RDM Devices
Discover and remotely configure ANSI E1.20 RDM responders over Art-Net
RDM Devices
The RDM Devices panel lists every ANSI E1.20-2010 responder the engine has heard through an Art-Net output. Each row carries the responder's reported identity, current DMX start address, footprint, active personality, the originating output, and the age of the last response. Selecting a row opens an editor for the PIDs that the device's SUPPORTED_PARAMETERS response advertises.
The panel ships as a sibling tab to the Spectralite Controllers panel in the Fixtures workspace preset. To add it to any other workspace, use Window > Add panel > RDM Devices.
Toolbar
All discovery controls live in the panel toolbar.
- Search (left): filter the table by manufacturer, model, label, or UID substring.
- Rescan all: queues an
ArtTodControlwith theAtcFlushcommand against every Art-Net output. Each node drops its cached table and re-runs binary-tree discovery from scratch. Use this when a responder is connected but does not appear, when a UID has been removed but the node still reports it, or after recabling a DMX run. The button reads Rescanning… and is disabled while any output is mid-discovery. - Refresh: queues an
ArtTodRequestagainst every output. Each node returns its currently known table without re-running a binary-tree discovery, the fast path for "did anything change since I last looked?". The engine issues this same request automatically every thirty seconds per output, so the list stays current without manual refreshing. - Outputs: a popover listing every Art-Net output. Each row shows the output name, a badge with the age of its last full discovery (
neveruntil one runs), and a Rescan button that runs a full discovery on that single output. When no Art-Net output is configured, the popover shows a one-line notice and the table stays empty.
Device columns
Each column sorts when its header is clicked. The cached values shown reflect the responder's most recent answer to the corresponding PID, not the value last requested from the UI.
- Manufacturer: from
MANUFACTURER_LABEL(PID 0x0081). - Model: from
DEVICE_MODEL_DESCRIPTION(PID 0x0080). - Label: from
DEVICE_LABEL(PID 0x0082). Editable for devices that advertise the PID. - Address: current
DMX_START_ADDRESS(PID 0x00F0). Editable for devices that advertise the PID. - Footprint: number of DMX channels the device consumes in its current personality (from
DEVICE_INFO). - Personality: current personality number and total count, as reported by
DMX_PERSONALITY(PID 0x00E0). Editable for devices that advertise the PID. - Output: display name of the Art-Net output that surfaced the device.
- Last seen: age of the most recent inbound RDM response from this device.
- Identifying: whether the device's
IDENTIFY_DEVICEPID is currently set to on.
Editing a device
Clicking a row opens the editor pane underneath the table. Four editors are available, each gated on the device's SUPPORTED_PARAMETERS (PID 0x0050) list.
- Device label (PID 0x0082): up to 32 characters. Empty labels are allowed.
- DMX address (PID 0x00F0): 1 through 512. Values that would push the device past channel 512 in its current personality are rejected.
- Personality (PID 0x00E0): pick from the list of personalities the device returned via
DMX_PERSONALITY_DESCRIPTION. Changing personality usually also changes footprint, so check the address afterwards. - Identify (PID 0x1000): toggles the device's locate mode. Most fixtures respond by flashing or sweeping.
Each edit sends a single RDM SET and waits for the response. The cached value updates from the responder's reply, not from the value you typed, so if a device clamps or rejects an edit you see the actual stored value rather than the requested one. Failed transactions surface in the device's last_error field, visible as a tooltip on the row.
Sensors
Devices that report sensors through DEVICE_INFO list their readings in a Sensors block at the bottom of the editor pane, one entry per sensor. Each entry shows the sensor's description (from SENSOR_DEFINITION, PID 0x0200) and its current value with the unit the device declares. The engine reads each value through SENSOR_VALUE (PID 0x0201) every five seconds, so the figures track the device live. A Spectralite Node reports its internal temperature, uptime, free heap, and DMX frame rate this way; third-party responders expose whatever sensors their firmware defines. A reading that has not refreshed within the last thirty seconds is dimmed and italicized to flag that it may be stale.
What's supported
The engine speaks RDM over Art-Net. The PID set covers discovery (DISC_UNIQUE_BRANCH, DISC_MUTE, DISC_UN_MUTE, all handled by the Art-Net node), enumeration (SUPPORTED_PARAMETERS, DEVICE_INFO, MANUFACTURER_LABEL, DEVICE_MODEL_DESCRIPTION, SOFTWARE_VERSION_LABEL, DMX_PERSONALITY_DESCRIPTION), sensors (SENSOR_DEFINITION, SENSOR_VALUE), and the four editable PIDs above. sACN itself does not carry RDM because E1.31 is streaming-only, so an Art-Net output must be enabled for RDM. Streaming via sACN and RDM via Art-Net can run on the same rig at the same time.
Troubleshooting
Device does not appear
- Check that an Art-Net output is configured and enabled in Edit > Outputs.
- Check that the Art-Net node sits on the same subnet as the host running Studio. Many nodes drop RDM packets that cross subnet boundaries even when DMX still routes.
- Click Rescan all, or open Outputs in the toolbar and rescan the single output, to force the node to re-run binary-tree discovery.
- Confirm the responder is RDM-capable. Many older fixtures speak DMX only.
Edit appears to do nothing
Some fixtures report a PID in SUPPORTED_PARAMETERS but silently reject the value. Check the row's tooltip for a last_error. If the field clears immediately, the device accepted the SET but ignored it; consult the fixture manual for the values the PID actually accepts.
Personality change moves my fixture
A personality change can also change DMX footprint. The DMX address you set before the change may now overlap with another fixture or fall past channel 512. Verify the address in the Address Space panel after switching personality.
Related panels
- Spectralite Controllers: Spectralite hardware discovery, separate from third-party RDM.
- Address Space: see where each fixture lands after editing its DMX address.
- Fixtures: add a project fixture for an RDM-addressed device.