Glossary

Definitions for the words used across these docs: Spectralite's own terms, the lighting-industry vocabulary they sit on, and the network protocols underneath. Each entry links to the page that explains it in full. Terms are ordered A to Z.

A

Additive blend. One of a layer's two blend behaviors. The layer adds its light on top of what is already beneath it: out = prev + opacity · layer. Stacking two additive layers brightens where they overlap. See Blend.

Address. The DMX channel a fixture starts on inside its universe, shown 1 to 512 in the app. Together with the universe it locates every channel that fixture drives. See DMX patching.

Art-Net. A protocol for carrying DMX over an ordinary IP network, on UDP port 6454. Spectralite outputs light as Art-Net or sACN. Art-Net numbers its universes from 0. See Art-Net setup.

ArtSync. A small Art-Net trailer Spectralite sends after each frame so that sync-latching nodes apply all of their universes at the same instant, rather than tearing a multi-universe fixture across two network bursts. On by default. See Art-Net setup.

B

Beat time. Timing measured in beats instead of seconds, so a show stays locked to the music when the tempo changes. Change the BPM and the whole timeline stretches or compresses with it. See Beat Time.

Blend. How a layer combines with the layers below it. This is not a menu of modes: a single per-layer toggle chooses between additive (adds light) and override (crossfades). Both blend in linear CIE color, and opacity is the mixing weight in each. See Effects and Layers.

BPM. Beats per minute, the tempo the show runs at. At 120 BPM a beat lands every half second. See Beat Time.

Broadcast. An Art-Net network mode that sends every universe to every device on the subnet in one burst. It is the default, and it needs no per-fixture addressing. Contrast unicast. See Art-Net setup.

Bump. A layer in the Bump group, meant for momentary hits you trigger live. Bump layers always composite on top of every timeline layer, whatever their numeric order. See the Bumps panel.

C

Calibration. Using a fixture's manufacturer-measured color data (the emitter chromaticities, luminances, and response curves inside its GDTF profile) so the engine reproduces your color accurately on that specific fixture type. It is not per-unit calibration of your own hardware; there is no measure-your-own-fixture step. See Color.

Channel. One DMX value, 0 to 255, a single byte on the wire. A universe holds 512 of them. A fixture occupies a run of channels starting at its address. See DMX basics.

Channels mode. One of the three color modes. The effect writes device color components (red, green, blue, white, amber, and so on) straight to DMX, skipping the device-independent solve. Use it when you want to drive raw channels yourself. Contrast xyY and Temperature modes.

CIE color space. The standard, device-independent way of describing a color by how the eye sees it, rather than by red, green, and blue drive levels. Spectralite authors color in CIE xyY. See Color.

Color library. A named collection of colors you pick from and can assign to preset color slots. See the Color Settings panel.

Color mode. One of Channels, xyY, or Temperature. The mode is a property of a color or gradient, not of a layer, so the same effect can render device channels on one layer and device-independent color on another. See the Color Settings panel.

Controlled values. The live knobs an effect exposes on a layer's control panel. You adjust them during playback without recompiling the effect. See Nodes.

D

DMX. The lighting-control signal standard. Channels are grouped into universes of 512, each channel a value 0 to 255, all sent together as a frame. Spectralite transports DMX over Art-Net and sACN. See DMX basics.

E

Effect. A graph of connected nodes that computes a color for every pixel. The engine compiles it into a GPU program that runs once per pixel each frame. See Effects and Layers.

Emitter. One colored light source inside a fixture: a red LED, a white LED, an amber LED, a cyan/magenta/yellow flag. Spectralite solves your one authored color onto whatever emitter set a fixture actually carries, which is why an RGB par and an RGBW strip both show the color you picked. See Color.

F

Fixture. One controllable light: a par, a moving head, an LED bar, a pixel strip. The word is overloaded, so these docs split it into a fixture definition (the reusable type) and a patched instance (one placement with an address). See Fixtures.

Fixture definition. The reusable description of a fixture type: its DMX modes, channel layout, pixel positions, and color profile. Patching a definition into a project creates an addressed instance. See Creating fixtures.

G

Gamut. The range of colors a fixture can physically produce, fixed by its emitters. A color you author outside a fixture's gamut is projected to the nearest color that fixture can actually reach. See Color.

GDTF. General Device Type Format, an open interchange format for fixture personalities. A .gdtf file is an archive of a fixture's modes, channels, and measured physical color data. Import one to add its fixture to the library. See Adding fixtures.

Gradient. A color that varies across stops rather than sitting at a single value. Each stop holds a color and a position, and the engine interpolates between them. A whole gradient carries one color mode. See the Color Settings panel.

