Pixel mapping, as it’s referred to in the world of digital lighting, is the use of a media server (e.g. PRG Mbox, PID Catalyst, or Martin Maxedia) or another kind of software to map an image or video clip to a grid of LEDS and/or lighting fixtures. The image can be displayed across any type of fixture that has intensity (for example, PAR cans). In addition to intensity, an image with color information may also be displayed across automated fixtures with RGB or CMY attributes as well (for example, High End Systems Studio Color or Vari*Lite VL5).
Perfecting Pixel Mapping
Perhaps the most effective use of pixel mapping within media servers is when it is combined with color mixing LEDs like Element Labs Versa Tubes, PixelRange PixelPars or Color Kinetics ColorBlazes, to name a few. When these fixtures are grouped together in the lighting rig, they essentially create a low resolution display comprised of pixels of red, green and blue LEDs that show the content being rendered by the media server. And because we are talking about digital video from the perspective of a lighting console, all of this is controllable by a DMX512 lighting console.
Media Servers
Media servers in the lighting world today generally provide a means for mapping a piece of visual content (still images or movie clips) across an external display of fixtures, with each fixture representing one “pixel” in the image. While this article cannot possibly cover all of the features and differences between media servers, we can touch on some of the common features that most pixel mapping software programs provide.
The primary purpose of a pixel mapping application is to map the desired piece of content to the actual pixels in the display grid. Applications like Element Labs’ RasterMapper do this in a very straightforward way, starting with a grid of 1024×768. (In non-HD applications, this image resolution will be perfectly suitable.)
In a pixel mapping application, the user creates a pixel “map” by placing “fixtures” from the software’s internal fixture profile library into the display area. These fixture profiles, created according to the manufacturer’s DMX protocol, are much easier to drop into a layout than they would if you had to patch each pixel one at a time. And a big advantage of using the built-in profiles is that once the fixtures are added to the map, they can be arranged in the exact layout that appears on the stage with respect to the distance between each unit and the horizontal and vertical alignment.
Particular attention must also be given to the starting pixel on the device — whether the first pixel in the device at the top, bottom, left or right end of the fixture — and the order in which the fixtures are assigned DMX512 addresses for control, to assure correct image mapping and playback. Once all of the display devices have been added, the user uploads the pixel map to the LED fixtures via a proprietary control box like the Element Labs D2 for use with Versa Tubes or transmitted via ArtNet and converted to DMX512 to control an automated fixture.
Once the map has been created, the fun can begin. You can hook up a lighting console to the media server, connect the media server to the display devices, patch the media server into the console, and start creating looks. As an image is output from the media server, it will be mapped to the correct pixels of the lighting fixtures/LEDs, and the image will appear across the display area. This can be an extremely powerful way to provide visual energy to a stage and a much easier way of building dynamic color and movement sweeps across fixtures than building chases with the lighting console.
Pixel Mapping Control
Just about all of the major digital lighting media servers on the market today offer some kind of pixel mapping control interface. There are many options for these media servers — whether or not they are DMX512 controllable, what content formats they require, and their feature sets. The essential pixel mapping requirement is the same — assigning a pixel of an image to intensity and/or color of an LED or automated fixture.
Here are examples representing a few of the more common pixel mapping applications available to lighting designers, programmers, and visualists today:
Software:
Madrix
Element Labs RasterMapper (software is free, but D2 control box is also required)
SAMSC PixelMad
Arkaos LED Mapper
Radlite PixelDrive
Media Servers:
PRG Mbox
Martin Maxedia
SAMSC Catalyst
Green Hippo Hippotizer
Coolux Pandoras Box
Lighting Console Integrated/Proprietary Packages:
MA Lighting grandMA Video
ChamSys Magic Q
As the lighting world continues to merge with the video world, pixel mapping is becoming a more and more frequently-used effect by lighting designers. Also, as lighting consoles evolve, more tools and features are being added to help the lighting programmer manage all of the additional channels of DMX512 control for all of the LEDs and media servers that are playing a more important role in show production visuals. Convergence is playing a big part in the evolution of products in the lighting world, and knowledge of pixel mapping is expected of lighting programmers more than it used to be. So take some time to explore this new realm, where the worlds of lighting and video intersect.
