Christie Releases Free “Lite” Version Of Its Mystique Projection-Mapping Software

August 10, 2020 by Dave Haynes

Christie has developed and made available a free “Lite” version of its excellent projection-mapping software, Christie Mystique, making it easy for solutions providers to map and project on complex shapes and surfaces.

Christie Mystique Lite is described as a camera-based alignment and recalibration solution for supported Christie projectors that can quickly install, align, calibrate, and maintain multi-projection systems.

When projection-mapping started gaining attention roughly 10 years ago, it was complicated and time-consuming as hell to warp, blend and align stacked or tiled projectors to create a single image – whether that was the side of a building, a statue or a pro sports playing surface.

Christie, about three or four years ago, released the first version of Mystique software with the pitch that it simplified much of that work.

Now Mystique Lite, a free software download, allows users to plug in something as cheap and simple as a consumer webcam to warp, blend and align up to three supported Christie projectors in a single horizontal projector array, in the click of a button.

“The intuitive interface automatically detects the projectors and webcam, allowing users to easily mark the corners of their screen to then align, blend and warp an image. For more complex applications, there is an easy upgrade path to any of the other Mystique editions.”

Those other editions cost real money, but this is a nice way to get customers on that path, as well as get users a way to make a mapping show happen on a tight budget.

Christie has also made available Conductor,  a free advanced monitoring and control software solution for up to 256 Christie 3DLP projectors.

Conductor enables end users to proactively diagnose technical issues, execute repetitive processes with a single click, and keep projectors working optimally, reducing the risk of downtime and saving hours of manual work.

Originally designed for the Al Wasl Plaza dome at Expo 2020 Dubai to monitor and control the 252 Christie D4K40-RGB projectors installed, Conductor allows operators to perform remote firmware updates of many projectors at once, view the health status of multiple projectors via a list or status map, as well as automatically power up and down the projectors, all from their desktop.

Warping and blending projectors manually can be time-consuming, even for experienced projectionists. Christie Mystique Lite keeps simple projector arrays warped and blended with the click of a button! Learn more >> https://t.co/bEtGIEERFe #avtweeps #ProAV pic.twitter.com/xASjrHQtBx

— Christie (@ChristieDigital) August 10, 2020

“Mystique Lite and Conductor software save time and make complex projection systems easier to operate and maintain, removing hours of manual work,” says Brad Martin, Senior Product Manager, Christie.

Projection-mapping started out as a grand-scale visual effects thing – lighting up things like castle, church and mosque walls. But a combination of lower-cost, longer-lived projectors and simplified software has seen it applied to everything from interactive store mannequins to over-the-top player introductions for the NBA and NHL.