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Arkestra

Going Live

Everything you need to push Arkestra’s output to a projector, LED wall, or second display — and how to keep the editing interface out of the way while you perform.

1. Set your canvas resolution

Section titled “1. Set your canvas resolution”

Before anything else, match your canvas to the output you’re driving. Open the Output panel (yellow display icon in the right sidebar) and set Aspect and Size under the Render section.

AspectCommon use
16:9HD projector, monitor, stage LED
1:1Square LED panel, Instagram
4:3Old-school projector
9:16Portrait screen, phone
CustomUnusual or ultra-wide LED rigs

The Size picker sets the baseline resolution within that aspect (720p → 4K). For best quality on a projector, match the native resolution of your output device — or go one step lower if GPU load is a concern.

Set FPS to match your display: 60 for most monitors and LED walls, 50 for PAL-standard equipment, 24/30 for film-style output. FPS is independent of recording frame rate.

Click Set as Default to persist these settings for new projects.

2. Option A — Fullscreen on your main display

Section titled “2. Option A — Fullscreen on your main display”

If you’re performing from a single machine where the audience sees your primary display, collapse the editing UI completely:

Click the fullscreen button in the top bar (expand arrows icon). All editing panels — track list, chain slots bar, browser — hide instantly. Only the canvas remains.

Click anywhere on the canvas to exit fullscreen.

This requires a license.

3. Option B — External display or projector

Section titled “3. Option B — External display or projector”

This is the typical live setup: your laptop stays on your desk for editing, the projector or LED wall gets the output.

  1. Connect your display or projector.
  2. Open the Output panel (yellow display icon).
  3. Click Open New Window (requires a license).
  4. Drag the new floating window to your external display.
  5. Press ⌃⌘F (macOS fullscreen) to fill it completely.

The editing interface on your main display continues to work independently. You can switch chains, tweak parameters, and fire scenes — the external window just shows the rendered canvas.

Multiple outputs: Click Open New Window again for each additional display. The panel shows how many windows are active and a Close All button.

4. Option C — Syphon for complex rigs

Section titled “4. Option C — Syphon for complex rigs”

If you’re routing into Resolume, MadMapper, Disguise, or any other Syphon-compatible host for projection mapping or multi-screen output:

  1. In the Output panel, toggle on Syphon Output (requires a license).
  2. In your host app, add a Syphon source and select Arkestra Output.

Arkestra streams its full canvas in real time at the render resolution. The host handles all mapping, blending, and multi-projector routing from there.

See Syphon → for details on Syphon input as well.

5. Projection Mapping onto non-flat surfaces

Section titled “5. Projection Mapping onto non-flat surfaces”

Arkestra has a built-in Projection Mapping tool for corner-pinning and warping track output onto angled or irregular surfaces:

  1. Open the Output panel (yellow display icon in the right sidebar).
  2. Click Open Projection Mapping — the canvas switches to mapping mode and the sidebar shows the Projection Mapping inspector.
  3. Click Add Surface to create a quad. Drag the four corner handles on the canvas to fit your physical surface.
  4. In the surface card, select which tracks to assign to this quad. You can assign multiple tracks to one quad, or one track to multiple quads.
  5. Click Done in the inspector header to exit mapping mode.

Each quad supports per-quad rotation (90° steps), horizontal/vertical mirroring, cutout masks, and a test grid pattern. Surfaces are shared across all tracks — the full setup lives at the project level.

Tips from the inspector:

  • Drag edge midpoints — resize a side without moving individual corners
  • Drag ↻ handle — free-rotate the quad; hold ⇧ to snap to 15° steps
  • Drag interior — move the whole quad at once
  • ⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z — undo / redo corner edits
  • Double-click name — rename the surface
  • Drag the ≡ handle in the inspector to reorder surfaces (top = front)

Performance checklist

Section titled “Performance checklist”
StepWhere
Set canvas resolution and FPSOutput panel → Render
Open external windowOutput panel → External Screens → Open New Window
Organise scenes for cue switchingScenes →
Assign MIDI controllerMIDI →
Route to mapping softwareSyphon →