mattiasgunneras
Member
Hi,
I'm a software guy that's very new to DMX on the hardware side and this is the first real project I'm doing that involves a multi room setup. I've got quite specific requirements and a pretty good idea of the way the system will work in the end but I'm looking for advice on what hardware to use for my application.
SERVER ROOM
I'm gonna have a linux based server running my custom DMX software. I wonder if there are ways I can send DMX commands over Ethernet to the DMX controller or do I have to use USB?
What DMX controller device would you guys recommend here?
CABLES
Between the server room and the DMX fixtures I've already got CAT6. There seem to be DMX controllers that support CAT5 so I imagine CAT6 is fine if not better? Or is 5pin XLR preferable? The fixtures would be somewhere around 60 - 70 feet from my server room.
FIXTURES
I have 2 fixtures in 2 room, so 4 DMX fixtures in total.
In each of the rooms I've got incandescent lights which runs on 120 AC. I need a way to dim/fade these all together (~450 Watt). I've done a bunch of searching without really finding any fixture that does AC dimming. Maybe this is not possible with readily available DMX hardware?
I've also got an RGB LED strip in each room, these I'm not too worried about since they seem to be standard component and easy to source. I'm thinking of using a few of these:
ENTTEC - ALEPH1SERIES
Altho, I'm curious to know what DMX decoders you can recommended to put in each room with the fixtures? I've found these which seem to have RJ45 connections:
DMX-3CH-4A LED DMX Decoder Specifications
SUMMARY
Sorry for the long post, here a quick summary:
Thanks in advance and I'm thankful for any advice I can get on this setup.
I'm a software guy that's very new to DMX on the hardware side and this is the first real project I'm doing that involves a multi room setup. I've got quite specific requirements and a pretty good idea of the way the system will work in the end but I'm looking for advice on what hardware to use for my application.
SERVER ROOM
I'm gonna have a linux based server running my custom DMX software. I wonder if there are ways I can send DMX commands over Ethernet to the DMX controller or do I have to use USB?
What DMX controller device would you guys recommend here?
CABLES
Between the server room and the DMX fixtures I've already got CAT6. There seem to be DMX controllers that support CAT5 so I imagine CAT6 is fine if not better? Or is 5pin XLR preferable? The fixtures would be somewhere around 60 - 70 feet from my server room.
FIXTURES
I have 2 fixtures in 2 room, so 4 DMX fixtures in total.
In each of the rooms I've got incandescent lights which runs on 120 AC. I need a way to dim/fade these all together (~450 Watt). I've done a bunch of searching without really finding any fixture that does AC dimming. Maybe this is not possible with readily available DMX hardware?
I've also got an RGB LED strip in each room, these I'm not too worried about since they seem to be standard component and easy to source. I'm thinking of using a few of these:
ENTTEC - ALEPH1SERIES
Altho, I'm curious to know what DMX decoders you can recommended to put in each room with the fixtures? I've found these which seem to have RJ45 connections:
DMX-3CH-4A LED DMX Decoder Specifications
SUMMARY
Sorry for the long post, here a quick summary:
- What DMX controller should I use if I want ethernet?
- Is CAT6 ok between controller and decoder?
- Where can I find a DMX controlled AC Dimmer?
- What's a good DMX decoder for my application?
Thanks in advance and I'm thankful for any advice I can get on this setup.