From first launch to a running show.

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1Welcome

1. This is Raedia, live visuals and video mapping for shows, made in Cape Town by Codexa.
2. In this guide we go from a fresh install to a show that is built, mapped onto your screen, running on your displays and played from a controller.
3. Every chapter is listed in the contents, so jump to what you need.

Install and activate →

2Install and activate

1. You need a 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 computer with a DirectX 11 graphics card.
2. A dedicated card is best for several layers or big outputs.
3. Plug your projector or LED processor in, and set Windows to extend the desktop, not duplicate it.
4. Run the installer, and check that the publisher reads Codexa Software.
5. The first time Raedia starts, allow it on private networks if you plan to use network control or network video.
6. Raedia opens on Home.
7. Paste the licence key from your email into the box and press Activate.
8. Activating needs the internet once.
9. After that, a valid licence keeps working offline, so you can run a show in a venue with no connection.
10. A licence belongs to one computer, so activate it on the machine that runs your shows.

← WelcomeDemo mode, trials and updates →

3Demo mode, trials and updates

1. Choose Continue in demo mode and everything works, so you can learn.
2. The output carries a watermark, and saving is switched off.
3. A trial key unlocks Raedia for 30 days from the first time you apply it.
4. The badge says online or offline.
5. Offline is fine.
6. When a newer version exists, a quiet bar tells you, and the button opens the download page.
7. Raedia never downloads or installs anything by itself, so an update can never interrupt a show.

← Install and activateFind your way around →

4Find your way around

1. The window has three parts: the side menu on the left, the top bar, and the view you are working in.
2. The side menu switches views.
3. SHOW is where you build and play.
4. The Mapping Surface fits the picture to your real screen.
5. Control connects controllers.
6. Home holds the licence.
7. Click the double arrow to shrink the menu to a strip.
8. Along the top bar: Media Manager, Snapshots, Export video, Send the show to a display, then New, Open and Save, and the layout buttons.
9. Hold the mouse over any icon and a tooltip tells you what it does.

← Demo mode, trials and updatesPanels and layouts →

5Panels and layouts

1. Every working area is a panel.
2. Collapse it to its title bar, undock it to float it, drag the corner to resize it, and dock it back.
3. Arrange things the way you work, then save the arrangement as a named layout, for example Setup or Live, and switch between them from the list.
4. The star makes the current arrangement your default, and the reset arrow puts the panels back without touching your show.

← Find your way aroundBuild your first show →

6Build your first show

1. SHOW is a grid.
2. Rows are layers, stacked on top of each other.
3. Columns are the looks you fire.
4. Each cell holds one clip.
5. Press New show, then add layers and columns.
6. The top row is the back of the picture and each row below draws over it, so put backgrounds in layer one and titles or logos in the last layer.
7. You can have up to 20 layers and 20 columns, and right-click a layer or column to add one beside it.

← Panels and layoutsClips and sources →

7Clips and sources

1. Every empty slot has three ways in.
2. Add brings in a video or a picture from your computer.
3. Live brings in a webcam or a capture card.
4. The star opens the built-in sources: moving generators, a test card, live text, a solid colour, a gradient, and NDI or Spout video from other software.
5. Generators are drawn by Raedia, so they stay sharp at any resolution, and you can follow this whole guide without a single media file.

← Build your first showTrigger clips and columns →

8Trigger clips and columns

1. Loading a clip only fills the slot.
2. Click a clip to play it on its layer.
3. One clip plays per layer at a time, so it replaces whatever that layer was showing.
4. Click a column header to fire the whole column at once, or press 1 to 9 on the keyboard.
5. Firing a column also clears any layer whose slot in that column is empty, so leave a slot empty on purpose when you want a layer to go dark.

← Clips and sourcesThe output and the previews →

9The output and the previews

1. The two previews at the top, Output and Selected layer, only come alive while an output is open.
2. Click the monitor button to send the show to your display.
3. Click it again, or press Escape, to stop.
4. With only one screen, the output covers Raedia itself, so press Escape to get your controls back.

