You can probably use the Deform FX. Start with the preset Bend horizontally or Bend vertically and change the settings if needed. Combine with Pan/Crop or Track motion.

Jøran Toresen

thanks chienworks,
I know that in reality I would need to use an algorithmic effect ( like AF
have)
But your suggestion is in the style of tests I'm doing now and I will try it'
actualy is the outer surface (convex) of a cylinder .I have to do the opposite with the fade in the height mask.

I plugged the projector in the place of the external monitor and I'm projecting directly from the Vegas TM onto a cylinder to see results.

Thanks also to Jøran Toresen
I tried everything and I still open to other suggestions

Working in the same way that the Jøran Toresen suggestion I find a Vegas effect plugin:
"Lens Correction "
from Newbluefx in the "Video Essentials II" collection.
I think is the only solution at the moment.

As a long-time developer of geometric modeling software, let me throw in my two cents:

Whatever your target projection surface will be, that is what you must transform to in your rendering. That is, if you will project onto a cylinder, you must first map your video onto an identical cylinder in your editor. If you want to do this in Vegas, you would have to apply a trigonometric function (Sine, Cosine, Tangent) to the axis that is mapped along the curvature. However, Vegas does not have this ability. You must therefore use a compositing tool.

The tools that can do this are Boris FX, Boris Red, Adobe AE and some others. However, they are rather expensive for the casual user. My recommendation is to download the WAX plugin from Debugmode, which is free. It can map geometry onto a number of surface primitives such as a block, cylinder, cone, sphere, torus and hyperboloid.

Again, try to match your target geometry as closely as possible in your compositor.

Peter

Thanks Peter for your "two cents". I have installed Boris Fx and the Wax plugin.
Now with all these weapons I think I will be able to solve this problem.

A better solution would be to used a curved video display. These are available using flexible LED displays.
The problem with compensating the image before it's projected is you're possibly going to loose a lot of resolution in the process depending on how curved the surface is and how far around the surface you want to project the video.

Bob.

Yes Bob, that`s the way I`m working now, using directly a cylindre model at short distance to test results.I explained the kind of work we do in another post :
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=630260&Replies=5

Obviously losing quality is not interesting, because we are projecting from about 30 meters onto a cylindrical monument.
We must find a balance..
On the other hand I do have trouble recognizing the Wax plugin with vegas vegas 8 and 9

Anyone has any information about a solution for this problem?

You don't need wax. Vegas 9 has a Deform FX. I can't test it as I don't have a cylinder and a projector however I could quite easily get what looks like the transform you require using it.

Bob.

Using this Fx was my first reflex, and globally works well.
Boris Fx I think adds more possibilities.
Today I have another problem. Play uncompressed video smoothly is not easy but until now could do quite well.
The last time the reading was nervous and almost jumps at times
Anyone knows how to solve this?

I am working with a Dell Precision Workstation M6300
(Windows XP Pro, Core Duo 2.40GHz, 4GB Ram but only 3.5 recognized by Windows )
and only one video track with audio in the timeline.

Why are you trying to play uncompressed video?
The data rate required is quite high, for SD at least 2 SATA drives in RAID 0, for HD a serious RAID is required.
The 8 bit Sony YUV codec has a much lower data rate and should play smoothly on your system if it's only SD. For HD you could use the XDCAM 422 codec that's 50Mbps and will not require overly fast disk speeds.

Bob.

I explained here why I'm using uncompressed video
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?MessageID=630260&Replies=5
HD video projectors ( 10 Klu or more) are quite expansive to use for regular performance. SD is the option to propose affordable prices.
I confess that I feel lost in the video codecs world and project uncompressed video was the best solution I could find so far.Good quality, and easy to make modifications on spot at the last moment with Vegas.
But I would be very happy to hear other suggestions.
How can I try the Sony YUV to make a comparison?

"How can I try the Sony YUV to make a comparison?"

When you render to AVI select Custom, Video tab then Codec "Sony YUV Codec" The 8 bit one should be adequate for your needs.

Bob.

Ok thanks very much for the information. In your opinion the quality of the YUV is closer to the DV codec or the uncompressed?

