Lighting Control System for Mac OS X and PC Windows
Contents
1. Channel masking gives DMXIS some of the benefits of a tracking console again to use industry standard terminology Tracking consoles are more flexible but have a higher learning curve So what can use channel masking for Splitting your show into preset categories which you then mix together to create looks on stage For example you could have banks wash colours scanners moves and gobo patterns f each bank contained only 10 presets you could instantly create 1000 different looks on stage much easier than manually creating 1000 presets e Creating special FX presets that you can switch on off without affecting the current look on stage for example a Crowd Blinder preset that masks off all channels except your blinder dimmer channels Page 31 How do create presets with masked channels Masked channels appear greyed out on the DMXIS display This screenshot shows a preset where only the Shutter channels on the RGB fixtures are enabled Colour Burst Jr 9 12 Colour Burst Jr 21 24 Colour Burst Jr 25 28 When this preset is loaded only the Shutter channels will change all other masked channels will be left at their current value Channel masking is located under Macros in the Channel Masks menu There are 4 hopefully self explanatory macros Disable all channels This masks off all 512 channels You would then start enabling those channels you want to include in the preset Enable al2. Lighting Control System for Mac OS X and PC Windows User Manual 1 5 Hardware Design 2009 ENTTEC Pty Ltd Software 2009 2015 DB AUDIOWARE LTD Page 1 CONTENTS BS ee ee ee oe ee ee eee ee eee eee eee 1 ICH KEE 1 Are my Vi AR Kee 14 DMXIS Hardware Interface AAA 1 Blidge ie e 17 USB Pow r reguirem niS EE 17 Page 2 DMXIS Software Reference AANEREN SU IO A note about context sensitive conirole A Dl XY Controller SE 22 Chanit TES GEES Sound ee EES SE EE EE SE Master controls EE EEN 23 OI lc EES A note on MIDI resolution 2 Macros EE BEE EE e 21 Macros a technical note 28 Doubleclick ss 29 Click amp hold 29 Preferences ccecssesessseeses eer EE EE SE Page 3 Audio MIDI Settings tab 2 MIDI Hardware 1 6 Additional notes 6 Revision History 5 BEE EE BEES Release C5 EE EEN EE i E DEE 8 BOLE EES a8 Si EE 8 ES Zi EE 9 Si Dn EE 9 Release 1 1 1 ccsssesresees EE EE 9 IO ZE E e EE Release DA ENNEN EE EE Release IDN Release 1 0 2 EE 11 Page 4 DMXIS SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT Before installing the DXMIS software please carefully read and agree to the following legal agreement From here on the Software refers to the DMXIS Lighting Control Software product in whole or in part including all files data and documentation By installing t
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4. On PC Windows you might see MME DirectX and ASIO devices in the lists Always use the highest quality lowest latency driver available In general ASIO drivers are the best choice DirectX drivers are acceptable and MME drivers are only to be used as a last resort If you choose an ASIO driver a button will appear allowing you to open the custom ASIO driver control panel The actual ASIO settings available depend on the audio hardware but there is always an option to change the desired latency MIDI Hardware You can control DMXIS from any MIDI keyboard or other MIDI control device connected to your computer Simply select the desired MIDI devices from the list and press OK You can then use MIDI Learn see page 21 to remote control any DMXIS fader or control and you can trigger Bank amp Program changes using Note On messages on MIDI channels 15 amp 16 Page 29 VST AND AUDIO UNITS PLUG IN SUPPORT OK we have saved the best feature until last You can run DMXIS inside any audio host which supports VST or Audio Unit plug ins or instruments either 32 bit or 64 bit This has simply huge possibilities if you are interested in creating a tightly synchronised automated light show It is no longer necessary to mess about with MTC MIDI time code SMPTE or other arcane techniques for syncing light shows to audio You can now run your whole light show directly inside your favourite sequencer Operation of th
5. Single or dual footswitches can be used with DMXIS This dialog box lets you configure up to three different actions for each switch Switch type Change to match the type of switch connected Note sustain pedals for Roland Yamaha or Kawai keyboards are usually normally closed Single click Sets the action performed when you click once on the pedal You can choose to cycle through the presets or banks or load a random preset bank Double click Sets the action performed if you click twice on the pedal in quick succession The double click time fader defines the time during which two clicks must occur A value of 200 250ms is a good starting point If you configure both single AND double click actions there will be delay equal to the double click time before single clicks are activated If you want single clicks to activate immediately for precise switching of presets set Double click to no action Click amp hold Sets the action performed when the pedal is pressed and held for a minimum time set by the Click amp hold time fader Page 26 Click amp hold also has a unique action called Last preset while held This temporarily loads the last preset in the current bank while the pedal is held down When the pedal is released the original preset is then loaded back in You can use this to trigger a special effect such as a crowd blinder or a fast strobe on demand at multiple points in a song Page 27 PREF
6. are also shared between the DMXIS standalone program and the DMXIS plug ins To clear all existing MIDI Learn associations use the Show gt Clear MIDI Assignments menu option A note on MIDI resolution MIDI CC and Note messages have a resolution of 7 bits 0 127 The resolution of a single DMX channel is 8 bits 0 255 Therefore if you control DMXIS using MIDI CCs or Notes you will not get the full resolution available This could manifest itself as jerky movements of scanners amp moving heads for example The solution if available on your MIDI controller is to use high resolution 14 bit MIDI NRPN messages to control DMXIS Page 21 PRESET MANAGER Click on the Preset Manager button at the top of the screen to switch in amp out of the Preset Manager screen Preset Manager You can create any number of banks and each bank contains any number of presets To create a new preset adjust the channel faders to their desired positions set up any sound activation or oscillators and then click on New under the preset list It is entirely up to you how to organize banks A nice approach is to have one bank per song each containing a list of presets in correct order for every point in the song where you need a lighting change Then you can simply tap on your footswitch at the appropriate points to advance through your light show Switching between banks amp presets You can switch banks amp pr