← Trigger clips and columnsThe Source panel and live text →

10The Source panel and live text

1. Click the gear on a tile, or right-click it, to open its Source panel.
2. Scale it to fit, fill, stretch or original size.
3. Video clips loop or play once, run from a quarter speed to four times speed, pause and scrub.
4. Live text is a title you type in Raedia: set the size, colour, outline and position, scroll it as a ticker, or let it fade in and out.
5. A new text clip starts scrolling, so drag the speed to zero for a fixed title.
6. Generators let you change the pattern, the speed, the scale and two colours.

← The output and the previewsMove, copy, rename and reorder →

11Move, copy, rename and reorder

1. Drag a tile to move it.
2. Hold Ctrl as you drop it to copy it, with its settings and effects.
3. Double-click any name to rename it.
4. The arrows reorder layers and columns, and the copy button duplicates a whole layer or column.
5. Raedia has no undo, and the red cross deletes at once, so save often.

← The Source panel and live textLayer controls and decks →

12Layer controls and decks

1. Each layer has its own controls.
2. The slider is its opacity.
3. V hides the picture and keeps the sound.
4. M mutes the sound and keeps the picture.
5. Click the layer name to select it, and the Effects panel and the Selected layer preview follow.
6. Decks are pages of columns.
7. Use one deck per song or segment so the grid never gets too wide.
8. Layers and their effects are shared by every deck.
9. Only the columns change.

← Move, copy, rename and reorderEffects →

13Effects

1. 30 effects run on the graphics card.
2. Select a layer, choose whether the effect belongs to the whole layer or just the clip playing now, and click an effect, for example Kaleidoscope.
3. Stack as many as you like.
4. Tick the box to bypass one, use the arrows to change the order, because effects run top to bottom, and the cross removes it.
5. Press Ctrl+K anywhere, type part of a name and press Enter to add it straight to the selected layer.

← Layer controls and decksAnimate values →

14Animate values

1. Under every number there is Animate.
2. Tick it, set the rate, the lowest and highest values, and the shape, and Raedia sweeps the value for you.
3. A few effects sit still until a value moves, so animate the phase on wave warp, ripples and sparkles, or the level on infinite zoom, to bring them to life.

← EffectsBlend, mask, LUT, shaders and transitions →

15Blend, mask, LUT, shaders and transitions

1. Below the effects are the settings that join the layer to the picture.
2. Blend modes such as Add, Multiply, Screen and Difference.
3. A soft rectangular mask.
4. A colour grade from a cube LUT file.
5. Your own ISF or Shadertoy shader, with its numbers as sliders.
6. And a transition, so clips on that layer crossfade instead of cutting.
7. Tick the box under a column name to fade that whole column in, whatever each layer says, which is perfect for a slow change into a ballad.

← Animate valuesThe Mixer and the crossfader →

16The Mixer and the crossfader

1. The Mixer handles sound.
2. Each layer has a fader, a meter, mute and solo, plus a line or microphone input and the master.
3. Sound runs while an output is open.
4. If sound and picture don't line up on your rig, drag A/V sync, half a second either way.
5. It belongs to the computer, so set it once.
6. The A/B crossfader fades between two groups of layers.
7. Put each layer on side A or side B, and the percentage beside it shows what the fader is doing.

← Blend, mask, LUT, shaders and transitionsThe Mapping Surface and corners →

17The Mapping Surface and corners

1. The Mapping Surface takes the picture you built and fits it to the real world: a projector at an angle, a curved wall, a row of LED panels.
2. Set the output width and height to your projector or LED processor.
3. For a simple screen, drag the four corner handles until the picture sits square on the surface.
4. Reset to identity puts them back.

← The Mixer and the crossfaderRegions →

18Regions

1. A region is one piece of your picture sent to one place on the output.
2. Add a region, choose its feed, the full mix or a single layer, then drag the rectangle over the part of the picture it should take.
3. A region on a single layer can put a logo on a side panel while the main screen shows the full mix.
4. Duplicate copies a region with all its settings.

← The Mapping Surface and cornersWarp, mesh and rotate →

19Warp, mesh and rotate

1. Switch to Output Transformation.
2. Drag a region from inside to move it, and drag its corners to fit your surface.
3. The arrow keys nudge one pixel, or ten with Shift.
4. Fill output stretches it over the whole output.
5. For a curve or a bump, click on a region's line where the surface bends, and a new line of handles appears.
6. Pull them until the picture follows the surface.
7. Adding points never moves the picture, so you can keep refining.
8. Zoom, brightness, contrast and saturation match two projectors that look different.
9. And Rotate turns what a region shows, a quarter turn at a time for a screen mounted on its side, or to any angle you type.

