Creating Multimedia Disks - Digitalis Digitarium Alpha User Manual

Creating Multimedia Disks

Creating a data CD or DVD with images and/or videos allows you to cover any
topic in the dome. Create slide shows for use in your lessons, or just have extra
content on hand for questions that may come up.
You can find a huge amount of content on the Internet that is free to use (check
copyrights to be sure). You can also easily create your own images with an
image editor. A full dome image should be approximately 768 by 768 pixels. A
circle 768 pixels in diameter will project onto the dome, centered on the zenith. If
an image is larger than the projector resolution (1024 x 768), it will be scaled
down to fit when displayed.
Most common image and video formats should work. However, due to the huge
variety of video encoding formats available, you will probably encounter some
video formats which won't play. The only way to know for sure is to test your disk
in the projector. MPEG video is generally the best option, if you have a choice.
Please also note that the Digitarium Alpha projector does not support encrypted
video DVDs.
Burning a CD or DVD
To burn a CD or DVD, you will need a computer with a drive capable of burning
this media and " burner" software. The Digitarium Alpha projector can read
DVD-R, CD-R, and CD-RW format disks.
Start by creating a directory where you will set up your disk content. If you want
to organize your content into categories, you can create subdirectories. You can
create any sort of directory tree you want, to as many levels as you need.
After you have created your directory, place your content into your directory tree
so that you will be able to find it easily.
Tips for naming files:
Use logical, easily understandable names.
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Keep the file and directory names under 29 characters in length or they will be
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abbreviated in the media browser.
Keep the original file extension (.jpg, .mpg, .tif, etc.).
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Remember that subdirectories and files within a directory will be sorted
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alphabetically in the media browser, and that subdirectories will always appear
before files in the list.
If you want to create a slide show with images in a definite order, an easy
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solution is to append a zero padded number to the name. For example,
01-start.jpg
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