7. audio Unit plug in automation For example in Cubase you could draw automation curves to control the Pan amp Tilt of your scanners This approach is arguably a lot more work than the simple technique outlined above but it gives you full control over the whole lighting rig and you are not limited by the shapes that the DMXIS oscillator can produce As before we recommend you watch the training videos for more information Have fun using DMXIS and please let us know if you have any comments of requests for new features Page 30 ADVANCED FEATURES CHANNEL MASKING Channel masking lets you mask off or disable channels in each preset Masked channels are NOT transmitted when the preset is loaded This allows you to modify aspects of the look on stage e g colours while leaving other aspects e g mover positions amp gobos untouched Normally DMXIS is a preset console to use industry standard terminology A regular DMXIS preset contains 512 values one for every DMX channel When the preset is loaded the current value of every DMX channel is overwritten This simple mechanism is very straightforward and manageable and works great for most DMXIS owners However this simple approach has limitations It can become time consuming to maintain complex shows A simple linear flow of presets can limit your creativity especially if you use DMXIS in a hands on manner rather than driving it from a host program or from a simple footswitch
8. automatically use the last show that was loaded in the standalone app THE FADERS The 32 vertical faders are used to directly manipulate individual DMX channels The channel number is shown above the fader and the channel type amp value is shown below To adjust a channel value click amp drag the handle on the fader To make fine adjustments press the lt shift gt key while dragging You can click on the values under the faders and type in settings directly You can also adjust the fader levels using the up down keyboard keys with lt shift gt held for fine control or your mouse wheel When you open DMXIS the faders control DMX channels 1 32 To access higher channels use the arrow buttons in the top right corner For example click once on the right arrow to access channels 33 64 SELECTING FADERS Selected channels are highlighted in blue Clicking on a fader once will select that channel To select a range of channels click on the first fader then lt shift gt click on the last fader You can select multiple individual channels by lt ctrl gt clicking on each fader Double clicking on any named channel e g Red will automatically select ALL channels with that name on identical fixtures This is a very handy short cut when you need to make identical changes to a group of lights To deselect all faders click once on the DMXIS logo on the top left A NOTE ABOUT CONTEXT SENSITIVE CONTROLS Most
9. select Fixture DJ Spot 250 von f Library gt No fixture Revo Il 10 ch Revo Il 4 ch Once a fixture is loaded you have several benefits Page 20 e You see sensible names amp values under each fader rather than basic numbers e The DMXIS Master Level control now works properly for that fixture i e control channels are not dimmed e The XY controller will enable for that fixture if it has Pan Tilt parameters You can double click on faders and any similarly named faders will be automatically selected Handy for making quick changes to a group of lights To give a fixture a friendlier name e g Left Flood instead of PAR64 right click on any channel in the fixture and select Rename Fixture You can unload all existing fixtures with the Show gt Clear fixtures menu option You can use DMXIS without loading any fixtures but you will find ita much more pleasant experience if you do use them MIDI LEARN To associate a fader dial or other DMXIS control with an external MIDI keyboard right click on the control and select Learn When you see the MIDI LEARN message appear move any controller or key on your MIDI keyboard Now that DMXIS control can be remote controlled from your MIDI keyboard DMXIS can respond to MIDI CC messages NRPN messages and Note On Note Off messages Any MIDI Learn associations in the current show will be remembered when you quit DMXIS The same associations
10. ERENCES This window is accessed from the standalone DMXIS program DMXIS Preferences menu on OS X File Preferences menu on Windows Note that the audio amp MIDI settings specified here only apply to the DMXIS standalone program The VST amp Audio Unit plug ins get their audio amp MIDI settings from the host program General tab w General Audio MIDI Settings General settings Check for updates on stat Y Enable Check for updates on start this option specifies whether the DMXIS standalone will automatically scan for new releases of DMXIS on every startup An internet connection is required for this feature If you choose to disable this option you can still manually check for updates at any time from the Help menu Audio MIDI Settings tab w General Audio MIDI Settings Input Built in Input Sample rate 44100 Hz Audio buffer size 1024 samples 23 2 ms Active MIDI inputs IAC Driver Bus 1 Network Lemur iPad FastTrack Pro Here you specify the audio driver and audio latency used by the DMXIS standalone program For accurate DMXIS operation you should ideally specify an audio buffer size of approximately 25ms 1024 samples or lower On OS X a list of available Core Audio devices will be shown Simply select the one you need and click OK Core Audio is inherently low latency usually 512 samples or better and all Core Audio drivers work well with DMXIS Page 28
11. S software including all component programs plug ins graphics and this documentation is copyright 2009 2015 DB AUDIOWARE LTD db audioware and DMXIS are trademarks of DB AUDIOWARE LTD e VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH e Apple the Apple logo and Mac are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc registered in the U S and other countries The Audio Units logo and the Audio Units symbol are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc e Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders Page 6 Page 7 WELCOME DMXIS is a flexible easy to use lighting control package specifically designed for live performers Most lighting controllers assume that an operator is available to manually control the show They are often packed with features that are of little use to the live performer who just wants a nice looking light show with a minimum of fuss DMXIS was designed specifically for live performers who want to run an automated light show while performing on stage The hardware is incredibly easy to connect up and the software extremely simple to learn and operate while being flexible enough to control modern intelligent light fixtures With DMXIS you pre program your entire light show in advance letting you concentrate on your live performance
