Viewing DMX output

[Robert F Jarvis]

I have a small controller board to test at home and a ENTEC Pro US/DMX dongle. Sometime back I remember plugging the output from the board into the ENTEC's DMX "in" socket and using some software to 'see' the DMX channels and at what level the board was setting them. But for the life o me I can't find the software. Ideas?.

 

[StradivariusBone]

The EntTec Pro Manager will do what you're looking for:

https://www.enttec.com/product/controls/dmx-lighting-control-software/pro-manager/

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

That will do nicely. Thank you.

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

The program loaded well and 'saw' the USB/ENTTEC. However, once in the receive screen it took up to 20 seconds for the appropriate DMX address box to reflect my fader! At first I thought things were not working. Similarly pulling the fader down to zero resulted in a very long lag. It works but whatever/why ever is it so slow? I tried to change the packet refresh rate but it didn't seem to have much effect.

 

[StradivariusBone]

So they have another program for working with their dongles, but I can't remember what it was specifically and it looked like it wasn't up on their site. When I get into work tomorrow I will check and see if I still have it loaded on our light PC.

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

I have downloaded the software again and installed it on a laptop - Interestingly it's packet refresh was already set to 0! Do they know something we don't. But even at that setting the response to my faders was still anything form 5 to 10 seconds making it almost impossible to use. I think I may have seen a DMX viewer for Linux a long time ago and I would be prepared to fire up a Raspberry pi to solve this problem. But if you can find out anything else it would be appreciated. The lack of response (other than yours) tends to make me believe this is a know problem and people don't use it. So what do they use when they want to view console outputs for testing?

 

[microstar]

Probably the reply you don't want to hear, but most people use a DMX tester like the Swisson XMT120 or several other makes and models, to view console outputs.

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

No problem. I want to see multiple channels at the same time (like the ENTTEC Pro Manager) and having little knowledge of these commercial testers thought they we handheld and showed only one address' results at a time. Or are there ones that you can attach to your computer and see the whole universe? If so a name / model would be appreciated if one came to mind. I should add that in my previous, the refresh being set to 0 was due to that value having been stored in the ENTTEC dongle.

 

[StradivariusBone]

Yeah my opinion of ENTTEC is less than stellar. I've found their dongles to be particularly unreliable and their software lacking. I did find the other software I was talking about, but I make no guarantees obviously if it will help. I've had MUCH better luck with DMXKing devices.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[microstar]

No problem. I want to see multiple channels at the same time (like the ENTTEC Pro Manager) and having little knowledge of these commercial testers thought they we handheld and showed only one address' results at a time. Or are there ones that you can attach to your computer and see the whole universe? If so a name / model would be appreciated if one came to mind. I should add that in my previous, the refresh being set to 0 was due to that value having been stored in the ENTTEC dongle.

My Swisson XMT120 can show 60 addresses at one time, then scroll for the next 60, etc. to get all 512 . Can't attach to a computer though.
I don't know about the other brands. Maybe the City Theatrical DMXcat will.

 

[NJLX]

DMXCat can do this, but as far as I know only works with the mobile app. Works very well though, and shows a lot more than just the DMX values - it also includes info on the timing, refresh rate, DMX header, etc.

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

Thanks Ron. Interestingly ENTTEC support came back and quote: "The Pro Manager is not meant to be a real time monitor . . . . ". So I'm going to look at the DMXKing, DMXCat and Swisson XMT120. Actually - while all this playing with ENTTEC was going on I attached a couple of MLs and saw the console was working anyway!

 

[dbaxter]

My software, Cue Player Lighting, has a tool window that shows all the DMX levels going out. It's designed as a debug tool so it may not be the prettiest or easiest to read, sorry. But all the values are there.

 

[RonHebbard]

Thanks Ron.

@Robert F Jarvis
Huh?? What are you thanking me for? I'll take all the thanks I can get, but you've got me puzzled.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

Beats me. I don't remember sending a "Thank You" though you have provided a lot good info in the past so "Thank You"

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

Yep Dave. A number of software based controllers including dear ole' QLCPlus can show their output but my need was/is real for something to sniff a console's output. But thanks for wading in there.

 

[dbaxter]

Duh, sorry about the misdirection. The mention of Enttec interfaces mixed me up. BUT, what I just tried was using the Pro-Manager (V2.47) and a DMX USB Pro, I was able to send a dmx output signal, like from your console, to the input connector of the Pro. Using Pro-Manager and clicking on the DMX Receive button at the top of the page, I was able to have it display that output. There was a considerable time lag from when I sent a level to when Pro-Manager displayed it, but it did show up. So it does work. Hope this helps.

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

Exactly. Hence request for a better DMX viewer. Incidentally - as noted earlier - ENTTEC's response to this slowness was: "The ENTTEC Pro is not meant to be a real time analysis tool . . " They went on to suggest the delay was somehow the "Fault of the system"!!!! I found you can speed things up a bit by changing the packet refresh rate from 40 to about 20. You need to expriment.

 

[StradivariusBone]

Yeah, Robert, your experience mirrors mine with ENTTEC support. I was using a pair of dongles to run a PC using LightFactory. Lots of latency related issues and some weird glitching when using them as input devices. I was recommended DMXKing after throwing in the towel. I don't know if that would help in your specific circumstance, but just thought I'd add.

 

[Robert F Jarvis]

Stradi: I've never had a problem with the ENTTEC output. It is the latency in the DMX input that is of concern. And I think that these posts may have awakened ENTTEC. Their original response to me was " . . . . The ENTTEC USB Pro is not meant to be a 'real time' device . . . " and went on to infer any latency could be a feature of my OS (Windows 10 64 - are they kidding!) Just last night however I received another email saying they would talk to their techs? Almost like this receive latency issue is something they are concerned about. Let's see what happens but in the meantime I'm moving on to other (much more expensive) options as outlined by a number of the posts kindly made here.