Disguise X1 is a new portable version of the company’s Designer software. Creators can use X1 to run 4K material directly from a laptop without depending on proprietary media servers.
Disguise X1 is a new portable version of the company’s Designer software. Creators can use X1 to run 4K material directly from their own laptops or hardware without depending on proprietary media servers. X1 makes the Disguise production engine available in a software-only format, giving production teams more flexibility to design, map and deliver their projects from wherever they need to work.
Designer is currently used to pre-visualize content, plan sequences and control shows. Designers use it with their graphics engine – Unreal 5.5, Notch, TouchDesigner or Unity – when setting up content for virtual shoots, a live event or mapped projections. The software serves as a hub where the material can be composed in-camera, and comes with a timeline and content management tools.
Serverless
X1, which has now been developed for teams delivering small-to-medium live events such as concerts, theatre productions and corporate brand experiences, gives users convenient, mobile access to the same software. It has so far been used on several live events during a pilot project, including metal band from Wales Bullet For My Valentine at Rockfest in Germany, Festival Napa Valley in California, and the USA and Canadian legs of UK rapper Central Cee's world tour.
"In order to support large-scale shows and installations, we have high-performance media servers powerful enough to run visuals on LED walls measuring over 4,000sqm in size," said Chief Product and Technology Officer at Disguise, Raed Al Tikriti. "But not everyone needs all that power, all of the time, nor does everyone have the space or budget for it. Using X1, producers can take advantage of the same Designer tools in a portable format that's easier and more cost-effective to bring on tour or support smaller productions."
Central Cee [Image: Alex Loftie]
X1 users will be able to plug their license key into a laptop and immediately access the latest version of Designer. Show visuals can then be imported into Designer from a real-time graphics engine, employing Disguise's RenderStream protocol.
Head Start
To give users a head start, X1 includes a pack of ready-to-use content featuring eye-catching Notch and TouchDesigner effects – from pulsing DJ-style visuals to crafted motion looks. All of these have been created in-house by Disguise's Creative Services team. Each look or effect will also be rendered as a video ready for playback, looping and integration into users’ delivery workflows.
Similar to Designer, X1 also allows users to preview the content on a 3D mini-replica of their stage or environment, and use the familiar Designer timeline to schedule and edit all visuals needed to run their projects live. They will also have Disguise's redundancy features with built-in 1:1 failover for added security.
As well as the graphics tools, X1 supports major tracking and automation systems, including Kinesys, Tait Navigator and PSN.
X1 at the Shows
Alex Loftie, Video Programmer for Central Cee's tour commented, "Because Central Cee's shows in Canada and the USA are generally more intimate and held at smaller venues, it made sense for us to use X1 on a laptop. We could pack light to simplify transporting kit between multiple venues, but it also meant all of our work could stay in Disguise and I didn't have to re-program the show in a different application, which saved a huge amount of time and budget.
“Being able to stay within the Disguise system is the main factor. When we returned to larger venues in Europe, we were able to transition back to Disguise media servers easily, ultimately giving us the flexibility to use Designer’s software across shows of any size."
Glenn Jenkins, Video Engineer on Bullet For My Valentine's tour, remarked on X1’s flexibility and control. "Live shows on tour are never carbon copies of each other,” he said. “Last-minute changes come up every time, and using X1 meant we were able to keep up with the rest of production and make quick, crucial edits on site through Disguise's timeline workflow."
For Jackson Cobb, Video Programmer on Festival Napa Valley, said that the portability of X1 made the biggest difference for him. He noted, "Being able to shut my laptop after the show, put it in my bag and just walk away without transporting a server with me was incredibly freeing."
Bullet for My Valentine [Image: Ryan Chang and Federica Burelli]
The festival’s projection designer Kate Freer said, "Having this new solution doesn't totally eliminate the need for server-run shows. There will always be larger productions that require more power. But it makes show control so much more accessible, and being able to use X1 in a festival scenario like this has been a huge advantage."
License Key
Available for an annual fee, each X1 license instance enables one 4K DCI video output. This is issued to a Codemeter USB license key to be attached to the node the operator is using for video playback. X1 gives access to the most up to date version of Designer. Whenever more powerful hardware is needed for a larger show, show files can be transferred from X1 to a Disguise server. The 1:1 redundancy and auto failover are maintained throughout. www.disguise.one
