Global Imagination
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  1. What is the Magic Planet?
    The Magic Planet is a digital video globe that allows you to view and explore dynamic digital media of the earth and other planets, as well as to watch and interact with marketing, promotional or entertainment media.
  2. How does the Magic Planet work?
    The Magic Planet is a projection display device - it's a computer display with a sphere-shaped screen. It's controlled by a PC or another video source such as a streaming media server, so it can display any global image - it's tremendously versatile. It allows you to present global information and global context in the most compelling way possible.
  3. How would the Magic Planet help me?
    A Magic Planet helps to improve the way people understand and act upon dynamic global systems and situations. Whether your audience is children in a museum, adults at a tradeshow, executives in a space systems organization, or senators and congressmen; a Magic Planet digital video globe grabs people’s attention and sparks their imagination. They make it much easier for people to intuitively understand dynamic global systems – whether it’s climate, the biosphere, geologic history, or any other. They help tell stories about planets in a much more compelling way, so people want to repeat the experience, learning new things each time. With a Magic Planet, you can change your exhibits quickly and easily, so people will come back again and again.
  4. What sizes of the Magic Planet are there?
    The Magic Planet comes in sizes from 16" to 6' (37cm - 1.828m). Sizes 16" and 18" (37cm - 46cm) afford maximum portability while grabbing people's attention and sparking their imagination. Size 24" (61cm) adds an imposing visual experience while remaining personal and approachable. For maximum stunning impact, a 6' (1.828m) globe cannot be matched.
  5. What is the globe made of?
    The globe is made of durable acrylic with a special coating on the inside that allows the images to be projected clearly. The globe comes standard with anti-glare coating. It can be washed with soap and water.
  6. What type of projector is used?
    The Magic Planet offers a variety of projectors to suit your budget and your usage scenarios. You can choose a high resolution XGA DLP projector, which is economical and meets typical needs; or you can choose an ultra-high resolution SXGA+ (1400x1050) DLP projector which offers uncompromising resolution, brightness and contrast.
  7. How often do the bulbs in the projector need to be replaced?
    The Magic Planet uses “off-the-shelf” PC projectors. Typically, their bulbs needs to be replaced about every 2000 hours, so operational costs are minimal.
  8. What types of Magic Planet configurations are there?
    The product comes in both a portable configuration and a pedestal configuration, each with a tailored finish. Portable units can be brought by a single individual and set up for a presentation alongside a notebook computer in little more time than it takes to set up a PC projector. Whether it's for use in a classroom, a meeting room, or a boardroom, a Magic Planet display can be transported there and set up quickly and easily. Pedestal configurations are ideal for standing exhibits or displays, such as in museums, executive briefing centers, and corporate lobbies. Mount the Magic Planet on a black matte base, and visitors will feel just like they're watching the planet floating in space. The Magic Planet globe can also be hung by a lift from the ceiling creating an impressive display for any area.
  9. How can I interact with the Magic Planet?
    It’s easy to build Magic Planet exhibits that incorporate devices such as touch screens and trackballs as well as third party applications.
  10. Can I customize my own experience?
    Magic Planet provides a true multi-media experience to captivate your audience. Magic Planet software enables true interactive multi-media applications. You can run interactive simulations, display live streaming media, even play games on the Magic Planet real time.
  11. Where could I use the Magic Planet?
    You can use the Magic Planet just about anywhere: a classroom, a meeting room, a boardroom, an exhibition or display, in museums and executive briefing centers as well as corporate lobbies. If attention is what you’re after, a Magic Planet is ideal. However, that’s just the starting point for the results a Magic Planet can deliver. With its 360° line of sight, and its true interactivity, Magic Planets represent the next generation of digital signage and “in-store” advertising. Magic Planets can be integrated with touch-screen kiosks, 3rd party applications such as merchandising systems, even with games, so you can draw people in and interactively escort them all the way to your final business objective.
  12. How long does it take to set up the Magic Planet portable?
    The Magic Planet portable is very simple to set up; in little more time than it takes to set up a PC projector you can see your images displayed on the digital video globe.
  13. How easy is it to use the Magic Planet?
    Daily operation of the Magic Planet is easy - it can be handled by almost anyone. Customers typically leave the Magic Planet software running 24/7, and either have an automated shutdown or merely have someone turn the Magic Planet projector on and off daily. To manually turn the Magic Planet on and off, they just press the power button twice on the projector's remote to turn it off, and once to turn it on - they don't even have to open or close the Magic Planet!
  14. Can I build my own enclosure for the Magic Planet?
    Yes. You simply purchase the Magic Planet with a mounting chassis for inclusion in your own exhibit's construction rather than purchase an enclosure from Global Imagination.
  15. What is the Magic Planet StoryTeller Software?
    The Magic Planet StoryTeller is the software designed especially for the Magic Planet. It allows you to "choreograph an entire exhibit" - to control what images you use and how you use them. You can use it to control the Magic Planet in many different ways:
    • interactively using the StoryTeller's user interface;
    • interactively via a wireless remote control - which is perfect for use by a facilitator;
    • interactively via a touch-screen or other custom interface - easily built by anyone with web development skills - so visitors can investigate the exhibit at their own pace and according to their interests;
    • interactively from a 3rd party application; or
    • fully automated, with no user intervention required.
    The StoryTeller enables you to control all aspects of the imagery displayed on the Magic Planet, for example:
    • the images or animations displayed, and in what order when running fully automated;
    • the audio, associated content, touch-screen pages or video are to be played in conjunction with the Magic Planet display;
    • the animation's progress and speed as well as the rotation of the globe;
    • the focus on specific regions of interest on the globe.
    Up-to-the-minute information can be crucial, so the StoryTeller is designed for real-time integration. It can act like a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), so real-time visuals can be paused, rewound and reviewed in slow motion for maximum insights into the situation.

