Complete Help Docs

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====== Pangolin Media Tracer ======

Manual for the Pangolin Media Tracer, a Companion app for our BEYOND software, first released during the BEYOND 5.8 release.

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===== What is the Pangolin Media Tracer? =====

The Pangolin Media Tracer (or PMT) allows users to take in graphical media and convert it to laser graphic content. This tool was designed to be creative tool agnostic, which means it doesn’t matter what tool or source you use to create the original media, the media tracer can take it in and create clean and efficient laser lines quickly and efficiently. This should enable the tool to be usable by more artists with different methodologies and creative processes. Without focusing on a single tool that is popular today and making it useful for years to come. 

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Load in All types of picture files (PNG, JPEG, GIF and more) Vector Files (SVG and AI) Video Files (MOV, MP4, and more) and live inputs (Webcams, NDI) and convert it live or use it to optimize your frames for a perfect conversion.

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The Pangolin Media Tracer Is comprised of 3 main parts. The detection choices, Playback area, and optimization settings. The PMT can be used extremely quickly by just loading media and exporting to BEYOND, or used very in depth with different trace layers, masks, video splits, and the full point optimization settings based off the Laser Show Converter MAX render.

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And with the bells and whistles needed to do things like quick video tracing with detachable video, Live input options, layering, masking, and splitting of videos into segments. The PMT has every tool a designer may need to create laser content from external media sources.

===== Getting Started =====


The Pangolin Media Tracer is part of the BEYOND install starting in the 5.8 Release. To launch the PMT, right click on any empty cell in your workspace, highlight create, and select the “Pangolin Media Tracer”. This will launch the app directly from the installed folder. 

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//NOTE: For the PMT to work, you must download a fresh installer for at least the 5.8 release so that it can be properly installed within the BEYOND Folder. If you upgrade from the “In App” updater, the PMT is not included and cannot be updated. All PMT updates will be provided through full installer releases, as it is a companion app to BEYOND and not directly inside the BEYOND application.//


As BEYOND is already running, the PMT app will automatically connect to your active BEYOND software. If the zone selection dropdown says, "Waiting for BEYOND" It is not connected, if it is connected you will see available zones in your BEYOND install.

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To load your media, click on the open button on the main toolbar. This will then ask what kind of media you would like to open. From there you can open any and all types of media. 

Once the media is loaded, it will begin to be traced by the PMT utilizing the default settings. And you can see the trace. We recommend adjusting the opacity of the background image to your liking, and enabling points to see how the tracer is placing points. 

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Because media comes in all shapes and sizes, it’s recommended to try a few of the presets on the detection panel to see which might work best for this specific media you are trying to trace.