12. SING After connecting everything up you need to set the DMX start address for each light On each light you will find a row of DIP switches or a small control panel which you use to enter the DMX address Consult the MUSIC TEREE sPeco addressing instructions for your own lights as every light can work in a slightly different way Think of DMX addressing like buildings on a street Each building has its own number 3 Smith Road 4 Smith Road Large office blocks can occupy a range of numbers 22 35 Smith Road You never see two houses with the same number or adjacent office blocks with overlapping ranges of numbers DMX is pretty much the same Each light fixture has a unique start address and occupies a range of channels from that point onwards Complex fixtures use more channels than simple fixtures You normally don t have multiple fixtures on the same start address and two fixtures using adjacent channel numbers must not overlap Example Say you have two 4 channel dimmer packs and two 13 channel scanners The simplest DMX addressing scheme would be Dimmer A Ch 1 4 Dimmer B Ch 5 8 Scanner A Ch 9 21 Scanner B Ch 22 34 A fixture s start address does NOT need to immediately follow the previous fixture You could have a dimmer pack on Ch 1 4 then a scanner on Ch 18 25 It doesn t matter that channels 5 17 are unused Why is this important Well it means that in DMXIS you can address a fix
13. Triangle Saw Up amp Saw Down shapes Amount how much the fader should move by Chase when multiple channels are selected this spreads the oscillators to create smooth chase effects This is the most powerful feature of the oscillator Speed the time taken in musical bars for a full sweep of the oscillator Shape morphs the basic waveform into more interesting shapes Check out the training videos for some real Oscillator examples and trust us when we say that this is probably the most useful feature in DMXIS MASTER CONTROLS The Speed control sets the song tempo Use this in conjunction with the Oscillator Speed control to create presets that move in time with your music The Level control allows you to dim amp blackout your entire rig from one control If NO fixtures are loaded Level will proportionately decrease all 512 faders as it is turned down If some fixtures are loaded Level will intelligently dim only those channels which are dimmable For example Pan Tilt controls on scanners will not be affected by Level Note that the master controls are NOT context sensitive there is only one global value for Speed and Level Also note that with the DMXIS plug in the host tempo overrides the Speed control LOADING FIXTURES To allocate a fixture to a range of faders right click on the start fader and navigate the Fixture Library menu to locate your light GE To unload a fixture right click on any channel and
14. You can then manually step through the light show using a simple footswitch plugged into the DMXIS hardware interface Or if you use audio software such as Logic Ableton Live Cubase or Mixmeister in your live show you can use the DMXIS plug in VST or Audio Unit to run your lights directly from your audio software This is incredibly effective as your light show automatically synchronizes to the performance even if you change tempo live ABOUT THIS MANUAL This manual is a quick introduction and reference guide for DMXIS For a more comprehensive introduction to DMXIS and its features please watch the tutorial videos located on your original software CD They are much more fun than reading a manual Page 8 INSTALLING THE DMXIS SOFTWARE INSTALL THE SOFTWARE BEFORE CONNECTING YOUR DMXIS HARDWARE INTERFACE DMXIS must be unlocked before it can transmit DMX data For this you need an internet connection with a web browser and a valid email address MAC OS X e Insert the DMXIS software CD e Double click on the setup pkg icon PC WINDOWS e Insert the DMXIS software CD Double click on the setup exe icon UNLOCKING THE PRODUCT e Connect the DMXIS hardware interface to a USB port on your computer e Start the DMXIS standalone program located in your main OS X Applications folder or your Windows desktop Note down your Hardware ID e Go to http www enttec com unlock _dmxis Fill in the short form e You will
15. ave a t bar stand with four scanners try inverting the Pan on scanners 3 amp 4 and then move all four Pan controls at once You ll see the scanner beams cross in the middle SOUND TRACKER The sound tracker lets you sound activate selected channels to track the input audio There are 5 controls to play with e Level controls the amount of sound tracking e Band the range of frequencies to track Sub Lo Mid Hi Attack amp Release controls how quickly the tracker responds to the audio e Dir controls the direction in which the fader moves in response to the audio Sound tracking is the quickest way to get some dynamic movement into your light show BUT it is not the most effective way in DMXIS Sound tracking as a technique can be rather unpredictable the results will vary wildly depending upon the level and type of the music A MUCH better way to add excitement and movement to your light show is the DMXIS Oscillator coming up next Page 19 OSCILLATOR The oscillator lets you automatically sweep channel values up amp down with a wide variety of shapes Although consisting of only 5 simple controls the oscillator is the secret weapon in creating exciting moving visuals with DMXIS This is the feature that lets you quickly create time synced chases across any number of LED parcans or trace complex synchronised patterns in the air with a bank of scanners Type choose from Sine Square
16. create your own DMXIS fixture files using the information contained in your fixture manual Page 10 DMX PRIMER First lets look at what DMX actually is Rather than getting too technical we will just cover the basics of setting up a simple lighting rig for a band or DJ For more stuff like this watch the training videos on your original DMXIS CD WHAT IS DMX DMX is a standard for connecting up stage lighting It has been the standard in professional lighting for many years and nowadays most affordable light fixtures support DMX For the musically inclined think of DMX as the MIDI of the lighting world ARE MY LIGHTS DMX CAPABLE A DMxX capable light fixture will have at least two XLR SEN connectors probably marked DMX IN OUT and some way WAT 3 of setting the DMX address either a row of small switches or a gi PINI COMM control panel The XLR connectors could have 3 or 5 pins DEE depending on the manufacturer The fixture manual will tell you O4 how many DMX channels that light uses and what features T the light has Traditional parcans with halogen lamps which were standard issue kit for lighting bands before the arrival of modern LED fixtures usually plug into a dimmer pack which in turn can be DMX controlled If your light fixture is sound activated and has no XLR connectors it cannot be controlled by DMXIS WILL MY XYZ DMX1300TI LASERRITE WORK WITH DMXIS If your l