← RegionsMasks, edge blend and edge box →

20Masks, edge blend and edge box

1. A mask hides everything outside a shape you draw.
2. Click points on the small picture, drag them, double-click to remove one, or start from the shape library: circle, star, heart, arch and more.
3. Rotation turns the shape, spin keeps it turning and pulse makes it breathe.
4. When two projectors overlap, edge blend fades each edge so the join disappears.
5. Edge blend needs the Pro plan.
6. Edge box draws a coloured border just inside a region, following its warped shape, and is a quick way to see exactly where a region lands.

← Warp, mesh and rotateAlignment grid and output presets →

21Alignment grid and output presets

1. Switch the display to the alignment grid while you set corners and regions.
2. It goes through exactly the same warp as your content.
3. Switch back to Composition when everything lines up.
4. Save the whole mapping as an output preset for the venue, and apply it next time.

← Masks, edge blend and edge boxGoing live on one or more displays →

22Going live on one or more displays

1. Pick the display from the Screen list.
2. Your own monitor is marked this one.
3. Click the monitor button and the output opens full screen.
4. For a second or third screen, add an output on the Mapping Surface, pick its display, choose the full composition or a single layer, and open it.
5. You can run up to 7 outputs beside the main one, and map each of them.
6. Raedia Core includes the main output plus one more. Three or more outputs need the Pro plan.

← Alignment grid and output presetsNDI and Spout out →

23NDI and Spout out

1. Send the picture to other software.
2. NDI out sends it across the network.
3. Spout out shares it with another program on the same computer.
4. NDI out is included with Raedia Core. Spout out needs the Pro plan.
5. Switch it on as part of your setup each time.

← Going live on one or more displaysControl from hardware: Learn →

24Control from hardware: Learn

1. Plug your MIDI controller in before you start Raedia.
2. Open Control, choose a target, then press Learn and move the fader, turn the knob or hit the pad.
3. Faders suit layer opacity and the crossfader, knobs suit effect values, and pads fire clips and columns.
4. The connections are saved inside the show, so your controller is ready again when you open it.

← NDI and Spout outOSC, Art-Net and sACN →

25OSC, Art-Net and sACN

1. Learn works the same way over the network.
2. OSC comes in on port 8000.
3. Art-Net and sACN come in on port 6454, so a lighting desk can drive Raedia from its own channels.
4. Raedia uses DMX to be controlled.
5. It doesn't send DMX to lights.
6. That's Raedia Lighting's job.

← Control from hardware: LearnKeyboard and Quick Search →

26Keyboard and Quick Search

1. Keys 1 to 9 fire columns.
2. Ctrl+K opens Quick Search for effects, layers and columns.
3. Escape closes any pop-up.
4. The number keys are ignored while you're typing in a box.

← OSC, Art-Net and sACNSave, open and move a show →

27Save, open and move a show

1. A show is one Raedia file.
2. Save asks for a name and place each time.
3. Save over the same file to update it, or give it a new name to keep versions.
4. The file holds your layers, columns, decks, clip settings, effects, mixer, crossfader sides, mapping, controller connections and panel layout.
5. It doesn't hold the media files themselves.
6. To move a show, copy the file and its media folder, open it, and Media Manager shows each clip as OK or missing, with Relink to point at the new place.

← Keyboard and Quick SearchSnapshots and video export →

28Snapshots and video export

1. A snapshot keeps the whole grid under a name so you can jump back to it.
2. Recall replaces the grid at once, so save first.
3. Export video renders the current picture to a HAP movie file, as fast as your computer can, not in real time.

← Save, open and move a showRaedia in the Raedia Suite →

31Remote and Wire

1. Two views are still growing.
2. Remote shows an address and a QR code for a phone on the same Wi-Fi.
3. On the desktop, its big column buttons fire columns, handy on a touch screen.
4. Wire is the node patcher, where you join building blocks into your own visuals.
5. Explore it, but don't build a show around it yet.

← Show night checklistWrap up →