Video on Terrain and Video Billboard

The Video on Terrain/Video Billboard commands play a video file either on a selected area of the terrain (Video on Terrain), or on a floating billboard (Video Billboard). Both these commands open the same property sheet and can be converted one to the other by changing the default properties. The primary difference between the two is the distance from the projector at which the video should be displayed (Maximum Projection Distance property set in the property sheet). When this distance is set to zero, the video is projected on the terrain.

The positioning of the projector and the projected video can also be determined using telemetry data that holds positioning information for the camera based on time stamps. The telemetry data can either be embedded in the video file or contained in a separate telemetry file.

Supported video file formats are determined by the codecs that are installed and registered on your computer. Most files that Windows Media Player can play (e.g., *.avi, *.mpg, .mov, etc.), including streaming Microsoft Media Server (MMS) content, can be draped on the terrain.

TerraExplorer supports the KLV (Key Length Value) format for videos with telemetry information (MISB 0601 standard). TerraExplorer can parse this data and place the video correctly on the terrain

Creating a Video on Terrain/Video Billboard

To create a video on terrain:

1. On the Objects tab, in the Video group, click Video on Terrain/Video Billboard. The Video property sheet is displayed.

2. If you want to use telemetry data, which is either embedded in the video file or contained in a separate telemetry file, do the following:

a. In the Use Telemetry File, select Yes.

b. In the Video File field, type or browse to a video file, whose format is supported, or type the URL (e.g., mms://mms.skylinesoft.com/) if you want to open streaming MMS content. For video files with telemetry information, TerraExplorer supports the KLV (Key Length Value) format (MISB 0601 standard).

c. If your telemetry data is contained in a separate telemetry file, in the Telemetry File Name field in the property sheet, enter the Telemetry File Name.

3. If you want to set the object’s location by defining a point in the 3D World, do the following:

a. In the Video File field, type or browse to a video file, whose format is supported, or type the URL (e.g., mms://mms.skylinesoft.com/) if you want to open streaming MMS content.

b. In the Use Telemetry File, select No. Then click the mouse in the 3D Window to define the location of the projector.

4. After an object has been placed on the terrain, you can change its properties using the property sheet.

Playing, Pausing and Stopping the Video

To play, pause or stop the video, do either of the following:

§ In the Project Tree, right-click a Video On Terrain/Video Billboard object and select the required option from the shortcut menu.

§ In the 3D Window, right-click a Video On Terrain/Video Billboard object and select the required option from the shortcut menu.

Using a Telemetry File

A telemetry file holds positioning information for the camera based on time stamps. This information is used to automatically determine the position of the video projector in the 3D Window. This allows the projected Video On Terrain to be draped over the same area that is captured in the video.

The file is a comma-delimited text file, with each line representing the location parameters for a certain time stamp. Each value should be a decimal number in double-precision floating-point range.

The following values should appear for each point:

Value	Description
Time	The time elapsed, in seconds, from the beginning of the recording. The first point should be set to zero. Following points can use any increasing value, including fractions (e.g., 0.3) to represent parts of a second.
X	The X-coordinate (Longitude) of the camera.
Y	The Y-coordinate (Latitude) of the camera.
Height	The height of the camera above the terrain database vertical datum base ellipsoid.
Roll	The Roll of the camera, in degrees.
Pitch	The Pitch of the camera, in degrees.
Yaw	The Yaw of the camera, in degrees. This is the direction in which the camera points.
Field of View	The horizontal field of view covered by the camera, in degrees.