17. e VST AU plug in is pretty much identical to the standalone DMXIS program with the exception that the main menus are missing You can access all of your banks amp presets so you can use the standalone to create the lighting looks you need and then quickly stitch together the final show in your audio sequencer In the plug in the oscillators automatically track your host tempo and song position Thus any moving chases or scanner movements will automatically track your music with sample accuracy and no additional work on your part If you change the tempo of the song the lighting automatically changes to match This is incredibly powerful if you are performing live mixes using a program like Ableton Live or Logic Audio The easiest way to create a fully automated light show with the plug in is as follows e Create a number of banks amp presets for all the looks you want in the show e Adjust Fade To Next for those presets where you need smooth cross fades Create an empty MIDI track in your host to contain all your lighting cues Add MIDI Notes to the MIDI track to trigger bank changes on MIDI Ch 15 and preset changes on MIDI Ch 16 exactly where you need them You can create these events manually in your host or record them manually from a MIDI keyboard The plug in also gives you very fine grained control over your light show if you need it Every single control and fader in DMXIS can be automated using standard VST amp
18. esets resulting in greater accuracy of automated shows RELEASE 1 1 0 Bug fixes e Fixed preset sorting In certain circumstances the sort order was being lost e Fixed support for MOTU soundcards in standalone Page 37 e Fixed double click bug Double clicking on a channel fader would not select identical channels when fixtures had been renamed e Fixed crash when using MIDI Learn in Cubase 5 on OS X systems Enhancements Added support for multiple shows see Show Management on page 17 e Added options to reset all MIDI assignments and fixtures across all channels e Added macros feature see page 24 e Oscillators morph smoothly between presets when Fade To Next is in use Cross fades are now visible on the DMXIS faders Improved behaviour of Sound Tracker Attack control Now acts as a threshold control to prevent false triggering with very low volume audio RELEASE 1 0 4 Bug fixes e Improved reliability of the footswitch input Some footswitch presses were not being registered on slower host computers Fixed Bank Tempo feature Tempo was not restored reliably on all banks e Improved reliability of preset selection If you selected Bank1 Preset3 then Bank 5 Preset 3 the second preset would not always load e Fixed Footswitch Settings window settings were not stored correctly Enhancements e New Rename Fixture feature See page 20 Autorun Bank now plays from the first pres
19. esets in a number of different ways e Click directly on the bank preset on screen with your mouse e Click on the up down arrows above the bank preset lists Use a footswitch connected to the DMXIS interface e Use MIDI Learn to control the up down arrows from a MIDI keyboard e Send Note On messages to DMXIS on MIDI channels 15 amp 16 If you are using the DMXIS plug in you can easily add a MIDI track to your song containing all your bank preset changes thus entirely automating the light show Managing banks The buttons under the bank list allow you to create New banks Rename existing banks and Delete existing banks Warning deleting a bank will permanently delete ALL the presets in that bank DMXIS will warn you before actually deleting the bank Managing presets Similarly the buttons under the preset list let you create rename amp delete individual presets Page 22 The Overwrite button is very useful it lets you make quick tweaks to your presets e Load a preset Switch back to the main screen and modify the settings e Switch to the preset screen and click on Overwrite Click Yes in the confirmation dialog Sorting the banks amp presets You can freely click amp drag on any bank or preset to reposition it in the list This is essential if you want to step through a song using your footswitch or arrange your banks one for each song to match your playlist for a particular gig Note relea
20. et when a new bank is selected e Improved start up time of DMXIS standalone program on Windows RELEASE 1 0 3 Bug fixes Increased reliability of transmitted DMX data when used with certain low cost fixtures MIDI assignments cleared with the Forget were not being stored on exit Enhancements e Added Bank Tempo control to the Preset Manager page See page 24 MIDI Learn now supports 7 amp 14 bit NRPN messages See page 21 Page 38 e DMXIS now displays all 16 MIDI input channels in Ableton Live In the previous release only MIDI Ch 1 was available You can switch DMXIS banks presets by routing Ableton clips containing Notes to Ch 15 16 as described 22 When the VST Audio Unit plug in is loaded or deleted it does not clear the DMX channel values The most recent DMX values will be held by the DMXIS hardware until a new preset is explicitly loaded into DMXIS This allows you to change between songs in your audio host without plunging the audience into darkness e On the Footswitch Settings window the Click amp hold time range can now be set to OmS Useful if you are using a footswitch for the Last Preset while held feature and want immediate response to the switch being pressed Fixtures pop up menu now uses subcategories within each manufacturer if necessary i e if there are too many fixtures to fit on the screen RELEASE 1 0 2 e Initial public release end of document
21. g fader 1 DMX ch 1 fader 2 ch 2 etc You can customise the patching here Any faders not mentioned below retain the default 1 1 patching To patch a single fader add a line FADER CH e g to patch fader 6 to DMX ch 24 add the line 6 24 You can add multiple lines to transmit one fader to many outputs To patch a ranges of faders add a line START END CH e g to patch faders 2 8 to DMX ch 30 36 add the line 2 8 30 7 54 bal EEL 1 14 16 35 250 50 50 Lax LJ Lem Patching a single fader To patch a single fader use the format FADER CH In the screen above you can see fader 7 controls DMX channel 54 Page 33 To patch a fader to control multiple channels simply include multiple lines in the patch window as required In the screenshot above you can see fader 50 is controlling DMX channels 50 and 300 306 Patching a range of faders If you want to move an entire fixture covering a range of channels use the format START END CH In the screenshot above you can see the fixture occupying faders 16 35 is controlling the device at DMX address 250 As with single faders you can adding multiple lines as required For example if we added the line 16 35 300 to the screen above then faders 16 35 would be controlling TWO fixtures located at DMX addresses 250 and 300 Additional notes The contents of the Channel Patching window are stored with each DMXIS show Thus if you need to create multiple cu
