General Info
This page describes the use of the z800 xtra I created for Adobe Director (formerly Macromedia Director). The xtra allows access to the functionality of
the
emagin z800 visor.
The z800 visor is an OLED microdisplay 800 x 600 view "personal display system" that you wear on your head. The viewable area is comparable to that of viewing a 105 inch screen at 12 feet. The visor includes a 6DOF headtracking system (it gives 360 degree Pitch, Yaw, Roll angles, angular velocity, and XYZ translational acceleration), 3D stereoscopic capability, and audio earbuds and microphone. The visor connects through USB and VGA ports.
Adobe Director is a timeline-based authoring software used to create on- and off-line multimedia applications. It includes a powerful 3D scripting component to its native Lingo language where detailed interactive 3D environments can be created. Xtras are plugins that allow the extension of Lingo and Director capabilities.
I created this xtra for use with a specific project. It was my first C/C++ programming exercise and thus may not be the most rigorous way to create an xtra. So if you want it USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK. However I have been using it for months on different computers without any problems.
Purpose and Description
The z800 xtra is used to allow Director access to the visor's 6DOF headtracking raw data, set stereo 3D, init/destroy the device, and to adjust a few available parameters. The adjustable parameters are based on those available in the emagin SDK. Not all emagin SDK functions are available through the z800 xtra, but the main useful ones are.
The xtra's main usage would be to control a FPS (first person shooter) camera in a Director 3D scene. It takes some time to get a Director 3D program work and look good with the visor, but I've been able to use the headtracking and 3D stereo functionality without issues. With a properly setup visor, 3D scene, lingo environment, and the right video card setup, you can get near-perfect headtracking with little drift, along with full-color 3D stereo. The stereo effect is very good, and it does not flicker, tear or stutter.
Why an xtra specifically for the z800? Why not just use the emagin Visor Software Utility, or another available xtra for game controllers? Because I tried them and they don't work. The mouse tracking part of the Visor Software Utility is not reliable for 3D navigation with the headtracker. The z800 xtra allows access to specific functions in the z800 SDK DLLs that can exactly control a Director 3D scene camera. You can get total 6DOF 3D stereo control of the viewer's FPS camera view.
