smiley25245
I recently got an ADJ Mega Flash DMX and an ADJ Quad Gem DMX controller. So far I've just been running them on sound sensitive mode, but I've been thinking of getting a DMX controller to have better lightshows at my gigs. I've seen a lot of different controllers, and I'm pretty lost.
First of all, I've seen many different types of controllers. Is there an advantage to getting a USB controller vs just a regular DMX controller? Also, I've seen that VDJ can control DMX. Is VDJ good for DMX or should I use an external one? What is a good controller to get (and run 5-6 lights with)?
Also, what exactly do DMX controllers do? I know they control different colors/patterns/rotations on lights, but what exactly does pressing a button or sliding a slider do? If you have multiple units daisy-chained together, will they always be set to the same pattern? If not, can you daisy-chain different types of lights together?
Thanks for your help (:
First of all, I've seen many different types of controllers. Is there an advantage to getting a USB controller vs just a regular DMX controller? Also, I've seen that VDJ can control DMX. Is VDJ good for DMX or should I use an external one? What is a good controller to get (and run 5-6 lights with)?
Also, what exactly do DMX controllers do? I know they control different colors/patterns/rotations on lights, but what exactly does pressing a button or sliding a slider do? If you have multiple units daisy-chained together, will they always be set to the same pattern? If not, can you daisy-chain different types of lights together?
Thanks for your help (:
Posté Fri 08 Apr 11 @ 3:00 am
synthet1c
DMX sends a message kind of like midi controllers but to lights. In the dmx world you have 512 addresses/channels in a standard dmx universe, you will have either dip switches or an lcd display to place your lights in a position in the dmx universe to control your lights, you will probably notice if you have any par cans that you have 4 channels of control... channel's 1-3 are usually red - green - blue and channel 4 is usually strobe, this can vary with different manufactures so always consult your manual. If you have a moving head you will usually have another two channels for x and y control.
there are advantages and disadvantages to both hardware and software. To start hardware is right in front of you at all times and not draining your computers ram or processor, so if you have a slow computer this would be the way to go, the disadvantage is that you need to program light sequences or have another person control the lights for you.
Software on the other hand, can have more set up time and a steeper learning curve, but once you have pre programmed it, you can pretty much just map a controller to change the light sequences. SBDJ has a plugin in the pipeline to send information to a free lighting program called freestyler at the moment he has made it so vdj sends the cbg information to freestyler so your lights can be synced bpm wise with freestyler. Stage two is meant to be able to send triggers from vdj which you can pre program into vdj like cue points to change lighting scenes, so you can have a light show equivalent to the most expensive dmx programs, although none of the other programs have sound to light, and none can be pre programmed that way actually communicating with a djing program.
If you go down the software option, in my eyes there is only one usb/dmx converter that should be considered, "enttec dxm pro", it is the most cost effective professional unit available. Enttec also make a stripped back version called "dmx open" if money is a problem.
You can daisy chain as many lights that will fit into the universe (512 channels) it doesn't matter what brand because dmx is a universal signal for lighting.
freestyler can be found here
http://freestylerdmx.be/
SBDJ's plugin thread is here
http://www.virtualdj.com/forums/137181/VirtualDJ_Plugins/SBDJ_FreeStyler.html
there are advantages and disadvantages to both hardware and software. To start hardware is right in front of you at all times and not draining your computers ram or processor, so if you have a slow computer this would be the way to go, the disadvantage is that you need to program light sequences or have another person control the lights for you.
Software on the other hand, can have more set up time and a steeper learning curve, but once you have pre programmed it, you can pretty much just map a controller to change the light sequences. SBDJ has a plugin in the pipeline to send information to a free lighting program called freestyler at the moment he has made it so vdj sends the cbg information to freestyler so your lights can be synced bpm wise with freestyler. Stage two is meant to be able to send triggers from vdj which you can pre program into vdj like cue points to change lighting scenes, so you can have a light show equivalent to the most expensive dmx programs, although none of the other programs have sound to light, and none can be pre programmed that way actually communicating with a djing program.
If you go down the software option, in my eyes there is only one usb/dmx converter that should be considered, "enttec dxm pro", it is the most cost effective professional unit available. Enttec also make a stripped back version called "dmx open" if money is a problem.
You can daisy chain as many lights that will fit into the universe (512 channels) it doesn't matter what brand because dmx is a universal signal for lighting.
freestyler can be found here
http://freestylerdmx.be/
SBDJ's plugin thread is here
http://www.virtualdj.com/forums/137181/VirtualDJ_Plugins/SBDJ_FreeStyler.html
Posté Fri 08 Apr 11 @ 3:43 am