Receiving DMX Input

Spectralite can receive DMX over Art-Net or sACN and bind incoming channel values to actions: layer opacity, BPM, fixture parameter values, color hue, and more. This lets a conventional lighting console, a video app that speaks sACN, or a hardware DMX-over-IP controller drive Spectralite.

For the full dialog reference, see DMX Input Dialog. This page is a walkthrough.

Add a DMX input source

1. Open Edit > Inputs > DMX (Art-Net / sACN).
2. In the Sources pane on the left, click +.
3. Name the source, pick Art-Net or sACN, set the universe number, and choose the network interface that receives the traffic.
4. Click Submit. The source row shows its live status (receiving or idle).

Create a mapping

A mapping is a named set of DMX-channel-to-action bindings. One source can use one mapping at a time.

1. In the Mappings sidebar of the right pane, click + Add mapping and give it a name.
2. Click Add assignment in the toolbar.
3. Enter the DMX channel (1-512) within the source's universe.
4. Pick the action type (layer opacity, BPM, parameter value, and so on) and the target.
5. Set the value range (min/max) or threshold if needed.
6. Click Submit.

Back in the Sources pane, pick the new mapping from the dropdown next to the source. Incoming DMX values now drive the assigned actions.

Assignment types

DMX input shares its action catalog with MIDI input. Incoming values are 0-255 (DMX) instead of 0-127 (MIDI), but the targets are the same: layer opacity by position or by specific layers, BPM set or adjust, Tap Tempo, primary/secondary/tertiary color hue, parameter value, parameter toggle, cue align, and so on. See MIDI Input Dialog for the full list.

Troubleshooting

Source shows no activity. Verify the universe number matches what the upstream sender is transmitting. The most common cause is picking the wrong network interface on a multi-homed computer. For sACN, confirm multicast is permitted on the network. For Art-Net, confirm no firewall is blocking UDP port 6454.

Actions fire on the wrong channel. Check the channel number in the assignment against what the sender transmits. Look for overlapping assignments on the same channel.

Two senders fighting. If two senders transmit on the same universe, the receiver uses the most recent packet, which can cause flicker. Make sure only one sender uses each universe.

Related

• DMX Input Dialog: full reference for the dialog.
• Art-Net Setup: the output side of Art-Net, which uses the same networking concepts.
• MIDI Input Dialog: shared action catalog.