Newbie Help

[daczone]

I did my first LOR (just 16 channels) show last year and am addicted. Now I want COLORS

Looking at the most affordable way to put Color around my windows etc. DMX looks like it might be the solution but I'm not sure I understand it. So please forgive my ignorance.

I could buy RGB LED strips and connect to 4 wires to a DMX controller (each channel is each color). So the cheapie 3 channel controllers work to control 1 strip, however they require a seperate line run to each device for DC power?

I could use a LOR DC device (or something else) to provide power over ETHERNET (limited distance) to my RGB LED strips?

Good so far?

So controlling these DMX devices... I need what? Some sort of USB/DMX thingy?

Can I control DMX devices with a SHOWTIME DIRECTOR? (I'd like to buy one for next years show).

Thanks in Advance

[PaulXmas]

I am looking to add some of those dumb ribbons (no chases the whole ribbon is controlled instead of the individual LEDs like the CCRS).
From what I understand (I could be wrong) you can use a 8 channel DC controller (from LOR) to control 2 strips with 2 channels left over.
NO DMX knowledge required.
AGAIN I COULD BE WRONG!

[heystew]

as Paul says you can use an LOR DC controller directly to the strips with no DMX required.

You can also go the DMX route with the 3 channel controller you mention. You would then use another LOR USB 485 adapter (or one of the other supported dmx adapters) in DMX mode to drive those 3 channel controllers. as you said you need power to each DMX controller.

Btw when you mention power over Ethernet.. you're really just using ethernet cable (cat5, etc) to deliver power. Power over ethernet implies a whole different thing.

as for showtime director. You can control the DC controllers from it, but you couldn't run a DMX adapter (usb485, enttec, etc) from there. You need a PC to drive the DMX adapters. Alternatively you can use an LOR iDMX-1000 connected to a showtime director i believe

So options are:
1. DC Controller with Showtime director
2. DMX Controller, DMX adapter with PC
3. DMX Controller, iDMX-1000 with Showtime director