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Party night — the one-page quick start

A projector or TV on a second screen, friends on game controllers, a camera on the dancers, music on. Read this once the day before; on the night, follow the numbers.

1. Cables and the second screen (10 minutes, before anyone arrives)

1. HDMI from the laptop to the projector or TV. A long run (over 5 m): an active or fibre HDMI cable. TV: switch its picture mode to Game (less delay).
2. Windows + P → Extend. Not Duplicate: Plugin Player needs the projector as a second display so the clean picture goes there and the controls stay on the laptop.
3. Settings → System → Display: click the second display → resolution 1920 × 1080, 60 Hz, scale 100 %.
4. Laptop on the charger. Windows power mode Best performance. Settings → System → Power → Screen and sleep → Never (plugged in); lid close → Do nothing. Turn Focus on (no pop-ups over the picture).
5. On a Mac: plugged in; System Settings › Lock Screen › Turn display off when inactive → Never (on power adapter); notifications off (Focus). In Plugin Player click KEEP SCREEN AWAKE (CHECK chip): it stops macOS putting the display to sleep while the app runs. Tested on a MacBook Pro (Oct 30): if the Mac's display does go to sleep mid-show, a running Plugin Player keeps playing and keeps sending to Resolume over Syphon (60 fps), and the picture is back the moment the display wakes; but a projector fed from that display goes dark, so keep it awake. Closing the lid puts the whole Mac to sleep unless it is on power with an external display (clamshell): keep the lid open.

2. Start order

1. Plug in first: projector, camera, controllers charged. Then start Plugin Player.
2. It opens as one window with OUTPUT off, every time. Click ⧉ OUTPUT, then your screen: the picture goes full screen on the projector, the controls stay on the laptop. Plugin Player remembers it: every party after that, your projector is on top of ⧉ OUTPUT, marked LAST USED, one click away. It never turns on by itself.
3. ⧉ OUTPUT says NO SECOND SCREEN YET? Windows still sees one screen: Windows + P → Extend, then click it again (no restart). (From a shortcut: --output forces the projector output, --display 1 picks the display.)
4. One screen only (a TV mirrored, or a laptop alone): press F11 for full screen; F11 or Esc brings the window back.
5. CHECK chip in the header: open it once; fix the red rows (projector, controller, camera, background, power). Click KEEP SCREEN AWAKE. A grey CHECK means you have not opened it yet.

3. The camera on the dancers

• The camera must never see the projection. It learns the empty room as "background" and treats everything that changes as a person; a projected wall changes every frame and the whole picture floods with the effect. Put the camera beside the projector aimed at the dance floor, or shooting across it, with a dark or plain wall behind the dancers.
• One steady light on the dance area (a warm work light, a string of bulbs). A webcam in the dark sees nothing; the projection's own spill flickers.
• LEARN BACKGROUND with nobody in frame: ⧉ INPUT → LEARN BACKGROUND (3-2-1, step out). Do it again whenever the light changed or someone was standing in frame when it learned. If the effect ever floods the whole picture, that is the fix.
• The Effect Layer's SOURCE on the EFFECT LAYER card: AUTO picks YOU while the camera is on the scene, SCENE (the effect comes off the scene's own motion) when it is not. If the camera cannot avoid the projection, pick SCENE.
• Camera delay: ⧉ INPUT → MEASURE DELAY the day before (never mid-party: it flashes the screen). Under 200 ms is good for dancers; a phone over Wi-Fi is usually too slow, use a USB webcam or a cable.

4. Music

• Coming soon: the ♪ AUDIO chip is gray in this beta, so these two lines are for a later update.
• The laptop plays the music: AUDIO ▾ → SYSTEM AUDIO. No cable. The meter bounces and BPM says SURE in about 8 s.
• A DJ: a line from the mixer into a USB interface → AUDIO ▾ → that input.
• Beat gone wrong, or no input at all: hold L2 and tap ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ on the beat (keyboard: T). One tap after a pause marks the ONE.

