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DMX input can be used in many different ways with Pandoras Box. The entire system is mainly network based. DMX input is mainly designed to remote control individual sequences, layers and output settings of your Pandoras Box system via an external DMX device, e.g. a lighting desk.
If you, on the other hand, are interested in controlling DMX devices with Pandoras Box itself, please read the topic covering the DMX Output.
For any DMX input the following settings need to be done.
1 - Connection
Connect the Master system to the remote system. In general, only the Master needs to be connected as it controls its Clients. In other words, it is not necessary to connect the Client with the remote device.
2 - Patch
In case you would like to remote control a sequence, select the according sequence in the Project tab and open the Patch tab. Enter the channel, subnet and universe. The patch must accord to the patch in the remote device. Please load a fixture or see the DMX tables for more information.
In case of remote controlling layers from the Master itself, select the Master in the Device Tree tab and patch it.
In case of remote controlling layers from Clients, drag the Client from the Asset tab or Device Types tab into the Device Tree tab first. Select the Client node and patch it.
3 - Configuration
Activate the DMX input in the Configuration tab in the section Remote Control Protocols. You can choose a dedicated network adapter.
As soon as data is sent to the Master system, all patched layers or sequence parameters are remote controlled.
If you would like to work with media files, i.e. assign it to a layer, it needs to have a so called File and Folder ID. This can be assigned in the File Inspector as well as Folder Inspector. Pandoras Box supports a CITP based thumbnail exchange.
To interface with GrandMA lighting consoles, please enable the MA-Net in the Configuration tab > Remote Control Protocols.
Please note that MA-Net supports up to 256 DMX universes in MA-Net Series 2.
As one of the most popular Ethernet protocols, Art-Net can be used to control multiple units with multiple DMX universes via a single Ethernet network.
To use Art-Net please connect your lighting system that is Art-Net enabled and make sure that both lighting control and Pandoras Box system are in the same IP address range.
The first Art-Net specification demands a 2.xxx.xxx.xxx IP address, the most common used subnet mask is 255.0.0.0 . Pandoras Box is still tied to this specification when working with DMX fixtures (i.e. sending Art-Net data). If you are working witch matrix patches, you may address a different IP range there. Since version 5.3 the IP address does not necessarily need to be in the 2.x.x.x range to be able to receive Art-Net.
To enable Art-Net within a Pandoras Box Master system, please activate the Art-Net Mode in the Configuration tab > Remote Control Protocols.
DMX input via USB is supplied by the DMX Link USB interface cable. To enable it, press the input button "DMX via USB" in the Configuration tab > Remote Control Protocols.
Please be aware that a single USB DMX interface will allow you to control a maximum of 512 DMX channels on subnet 0 and universe 0.
The DMX link 8 converts up to 10 DMX universes to Ethernet (Art-Net protocol). Backwards, 8 DMX universes can be converted from Art-Net to DMX.
Please see the DMX Link 8 Device Manual for further information.
In the Configuration tab > Remote Control Protocols, click the button "Run sACN" if you want to control Pandoras Box via Streaming ACN (sACN).
Please note that Streaming CAN does not use Universe 0, so do not patch below Universe 1.