22. he Software you are consenting to be bound by and become a party to this agreement If you do not agree to all of the terms of this agreement do not install the Software DMXIS Lighting Control Software END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT 1 Copyright Notice The Software is Copyright 2009 2015 DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED all rights reserved and is protected by United Kingdom copyright laws international treaties and all other applicable national or international laws The sole owner of this software product is DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED 2 License Agreement GRANT With respect to each DMXIS hardware interface owned by you DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED grants you a non exclusive right to install and use the Software on multiple computers for use with said DMXIS hardware interface You may copy the Software for personal archival purposes only TITLE Title ownership rights and intellectual property rights in and to the Software shall remain in DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED This agreement does not include the right to copy or sublicense the Software and is personal to you DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY The Software is provided on an AS IS basis without warranty of any kind including without limitation the warranties of merchantability fitness for a particular purpose and non infringement The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Software is borne by you Should the Software prove defective in any respect you and not DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED assume the entire c
23. ight fixture supports DMX you can control it with DMXIS It doesn t matter whether it is a dimmer pack LED spot scanner moonflower moving head or a laser DMXIS can control ANY light if that light has DMX connectors Page 11 HOW DO I CONNECT EVERYTHING UP Terminator DMX In DMX Out DMX In DMX Out DMX In DMX Out Light A Light B Light Connect the DMXIS hardware interface box to your computer with a USB cable B Connect the DMX output either 3 pin or 5 pin of the interface box to the DMX IN XLR socket on your first light fixture Light A in the diagram C Connect DMX OUT of the first fixture to DMX IN of the next fixture Continue connecting all remaining light fixtures together in a daisy chain fashion D Connect a DMX terminator plug to the DMX OUT of the last fixture E Optionally connect a footswitch to the A jack input on the DMXIS interface For reliable operation use data grade DMX cables to connect your lighting rig not microphone cable Mic cable is not designed to carry digital signals and if you run very long cables around a stage you could find that mic cables cause random problems with your lights Always use a DMX terminator plug in the last fixture of the DMX chain The terminator prevents ghost echoes of the DMX signal from bouncing up amp down the chain Again this is more of an issue if you run very long DMX cables Page 12 HOW DO I SET UP THE DMX ADDRES
24. immediately receive an unlock code Enter the unlock code into DMXIS e Your software is now permanently unlocked DMXIS does not use restrictive challenge response copy protection and is not tied to a particular computer The unlock code is unique to your DMXIS hardware interface You can use the same unlock code on any computer as long as that computer is using the same DMXIS hardware If you do not unlock the software or if the DMXIS hardware is not connected the software will continue in offline mode no DMX data will be transmitted but the software will otherwise be fully functional Page 9 NEED HELP WITH DMXIS SOFTWARE UPDATES Before getting stuck into the DMXIS software please visit the DMXIS support site to check if any new software updates are available www dmxis com downloads The latest version of the DMXIS software will always be available for download from this location SUPPORT If you have any questions about DMXIS check out our dedicated support site www dmxis com If you can t find the answer to your question just ask in the forums below or send an email to support enttec com and well get back to you promptly USER FORUM An active user forum is maintained at forums dmxis com MISSING A FIXTURE DMXIS ships with support for a limited selection of popular lighting fixtures Further fixture definitions are available at fixtures dmxis com This online fixture database allows you to easily
25. l channels This obviously enables all 512 channels returning DMXIS to its default preset behaviour Disable enable selected channels These two macros only mask or enable the currently highlighted channels The recommended approach for creating a masked preset is to first disable all channels then enable only the channels you need using enable selected channels You can also enable a masked channel simply by dragging it to a new value Page 32 CHANNEL PATCHING Typical applications DMXIS uses basic 1 1 channel patching where fader 1 DMX channel 1 fader 2 DMX channel 2 and so on In many cases it can be useful to modify this default patching scheme for example e You arrive at a gig to find some fixtures owned by the club are not addressed as you were told You need to quickly edit your DMXIS show so the mover fader 16 controls the fixture DMX channel 250 You want DMXIS fader 1 to control your house lights which are on multiple DMX channels 10 11 and 14 You want to quickly extend your rig with extra lights e g make some fixed theatre spots channels 300 306 mirror the spot channel 50 in your DMXIS show You want to program a really simple generic show without even knowing what lights you will have access to at each gig These problems and more can be resolved with the Channel Patching window accessed from the Show menu in the DMXIS standalone By default DMXIS uses 1 1 patchin
