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Old News
From wiki.openlighting.org
ACN Finally Approved !
On the 19th of October, the ANSI Board of Standards approved E1.17-2006, Entertainment Technology - Multipurpose Network Control Protocol Suite or simply known as ACN. No major changes have been made since the last public review and the document should be available for purchase in the next few weeks.
More than 5 years after ACN was first proposed, this marks the final step before manufactures can start shipping true ACN Compatible devices.
Unofficial DMX 4 Linux 2.6 Release
Bastien Andres has made an unofficial release of DMX 4 Linux for the 2.6 series of kernels. A number of drivers have been modified to compile cleanly on 2.6 and the build system has also been cleaned.
Some drivers do not compile or are incomplete, see the STATUS_BA file in the archive for more details. Sources available here
Enttec Releases RDM Tools
Enttec have released two new programs for the DMX USB Pro that demonstrates the device's RDM capabilities. RDM Controller and RDM Responder allow the device to be used as a RDM control and response node respectively.
Both programs require that the device be upgraded to the latest firmware (v2). It seems however that support for RDM comes at a price, the send DMX on change feature no longer exists in the latest version. This appears to be due to memory restrictions within the device.
Both programs are currently in beta, and Enttec would appreciate feedback especially when used with other RDM enabled devices.
See http://www.enttec.com/rdm.php for more details.
Updated LLA Live Released
An updated version of the LLA Live CD was released today. Version 0.1.1 fixes issues encountered when using the Strand ShowNet protocol.
LLA Live enables any computer to function as a DMX to Ethernet gateway, converting between protocols such as ArtNet, ESPNet and Strand's ShowNet. When combined with a DMX interface such as the Enttec DMX USB Pro, data can be sent to and from traditional DMX devices. By running entirely off a CD, no changes are required to the host machine removing the need for a hard drive.
LLA Live is available from Sourceforge
DMX traverses the world!
Late last week an experiment was set up to send DMX data over the Internet. The result was the successful control of DMX fixtures over a distance of almost 15000 km.
Using a modified version of the ArtNet protocol integrated with the new Linux Lighting Architecture (LLA), the DMX data was generated on a laptop in San Francisco and used to control lights in Perth, Western Australia.
With the majority of DMX over IP protocols using broadcasting or multicasting, sending DMX over large networks such as the Internet normally requires the use of tunnels between endpoints. However this new solution requires no such configuration changes, and works with the majority of routers available on the market.
The delay experienced was approximately 140ms. While not fantastic, this is reasonable considering the DMX data was traveling half way around the world. By upgrading the Internet connections on each end this delay could be reduced further (the tests were conducted using standard ADSL and Cable connections).
While control of lighting equipment at a remote location is currently a solution in search of a problem, this experiment certainly demonstrates the potential for DMX over IP.
Large Setups, like OpenAir Concerts now can use Firewire via Optical Fibre instead of classic Multicore for DMX and Audio. 19" Multicannel-Audio<>Firewire has allready reached Homestudio Prices and DMX has reached IP, which can travel over Firewire.
RDM (Remote Device Management over DMX512 Networks) Standard Now Available
The RDM Task Group today proudly announced that the ANSI E1.20 RDM (Remote Device Management over DMX512 Networks) Standard is now published and available for purchase (US$40) from the ESTA Foundation Website at http://www.estafoundation.org ANSI E1.20-2006, Entertainment Technology--Remote Device Management over USITT DMX512, describes a method of bi-directional communications over a USITT DMX512/1990 data link between an entertainment lighting controller and one or more remotely controlled lighting devices. The protocol also is intended to work with the ANSI E1.11-2004 control protocol. It allows discovery of devices on a DMX512/E1.11 network and the remote setting of DMX starting addresses, as well as status and fault reporting back to the control console.
The official START Code is published with this document, which now lets manufacturers build interoperable devices that can be discovered and provide bi-directional communication for remote configuration and monitoring across a DMX512 link. [Source: ESTA Control Protocols Working Group]
