dmx

[Lincoln Lights]

I am looking to build a dongel for LED RCB Lights. Why should I spend the extra money for the Entec (70 + with shipping) vs a USB 485 (30 ish with shipping)

[Steven]

Theoretically (I will know more once I get my Enttec, Rainbow Flood Extremes, and DMX RGB modules set up), the Enttec offloads much of the DMX work from the computer, resulting in a smoother display with less glitches. This is because the show computer will then have more time to play audio, read sequence files, and generate LOR network traffic.

Perhaps I'll have a chance to compare them later.

[bretk]

The enttec pro offloads some workload from your computer (135-145) on eBay, the enttec open (60-70) on eBay does not do that. I have tried all 3 and prefer the enttec as it has a very good track record in Australia and their lor community. That being said the lor usb485 should work fine, I think mine are the older chipset, as I could not get them to work, while both enttecs work fine for me.

[crackchecker]

OK, I'm going to weigh in on this after my experience today.
I just got DMX working, yah... bad part...I used a new usb485 and there is a very noticible lag while running. Enttec Pro should take care of that I'm hoping..

[hdracer]

Jeff Millard wrote:

I compared my ENTTEC Open to my USB485B and saw no difference. No lag of any sort.

Jeff

Now im happy again! Thanks Jeff!

I hate when I read something and you get that gut feeling that you just waisted $$...

I have 2 usb485b's

Now that I see what you stated about "no visible lag" Im happy as a bug in a rug again.. You just made my heart thump harder than my wife has on Valentines Day.. & she is good but... I gotta give it to you!

[Lincoln Lights]

thanks for the input. I ordered a usb 485 to run the dmx for now. I figure as I grow in this new addiction, xbox what? I will probable go over board quickly... BUt I thought I would start with smaller steps...

[bdeditch]

Lincoln Lights wrote:

thanks for the input. I ordered a usb 485 to run the dmx for now. I figure as I grow in this new addiction, xbox what? I will probable go over board quickly... BUt I thought I would start with smaller steps...

Now how do you use this for DMX, what do you use for network on this, Raw DMX and Universe 1?

[Steven]

Jeff Millard wrote:

... give some kind of insight as to the point where the Pro's processor begins to help out.

I tried comparing the Enttec Pro to the USB485B when running a (musical) sequence with about 250 LOR channels (although about 50 of those channels were on a LOR network set to "(None)" because I was using that port for the DMX test). I didn't notice a difference by switching back and forth.

If you look at the problem logically, when using the USB485B, the computer has to send about 40 DMX packets a second through the interface. This load could make it busy so that it misses sending events on the LOR network. When using the Enttec Pro, the computer only has to send something to the interface when an intensity changes, which should reduce the load on the CPU.

The real way to test this is to run the Task Manager while playing the sequence. Run it with the USB485B and note the CPU usage, then again with the Enttec Pro.

Any practical differences should show up as missed or delayed events, most often on LOR (not DMX) channels.

I'm also thinking that if you have a multi-CPU (or multi-Core) system, and if the show player runs on one CPU and the LORCommListener.exe runs on the 2nd CPU, then the load is already split and there won't be any difference between the Enttec Pro and the USB485B.

[hdracer]

Wow! Steven & Jeff are my favs now!
Thank you guys so much for researching this out...

[jeffl]

Dan noted in another post that the older USB485 adapters had slower chips in them and my not be able to handle the DMX protocol properly.

He was going to check and see if there was any way to verify what chips were in the older models that were slower. Based on my testing, I won't use the USB485B adapters I have for anything but the LOR protocol.

I used an Enttec Pro for 2011 and it worked like a charm, but it does have a price to go with it.

[bretk]

jeffl wrote:

Dan noted in another post that the older USB485 adapters had slower chips in them and my not be able to handle the DMX protocol properly.

He was going to check and see if there was any way to verify what chips were in the older models that were slower. Based on my testing, I won't use the USB485B adapters I have for anything but the LOR protocol.

