cheap USB DMX interface |
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MattStolton
Old Croc Joined: 04 September 2010 Location: Walthamstow Status: Offline Points: 4234 |
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I am of the belief that DMX is just a bastardised RS485? Up to Base10T speeds, or up to 1200m. Hardly new, and probably why it is as robust as it is. Yeah ARTnet or whatever is the current "language du jour" or transport, will be better, but for RGB cans or basic waggly mirrors/buckets, jobs a good'un. RS485 is a 1980's vintage?....W95 should be able to push that with enough Baud rate to keep up with my "Skytronic special" flashers.
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Matt Stolton - Technical Director (!!!) - Wilding Sound Ltd
"Sparkius metiretur vestra" - "Meter Your Mains" |
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mk2_ginger_biscuit69
Old Croc Joined: 03 November 2008 Location: Brighton Status: Offline Points: 7801 |
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most apt description ive heard for a while! |
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''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it''
''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart'' |
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MattStolton
Old Croc Joined: 04 September 2010 Location: Walthamstow Status: Offline Points: 4234 |
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I am a sound engineer (DL), i.e who "does lights".
I am not going to be able to tell you whether a Clay Paky is better than a Martin or a Robe, but I could plumb it up, RTFM for the personality, or load into memory of desk, and make some light come out. If your very lucky, I may be able to wang in some colour and gobo, maybe even use a pre-built movement. If it has a prism, woo-hoo! Or just go "sound-to-light-from-built-in-program"....Used to love the Abstract stuff, their built in programs, and the judicious use of dipswitch 10, meant you got a pretty comprehensive show, no matter what you cobbled together to make it up. As long as you had pairs of whatever, the CE64 controller was a joy, if simple.
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Matt Stolton - Technical Director (!!!) - Wilding Sound Ltd
"Sparkius metiretur vestra" - "Meter Your Mains" |
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odc04r
Old Croc Joined: 12 July 2006 Location: Sarfampton Status: Offline Points: 5483 |
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Yup that's what it is, and if it is still good enough for industrial control all round the globe it's still good enough for lighting. Nice and easy to troubleshoot when things go titty up compared to ethernet etc. |
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James Tengo
Old Croc Joined: 09 May 2008 Location: Brighton Status: Offline Points: 2155 |
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In the touring world we tend to run ArtNet / SACN from Foh to dimmers, but still run dmx from dimmers to fixtures, unless they are a ridiculous channel count in which case ether all the way to the fixtures. Good ether cable is not cheap at all, where as good dmx cable is cheap. Add in the cost of ethercon joiners and you'll soon work out why.
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MattStolton
Old Croc Joined: 04 September 2010 Location: Walthamstow Status: Offline Points: 4234 |
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I guess with a ring of networking infrastructure you can build in redundancy, albeit at the cost of a few extra hops. So for long vulnerable runs, no brainer. Equally, worst case, "DMX" could be buzzed into the audio network, if planned with appropriate subnets and IP addresses. Gigabit is plenty for everything, except obscene amounts of HD or 4K video... But yes, decent cat and ethercons are not cheap. And worst case short lengths of mic cable will get you out of trouble...Always carry plenty of 3:5 or 5:3 adaptors...
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Matt Stolton - Technical Director (!!!) - Wilding Sound Ltd
"Sparkius metiretur vestra" - "Meter Your Mains" |
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James Tengo
Old Croc Joined: 09 May 2008 Location: Brighton Status: Offline Points: 2155 |
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It's more that as shows get bigger, with more universes in play, with added control over video servers and massive pixel counts the desks don't have enough physical dmx outs (generally still 4 or 8 maximum) to run the rigs, and in festival situations handing one ether cable to your visiting LD's is so much more pro. We rarely run ring architecture, but have backup lines plugged into a switch at dimmers, so if there is an issue with a Foh run it's one place to swap a cable. We have some fancy switches that have ArtNet routing (physical) switches that means you can have multiple desks connected to the network but only the one selected passes data, whilst maintaining network connectivity. Currently on the Bonobo tour, with a 4 universe floor package, and two universes of media server control, going into venues that have 4 universes of house rig, so ArtNet is the only sensible option. Last Placebo arena tour (the 3 months leading up to Christmas) was 22 universes... Sound guys don't like lugging old school copper cores, and neither would I for that sort of universe count!
As for 3>5's and 5>3's, so many fixtures carry both that these days I've got a stash of about 20 sets in my tour box, but hardly ever need to reach for them. |
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mk2_ginger_biscuit69
Old Croc Joined: 03 November 2008 Location: Brighton Status: Offline Points: 7801 |
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yeah, i run a universe per fixture in the village hall, maximises redundancy and unlocks the full potential of my 8channel LED plastic lunchboxes [they are that flimsy]......... or not . Still, id like to think my comical little setup has more potential and power than any 'desk' you could pickup for anywhere near £100, AND it has an itunes playlist full of disco classics for when everything goes tits up
22 universes, thats mind boggling. Thats a LOT of channels, and a LOT of stuff going on. |
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''Remember that the object of a subwoofer is to enhance the output of your main speakers, not overpower it''
''Dubstep - an elongated electronic fart'' |
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norty303
Old Croc Joined: 18 August 2004 Location: Eastbourne Status: Offline Points: 8806 |
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Am I misunderstanding your use of the word dimmers here James? To me its DMX to dimmers, power from dimmers to fixtures |
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My laser stuff: Frikkin Lasers
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James Tengo
Old Croc Joined: 09 May 2008 Location: Brighton Status: Offline Points: 2155 |
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Ahh. In my world Dimmers = Location, not a piece of kit. So artnet from FOH to Dimmers (side of stage) where your power distro and data racks live (and dimmers, yeah?) and then dmx from Dimmers (Location) to fixtures
Edit to add - rarely actually have a dimmer rack in "Dimmers" these days, especially with the dmx blinders we stock nowadays. Edited by James Tengo - 28 February 2017 at 7:55pm |
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kedwardsleisure
Old Croc Joined: 20 January 2009 Location: Staffordshire Status: Offline Points: 4938 |
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an old strand ACT6 is plenty in a village hall.
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Kevin
North Staffordshire |
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norty303
Old Croc Joined: 18 August 2004 Location: Eastbourne Status: Offline Points: 8806 |
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Ah, that was always 'Dimmerworld' to me |
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My laser stuff: Frikkin Lasers
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