Video on Terrain/Video Billboard Property Sheet Parameters

Object Parameter	Activity
Appearance
Name	Type the description or name of the Video object. This text appears in the Project Tree as the name of the object.
Activation Action	Select the action to perform when selecting the imagery layer from the Project Tree.
Video
Video File	Type the full path of the file, or use the Edit button, for a supported media file. You can also type a URL for an MMS server. Supported video file formats are determined by the codecs that are installed and registered on your computer. Most files that Windows Media Player can play (e.g., .avi, .mpg, etc.), including streaming Microsoft Media Server (MMS) content, can be draped on the terrain. TerraExplorer can also use RTSP, or any custom protocol using “video:myprotocol://” for any custom protocol that is defined on your system: e.g., “video:custom1://”. Note: Only MP4, Ogg, and WebM formats are supported in TerraExplorer for Web. See "Publishing a Project to SkylineGlobe Server" in the "Publishing TerraExplorer Projects" chapter for information.
Use Telemetry File	Determines how the position is defined. Choose No to set the object’s route by placing the projector in the 3D World or Yes to link the object to an external set of files containing telemetry information.
Telemetry File Name	Type or browse a path to a .csv telemetry file.
Field Of View	Enter the horizontal field of view, in degrees, covered by the camera.
Calculate Hidden Surface	Calculate which surfaces are visible to the projector, and project video only onto these surfaces. Note: Selecting this option will slightly increase TerraExplorer's resource usage, but will result in a more realistic result.
Opacity	Enter the opacity for the Video object data. The opacity is defined as a percentage, where 100% is opaque and 0% is transparent.
Max. Projection Distance	Maximum distance from the projector at which the video should be displayed. Set to zero to project on the terrain.
Disable Soundtrack	Determines if the audio information in the video file is played. Choose No to play the soundtrack, or Yes to disable it.
Volume	Enter the audio volume level. The level is defined as percentage, where 100% is the maximum volume and 0% is the minimum.
Play Video on Startup	Determines if the video starts playing when a FLY project opens. Choose Yes to play the movie automatically when a FLY file opens or No to instruct the video to wait for a play command.
Projector
TerraExplorer can display objects to mark the location of the video projector. A pyramid is used to show the position, orientation and field of view of the projector. Four lines originating from the projector’s location to the ground mark the projector rays. This group defines the appearance of the projector objects in the 3D Window.
Show Projector	Determines if the projector pyramid object is displayed in the 3D Window.
Projector Color	Select the color for the projector pyramid object. Click the Edit button to open the Color dialog, or type the color code in hexadecimal BBGGRR format.
Projector Size	Enter the height, in meters, of the projector pyramid.
Show Projector Rays	Determines if the projector rays object is displayed in the 3D Window.
Projector Rays Color	Select the color for the projector rays object. Click the Edit button to open the Color dialog, or type the color code in hexadecimal BBGGRR format.
Position
Altitude Method	Sets the altitude method to be used by the Video object: § Select Relative to Terrain to place the projector’s position at a specified altitude above the ground. § Select Absolute to place the projector’s position at a specified altitude above the terrain database vertical datum base ellipsoid.
Altitude	Enter the altitude, as defined in Altitude Method, of the video projector.
X	Enter the X-coordinate for the video projector.
Y	Enter the Y-coordinate for the video projector.
MGRS	The coordinates of the video projector in Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) coordinates. This field is only available if Show MGRS Coordinates was selected in the Options dialog. See “View” in the “Using TerraExplorer Options” chapter for more information.
Yaw	Determines the direction angle of the video projector along the vertical axis relative to north.
Pitch	Determines the tilt angle of the video projector along its lateral axis relative to the horizon.
Roll	Determines the roll angle of the video projector along its longitudinal (front-to-back) axis.
Timespan
Start Time	Click Edit and enter the date and time the video should first become visible.
End Time	Click Edit and enter the date and time the video should stop being visible.
Visibility
Default Viewing Distance	Determines the viewing distance of the camera from the video object. This distance is used as a stop mark for any “Fly-to” or “View Object” operation. It is also used when selecting to edit the object from the Project Tree. When this value is set to the default of -1, TerraExplorer calculates and sets the ideal viewing distance for the video object based on its size.
Max. Visibility Distance	Sets the distance from the camera at which the video object disappears.
Min. Visibility Distance	Sets the minimal distance from the camera below which the video object disappears.
General
Show in Viewer	Determines if the video on terrain appears in the Project Tree when the file is viewed with TerraExplorer Basic viewer.
Message	The message associated with the object. The number displayed is the number of the message. To create a new message, or update an existing message, open the Create Message dialog by clicking in this field and selecting Edit. See “Using the Create Message Dialog” in the “Working with Objects” chapter for more information.
Tooltip	Type a tooltip text to appear when the mouse cursor is placed over the video object in the 3D Window.