I used an Enttec Pro for 2011 and it worked like a charm, but it does have a price to go with it.

I agree on the enttec have me and really like them. But now with sandevices lor to e1.31 bridge coming to market in march with a price of about $100 that will give you 4 dmx universes over Ethernet I will hold off on getting any more enttecs.

[hdracer]

I shall patiently wait too!

[Andrew Bev]

bdeditch wrote:

Lincoln Lights wrote:

thanks for the input. I ordered a usb 485 to run the dmx for now. I figure as I grow in this new addiction, xbox what? I will probable go over board quickly... BUt I thought I would start with smaller steps...

Now how do you use this for DMX, what do you use for network on this, Raw DMX and Universe 1?

Yes this is how you set it up.

[bdeditch]

Andrew Bev wrote:

bdeditch wrote:

Lincoln Lights wrote:

thanks for the input. I ordered a usb 485 to run the dmx for now. I figure as I grow in this new addiction, xbox what? I will probable go over board quickly... BUt I thought I would start with smaller steps...

Now how do you use this for DMX, what do you use for network on this, Raw DMX and Universe 1?

Yes this is how you set it up.

I already have a Enttec Pro hooked up and an extra usb from LOR I am going to try hook that up as well.

[Dr. Jones]

Jeff

I re-hashed a show i did in 2008 that used iDMX units and 4 networks, This year I used 4LOR networks and 5DMX networks( i used Lynx dongles). In 2008 I had major latency issues with channels sticking on and fades not happening. This year it ran flawlessly.

Just for giggles, I tried setting the show up two other ways, first i used iDMX units instead of the Lynx dongles - knowing I was going to lose 15 nodes and alot of dimming capability ( i still had the show set-up with the iDMX units as 16x16 controllers -aka legacy mode). I saw the same issues I had in 2008, Even at 9 networks(all LOR), There was still noticable lag and dropped commands

Then i tried using just the usb485 with no iDMX in RawDMX and I experienced the same issues relating to dropping some commands, but the lag had dissapeared

Hope this helps?

[crackchecker]

So Dr.

what did you do differently than in 2008 that you know of that got rid of your latency issues? What is your setup? (your computer to ? to ? to ?) Might help others...

I'm experamenting with DMX and using usb485 and have those latency issues myself. been thinking about getting a Enttec Pro to see if it goes away.

I was always thinking that with dmx you would gain the colors and still have quick/snappy responses. Now it's not looking that way at all. got the colors but forget about all the time spent sequencing on timing marks.

[Dr. Jones]

There were only 2 changes for testing, though i had to make another to have my actual show. The biggest change was the use of S3 over S2, this allowed for the second change, use of my Lynx dongles. The Lynx dongles are comparable to the Enttec Pro but are DIY.

2008

2011

For the show this year I had to replace my computer as well. My old dell workhorse wasnt stable. I was able to test with it and then it started blue screening on me.

one thing that is not quite visible on this years video is the chase of a sigle pixel (camera got bumped). the chase is across all 300 nodes on the eaves at a timing of .01. in person, it worked like it was supposed to

[bretk]

The 08 video worked but couldn't access the 2011. Btw the 2008 looked good to me:cool:

[Dr. Jones]

bretk wrote:

The 08 video worked but couldn't access the 2011. Btw the 2008 looked good to me:cool:

The 08 video is horrible- there are so many channels sticking on, the CK strands on the eaves didnt change pixel colors at the correct time, the list goes on and on. This was a depressing year. I believe I had gone beyond the limitations of LOR at that point in time. I was able to resolve some issues by running some controllers off of minidirectors controlled from relays. I did alot of testing before work invaded and consumed all my free time

[jeffl]

I notice sticking mainly on my arches and fans. These items have noticeable movement. Other items are hard to tell so the average user would not notice. When my fans and arches stick it's very obvious.

My plan is to switch as much of my network over into two DMX networks for 2012. I'm hoping sticking is a thing of the past.

I'm just wondering what other gremlins will appear.