    With the StoryTeller Software Developer's Kit (SDK), the product can be directly integrated with third-party software for true application-level interactivity. Of course, integrations are already available for industry leading applications. See our Partner Page.
  16. What is the Magic Planet OnStage Software?
    OnStage is our most recently announced application. To characterize the two applications, StoryTeller is designed to choreograph exhibits, while OnStage is designed to enable interactive media and applications on the Magic Planet. OnStage is “always live” – in other words, you can display interactive simulations, live streaming media, even games on the Magic Planet in real time. OnStage works with existing, unmodified applications and video – there’s no programming involved to make them appear on the sphere. Moreover, it’s completely interactive – it has advanced cursor support so you can control your applications directly while watching nothing but your Magic Planet display!

    OnStage works by taking a rectangular global display in any application window and “warping it” in real-time for display on the Magic Planet. In addition, it can take a second window and map it as an “inset window” on the Magic Planet in real-time. There’s no modification required to the applications.

    Some examples include mapping: global displays from satellite simulation applications onto the Magic Planet in real time; interactive Flash animations; Photoshop or AfterEffects animations under development; live streaming video from a web page or a movie player; Google Earth and NASA WorldWind for “zooming in” to locations on the globe; and many others.

    Another key feature of OnStage is that it can map the Windows cursor onto the Magic Planet, so users can run their applications entirely by watching the Magic Planet, and without looking at the computer’s “flat display.” For example, students could use a trackball looking at the Magic Planet to locate areas of high and low pressure on the globe, and then watch the simulation results live (Global Imagination doesn’t supply the application, OnStage simply maps it to the Magic Planet.)

    OnStage represents the future in terms of providing true Magic Planet interactivity with little or no incremental application development investment.

    In the release, we’ve also included a range of imagery and animations covering a variety of topics. The full catalog of the images and animations we’ve collected or developed, which includes hundreds, is now in the Magic Planet Community (more on the Community below). As we go through the process of uploading the actual animations (as opposed to the catalog), you may need to contact us to get particular ones we haven’t yet uploaded.
  17. What is the Dynamic Earth Application?
    We’re frequently asked if the Magic Planet can show “real-time weather.” In response we’ve developed an application called Magic Planet DynamicEarth which downloads high quality images of global weather (IR cloud images, to be specific) from the Internet every three hours. In conjunction with StoryTeller, it’s like a weather Digital Video Recorder - you can see the most recent weather “live”, or pause and go back to see a replay of the last eight weeks. In addition, you can get “live” earthquake imagery. In the future, you can expect a wide variety of “near-real-time” imagery to be available including weather forecasts, sea surface temperatures, etc. There’s a modest annual fee for the service.
  18. What computer hardware is required to run the magic Planet?
    StoryTeller and OnStage software require only a standard notebook or desktop computer running Microsoft Windows XP with a second video output port to drive the Magic Planet projector. The computer should have:
    • 1 GB of memory;
    • a 3D graphics accelerator chip such as the nVIDIA GeForce4 or ATI Radeon. The video output port must natively support the Magic Planet projector’s resolution (1400 x 1050 for all but the low end 16” portable, which has a resolution of 1024 x 768)
    • a 60 GB disk, of at least 7,200 RPM
    Alternately, the Magic Planet can be driven by a DVD player or streaming media server that supports SXGA+ output (or XGA output in the case of our low end 16" portable.
  19. What kinds of organizations use the Magic Planet?
    Our largest markets are:
    • The informal education market including organizations such as museums, planetariums, aquariums, science centers, natural history museums as well as universities and research institutes – any organization that wants to educate about global science, or to place local information in a global context
    • The satellite systems market, including organizations that own, run and build satellite systems, as well as the consumers of the information they provide;
    • The commercial market including organizations that want to use the Magic Planet for marketing and promotion, or entertainment purposes.
  20. When was Global Imagination formed?
    Located in Los Gatos, California, we were formed in 2002 to commercialize a new way to display information about planets, and to make its benefits as broadly available as possible.
  21. Who are Global Imagination's customers?
    Our customers include:
    • Museums such as the Maryland Science Center, Birch Aquarium at Scripps and Chabot Space Science Center, as well as universities and research organizations such Oregon State University, Florida State and the University Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).
    • Aerospace systems organizations such as Boeing, NASA, NOAA, ESA and Northrop Grumman Space Technology.
    • Commercial organizations such as Nintendo and TAP Pharmaceuticals.
    See our Customers Page
  22. Who are Global Imagination's partners?
    See our Partner Page


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See the Magic Planet in Action!