NX2™ Training - Part 9 (Using Pixel Mapped Video in DYLOS™)

NX2™ Training Part 9 shows how DYLOS™ turns pixel mapping into a live, effects-driven workflow—letting lighting programmers treat video like a controllable source across fixtures, then reshape it with overrides and DYLOS-specific effects. The core move is creating a DYLOS “zone” in the 2D plan view, which acts like a virtual display area. Once that zone is enabled (including dialog support when prompted), it can be resized and repositioned on the fly while content is running, with changes reflecting immediately across the rig.

After the zone exists, DYLOS programming starts from a familiar console concept—submasters and parameters still behave like regular controls—but the “source” becomes the video feed. A traditional pixel-mapped setup is demonstrated by selecting a media source (for example, a color folder item) and assigning it to the zone. The result is straightforward: the video plays across the fixtures, including ground strip lights, and the 2D plan view shows which cells map to which parts of the image. DYLOS also provides a “TV-like” zone interface whose transparency can be adjusted, making it easier to see either the underlying fixture colors or the overlay used for mapping.

From there, the workflow shifts from static mapping to creative manipulation. The training records the initial pixel-mapped look as a cue using a regular cue list to avoid unwanted overrides to media selections. Then it demonstrates two key DYLOS capabilities: (1) overrides that apply parameter changes to the zone while the media runs, and (2) DYLOS effects that go beyond basic mapping. One example uses a pan/tilt rotation control as an override—moving a fader to rotate the video clip and its mapping simultaneously, with the rotation visible in both the source preview and the 2D plan.

The most distinctive programming technique is “two preset mapping.” Instead of mapping intensity/RGB/CMY uniformly, DYLOS can switch into a preset-based view where two pan/tilt presets (such as a fan and a downstage center preset) define how the video is distributed across fixtures. With a video source selected, the system generates an effect that can be recorded to a queue, then quickly changed by swapping media sources. The same two-preset mapping can be repurposed for color chases: selecting two colors (e.g., violet and red) creates a chase across the rig that’s described as difficult to achieve in standard effects workflows.

Finally, DYLOS “effects” layers add transformations to the chase/mapped content. The training highlights deformation and tile effects—turning a linear chase into a circular pattern, mirroring it, creating a mirrored tunnel, and generating tiled multiples of the video image. The takeaway is that DYLOS combines pixel mapping, preset-based spatial logic, live overrides, and built-in effect filters so programmers can switch media and reshape looks quickly and organically during a show—without abandoning the console’s familiar cue and parameter control model.