Documentation Center

Viz Artist User Guide

Version 3.14 | Published October 30, 2020 ©

Image Channels

This section details how to create, assign and work with Image Channel media assets.

Image Channels are mainly used in conjunction with Viz Multiplay for creating video wall layouts. However, you can also use Image Channels to add images to a 2D environment in DVE mode. You can still add additional 3D objects to your scene tree, but the Image Channel always resides in the background of your scene unless you change the layer order via the DVE menu.

Note: Image Channels are designed to work only in DVE mode, not Texture mode.

images/download/attachments/50613791/ic_main.jpg

Some of the benefits of using Image Channels are:

  • Replaces Transition Logic.

  • Eliminates the need to use special plugins to adjust image proportions.

  • Shows assets only when they are fully loaded.

  • Provides a notification as soon as assets are available.

  • Allows you to design your own transition to use to switch between elements.

Image Channel Global Settings

The Image Channel media asset global settings are available in the Media Asset Panel. Here, you can manipulate transformation of the currently selected channel. By clicking on the label IMAGECHANNEL1 in the Global Settings panel, you can switch between all used Image Channels in the scene. This applies to all Global Settings for the different types of Media Assets.

images/download/attachments/50613791/ic_gs_b.png

  • BB Tracking: Applies any change to the bounding box to the dimensions of the image channel immediately for any container assigned this property. This property is only available if Basic mode is selected.

  • Alpha: Defines the alpha value of the image channel. Optionally, you can drag a reference container to this property, every change in the alpha value of the reference container is applied to the image channel.

Switching between Basic and Content is indicated by blue input fields.

images/download/attachments/50613791/ic_gs_c.png

Note: If you use more than one image channel in your scene, you can switch between the image channels in the scene by clicking the IMAGECHANNEL1 label.

Image Channel Specific Settings

The following settings lets you to manipulate the content inside the Image Channel:

images/download/attachments/50613791/ic_chans.jpg

  • Image: Determines the image to use for the channel. Drag or load the image here.

  • Zoom Mode: Selects the zoom mode for the image. The options are Original, Scale to fill, Scale to fit minimum and Scale to fit maximum.

  • Border Color: Defines a border color, and defines the color and alpha value of the border.

Enforced Background Loading

Similar to generic images in the scene tree, images for image channels can be loaded using background loading even if background loading is disabled in the config. To enforce background loading, use the following command when loading an image:

VizEngine commands
$(scene)*IMAGECHANNEL*$(id)*IMAGE SETBGL $(image_path_or_uuid_or_url)
example:
MAIN_SCENE*IMAGECHANNEL*2*IMAGE SETBGL <31E74EAF-E4B1-254C-B50987E7DF19182F>