Dome Projection - Projection Wizard

The Projection Setup Wizard's Dome option creates a hemisphere surface with evenly-spaced, pre-aimed projectors in one step. It handles ring layout, a top projector, and shared or per-ring lens settings so you do not have to position each projector manually.

See also: Dome Projection with Spherical Distortion Lenses and Calibrator - calibrating a dome with spherical distortion lenses and the external Calibrator (a different route)

Before you start

• You know the dome diameter and how many projectors cover it
• You have the throw ratio and aspect ratio from each projector's data sheet
• You have GPU outputs configured for each projector

Steps

1. Open the Projection Setup Wizard

In Scene Objects, right-click and hover Projection Setup Wizard, then select Dome. The wizard opens as a panel inside the menu, with a Create button at the bottom.

2. Set the dome dimensions

Set Diameter to the physical dome diameter (1-100). The wizard creates a hemisphere with its rim at floor level.

Use Layout Rotation (-180 to 180 degrees) to rotate the entire projector arrangement around the dome if the entrance or seating is not aligned with the default orientation.

3. Set projector count and arrangement

Set Projector Count to the total number of projectors covering the dome (1-20). Every projector mounts on the rim at floor level, regardless of the ring count.

Tick Top Projector (on by default) to dedicate one projector to the apex of the dome. The count includes this projector: with Top Projector ticked and a count of 5, four projectors sit on the rim and one points straight up.

Set Rings to divide the dome surface into latitude bands that groups of rim projectors aim at. All rim projectors stay at the same height on the rim; rings control where on the dome each group points. With one ring, every rim projector aims at the same band near the base. With two or more rings, the lower ring's projectors aim near the rim while higher rings aim further up toward the apex, giving fuller dome coverage.

Projectors are not divided equally between rings. Lower rings, which cover a wider area of the dome, receive more projectors than higher rings. With 8 rim projectors over 2 rings, expect an uneven split rather than 4 and 4.

The maximum number of rings is limited by the number of rim projectors, so ticking Top Projector or lowering Projector Count can reduce the ring number you have set.

4. Set shared lens properties

The next block of fields applies to every projector in the dome by default:

• Throw Ratio - from the projector data sheet (default 0.90, range 0.1-10)

• Aspect Ratio - image aspect ratio (default 1.7778, range 0.2-5)

• Lens Shift - horizontal and vertical offset for off-centre mounting

• Tilt Offset - pitches projectors up or down (-90 to 90 degrees)

• Rotate - rotates projectors about their axis (-180 to 180 degrees)

These values are inherited by every ring and the top projector unless overridden individually.

5. Override lens settings per ring (optional)

Below the shared lens fields, one collapsible expander appears for each ring (Ring 1, Ring 2, etc.) and one for Top Coverage if the top projector is enabled. Each expander either reads Uses shared lens settings. or shows its own Throw Ratio, Aspect Ratio, Lens Shift, Tilt Offset and Rotate fields that override the shared values for that ring only.

Use per-ring overrides when different rings use different projector models, or when the top projector has a different throw ratio from the rim projectors.

6. Create the dome

Click Create. Backstage generates a scene group containing:

• A dome surface matching the diameter

• One projector per count, placed on the rim and aimed at the dome according to the ring layout

The setup is stored on the scene group, so the wizard dome stays re-editable: select the group in Scene Objects and open its Projection Setup section in the Inspector. Editing the values there updates every object in the group live — Count adds or removes projectors, and everything else repositions and re-aims them.

7. 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 dome surface. The content is automatically distributed across all projectors through the surface mapping.

Wizard-generated domes use the same mesh and transforms as a manually created dome, so dome UV mapping behaves identically. Any content you map onto a dome built by hand works the same way on a wizard dome.

Common Mistakes

• Projectors show nothing on the physical outputs - the wizard creates virtual scene objects only. Route each projector to a GPU output in Video Routing.

• Building a multi-level projector mount for a dome rig - every projector mounts on the rim at the same height, regardless of how many rings the wizard uses. Rings control which latitude band of the dome surface each group of projectors aims at, not the height of the projectors themselves.

• Rings dropped after ticking Top Projector - the maximum number of rings is limited by the number of rim projectors. Enabling the top projector reduces the rim count by one, which can lower a ring number you already set. Increase Projector Count if you need more rings.

• Per-ring overrides seem to reset - a ring with no override inherits the shared lens values above, it does not store zeros. If you change the shared Throw Ratio, every non-overridden ring follows the new value.

• Fine-tuned projectors get reset - editing any value in the group's Projection Setup recalculates every projector's position and lens settings. Fine-tune individual projectors only after the wizard values are finalised.

Tips

• Start with the wizard defaults and adjust per-projector after creation. It is much faster than positioning projectors manually around a dome.

• For a typical dome theatre with one top projector and four to six rim projectors, one ring is usually enough. Add a second ring when the dome is large enough that a single aim band leaves a visible gap between the rim coverage and the apex.

• Dome projectors usually have a short throw ratio (under 1.0). Check the data sheet and enter the value before creating, since it determines how far the projected image reaches up the dome.

• Use Layout Rotation to align the projector seams away from the primary viewing direction or the entrance.

• After routing and content assignment, blend the overlapping projectors. See Blend Multiple Projectors.

Related

Panoramic Projection - Projection Wizard - flat panoramas and cylindrical curved screens with the same wizard

Dome Projection with Spherical Distortion Lenses and Calibrator - dome calibration with spherical distortion lenses and the external Calibrator

Blend Multiple Projectors - soft edge blending between projectors

Route Projectors and Displays to Outputs (Video Routing) - routing projectors to GPU outputs

Scene - all scene and projection workflows