DV is 4:1:1 if you're in NTSC land.
Sony YUV is 4:2:2.
Uncomp is labelled 4:4:4 although that's not quite true.

From those numbers I'd say closer DV however I have zero knowledge of how much DCT compression is used in DV compared to the YUV codec. The Sony YUV codec is what is standard for broadcast, DV is not.

From my experience projecting video onto large surfaces (cinema screens) the biggest single factor is having enough lumens in the projector. That far outweighs concerns about codecs used. One cinemas projection system down here (eCinema) uses mpeg-2 compression.

Bob.

I could compare the difference in definition of details between the Dv and uncompressed, not huge but enough to ruin a performance.

When you are projecting onto a regular and homogeneous surface as a screen, the eye "sees" and the brain completes the missing details from the conventional images of a movie.

It’s not the same onto the irregular surface of a building facade, creating morphing illusions and FX effects just with video projection
The brain has no references and the detailed information is needed to believe what it is seeing

For my job the image definition is crucial, as the power of the projector as you say wisely. Thanks again for your help
Emilio

That's an interesting observation about the impact of projecting onto non flat surfaces. Makes sense as some pixels must end up elongated.

General consensus is that the difference between DV and 4:2:2 is noticeable to even the untrained eye. The difference between 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 is much harder to see. Having said that though that's for moving images on flat surfaces not graphics on curved surfaces so you'd certainly need to test this in your scenario. You'll certainly ease the load on the HDD system going to the Sony YUV codec compared to uncompressed.

Bob.

<."You'll certainly ease the load on the HDD system going to the Sony YUV codec compared to uncompressed"
Absolutely !, and excepting sometimes, where uncomp is the only solution to save the alpha channel transparency , I think will be a great solution to avoid breaks playing videos.
Now , just out of curiosity, what kind of compression is used by the RAM preview?

I ve been reading his thread to see what solutions you come up with

I like the concept you are using video for..lots of potential

Have you tried looking at the solution using 2 projectors one left and right off centre
When you generate the content say 1600 x 500 project settings
But for the right projector renderonly the right side of the project with the middle overlap..the same for the left with the middle overlap
So when you project the image move the projectors so that you get a good overlap and the image looks right…it will work
You would have to make sure your projectors play out the content at the same time this shouldn’t be a problem

The effect could be funky as you move your point of interest left and right
So use your problem as an advantage and play with it rather than try to hide it

Cindy Crawford uses her mole to her advantage its makes her more interesting

"Now , just out of curiosity, what kind of compression is used by the RAM preview? "

I can only guess uncompressed based on how much RAM is used for Best/Full. It'd also make sense as this would entail the least CPU load.

Bob.

Hi XFX,
thanks for enriching the thread with your opinions
In fact,you are not far from the reality of the project, which is to use three projectors, and thus completing the 360 degrees around the monument
How to sync it,i s using the Matrox TripleHead2Go.
But with one, two or three projectors will always have a deformation of the image, accentuated by the angle of the projection from the bottom.
Theoretically this idea should work. The problem is to find appropriate locations (and approved by Dublin Garda) to place the projectors, at the intersection of streets where the monument is located.
I believe my problems not even started yet, ha ha.

Bob,
You think that a 10K or 15 k RPM HD would be interesting to use?
Some people say yes, others give more importance to the processor power
For a long time I want to buy one, and maybe is the moment for this project.
I have a eSata conexion by the Express card port, to use with my laptop in external drive mode.

"You think that a 10K or 15 k RPM HD would be interesting to use?"

Interesting and expensive. SAS drives and controllers are not cheap. They also don't hold much data either so you end up buying more drives that cost much more per unit, cost goes up dramatically.

I run two SATA drives using mobo based hardware RAID and 4:2:2 plays out very smoothly. Even with that uncompressed is right on the limit, if you're just playing it out you might be OK.

One way to get a very cheap fast drive is to buy a 1.5T or 1T drive and change the drive firmware to limit it to say 300GB. The disk is now faster than a Velociraptor!

http://www.techwarelabs.com/seagate_1-5tb-mod/

You could also consider using a SSD, Intel have some cheaper and faster units coming out soon.

Bob.