how to use computer vs mp3 director and lag time

[seriouslylosingit]

I  am still having troubles loading certain files to my sd card and they won't play in the show I am trying to set up.  I have never used my computer to run the show before and may need some help.  I am guessing just plug the Ethernet cord into the jack and it will run the show, but what about sound?  I know there is a separate jack on the mp3 director that is for audio, so.... I have a receiver in my garage hooked up to outdoor speakers FYI.. This was easier for me (I think) than the FM transmitter..

 

Secondly, I read a forum not long ago that talked about "shortening" the delay between songs, but do you think I could find it? Uh, no.... Any advice on this would be appreciated. 

 

Thanks,

Roberta

[k6ccc]

Before you potentially damage something, DO NOT PLUG the Cat-5 cable to your controllers that normally is plugged into your director into the Ethernet jack on your computer. The LOR network is RS-485 serial and NOT Ethernet. Connecting an RS-485 device and an Ethernet LAN device risks damaging one or the other (or both).

With the warning made, to control your show via the computer, the Cat-5 cable (please don't call it an Ethernet cable as it adds to the confusion) goes from your first controller to a USB-485 adapter which plugs into a USB port on your computer. If you have never had a USB-485 adapter plugged into your computer, it may need to install the device driver. After that the USB-485 will appear to be a serial port (such as Com4:). You select that Comm port to be used and then you can use the hardware utility, sequence editor, or show player to control your lights.

The documentation goes over this pretty well.

[seriouslylosingit]

Thank you for your suggestions.  I now know what a "cat 5" cable is that many talk about in these forums... I am gonna call it the "green cord with the big phone jack thingies" as I am not familiar with all of the proper terms.   Anyway, do I need to order this USB-485 adapter or is it something that came with my original 16 channel controller.. (Which I now have no idea where any of the additional components are)???  Is the documentation you are referring to in the "user manuals" tab?  Forgive me if these questions are elementary, but I have only used the mp3 director in the past and this is all new to me...

 

Thanks,

Roberta