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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => Lighting Forum => Topic started by: Gordon Brinton on October 08, 2017, 09:32:16 AM
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I am currently using a hardware DMX controller, but am tired of being tied to an AC wall outlet. I want to use the same Android tablet to control lights that I use to control my mixer. I want to simply switch back and forth between mixer and lighting apps while I roam around the venue.
I already have a 5GHz wifi/router in use for the mixer. I am thinking that I can just plug an Ethernet to DMX converter into that same router and address the lights that way from the control app. Is this possible as long as all IP addresses are unique, or will there be a data bottleneck somewhere?
Being a complete newb to this method, I could also use a few recommendations for converters and control apps. My needs are simple with only about 16 fixtures for small venues.
Thanks.
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I think both ADJ and Chauvet make products for this now.. don't know if there are any other more pro systems available. Have a look at this.. http://www.adj.com/airstream-dmx-bridge
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For some apps and some tablets, when you switch, the other app loses sync and there may be delays or other undesirable effects.
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I think both ADJ and Chauvet make products for this now.. don't know if there are any other more pro systems available. Have a look at this.. http://www.adj.com/airstream-dmx-bridge
Maybe it's me, but I am having trouble finding an ethernet-to-dmx product on either of those pages. But thanks anyway.
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For some apps and some tablets, when you switch, the other app loses sync and there may be delays or other undesirable effects.
It sounds like this is going to be an expensive experiment just to see if it works. Thanks for the heads up.
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I think I'm understanding your question correctly: you want to control your audio and your lights with a single tablet running on the same WiFi network. This seems totally feasible to me.
- put your wifi router near your lights and mixer
- Get this: https://dmxking.com/artnetsacn/edmx1-pro
- connect the eDMX1 to your wifi router on one end and your first DMX light on the other
- connect your tablet to your wifi network, open up your audio control app which should find your mixer then switch to your lighting control app which should find the eDMX1
Note: ENTTEC makes a similar box (https://www.enttec.com/us/products/controls/dmx-over-ethernet/ode-mk2-open-dmx-ethernet/) but it is almost twice as expensive than the eDMX1 from DMX King
The biggest issue for me with this setup is the actual lighting control app. I have Luminaire and Vibrio for iPad which are both ok but nothing like running lights from a laptop-based application. Let us know how this works for you!
I am currently using a hardware DMX controller, but am tired of being tied to an AC wall outlet. I want to use the same Android tablet to control lights that I use to control my mixer. I want to simply switch back and forth between mixer and lighting apps while I roam around the venue.
I already have a 5GHz wifi/router in use for the mixer. I am thinking that I can just plug an Ethernet to DMX converter into that same router and address the lights that way from the control app. Is this possible as long as all IP addresses are unique, or will there be a data bottleneck somewhere?
Being a complete newb to this method, I could also use a few recommendations for converters and control apps. My needs are simple with only about 16 fixtures for small venues.
Thanks.
-
I think I'm understanding your question correctly: you want to control your audio and your lights with a single tablet running on the same WiFi network. This seems totally feasible to me.- put your wifi router near your lights and mixer
- Get this: https://dmxking.com/artnetsacn/edmx1-pro
- connect the eDMX1 to your wifi router on one end and your first DMX light on the other
- connect your tablet to your wifi network, open up your audio control app which should find your mixer then switch to your lighting control app which should find the eDMX1
Note: ENTTEC makes a similar box (https://www.enttec.com/us/products/controls/dmx-over-ethernet/ode-mk2-open-dmx-ethernet/) but it is almost twice as expensive than the eDMX1 from DMX King
The biggest issue for me with this setup is the actual lighting control app. I have Luminaire and Vibrio for iPad which are both ok but nothing like running lights from a laptop-based application. Let us know how this works for you!
Thanks a million.
I did purchase an eDMX1-Pro and it works.
(I also just recently acquired a new iPad, so now I can run either Android or iPad versions for both mixer and lights.)
Anyway, just to test things out, I installed a cheap DMX control app called Lighting Pad. Everything works correctly except that fades from one cue/scene to the next are not smooth. I want some of my cues to fade out slowly while the next cue fades in. Currently, it is very jerky looking as the fades seem to be done in different steps of brightness almost like a strobe effect.
I don't know whether this is a problem with the eDMX1-Pro or with the control app. Before I spend more money to upgrade my control app, can anyone confirm the fades will be smooth with a better app using an eDMX1?
Thanks.
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I don't know whether this is a problem with the eDMX1-Pro or with the control app. Before I spend more money to upgrade my control app, can anyone confirm the fades will be smooth with a better app using an eDMX1?
Thanks.
Install the free Vibrio app mentioned in the previous post and see.
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UPDATE:
As mentioned above, I bought myself a DMKing eDMX1-Pro. Since I also use 2.4GHz wireless light sticks, I velcro'd the eDMX1 to the outside of my roll-away mixer rack so that the light-stick transmitter antenna stands up right behind the mixer. The transmitter is plugged directly into the eDMX1.
I purchased and installed Luminair 3 onto my iPad and spent a week or so getting to know it while creating several scenes and sequences. I also now run my Allen&Heath mixer control app on the same iPad. (This was the goal of this whole project.) I found a settings option in Luminair to force it to continue running in background while switching to other apps. This is a great feature that saves the day when running sequences. It works!
I used this system for a typical bar gig this past Saturday night. I took along the old DMX hardware controller as a backup just in case. Everything worked perfectly except for some occasional lag of 1 or 2 seconds when switching back to my mixer app. I am not certain yet, but for now, I want to blame it on my slow (older) WIFI router. It is 5GHz, but only N band (802.11n). We have 5 people in the band and every one of them is using their phone (a mix of iPhones and Androids) to run their own IEM mix. This adds up to 7 devices simultaneously asking for data from the router. I believe that upgrading to 802.11ac will provide a lot more bandwidth and speed.
Thus far, I'll call this project a success. I did indeed run my mixer and lights while blending in and roaming around the venue without any problems that were noticeable to the audience. The only time I had to run to the mixer at stage-side was at the end of each set to start up the mp3 music for breaks.
EDIT: Now, if I could only figure out how to stream break music wirelessly from the iPad to the mixer, life would be grand.
Thanks to all for the help.
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Install the free Vibrio app mentioned in the previous post and see.
Thanks. I've since learned that the fades are much smoother with other apps. I now have Luminair 3 and my fades are all smooth with no noticeable stepping or jerkiness. It must have just been a cheaply written app from before.
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EDIT: Now, if I could only figure out how to stream break music wirelessly from the iPad to the mixer, life would be grand.
Thanks to all for the help.
You should be able to use any Bluetooth to 3.5mm adaptor, like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Stereo-Adapter-Transmitter/dp/B00RHKYX7W/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_107_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GTNDZX5Q136DE5TYXR14
There are also Bluetooth-RCA converters out there as well.
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You should be able to use any Bluetooth to 3.5mm adaptor, like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Bluetooth-Stereo-Adapter-Transmitter/dp/B00RHKYX7W/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_107_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GTNDZX5Q136DE5TYXR14
There are also Bluetooth-RCA converters out there as well.
It seems that is a transmitter, but I was hoping for a receiver to place at the mixer. However, you gave me the wonderful idea of using Bluetooth that I hadn't thought of before. I just ordered this little gadget to stream from my iPad to the mixer Stereo-In jack.
Thanks.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XQZ4HGJ (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XQZ4HGJ)