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Looking for small DMX player / recorder

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erwinredl:
Hi there,

I am looking for small DMX player/recorder, preferably just a circuit board with screw terminals, and no housing. In the past I've used the Chauvet DJ DMX-RT and removed the housing but the quality of that product declined dramatically to a point where it is rendered useless. Same with NicolAudie products, too expensive for my application, very buggy software, and unreliable hardware for professional use.

I've looked into the Enttec S-Play SP1-1 70092 but it is simply too big and expensive for my application. Raspberry PI, etc. would also be too big and bloated for my very, very basic needs.

I've found 2 products on DMX4all.de in Germany, the DMX-Player XS and the DMX-Player L-MK2, but just the shipping is $70+.

Application:
- Program light sequences created with the ETC Mosaic MSC / Mosaic Designer 2 software / hardware (my favorite DMX toy but too big and too expensive for my application)
- Record DMX/ArtNet/or similar light sequences from ETC device to small DMX player/recorder hardware
- Play the light sequences back as DMX data on start-up of small DMX player/recorder

No calendar function or reordering of sequences needed, just the most basic record and looped playback.

Any recommendations?

Thank you for your help in advance!

Erwin

Jeff Lelko:

--- Quote from: erwinredl on January 12, 2023, 02:18:01 PM ---I've looked into the Enttec S-Play SP1-1 70092 but it is simply too big and expensive for my application. Raspberry PI, etc. would also be too big and bloated for my very, very basic needs.

--- End quote ---

Hi Erwin, so what is your budget then?  You mention “professional use”, and the Enttec unit that would fit your needs perfectly is neither large nor expensive - especially by professional standards.  Raspberry Pis are also extremely small…  How much smaller do you need?

erwinredl:
Hi Jeff,

Thank you for your reply. I've worked with Enttec products in the past and always have been satisfied 100%. The Enttec S-Play SP1-1 70092 is perfect but total overkill and too big. My product is basically something that mimics a painting but done with LEDs. The DMX player would be built into the painting's frame.

I've done this in the past by taking out the circuit boards of the Chauvet DJ RT and de-soldering the XLR connectors. The Chauvet also is pretty affordable. Unfortunately their quality is no longer acceptable. The Chauvet's SD card reader is totally unreliable, skips data, etc. Since I've used probably 50+ of their units in the past so they've sent me several replacements but all of them now have the same SD card reader problem independent of what SD card I use. Anyway...

The Enttec or a Raspberry are to large and overkill because all I'd need is recording and playing back a DMX stream reliably.
The DMX4All product line of player/recorders seem ideal but shipping from Germany is $70.

DMX4ALL:
https://shop.dmx4all.de/de/dmx-player-xs.html
https://shop.dmx4all.de/de/dmx-player-l-mk2.html

Cheers,

Erwin


--- Quote from: Jeff Lelko on January 13, 2023, 07:47:37 AM ---Hi Erwin, so what is your budget then?  You mention “professional use”, and the Enttec unit that would fit your needs perfectly is neither large nor expensive - especially by professional standards.  Raspberry Pis are also extremely small…  How much smaller do you need?

--- End quote ---

Jeff Lelko:

--- Quote from: erwinredl on January 13, 2023, 09:42:39 AM ---The DMX player would be built into the painting's frame.

--- End quote ---

Thanks Erwin - this makes a lot more sense now knowing that everything needs to fit into a picture frame.

If you're not afraid to go the DIY route there are several Arduino boards that are small enough to fit into a routed groove on a picture frame.  Arduino can handle DMX, though you'll probably need to do much of the circuitry and programming yourself to make it work correctly for your specific application.  I'd say ideally you'd design a custom PCB which hosts an Arduino-loaded PLC plus the other electrical goodies needed to make the circuit work, and then solder the boards yourself for a perfectly customized solution.  If that sounds to be more trouble than it's worth then maybe the $70 shipping fee isn't so bad after all...  Hope this helps and good luck with the project!

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