External Inputs

Spectralite can react to external signals from four sources: live audio, DMX over Art-Net or sACN, NDI video, and MIDI. Each plugs into the same effect system, so a kick drum, a fader on a console, and a video clip can all drive the same lighting cue.

What's available

MIDI is covered separately under MIDI Input Dialog and MIDI Controllers.

When to reach for each

Audio is the right choice when you want the lights to react to what is actually playing, without any controller or console in the loop. It's also the simplest to set up for a DJ or band that does not want to touch lighting software during a performance.

DMX input is the right choice when a conventional lighting desk drives the show and Spectralite is one of several rigs it controls. The desk sends over Art-Net or sACN, Spectralite maps incoming channels to layer opacity, BPM, or parameter values.

NDI is the right choice when visuals come from a VJ application (Resolume, TouchDesigner, VDMX, OBS) and the lighting should mirror or follow those visuals. The NDI Input node samples pixel color at any position, so the lighting can pick up color palette, brightness, or motion from the visuals.

MIDI is the right choice for hands-on control: faders, pads, encoders on a controller, mapped to parameters in Spectralite.

Network considerations

All four protocols run on the same network stack, so the same network rules apply:

• Wired Ethernet, not Wi-Fi, for reliability.
• Gigabit switching for HD NDI or large DMX rigs.
• All senders and receivers on the same subnet.
• Multicast permitted on the network for sACN and NDI discovery.

Related

• Audio Input Dialog
• DMX Input Dialog
• NDI Input Dialog
• MIDI Input Dialog
• Node Editor: sampling external data in effects.