Group. In a position map, a way to keep the parts of one multi-part fixture moving together. Groups are anonymous and constrained to a single fixture: you cannot group two different fixtures into one. Spectralite has no console-style fixture groups for building rig zones or sections. See the Position Map Editor.

L

Layer. Binds one effect to one position map and renders it with an opacity, a blend behavior, and a beat schedule. Stack layers to combine looks, lower ones underneath and higher ones on top. See Effects and Layers.

Leap Motion. An Ultraleap hand-tracking sensor. Its two-hand skeleton feeds effect nodes, so hand movement can drive light. See Leap Motion input.

M

Mapping. Another name for a position map: the set of placed fixtures a layer renders onto. See the Mappings panel.

MIDI. A control-surface protocol. A MIDI controller can drive layer opacity, tempo, color, and fixture parameters, with LED feedback sent back to the controller. See MIDI input.

Multicast. A network mode that sends each universe to a multicast group, which receivers subscribe to for the universes they need. sACN multicasts by default; Art-Net can too. Contrast broadcast and unicast. See Art-Net setup.

N

NDI. A protocol for live video over a network. Spectralite receives an NDI stream as a video source that effects sample, turning moving video into light across your rig. See NDI input.

Node. One operation in an effect graph, with typed input and output ports. Wire nodes together to build an effect; ports only connect when their types match exactly. See Connecting nodes.

O

Opacity. A layer's brightness weight, a linear value from 0 to 1 used in its blend equation. At 0 the layer contributes nothing, which is how a layer is switched off. See the Layer Settings panel.

Override blend. The second blend behavior: a crossfade, out = (1 - opacity) · prev + opacity · layer. At full opacity the layer replaces whatever is beneath it. See Effects and Layers.

P

Part. A physically independent, separately positionable unit inside one fixture, such as each bar of a multi-bar controller. Also called a sub-fixture. It is distinct from a fixture's internal pixel layout. See Fixtures.

Patch. Placing a fixture into a project at a chosen universe and address, so the engine knows which channels drive it. See DMX patching.

Position map. A record of where each fixture sits in 3D space. Spatial effects read it to know which pixel is where, so a chase or a wave lands on the rig as it is laid out. A map holds only placed fixtures: no dimensions, no addresses, no output routing. See Position Maps.

Preset color. A named color slot (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and so on) that effects reference instead of a fixed color. Change what is in the slot and every effect using it updates at once. See the Color Settings panel.

Q

Quality (Q). The multi-emitter control on an authored color, from 0 (Bright) to 1 (Pure), defaulting to Pure. Its on-screen label is Quality; the stored field is q. At Bright the engine maximizes light output; at Pure it leans on the emitters closest to your color, so a white lands on a real white emitter instead of a red/green/blue mix. See Color.

R

RDM. Remote Device Management (ANSI E1.20). It discovers and configures third-party DMX fixtures over Art-Net: reading and setting a fixture's address, mode, and label remotely. It needs an enabled Art-Net output, because sACN carries no RDM. See the RDM Devices panel.

Response curve. A fixture's measured dimming curve, mapping a control level to its real light output. The engine applies it per emitter, correcting a fixture's dimming nonlinearity. See Color.

S

sACN. Streaming ACN (ANSI E1.31), the other protocol Spectralite outputs DMX over, on UDP port 5568, multicast by default. sACN numbers its universes from 1 and reserves universe 0. See Output.

T

Tap tempo. Setting the BPM by tapping a button in time with the music; Spectralite averages your recent taps. It is suppressed while automatic beat-sync is running the clock. See the Beat Matcher panel.

Temperature mode. A color mode that authors white by color temperature in kelvin plus a green/magenta tint. The pair resolves to a point on the blackbody curve and is then treated exactly like any xyY color. See the Color Settings panel.

Tier. A rating from 0 to 3 of how much measured color data a fixture's GDTF profile carries, from none up to per-emitter spectral measurements. A higher tier lets the engine solve color onto that fixture more accurately. See Color.

Timeline. The beat clock and the per-layer schedule together. Its length is set in bars, and each layer carries a grid of sixteen on/off slots per bar that decides when the layer plays. See the Timeline panel.

U

Unicast. An Art-Net network mode that sends each universe only to specific receiver IP addresses. Those destinations come from each fixture's target IP, not from a single field on the output. Contrast broadcast. See Art-Net setup.

Universe. A block of 512 DMX channels, the unit Spectralite groups channels into for the wire. Internally universes count from 0, while the app shows them from 1. An output's universe offset only shifts the numbers on the wire to line up with a third-party receiver's expectations; it does not renumber your patch. See DMX basics.

X

xyY. The CIE coordinates Spectralite uses to author a device-independent color: x and y fix the chromaticity (which color), Y the luminance (how bright). One xyY value drives every fixture consistently. It is also the default color mode. See Color.