26. n DMXIS plug in With extremely long songs the oscillator timing was drifting Page 36 Fixed initial channel glitches when presets containing oscillators are loaded Add warning on start up if no sound card is available This was causing a crash Prevent crash when loading corrupted bank configuration files RELEASE 1 2 0 Enhancements e Upgraded for compatibility with OS X Lion e Added channel masking to allow greater programming flexibility for advanced users see page 31 RELEASE 1 1 2 Bug fixes Fixed global edit macros If preset Fade To Next times were non zero global edit macros could incorrectly modify non selected channels e Improved footswitch response time In previous release there could occasionally be a noticeable delay between the footswitch press and the resulting preset change RELEASE 1 1 1 Bug fixes Added compatibility with OS X 10 6 5 Fix to Python macros API inaccuracies when querying channel values This was causing problems with the Global Edit macros Enhancements e Added hardware monitoring If the connection between the DMXIS hardware amp software is lost reconnecting the hardware will automatically re establish the connection Standalone does not black out all channels to zero when started Allows you to restart DMXIS if necessary during a live show without plunging your audience into darkness e Improved loading times when switching pr
27. of the remaining controls XY controller Channel Invert Sound Tracker and Oscillator are context sensitive they automatically show the values for the currently selected faders only Equally when you move a context sensitive control you change the value for all selected faders The important thing to realise is that every DMX channel 1 512 has its own settings for XY Channel Invert Sound Tracker and Oscillator That s a LOT of values But the context sensitive mechanism lets you make complex changes to these DMX settings very quickly Page 18 Context sensitive controls are greyed out if no faders are selected or when the multiple selected faders have different values for that control For example if Ch1 Band Sub and Ch2 Band Mid Select Ch1 the Band control shows Sub e Select Ch2 the Band control shows Mid Select BOTH channels Band greys out indicating that the selected channels have different values Change Band to Hi while both channels are selected This will change the value of BOTH Chi AND Ch2 to Hi XY CONTROLLER This control is normally disabled It automatically enables when you select any channel in a light fixture with Pan Tilt capabilities for example a scanner or moving head Simply drag your mouse around to quickly position the fixture You can lt shift gt drag for fine control CHANNEL INVERT This control inverts the logical direction of all selected channels For example if you h
28. omatically loaded You can if you wish use the default show on its own this is pretty much how DMXIS 1 0 4 and older versions worked However we highly recommend you familiarise yourself with the new Manage Shows window Even if you do not NEED multiple shows it is a very useful way to create backups amp temporary working copies of your show vous ons Default Show Copy of Set One for Gig 11 Apr Set One Set One master backup Set Two Set Two master backup Testing new rig The Manage Shows window shown above is accessed from the Shows menu in the DMXIS standalone application The currently loaded show is shown in bold and in the DMXIS window title Load Show will switch to the highlighted show in the list Rename allows you to edit the show name e Duplicate lets you create an exact copy of the highlighted show This is useful for creating a temporary show for a specific gig to tweak light positions etc for a particular stage or for backing up your show data e New will create a completely blank show with no banks presets no fixtures and no MIDI assignments Delete will PERMANENTLY DELETE the highlighted show after warning you twice For obvious reasons use this one with caution as there is no way to recover a show once it has been deleted Page 17 Note that the Manage Shows window is only available in the DMXIS standalone application The DMXIS plug ins will
29. or enhancements be introduced If you gave us permission to contact you by email when you unlocked your DMXIS software you will automatically receive an email notification any time a new firmware release becomes available USB POWER REQUIREMENTS The DMXIS hardware interface is powered directly from your computer s USB port If you find that your computer cannot provide sufficient power to the interface we recommend you connect the DMXIS interface via an external powered USB hub Page 14 DMX OUTPUT CONNECTIONS For your convenience the interface has two DMX output sockets a 3 pin XLR and a 5 pin XLR This allows you to connect your lighting rig using either 5 pin or 3 pin XLR cables Although the official DMX standard specifies 5 pin connections many lighting manufacturers routinely use 3 pin connections on their most popular lighting fixtures Important do not attempt to connect lights to BOTH the 3 pin and 5 pin output sockets simultaneously Use EITHER the 3 pin OR the 5 pin output LED STATES There are four LEDs on the interface The two LEDs on the USB connector side should always be on These indicate that the interface is receiving power from the USB connection and that the isolation circuit within the interface is working correctly On the other side of the box the LED between the XLR sockets should blink at a constant rate whenever the DMXIS software standalone or plug in is running This indicates tha
30. ost of any service and repair HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES The Software is not fault tolerant and is not designed or intended for use in environments requiring fail safe performance DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED expressly disclaims any express or implied warranty of fitness where the Software is used in any such environments LIMITATION OF LIABILITY UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY TORT CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE SHALL DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED OR ITS SUPPLIERS OR RESELLERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT SPECIAL INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL WORK STOPPAGE COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION OR ANY AND ALL OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES IN NO EVENT WILL DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT EVEN IF DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED OR ANY IF ITS AUTHORIZED RESELLERS SHALL HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY OTHER PARTY Page 5 LIMITATIONS ON USE You may not use copy modify translate sell or transfer the Software or any copy except as expressly defined in this agreement You may not attempt to unlock or bypass any copy protection or authentication algorithm utilized by the Software You may not modify translate reverse engineer decompile or disassemble the software except and solely to the extent an applicable statute expressly and specifically p
