Multi-projector Spanning: Cameras, Cables, Midi and Ableton Live

By jaymis

Recently I had two matched projectors for a couple of hours, so I decided to try and achieve a seamless scrolling effect with live camera sources.

vixid-multiprojector-3825

Through luck rather than planning, all of my video cameras are from Sony, and they all have the same type of cable for composite analog-out. Looking for better quality, I picked up half a dozen of these replacement cables, which have both S-Video and Composite jacks. This allows me to send a single camera output to 2 separate layers, setting the stage for some multi-screen spanning.

The Setup

Put the VJX into Battle Mode (Menu > Video > Mixmode > Battle 2*2)
Set Outputs for separate projectors (Menu > Video > Outputs > Choose “Master 1″ for first projector, “Master 2″ for second)

Plug one output from each camera into each side of the mixer:
Camera 1:
Composite Output - Track 1, Input 1
S-Video Output - Track 3, Input 3
Camera 2:
Composite Output - Track 2, Input 1
S-Video Output - Track 4, Input 3
… and then hold down the “Input” button and select these inputs.
For each track in turn:
Enable Background Alpha
Enable Scroll FX

Midi Control

The VJX has a complete midi map, covering almost every function available (apart from saving and loading of presets). The VJX has a pretty intuitive control setup for the huge amount of options available, but it would be physically impossible to control independent parameters for 4 tracks concurrently, which is where external midi enters the picture.