5. Friends on the controllers

• Before you hand the controller over: Plugin Player ▾ → LOCK AND PASS THE CONTROLLER…, then TURN ON GUEST MODE on the card. Friends keep everything fun: L2 next scene (double-tap = back, hold + ◀ ▶ = choose), R2 next preset, the face buttons = the scene's tricks (the legend on screen says what), the centre button (PS on PlayStation, ⊡ on the Micro; on Xbox the guide button is often taken by the Xbox Game Bar, so hold View + Menu half a second instead) = the Effect Layer channel, + / − camera on / off the scene, R2 + ▲ save a preset. They cannot change tabs, the mapping, the controls, the show, the audio input, or close the app. To leave: press Ctrl+G (Cmd+G on a Mac), or click the GUEST MODE badge on the monitor and hold the on-screen EXIT button for 2 seconds.
• Unlock: hold Ctrl + Shift + G for 2 seconds (the badge on the monitor fills while you hold).
• Two controllers at once: both drive the same picture; whoever presses, it happens. The CONTROLLER card draws the controller that connected first; a second controller of another kind is read with its own button names, so a PlayStation and an Xbox controller can share the night. When one goes to sleep the other keeps working.
• Controllers go to sleep after a few minutes idle: press any button to wake one; the CONTROLLER card says LOST while it is away.

6. REC

• REC in the header: click = start, click = stop. It records the clean picture the projector shows (no controls) as an MP4 in Videos → Plugin Player, 1080p 60 fps. The clock runs red while recording; a SAVED card with OPEN FOLDER appears after.
• Disk: about 4.5 MB a second, 16 GB an hour. Check free space before the night; record the best 2–5 minutes, not the whole party.
• No sound in the file. Film the room with a phone for sound, or lay the song under it in the editor.

7. If it freezes or crashes

1. Close it: the window's X or Alt + F4 (in GUEST MODE, leave it first: press Ctrl + G). If nothing responds: Ctrl + Shift + Esc → Task Manager → Plugin Player → End task.
2. Start it again. It comes back on its own: the same show and scene order, the saved mapping, the camera it was using, the audio input it was using. Controllers reconnect by themselves (press any button on each). GUEST MODE is off after a restart: Plugin Player ▾ → LOCK AND PASS THE CONTROLLER… again before handing the controller back.
3. The projector shows nothing: Windows + P → Extend, then ⧉ OUTPUT and your screen (no restart). Closing Plugin Player always closes the projector picture too.
4. The picture is dark or the effect floods: ⧉ INPUT → LEARN BACKGROUND with nobody in frame.
5. Still stuck: the log is in %APPDATA%\rexaffects-player\logs\player.log. FEEDBACK / REQUEST in the footer copies it for you.

8. Pairing a controller (3 lines each)

On a Mac: put the controller in pairing mode as below, then choose it under System Settings → Bluetooth → Nearby Devices and click Connect. The automatic Plugin Player pairing in these shortcuts is Windows-only.

PlayStation 4 (DualShock 4): hold SHARE + PS together 3–5 s until the light bar flashes fast, two blinks at a time · put it down, Plugin Player pairs it in 10–30 s (CONTROLLER card: PAIRING…) · press any button → CONNECTED: PLAYSTATION 4. Next time: press PS.

PlayStation 5 (DualSense): hold CREATE + PS together 3–5 s until the light flashes fast · wait 10–30 s, Plugin Player pairs it · press any button → CONNECTED: PLAYSTATION 5. Next time: press PS. Played it on the console since? It forgot the laptop: hold CREATE + PS again.

Xbox: easiest is a USB cable that carries data, it works at once · Bluetooth: CONTROLS → CONNECT A CONTROLLER → OPEN BLUETOOTH SETTINGS → Add device → Bluetooth, then hold the small pair button on top of the controller 3 s until the Xbox button flashes fast · pick "Xbox Wireless Controller", press any button → CONNECTED: XBOX.

8BitDo Micro: mode switch to D · hold PAIR (bottom edge) 3 s until the light blinks fast; Plugin Player pairs it by itself · press any button → CONNECTED: 8BITDO MICRO. Next time: press Start.

Windows lists everything nearby (lamps, speakers, TVs): pick only the controller's name. More detail: CONNECT_A_CONTROLLER.md.

9. The last five minutes before people arrive

• [ ] OUT on the projector, full screen; the test grid in MAP fits the wall (MAP → SAVE AS… so it reloads in one click).
• [ ] Camera on the dance floor, not the wall; LEARN BACKGROUND done with nobody in frame.
• [ ] AUDIO input picked; BPM says SURE.
• [ ] Controllers paired and awake; a spare USB cable.
• [ ] CHECK: no red rows; KEEP SCREEN AWAKE on; charger in.
• [ ] GUEST on when you hand the controller over; REC when the dancing starts.