NDI in Projection Mapping: iPhone, iPad and Live Drawing

Cables limit where your sources can be. NDI® removes that limit: video travels over the local network, so a phone, a laptop or a camera anywhere on the Wi-Fi can feed your mapping. LayerMapper uses NDI in two directions – a free app that sends, and an input in MApp that receives.

Two pieces

• LayerMapper NDI (free, iPhone and iPad) broadcasts your device’s screen as an NDI source and monitors every NDI source on the network. Built on the official NDI SDK.
• NDI input in LayerMapper MApp receives any NDI source on the network and puts it on a layer – ready to warp, mask and blend like a clip.

Use case: live drawing on a wall

One of our favourite setups:

1. An iPad runs a drawing app (we used Tagtool) and sends its picture over NDI.
2. MApp on another device receives it as an NDI input and assigns it to one or more meshes – up to 32 meshes in our test.
3. The projector paints the drawing onto the surface as it is drawn.

Our tutorials show the full setup step by step – creating meshes, assigning layers and picking up the NDI signal.

More ideas

• Slides and dashboards: send a presentation or a control panel from another device into the mapping.
• Desktop software: NDI from a computer (for example TouchDesigner or a VJ tool) into MApp, or from your phone into LayerMapper Desktop.
• Remote preview: monitor the mapping output on another screen in the venue.

Network tips

• Keep all devices on the same network; a dedicated router works better than busy venue Wi-Fi.
• Prefer 5 GHz Wi-Fi or Ethernet for the devices that send.
• If a source does not appear, check that the network allows devices to see each other (no client isolation).

Summary

NDI turns every device on the network into a possible input for your mapping. Start with the free LayerMapper NDI app and the NDI input in MApp.

NDI® is a registered trademark of Vizrt NDI AB.