Dome Calibration

Oden Dome Player is used to project to projection domes. The application also includes tools for calibration of the dome using a camera. This guide contains step by step instructions for dome calibration using Oden Dome Player.

Dome calibration is an advanced multi-step procedure that requires time and patience to master. Please allocate plenty of time for the first attempt at dome calibration.

Required equipment

  • PC

    • Nvidia graphics card, GTX1080 or newer strongly recommended

    • Windows 10

  • Calibration camera

    • 4K resolution or greater is recommended

    • High quality fisheye lens

      • The dome will only be calibrated up to the field of view of the camera + lens. If there is screen outside of what is visible to the camera it will not be calibrated.

    • If camera is an HDMI or SDI camera it needs to be connected with capture card to PC, e.g. Decklink

  • Calibration board, for calibrating the calibration camera

System configuration

  1. Setup projectors

    1. Connect projectors to the PC

    2. Turn on all projectors are make sure they all show Windows desktop

    3. Go into "Display Settings" and set the multiple monitors option to "extend these displays"

      1. Turn on and configure NVIDIA Surround.

  2. Install Oden Dome Player

  3. Verify that the calibration camera can be received by Oden Dome Player

  4. Set focus on the calibration camera

Dome calibration procedure

  1. Open Oden Dome Player

  2. Go to Application Settings  Window Mode and select Fullscreen

  3. Close the application and open it again to enter full screen mode

  4. Save the project and give it the name "dome_calibration.vproj" or some other name that is easy to remember

  5. Position the calibration camera in the dome

    1. Important: the calibration camera must be positioned in the position of the head of the observer of the dome

  6. Connect the calibration camera to the PC

  7. Add a Stitched Video entity to the scene

  8. Calibrate the calibration camera

  9. Save the project

  10. Go to Application Settings and set the Rendering Mode to Dome

  11. Go to Dome Renderer  Calibration  Source and select your camera

  12. Click Start Calibration

    1. A calibration pattern will be displayed on the projectors. Please wait until the calibration process is done.

  13. Close the project

  14. Add a Calibration Sphere entity to the scene

  15. Verify that the lines of the calibration sphere pattern appears non-distorted

  16. Go to Application Settings  Dome Renderer

    1. Change the Adjust Angles until the calibration sphere is correctly leveled

      1. Make sure to hit "Ctrl+Q" before doing this, to center the view

    2. Under Edge Blending  Edge Blend Zones, add a blend zone for each overlapping projector pair

    3. Adjust the Dome Border Cutoff settings so no part of the projector is projecting image outside the projection surface

  17. Calibration of the dome should now be complete