31. oved reliability of DMXIS hardware detection Page 35 e Fixed intermittent crash when DMXIS hardware initially connected RELEASE 1 4 3 e Added support for Show Buddy 1 4 release e Minor bugfixes RELEASE 1 4 2 Bugfix MIDI control of presets via MIDI Notes on channel 16 broken when DMXIS plug in window is closed in the host program e Up down keyboard keys and mouse wheel can now be used to adjust any selected channel faders Added latest hardware drivers for Windows RELEASE 1 4 0 Enhancements e Added 64 bit VST plugins amp Audio Unit support Added VST and AU instrument variants 32 and 64 bit of the DMXIS plugin Allows better routing possibilities with certain host programs e Added support for Windows 8 1 and OS X Mavericks 10 9 Added hardware connectivity LED to DMXIS window e Decreased startup time for DMXIS standalone and plugin e Added standalone support for multiple connected MIDI controllers Hardware status is now continually monitored and displayed in the DMXIS status panel e Improved layout of fixture labels Simpler layout of fixture popup menus RELEASE 1 3 0 Enhancements e Standalone Oscillators now restart when a preset is loaded This improves the timing of tempo based visuals when switching presets from a foot switch e Added support for Show Buddy a DMXIS show control program from www db audioware com Bug fixes Improved accuracy of oscillator timing i
32. r reliable loading When a channel slider is moved the raw DMX 0 255 value is displayed in the status display e Faster startup amp initial scanning of VST amp AU plugin from host programs e A warning is displayed on startup standalone only if no input audio device is configured A valid audio input must be active in order to synchronise DMXIS oscillators amp crossfades Bug fixes e Preferences window is now larger and can be resized further as required to accommodate soundcards with multiple inputs or systems with many MIDI devices e Bank preset loads via MIDI ch 15 16 only respond to Note On messages Previously Note OFF would also load the preset which could produce confusing results if notes are overlapped e Improved reliability amp behaviour of preset management Specifically o Unexpected Please select a preset first messages no longer appear o When a preset is deleted the first preset in the bank is no longer automatically loaded giving the option of re saving the deleted preset if desired e Standard OS X trackpad amp mouse secondary button now properly supported e The dimmable state of each channel i e whether it responds to the Master Level control is now loaded correctly A bug in 1 4 3 led to all channels responding to level changes Only dimmer amp colour channels should respond e Restored 32 bit OS X compatibility for the DMXIS standalone application e Impr
33. rogram If you are using the DMXIS plug in you have much more scope and control when creating interesting automatic shows More later MACROS Macros can perform a range of useful tasks in DMXIS Think of them as shortcuts to help you perform manually intensive or repetitive tasks more efficiently Macros are accessed by clicking on the Macros button at the top of the DMXIS screen This displays a cascading menu with a variety of macro categories Example macro categories are e Colours in here you will find a number of macros to set RGB channels to named colours and to manipulate existing RGB values Simply select some RGB channels in your rig before running the macro e Fan these macros allow you to create fan effects on the selected channels e Select these macros speed up some common selection tasks e g automatically selecting all Pan Tilt channels Page 24 e Shapes these macros manipulate the oscillators on any selected Pan Tilt channels to automatically create moving circles Figure 8s and other shapes Global Edits these macros should be used with caution as they make permanent changes to every preset in the current show An example use would be to fix a musician s front lighting to a fixed level for the entire show You would simply set the channel to the appropriate value and then run the Copy selected levels to all banks presets macro e Fixture Setup these help speed up the task of
34. rohibits such restrictions or create derivative works based on the Software You may not redistribute the Software without the prior consent of DB AUDIOWARE LIMITED TERMINATION Either party may terminate this agreement immediately in the event of default by the other party Upon any termination of this agreement you shall immediately discontinue the use of the Software and shall uninstall the Software and Documentation and all copies thereof GOVERNING LAW The laws of Scotland govern this Agreement and shall govern any dispute relating to this Agreement The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded MISCELLANEOUS This agreement represents the complete and exclusive statement of the agreements concerning this license between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements and representations between them It may be amended only by a writing executed by both parties If any provision of this agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable and such decision shall not affect the enforceability i of such provision under other circumstances or ii of the remaining provisions hereof under all circumstances Headings shall not be considered in interpreting this agreement DMXIS EULA Rev 080114 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS DMXIS hardware design is copyright 2009 Enttec Pty Ltd e DMXI
35. ses prior to 1 5 displayed a Sort button above the preset list With the addition of direct drag drop sorting on bank amp preset list this button has now been removed Smooth cross fading between presets By default when you switch from one preset to another the change happens immediately But often it is nicer if your lights smoothly fade from one preset to the next The Fade To Next dial allows you to do this Say you have two presets A and B and you want A a static blue look to smoothly morph into B a warm amber look e Select preset A in the preset list e Increase the Fade To Next dial to read 2 00 2 seconds Now click on preset B You will see blue gradually fade to amber over 2 seconds The Fade To Next control is also context sensitive Each preset has its own Fade To Next value and the control displays the value for the currently selected preset The fade times are remembered when you quit DMXIS When you cross fade between two presets that use oscillators the oscillators will smoothly morph from one state to the next All cross fading is shown in real time on the DMXIS faders If you are using the DMXIS fixture library as you should be cross fading becomes intelligent that is DMXIS will only cross fade channels for which cross fading makes sense For example RGB levels and pan tilt settings will smoothly cross fade so you will see your scanners amp moving head fixtures gently glide from one preset to ano
