How To Get More Universes?
- Thread starterDkick
- Start date
Brandon Merkle
Member
Four-Port Gateway can be configured with any combo of in/outs. So you can theoretically have 6 universes with a single four port: 2 local, 4 networked.
de27192
Active Member
The basic reason it's done like this is that in larger theatre scenarios, you don't install very much DMX cabling and rely on Ethernet distribution of DMX because one cable can carry so many universes. It's then very easy to insert a node point anywhere in the building, and configure the node point to output set universes of DMX. You're also not limited to any number of DMX feed locations per universe. You can have Universe 1 appear in 20 different places in the auditorium, or you can have universes 1-12 on LX1 - LX12 with one on each, the choice is all yours and anything in between.
In a major theatre - especially new builds - you might have hundreds of ethernet sockets spread around the building. You can have them anywhere you like - on the stage, in the grid, on the galleries, in the FOH boxes, in the control room, in the dressing rooms, whatever you want. And they can all feed back to switches in the control room, where you can easily patch the network socket on the back of your console to any location in the whole theatre. Take yourself a node (IE a 4-port Gateway) to that location, plug it in, configure it either from the console or by plugging a laptop into the ethernet as well; and then you have whatever DMX universes you want, instantly accessible in that location.
You can also network the consoles... you could have an EOS out in front of house, but an ION on stage, to make it easy for the electricians on stage to call up lanterns and focus them. You could also network things like media servers - so the media server could be on stage where there is loads of room, but the console in FOH.
It also makes sense as other departments can patch into the ethernet locations. Sound can use it to control wireless transceivers, video can send data around the building, or you can plug cue lights in. Among many other options. Ethernet infrastructure is a very flexible asset to any modern theatre, and the nodes / gateway devices that all console manufacturers now offer is how you can make use of that.
In a major theatre - especially new builds - you might have hundreds of ethernet sockets spread around the building. You can have them anywhere you like - on the stage, in the grid, on the galleries, in the FOH boxes, in the control room, in the dressing rooms, whatever you want. And they can all feed back to switches in the control room, where you can easily patch the network socket on the back of your console to any location in the whole theatre. Take yourself a node (IE a 4-port Gateway) to that location, plug it in, configure it either from the console or by plugging a laptop into the ethernet as well; and then you have whatever DMX universes you want, instantly accessible in that location.
You can also network the consoles... you could have an EOS out in front of house, but an ION on stage, to make it easy for the electricians on stage to call up lanterns and focus them. You could also network things like media servers - so the media server could be on stage where there is loads of room, but the console in FOH.
It also makes sense as other departments can patch into the ethernet locations. Sound can use it to control wireless transceivers, video can send data around the building, or you can plug cue lights in. Among many other options. Ethernet infrastructure is a very flexible asset to any modern theatre, and the nodes / gateway devices that all console manufacturers now offer is how you can make use of that.
