A New Way to Controll Lights? - Synchronizing Light Shows. Read Only. No more posting. - PlanetChristmas! Forums. Read Only. We've moved to http://talk.planetchristmas.com - The Forums of PlanetChristmas have moved to http://talk.PlanetChristmas.com
augercreek wrote: Being a total green horn newbie, can anyone explain all this DMX stuff? All these wiki's are driving me waky!
Here's a few short explanations and an illustrative "language" example:
DMX is just a different protocol that gives you access to a completely different class of lights. Previously, we were limited to anything that can be turned on/off. Mostly incandescents...things like regular old christmas lights. Then came LED support, and now DMX. (Assuming we're talking about light-o-rama).
DMX is just a language. You have to send commands in DMX "language" to a DMX device, otherwise it will not understand what to do. Think of it in terms of our languages: if you speak English to a German, he won't understand. Speak German to a German, he will. If you don't know german, you can hire a translator that knows both english and german.
In terms of light-o-rama, light-o-rama is a translator. You speak LOR (know how to program in LOR), but not DMX. The dmx device you want to control speaks DMX, but not LOR. So light-o-rama created a "translator" device that converts LOR commands to DMX commands. Even though you don't understand DMX, you can now communicate effectively with DMX devices using the translator. (That is a good illustrative example but I don't know if the technical answer is different.)
DMX lighting - Think of theater shows, broadway, rock concert, etc. These types of lights are DMX...the ones that can move, spin, twist, strobe, project patterns, colors, the list goes on and on.
The biggest advantage we will see for light displays is RGB control. If you remember your science classes (yeah right ), red, green, and blue are the primary colors for light. Mixing these three together will give you white light. Mixing other combinations of intensities lets you produce any color you desire. So, this year I am replacing my flood lights with RGB DMX devices, so I can wash any color I want on the house using the same "lightbulb."
This also makes strobe lights, bubble machines, fog machines, hazers, lasers, and almost any other DJ / dance club type device available for use in displays. Most if not all of these devices use DMX.
DMX is new to me this year, so that's the best of my understanding. Clear as mud?
Well I thank you fellows for the answers. I think I need to start from the very begining. All the anachronyms and things are not registering. Electronics are not my thing I guess.
DMX - A protocol (language) for sending instructions to dimmers or intelligent lights. There are a number of different DMX protocols but the most used in modern theatre is DMX-512. The path taken by a DMX instruction is called a channel.
LED - Light Emiting Diode (Similar to a lightbulb.)
contactmike1 wrote:
RGB - Red, Green, Blue (colors )
HSI - Hue, Saturation, and Intensity
Just want to complicate the idea of mixing colors. If I really wanted to get complicated I could start talking about the RGB Color Cube or the HSI Color Cone.
I now know that I spend too much time listening to product engineers when I think I can start a discussion on the properties of color.
You'd be more than welcome. I'm sure you'd be of great help to some of us. I've just this week ordered a unit from D-light, so I'm just getting into animation and sound. We've been static display since the 70's. Time to up grade. GLYASDW Jerry
DMX does have some advantages but going to a DMX only system presents a big problem for the Christmas light animation community. Any DMX controling software what is woth using is very expensive ($1000 or more) primarlily becuse users of these systems are concert light engineers (have you seem Pink Floyd's Pulse concert video?)
The controlling software included in the above packages is noting more than a digital representaion of a DMX console which has sliders to control the value (0 to 255) for each channel. At best the software will allow you to pre-set several values and store them as steps. The you will be able to step (usualy by clicking a go button) thorugh each setting. Timeline syncronization (used to syncronize steps with music or videos) capable software costs over $600 to control a full 512 channel DMX universe. Keep in mind a single light fixture may take as few as three and as many as 16 channels.
Yes DMX controlled RBG LED lights can produce millions of colors (yes millions of colors) that is why AL and LOR have intorduced DMX controlers (translators)
I used some pretty cool LED wall washers in 2006 controlled with a AL DMX controler
Last edited on Saturday February 23rd, 2008 04:20 am by gilv
Rude? Not at all. It's all about sharing information. I have been considering going 100% DMX, I even bought a USB to DMX converted from Enttec but all the software I was able to find was vey expensive and like I said realy geared to the concert lighting community.
Thanks for the information on Vixen I'llbe trigin it out. Thanks.
LOR 2 also runs DMX. I bought 3 Chauvet LED light strips, and will be using LOR 2 to control their various washes and other sequencing effects this season.
I controlled four Color Kinetics DMX fixtures in 2006 using Animated Lighting's Animated Director and their DMX controller.
Ealier this year I was looking for a 100% DMX system, one that did not require AL or LOR controllers. So I was looking for software that did not require AL or LOR to run. AI's Animated Director and LOR I / II where out same with Aurora.
The DMX controlles shown in the opening message of this thread need special software to run them. I have seen DMX to digital controll boards (same as AL and LOR's digital output controllers) and DXM also has "dimmers" (in escence the equivalent to AL and LOR channel controllers). So a 100% DMX controlled systems can do everything LOR or AI can do.
But what I had a difficulty with was the software to controll it. All I found was very expensive software gearded to the concert or theatrical community. So I gave up and decided to stay with my AL system that includses one DXM controller. I will more than liekely expand to two DMX controlles as I have four additional fixtures that consume 153 DMX channels each!!!
Can Vixen control the DMX controller made by Enttec? That devicee usues a pretty standard UBS to DMX protocol and there are at laest six companies that make software that can controll that unit. If Vixen only runs LOR I/II controllers then it does not help going to 100% DMX.
augercreek wrote: Being a total green horn newbie, can anyone explain all this DMX stuff? All these wiki's are driving me waky!
Two past threads with some clarifications on how DMX can apply to stage & home display use:
), red, green, and blue are the primary colors for light. Mixing these three together will give you white light. Mixing other combinations of intensities lets you produce any color you desire. So, this year I am replacing my flood lights with RGB DMX devices, so I can wash any color I want on the house using the same "lightbulb." 
