Hardware

This section covers third-party equipment you can connect to Spectralite Studio: Art-Net nodes from other vendors, MIDI controllers, and the general network setup that makes them work reliably. For Spectralite's own products, see Spectralite Hardware.

In this section

Supported hardware

DMX output

Spectralite sends DMX data through two transport options.

Art-Net

• Standard DMX over Ethernet protocol
• Works with any Art-Net node
• No fixed universe limit
• Ethernet connection required

USB DMX

• ENTTEC DMX USB Pro
• ENTTEC Open DMX
• Compatible USB interfaces

MIDI input

Any class-compliant MIDI controller works:

• USB MIDI controllers
• Traditional MIDI (via an interface)
• Network MIDI on macOS

Quick setup

For Art-Net

1. Connect your Art-Net node to the network.
2. Connect your computer to the same network.
3. Open Edit > Outputs and add an Art-Net output.
4. Select the correct network interface.

For MIDI

1. Connect your MIDI controller via USB.
2. Open Edit > Inputs > MIDI.
3. Assign a mapping to the device from the dropdown in the Devices pane.
4. Create mappings in the Mapping pane on the right.

Network requirements

For reliable Art-Net output, wired Ethernet is strongly preferred over Wi-Fi. Gigabit switching matters for larger installations where multiple universes run at high refresh rates. Every Art-Net device should sit on the same subnet as the host, and a static IP scheme makes production rigs predictable across reboots.

Getting started

If you are new to lighting hardware, begin with Art-Net Setup, then add MIDI Controllers for live control. If something fails to appear or output, the Troubleshooting page walks through the common causes.