Panoramic Projection - Projection Wizard

Last updated 7 August 2026

The Projection Setup Wizard creates a complete multi-projector rig in one step — a surface and a set of evenly-spaced, pre-aimed projectors — saving you from positioning each projector manually. This guide covers flat panoramas and cylindrical curved screens.

Watch: Video: Panorama Projection with Calibrator Lite

Before you start

You know the physical dimensions of your screen (width, height, diameter for curved)
You know how many projectors cover the screen and their approximate throw ratio
You have GPU outputs configured for each projector

Steps

1. Open the Projection Setup Wizard

In Scene Objects, click + (Add scene object) and hover Projection Setup Wizard. You can open the same menu by right-clicking in the Scene View.

Two setup types appear as submenus. Hovering one opens its fields, with a Create button at the bottom — the whole wizard lives inside the menu.

Type	Use when
Panorama	Flat screen — multiple projectors tiling side by side
Curved	Cylindrical screen — projectors arranged around the arc

The wizard covers these two geometries only. A dome, disc, cube, sphere, torus or imported model has to be built by hand — add the surface, then add and aim each projector yourself.

2. Configure the screen

For a flat Panorama:

Setting	Description	Values / Range
Screen Width	Total screen width.	Metres, 0.5–100
Screen Height	Screen height.	Metres, 0.5–50

For a Curved screen:

Setting	Description	Values / Range
Diameter	Cylinder diameter.	Metres, 1–100
Height	Screen height.	Metres, 0.5–50
Opening Angle	Arc of the screen (180 = semicircle, 360 = full cylinder).	Degrees, 10–360
Screen Rotation	Offset rotation if the screen is not centred on the default axis.	Degrees, −180 to 180

3. Configure the projectors

Both setup types share this block. Spacing and aim are computed from these values — you never place a projector by hand.

Setting	Description	Values / Range
Projector Count	Number of projectors covering the screen.	1–20
Distance	Distance from each projector to the screen surface.	Metres, 0.1–100
Throw Ratio	From your projector's data sheet.	0.1–10
Aspect Ratio	Image aspect ratio.	0.2–5 (defaults to 1.778)
Lens Shift	Horizontal and vertical offset for off-centre mounting.	Pair of floats
Tilt	Pitches every projector up or down from the computed aim.	Degrees, −90 to 90
Rotate	Rotates the whole projector arrangement about the screen.	Degrees, −180 to 180

4. Create the setup

Click Create. Backstage generates:

A scene group — Panorama Setup or Curved Setup — containing all components
A surface matching the screen type and dimensions
One projector per count, evenly distributed and automatically aimed at the surface

5. Fine-tune individual projectors

After creation, select each projector in the scene hierarchy. In Projector Properties, adjust the optics for the physical projector at that position — real installations rarely match perfectly calculated positions.

Re-running the wizard regenerates the entire rig from scratch. Fine-tune individual projectors after the wizard run, not before re-applying it.

6. Route projectors to outputs and add content

Open Video Routing and click the cell where each projector's row meets its GPU output. Then drag your content asset onto the surface — the content is automatically distributed across all projectors through the surface mapping.

Common Mistakes

Wizard-generated projectors don't cover the screen — the Distance or Throw Ratio values are incorrect. Recalculate from the projector data sheet and re-run the wizard.
Projectors show nothing on the physical outputs — the wizard creates virtual scene objects only. Routing each projector in the Video Routing matrix is still required.
Fine-tuned projectors get reset — re-running the wizard regenerates the entire rig. Fine-tune after the wizard run, not before.
The wizard refuses the surface — starting a projection setup from an existing surface works for a plane or a cylinder only. Any other geometry reports an unsupported surface type, and the rig has to be built by hand.

Tips

Start with the wizard defaults and adjust per-projector after creation — it is much faster than positioning projectors manually.
Projector Count goes down to one, so the wizard is worth using even for a single projector — it places and aims the projector instead of leaving you to judge the frustum by eye.
For curved screens, the Opening Angle controls how much of the cylinder the screen covers — 180 degrees is a common choice for a semicircular cinema screen.
For panoramic content, create media at the full panoramic resolution so each projector displays its corresponding section without stretching.

Create a Display — single-projector setup from scratch

Blend Multiple Projectors — set up soft edge blending between projectors

Scene — all scene and projection workflows