36. setting up multiple fixtures in your rig For example if you have 8 identical parcans simply load the first one manually and then run the Repeat last new fixture macro 7 times Note the last run macro is always available at the top of the macro menu and pressing the F4 key also re runs the most recent macro Macros a technical note Macros are written in the industry standard Python language and are stored as simple files in the DMXIS installation folder Windows C Program Files ENTTEC DMXIS Macros e OS X Library Application Support ENTTEC DMXIS Macros New macros can easily be added by creating new folders and py files under this location A separate programming guide will be made available on the ENTTEC website to explain how to develop your own macros This will obviously require at least a basic knowledge of the Python language Page 25 FOOTSWITCH PREFERENCES wa Footswitch A Footswitch B Switch type Normally closed Switch type Normally open Single click Load next preset Single click No action Double click No action Double click No action Click amp hold No action Click amp hold click footswitch to test Double click time O 150 ms Click amp hold time O Oms This window is accessed from the standalone DMXIS program Footswitch Footswitch Settings menu on OS X File Footswitch Settings menu on Windows The settings applied here will also be used for the DMXIS plug in
37. stom patch tables for a show simply duplicate your master show in the Manage Shows window and edit the patching in each show copy as required When you patch a fader the default 1 1 patching is disabled For example after adding the patch 23 45 no data will be transmitted to channel 23 because the default 23 23 patch is deleted If you need the original patching to be retained add the line 23 23 to the patch window as well Changes made in the patch window affect the DMX output immediately there is no need to restart DMXIS or reload the show When using the DMXIS VST or AU plugin the patching table for the DMXIS show most recently edited in the DMXIS standalone will be active Page 34 REVISION HISTORY RELEASE 1 5 Enhancements Added bank sorting Banks amp presets can be dragged amp dropped to reorder as necessary Now redundant SORT button above preset list has been removed e Added channel patching see p31 Added automatic upgrade mechanism to DMXIS standalone e Massive reduction in DMXIS memory requirements For a typical show with 500 presets memory consumed by DMXIS is now reduced by 650MB e Multiple bank preset changes invoked via MIDI ch 15 16 notes can now be sent simultaneously This allows you to stack up multiple notes in a host sequencer to load up a full look using several masked presets Previously the notes had to be staggered apart by a few milliseconds fo
38. t the interface is being controlled successfully by the software The remaining LED next to the footswitch socket gives you visual confirmation whenever a footswitch press is detected Page 15 SUPPORTED FOOTSWITCHES The footswitch input on the DMXIS interface is a standard 4 stereo jack socket Into this you can plug any standard non latching footswitch for example a sustain pedal from a MIDI keyboard or a non latching foot pedal from a guitar amp You can use both normally open and normally closed types of switch Only use passive pedals that simply short out the tip amp sleeve Switch A or ring amp sleeve Switch B of the jack Do NOT use any proprietary type pedals which do not a standard mono stereo AN jack connections or which transmit any additional power or control signals along the cable This diagram shows the wiring for a dual switch It is also quite safe to plug in a single switch using a simple mono jack plug with no ring connection RING eee See page 26 for more information about using footswitches W with DMXIS SWITCH A Page 16 DMXIS SOFTWARE REFERENCE We will now describe every feature of the DMXIS software in detail Let s start with the main screen SHOW MANAGEMENT DMXIS 1 1 0 supports multiple shows Each show has its own banks amp presets fixtures footswitch settings and MIDI Learn associations When you start DMXIS the Default Show is aut
39. ther However colour and gobo wheels will cleanly snap from their old settings to their new settings halfway through the cross fade Page 23 Setting the bank master tempo Each bank can be assigned a different tempo and every preset in a bank will run at the bank tempo The tempo sets the DMXIS oscillators to run in sync with your song Assuming you store each song in a separate bank this basically lets you define the song tempos for your live set You can still tweak the overall tempo to match the actual tempo your band is playing at from Master Speed on the main page If you have a MIDI foot pedal a good solution is to control Master Speed from an expression pedal using MIDI Learn Then each bank will switch to the correct tempo for that song via Bank Tempo but you can tweak the tempo up amp down using the expression pedal This feature is only useful with the DMXIS standalone program In the VST Audio Unit plug in bank tempo is always overridden by the current host tempo Auto run a bank of presets This is a neat feature for running a hands off show in a loop for example to keep your audience amused before the start of your show The Autorun Bank dial right of the preset list automatically advances through the presets in the currently selected bank at a predetermined rate Once the end of the bank is reached it will loop back to the start of the bank This is really only useful in the DMXIS standalone p
40. ture so that it begins on the first fader of a row or on a specific page For example Page 1 could be your dimmers page 2 your scanners and page 3 your LED spots Actually you CAN put multiple identical fixtures on the same start address but they will all do exactly the same thing For example if you set all your LED parcans to channels 10 13 then they will ALL respond identically when you move sliders 10 13 in DMXIS This can be handy if you want to increase the light output of your rig for a big show without needing to reprogram your presets But it absolutely does NOT make sense to put different types of fixture on the same start address Page 13 DMXIS HARDWARE INTERFACE The DMXIS hardware interface is a professional standard USB DMX converter capable of transmitting a full universe 512 channels of DMX 512 data at full 40 Hz frame rate An on board microprocessor performs all the DMX frame buffering in other words the interface itself is responsible for generating a steady and reliable DMX data stream This is far more reliable than some cheaper USB DMX devices which rely on your computer to generate the data To protect your computer from unintentional electrical surges for example if someone were to foolishly plug a phantom powered mic cable into your interface the DMXIS interface has full 1500V data and power isolation FIRMWARE UPGRADES The interface firmware can easily be upgraded should any bug fixes
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