[ANSWERED] Lighting for beginners ?

DillTheKraut

Hello,

regarding DMX devices, I just bought this ArtNet <-> DMX Converter by Chauvet. I tested the Enttec ODE MK2 ArtNet <-> DMX controler before with QLC+. It worked immediately without any drivers or additional software out of the box. The Chauvet is pretty much the same, but cost less money. I didn't yet try the direct way out of Isadora with the ArtNet actors.

Best
Dill

DusX

PS: I have recently added 2 User Actors to the Plugins page, to help with DMX control using Enttec compatible interfaces.

see: https://troikatronix.com/plugi...
and https://troikatronix.com/plugi...

JJHP3

Wonderful! Thanks so much for this, and all the other contributions you make!

John

keftaparty

@jjhp3

I also suggest going the Artnet node way.

Lighting has a standart ( Artnet ) that is now supported by most of the light manufacturers, and that is compatible with a simple network card on a computer.

There you have no restriction of use, from Raspberry, to MacPro, to Android phone, to 50k$ lightdesk etc... Not so bad I feel !

All usb devices are driver & OS dependant.

One other big advantage of an Artnet node when working in a venue, is that with a simple wlan acces point, you can go wireless for example during focus. That's not possible with a usb device.

Best

Mehdi

Michel

@keftaparty

To make things a bit more complicated there is not only ArtNet there also sACN. At the early days of ArtNet we first used it at our theatre but our network was often overloaded so we switched to sACN. ArtNet is UniCast and sACN is Multicast. But I think ArtNet solved lot of the problems of the early days.

Best Michel

DusX

@michel said:

But I think ArtNet solved lot of the problems of the early days

Yes, I believe artnet 2 addressed these issues.

Juriaan

So in my daily practice as an scenographer / Lighting designer I use ETC Nomad, ETC makes great software called EOS that is basically a full light desk on your PC / Mac.

When you are touring and you need to change the patch list to a new setup it makes sense to do that in software that is created to do so. Isadora is fully capable of doing small shows / basic setups, but when you are have enter and have to perform in the evening with an general rehearsal in between is makes sense to use such software to quickly busk between all your different lighting subs / color palette's / Cue's. A basic license for ETC Nomad (Students / Educators) is 250 USD with 2 Universes and an ETC Gadget II (Basically a USB adapter for your PC)

Isadora has some great tools to connect with lighting desks, think about Midi Show Control :)

For some really basic setups I agree with the above, either go with an Enttec USB DMX Pro if you really want something that is relliable and quick to setup with something like QLC+ or go down the ArtNet route and get some Enttec stuff as well :)

Woland

@juriaan said:

A basic license for ETC Nomad (Students / Educators) is 250 USD with 2 Universes and an ETC Gadget II

I need to go back to school or teach at a university so I can afford to get this

Maximortal

@woland they just ask for a simple certificate, i'm pretty sure you have some friend still student.... ;-)

Woland

@maximortal

I respect ETC too much to not play fair with them.

Armando

@woland Hi woland. I think that some things changes since I use my mk2 now on m1 and it seems to work just fine.

Cheers

Gaspar

@jjhp3

I do own a ODE MKII, but the ethernet version (not USB) since 2019. I did not have any issues with it, at least not more than I've had with conventional consoles/dimmers. Sometimes a dimmer hangs, but that's not really the console's fault. Well there was an issue at the beginning. They sent me a 12V power in the box, but it should have been a 7.5V. I guess this is a rare error. They sent me the proper one short after I told them what happened. I've read (in this forum) to stay away from the ODE interfaces and go with the PRO versions, but in my case, I can't say anything bad about it.

Cheers

Armando

@gaspar said:

ODE MKII

hello, do you sent it artnet and the interface transforms into dmx? How does it work in isadora ?

Gaspar

@armando said:

sent it artnet and the interface transforms into dmx? How does it work in isadora ?

Hi, I'm afraid I don't know for sure how it works but yes, that's my workflow.

My ENTTEC ODE MKII is connected to my PC directly over the ethernet connector. I use the Artnet send actor (using matrix send and receive as learned in the tutorials), to get my DMX matrix to the ENTTEC. I just need to enter the proper IP and it works very straightforwardly. Then the ENTTEC has a DMX output: Usually I just take the DMX cable going out from the theatre's console and plug it into my ENTTEC ODE MKII. Sometimes I just do a Daisy chain: The DMX out from the ENTTEC goes directly into the first light, and from there on.

The ENTTEC has a DMX input as well, but I've never used that. Maybe that way it could also receive inputs directly from the light console.

I hope that helped,

Cheers

Armando

@gaspar Thank you very much Gaspar. I need to buy 2 computer to dmx interface and I am struggling to understand if entecc products will be compatible with sonoma, etc... Since you just send ethernet out you didn't have to install drivers on your machine am I wrong ?

Thanks again

fubbi

On artnet Hardware:

Cheaper, with less features, alternative to ODE MKIII (MKII is no more).:

https://www.thomann.de/de/euro...

And if you go the artnet/sacn route (dont worry, all the nodes do both) I would recommend getting a DMX splitter.
Its immensely useful to avoid the need to daisychain all your dmx lighting fixtures.

Here is a cheap splitter:

https://www.thomann.de/de/stairville_dmx_splitter_8_usb_3_pin.htm

But in all honesty, the perfect gadget, at the price of a ODE MKIII, is a combination of both:

https://www.thomann.de/de/bote...

If I had to get one thing to get started, that would be it.

Fubbi

Fub

Gaspar

@armando

Hi. Yes you're right. I had no need to install any drivers. It is pretty much plug, configure IP, and play. I'm on Windows, but I guess it should not be any different on a MAC. Seeing other posts it seems as if also the USB DMX interfaces (instead of ethernet) would also work, and should be plug & play without the need to set the proper IP.

@fubbi Thanx for the link. https://www.thomann.de/de/bote... Quite impressive, although as it seems, rather than a splitter, it provides 8 universes, which is even better. I guess that it might be possible to configure each DMX out's universe. Then you would have the splitter.

Armando

@fubbi Thanks a lot for this post. You make us dream. Let me get this straight : you connect the botex with Ethernet to a mac, send artnet directly from isadora and you get 4092 dmx channel directly ? Anb the same thing for the Eurolite ?

Another question. What is the "bidirectional characteristic ?" I don't get "Art-RDM support, Art-Net 4, sACN and ESP to DMX conversion." that the ODE MKIII claims

fubbi

@armando I usually have it connected to a router, this way anything on the network, including ipads over wifi, can run anything that sends sAcn (or artnet if you prefer that).

Armando

@fubbi great !! No more driver nightmare for DMX !!! Thank you a thousand times. Also because with Sonoma arriving I was worried that would cause DMX nightmare.