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What is DMX?
DMX - or DMX512 - is a digital protocol primarily used to control lighting equipment such as par lights, dimmer packs, moving heads, haze machines etc. This makes it easy to control many different types of lighting from different brands with the same DMX controller or lighting mixer.
Is DMX right for you?
Many intelligent fixtures such as moving heads, LED par lights etc. have built-in programs and the option to run in master/slave mode, where one fixture controls the others. In addition, many of the cheaper fixtures come with a remote control that makes it easy to control the fixture. If you have a larger lighting setup, however, it can quickly become cumbersome with various auto programs, remote controls, etc. This is where DMX comes into the picture as a protocol that all the fixtures understand.
So if you’re unsure whether DMX is right for you, take a look at your lighting setup and decide whether you need to be able to control all fixtures together from one place. If the answer is yes, DMX is the solution.
How does DMX work?
In a single DMX universe there are 512 channels, which is enough for most smaller productions. Each channel can send a value between 0 and 255 and runs through a single DMX cable.
When you buy a fixture with DMX, the manual will include an overview of how many DMX channels the fixture uses - for example 3 (one for brightness, one for colour and one for strobe). If you then set the fixture to DMX address 90, it will use channels 90, 91 and 92. A lamp is also called a fixture.
Simple fixtures such as LED par lights and dimmer packs rarely use many DMX channels, while more advanced gear such as moving heads can use quite a few channels.
When you connect the fixtures, it is important to use a DMX cable. Many fixtures come with both 3- and 5-pin XLR connectors, but it’s important not to use standard microphone XLR Cables, as the impedance in the cable is incorrect. Once the chain is complete, it must be terminated with a DMX terminator - it simply looks like an XLR plug without a cable and consists of a connector with a resistor inside. The terminator ensures that no data is reflected back into the chain, which can cause the fixtures to behave incorrectly.
Of course, everything needs to be controlled by some kind of controller or mixer, but more on that later.
To give an overview, we’ll try to describe a simple DMX-controlled lighting setup consisting of:
- 4 pcs. AFX MY60 movingheads, using 14 channels each.
- 4 pcs. Cameo TS40ww front lights, using 3 channels each.
- 4 pcs. ADJ Mega Tripar LED par lights, using 4 channels each.
- 1 pc. Chauvet Hurricane Hazer 4D, using 2 channels.
You can choose to control all movingheads individually or treat them all as the same fixture. That is, if they all have DMX address 1, they will behave the same, since they all receive the same DMX signal. In this example, however, we choose to control them individually:
- Movinghead 1 gets DMX address 1 (and then uses channels 1-14)
- Movinghead 2 gets DMX address 15 (and then uses channels 15-28)
- Movinghead 3 gets DMX address 28 (and then uses channels 29-42)
- Movinghead 4 gets DMX address 15 (and then uses channels 43-56)
NOTE: If you assign the fixtures addresses 1, 2, 3 and 4, they will behave incorrectly because they will receive a lot of data that won’t do what you want. So even though it may seem logical to number them in sequence, it’s important to keep track of how many channels each fixture uses.
We choose to control the front lights in pairs, 2 and 2:
Front light 1 and 2 get DMX address 57 (and then use channels 57-59)
Front light 3 and 4 get DMX address 60 (and then use channels 60-63)
We control the 4 par lights as one fixture:
Par light 1 gets DMX address 64 (and then uses channels 64-67)
Par light 2 gets DMX address 64 (and then uses channels 64-67)
Par light 3 gets DMX address 64 (and then uses channels 64-67)
Par light 4 gets DMX address 64 (and then uses channels 64-67)
The hazer gets DMX channel 68 (and then uses channels 68-69)
All fixtures are connected with DMX cable and the chain is terminated with a DMX terminator in the last fixture.
Let there be light
Now all fixtures are connected and the addresses are in place. All that’s missing is something to tell the fixtures what to do. There are several options ranging from smaller controllers, software for PC/iPad, and large lighting consoles. What makes the most sense for your setup depends on several factors - how advanced control you want, whether you need to run the light show live, or whether it should be able to start and then ‘run itself’, etc.
In this guide, we won’t go fully in-depth with controllers, just mention a couple of options:
ADJ MyDMX 3.0
MyDMX 3.0 is a multi-platform DMX control software/hardware system (compatible with Windows and OSX Mac).
AFX DMX Controllers
A slightly more advanced controller which, with PAN and TILT wheels, can also control movingheads and other more advanced fixtures.
ADJ Midicon 2
MIDI extender used as a control surface for lighting software. Developed specifically for EmuLATION, but can also be used with other programs.
We hope you now have a better understanding of how DMX works. It’s great that virtually all lighting uses the same standard, making it possible to control all your fixtures from one place. You’re of course also welcome to contact us via email, Facebook or phone if you have any questions about DMX and lighting.
Enjoy your next light show!
