mrduncan Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 After spending a whole lot of time getting a DMX device to function in LOR for the first time, I understand most LOR users setup two networks (LOR and DMX). Anyone have any recommended USB/DMX adapters (ENTTEC PRO, ENTTEC Open DMX, DMXKing, or others)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_moody Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 Everyone has thier preference and reasons for what they select and ALL are good choices ..Do you just want basic DMX? Do you want Pixels later on? Do you want to seperate the two, one DMX for basic DMX and one for Pixels.. etc etc .. and the list goies on..BUT ... I too had the same quesitons and ended up doing exactly what you describe... I'm using two networks.. one for LOR and one for DMX...For DMX I selected the J1sys ECG-D2 - 87 bucks with the case. Runs off E1.31 so nothing else needed but the NIC card in my PC and 2 Universes. I selected this because, yes I do want to go to pixels, BUT at this time I want a simple bridge that I can run anything but pixels off of. Holiday Coro DMX modules, Cheap Lights stage lighting etc etc etc ...I will add a seperate pixel controller later and since it runs from E1.31, I can just insert a network switch and feed as many as I need/want...J1sys also has a D4.. basically the same as the D2 but with 4 universes...The Sandevices (http://www.sandevices.com/) are another popular avenue as well...Basically, do your homework, keep asking and make the choice that suits your needs.Long way to tell you what I have and not give you a direct answer.... but as you can see.. there are a lot of choices...Good Luck ..Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edvas69 Posted November 18, 2012 Share Posted November 18, 2012 I think the way BOB has gone allows him to make the change to pixels easily whilst keeping his same existing hardware.I use just an E1.31 network and I run all my LOR controllers in DMX through a ECG-DR4 (similar to a ECG-D2) E1.31 to DMX bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrduncan Posted November 19, 2012 Author Share Posted November 19, 2012 Hummmm......what functionality do I loss by running my LOR controllers in a DMX mode? If none, what do I lose by running both LOR controllers and DMX devices in a DMX mode off one LOR RS485B adapter? Everyone keeps indicating I should setup two networks, one for LOR and one for DMX. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_moody Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Eddy, Kevin and several others are considerably more well versed in this topic than I. However, the only thing you "lose" in running your LOR controllers in native DMX is the hardware shimmer and twinkle functions. This is NOT to say that you cant use shimmer and twinkle. What it means is that LOR offloads the processing for shimmer and twinkle to the controllers. When you run in native DMX your PC has to generate the shimmer and the twinkle thus putting a little more load on your PC and as I understand it.. the network.I will go on to say that in my testing I cant see much difference in LOR hardware S&T (shimmer and twinkle .. getting tired of typing shimmer and twinkle .. LOL) and generating from my laptop which is a "should have been in the junk bin years ago" Dell Inspiron 1300. I'm ruuning just this side of 160 channels (10 controllers) and even this cruddy system didnt miss a lick .. your milage may vary...What Eddy is doing is bypassing using the LOR dongle at all running all of his network native DMX using the E1.31 protocol. I took a cross over route for now since I stepped into the DMX end of this only a couple of weeks ago and didnt want to reconfigure every thing this late in the game. What I have is arguably the "best of both worlds". I have LOR running LOR and a seperate E1.31 network as the backbone for all DMX additions.Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dicksonhabetz Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 So how do both universes know when the sequence has started and how do you sequence the DMX universe if not using the LOR controller, or is there a place to do that specifically in the software. I am sorry if this is to "dumb a question" I just started this year and am already starting to think about RGB devices for the future and how they all work together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis Cherry Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I am running 100% DMX this year, using E1.31 3 Universes.Universe 1 = 176 channels with controllers.Universe 2 = 2 CCR's (300 channels)Universe 3 = 2 CCR's (300 channels)This is the first year in since 2009 that some of my sequences are finally running correctly.I am very happy now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caleb Linburg Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Seems like the Bridge is the best way to go. I just had an open fail on me, so don't use one of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldoradoboy Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I use an Open DMX without issue.. I run all my Pixels off of 2 SanDevices E1.31 controllers... I do have a CCR and a CCP I may add in as DMX through the open.. I got the openDMX only because it was simple and cheap to start with.. I think an E1.31 to DMX bridge is the best way to go now that LOR S3 has E1.31. (MADRIX controls all my lights).. LOR S3 controls MADRIX...if you are going to use LOTS of E1.31 stuff a Managed switch that supports IGMP is nice as E1.31 is Multicast...-Christopher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffl Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I am running 100% DMX this year, using E1.31 3 Universes.Universe 1 = 176 channels with controllers.Universe 2 = 2 CCR's (300 channels)Universe 3 = 2 CCR's (300 channels)This is the first year in since 2009 that some of my sequences are finally running correctly.I am very happy now.I did the same. Show has been smooth as silk this year with no sticking. 2 universes with over 565 channels. The E1.31 stuff is very slick but an Entec Pro, Entec Open, Lynx USB versions work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise Brunner Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 I am running 23 LOR controllers and DMX on one Network and 6 CCR's on a second network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_moody Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 So how do both universes know when the sequence has started and how do you sequence the DMX universe if not using the LOR controller, or is there a place to do that specifically in the software. I am sorry if this is to "dumb a question" I just started this year and am already starting to think about RGB devices for the future and how they all work together.Not a silly question at all. Use the LOR Network Configuration utility. You can setup your LOR, DMX, X10 and Dasher networks there. Then when you open and start to setup channels in the sequencer, you can assign the device type to what you need. One point, in order to get your DMX to work you need to have the LOR Control Panel open. This starts up the "listener" for DMX to connect, send signals and control the lights. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldoradoboy Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 FYI also make sure you have plug the LOR dongle in even if using all DMX.. the FTDI drivers MUST load or the E1.31 Listener service will not start correctly... -Christopher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lesjones22 Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Newbie here with a simple question. Can I use the Lightorama software and an Enttec Open DMX to control my LED lights or do I need something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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