interface difficulties with light changes. DMX/Midi

J

JZ Cole

Member
I am trying to control flood lights through a dimmer pack by sending midi automations from my DAW (Reaper).
Here is what I currently have:
1. http://www.enttec.com/index.php?main...ducts&pn=70303
2. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3. DMX cable
4. 2 Flood lights.

My issue is that I can not seem to get the Enttec interface to be recognized as an output to send DMX/MIDI changes to the eliminator. Especially in my DAW (Reaper), I can't even find a VST to work with the interface. Reaper doesn't even recognize the interface at all.

So
CliffsNotes of everything:
- Trying to accomplish exactly this -
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- My DAW doesn't recognize Enttec interface
- Trying to turn on / off flood lights to be in time with music through VST plugin
- Can't find compatible plugin
- Can I find a way to do this via MIDI mapping? But then I need a MIDI converter from the DMX?
- This Enttec interface doesn't seem to be recognized by ANY program (.exe programs outside of DAW)
- The dip switch is correctly set to 1 and 10, but not receiving any signal from interface
 
Maybe I am missing something here, but the Enttec isn't a midi controller, which is why the DAW won't talk to it. Enttec lists the lighting software that will talk to their interface. I know some full-blown lighting consoles accept MIDI to recall scenes and so on, and I imagine someone makes a box to do what you want, but the one you linked to isn't it.
 
JZ Cole said:
I am trying to control flood lights through a dimmer pack by sending midi automations from my DAW (Reaper).
Here is what I currently have:
1. http://www.enttec.com/index.php?main...ducts&pn=70303
2. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
3. DMX cable
4. 2 Flood lights.

My issue is that I can not seem to get the Enttec interface to be recognized as an output to send DMX/MIDI changes to the eliminator. Especially in my DAW (Reaper), I can't even find a VST to work with the interface. Reaper doesn't even recognize the interface at all.

So
CliffsNotes of everything:
- Trying to accomplish exactly this -
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

- My DAW doesn't recognize Enttec interface
- Trying to turn on / off flood lights to be in time with music through VST plugin
- Can't find compatible plugin
- Can I find a way to do this via MIDI mapping? But then I need a MIDI converter from the DMX?
- This Enttec interface doesn't seem to be recognized by ANY program (.exe programs outside of DAW)
- The dip switch is correctly set to 1 and 10, but not receiving any signal from interface
Click to expand...


EDIT: here is the exact second of what I am trying to achieve. @3:46
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JZ Cole said:
The Enttec I realize is not a midi controller, but it should still be recognized among the list of interfaces to control the DMX. Right? Would a midi>DMX converter allow me to send midi triggers or cc messages in my DAW to the Dimmer pack? If not, what exactly would I need?
Click to expand...
There's no such thing as a MIDI to DMX converter; however, there is software that outputs DMX that can be triggered by MIDI. Your problem is that REAPER doesn't know anything about DMX or lighting. I imagine that MIDI signals can be sent from one app to annother on a computer without a physical interface, but I'm not sure. All three of the "Recommended Apps" on the Enttec page are free and can be triggered by MIDI.
 
Long story short, you can use MIDI commands to control lights. You need a piece of software to intepret which MIDI command (e.g. channel, note, velocity, etc) you want to use to tell the ENTTEC dongle to spit out the corresponding DMX. I run LightFactory at my church and recently installed a Korg NanoKontroller which is a fader board designed for use with a DAW, BUT it outputs MIDI commands over USB. So I went into LightFactory (a PC based DMX controller) and had it learn each fader so as to control nine submasters. LightFactory can learn to correspond any MIDI signal to a great many things, but the moral of the story is that you need something on your computer to take MIDI commands and link them to DMX outputs. I use LightFactory, ENTTEC might have a better cheaper solution.

What are you using right now to tell the ENTTEC dongle to turn on your dimmer pack? So far as I've seen, a DAW will not output commands directly to a DMX dongle.
 
robartsd said:
I don't think ENTTEC has any controler software.
Click to expand...

They do have a couple offerings (D-PRO and DMXIS), but they are about as expensive as LightFactory. I don't know if DMXIS provides for MIDI control, but I think the full version of D-PRO can. I've never used either program though, just the dongles. The DMXIS has a foot switch input that might be useful for what OP is trying to do, but I'm guessing he's not wanting to invest in another dongle at this point.
 
Sorry for the delayed response and THANK YOU all so much for the advise.
I ended up sending back the Enttec just after this was posted and did not want to reply until I got a chance to try out some of these ideas. I downloaded QLC and LoopBe1. I also ordered the DMX King Ultra DMX Micro http://dmxking.com/usbdmx/ultradmxmicro. I was able to automate the lights on the dimmer pack by creating a MIDI track in Reaper and setting the output to LoopBe1. Then I set the input in QLC to LoopBe1 and and the output to the DMX King. I set up my fixtures, AKA dimmer pack channels, in QLC and was able to assign a MIDI command to trigger a button in the virtual console that was programmed to trigger a scene by using the handy auto detect feature. Next, I put the .mp3 of the song in another Reaper track and from there was able to map the MIDI commands in the MIDI track.
Now, my problem is how to fade in and out the lights plugged into the dimmer pack as it seems I am only able to turn on and off the lights.
 
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