The thing is, if you want to set up a good
network distribution
system you will probably spend as much as you would running
DMX. However, I do agree that having a
network system does make life easier once it is installed. Another thing is that you really shouldn't use the existing building
network if is currently being used for other things, especially Internet. Ideally, your lighting
network should be separate from networks that are used by other people & devices, this is for stability and integrity.
Since it sounds like you have a lot of distribution needs, you will probably need some good switching hardware. At the very least you will want business class switches, but to get good
POE switches you will probably be in enterprise class hardware. The other thing about setting up an
Ethernet network is that it uses a star
topology, so you will need to pull all your
cat5/6 runs back to your central
switch. So despite the fact that the cable is cheap, you will need a lot of it.
As I mentioned before, I would suggest going with
ETC Net3 hardware as opposed to
artnet unless you know that you will be using other consoles and such in the near future. For what you describe, I think that you would want a handful of Net3 2-port gateways in the
portable/touring style. These are set up to be clamped to pipes near equipment that needs
DMX. You can also get 1-port and 2-port wall mount gateways as well as 4-port rack/table-top units. All the gateways use
POE for
power, so with a
POE switch all you have to do is
plug in the
Ethernet cable and away you go. You can read about gateway options here:
Lighting solutions for Theatre, Film & Television Studios and Architectural spaces : ETC
The other thing to consider about a
network distribution
system is that most
network cable is pretty fragile. You can get heavy duty
network cable with nice thick jackets and robust connectors and covers, but at that
point you are getting close to the price
point of
DMX cable. However if you are putting cable in high traffic areas or stringing on battens that fly, having heavy duty cable is probably better. I have a bunch of the TMB heavy duty
network cable, and it is totally worth it. The runs in the walls are regular
network cable, but anything we use on
stage is the good stuff.
There is certainly a great beauty and
ease of use when you have a
network distribution
system. The
system seems complex, but once the backbones are in place, it is really very simple and elegant to use (at least mine is). So, the only thing to keep in mind is that a
network system done correctly will probably not come out to being less expensive to install than a pure
DMX distribution
system. However, installing a
network will help with future-proofing your
system. While change is slow, networks are the wave of the future.
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