy tip for the preview window: If you use it in gallery mode, go into settings->configuration->laser preview and set a custom grid size at the bottom. Then when you right click the preview window you can select your custom size.

    Otherwise, if you want to use the preview window in single view mode: back in the Projection Zones dialog box, for every zone there's a bunch of preview settings that will carry over to the main preview window when it's in single view mode and be arranged how you set them.

    Another Protip: If you're on the Geometry tab of the Projection Zones dialog, you can copy and only paste geometry from zone to zone, so if you want to copy paste geometry settings you wont blow away your preview window settings (or change anything else outside geometry for that matter). There's a similar "paste only" behavior for the Beam Attenuation Map settings.

    As for mirroring, here's how I do mine:

    Code:
    exit
    OnChange:
      ControlZone L2; AngleDelta 0,180,0
      ControlZone L1; AngleDelta 0,180,0
    exit
    That will toggle the left 2 zones 180 on the Y. This is the method I chose personally after much deliberation based on my propensity to rotate zones and the AngleDelta doesn't require me to keep state.

    Wishing all my friends here at PL a happy easter, and please stay healthy during this diffucult periode of time.
    Thanks! Hope yours was lovely.
    Espen
    -Rick

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