CTB16PC G3 choppy/laggy when run using DMX

[zak]

This year, I decided to add moving head lights to my display. My setup previously consisted of only two CTB16PC G3 controllers. Since I only have a mini MP3 Director to run the show, which is only capable of running 1 network, I decided to create a single network using DMX protocol for the first time (I used the LOR protocol in the past with no issues). This setup manages to control my two moving head lights and my two CTB16PC G3 controllers, however, all of a sudden, the string lights plugged into my CTB16PC G3 controllers are looking quite choppy. I first noticed this lag/choppyness in the fades. It was not super noticeable, so it did not bother me much, but now that I have seen the shimmer function and other effects using DMX protocol, it looks quite bad. Does anyone know how I could fix this? Is this just a sacrifice one has to make to use DMX protocol with LOR? Any help would be greatly appreciated—I have been working on this for so long. Happy holidays!

[PhilMassey]

I have never used DMX on LOR controllers but I do have eight DMX devices running fine. On a PC by the way. Nothing else is on that network. For the AC controllers using LOR protocol, effects like shimmer and twinkle are generated in the controller itself. The software just tells it when to start and stop. Using DMX protocol, the effects are created in real time in the computer (or I guess the mp3), which leads to a different appearance which is probably at least some of what you are seeing. IMO, another good reason for using a computer. I am just guessing that the MP3 player is not powerful enough to do that.

[zak]

Thanks for the response! That's what I thought might be the problem, but when I run the network from my computer, it looks just as bad. It also says the mp3 director is using a speed of 250K for DMX, even though the mp3 director is supposedly capable of 500K, and I cannot find a way to increase the speed for DMX. 

I am sure that the problem would be fixed if I used two separate networks, one for DMX and one for LOR, but I do not think my mini mp3 director can do this since it can only run one network, and since the iDMX 1000 was discontinued. The reason I want to use my mp3 director is because my show runs on user input. I am open to alternative setups that can meet my needs (user input, 2 DMX moving heads, 2 AC controllers), but I have not been able to think of another way to do this. It is just a shame because my current setup is exactly what I wanted, but shimmer looks just bad enough to make me not want to use this. At this point, I am hoping that I made a mistake in the setup or something, or that I overlooked a better way to set this up. I am open to buying new equipment to make this work better, except for the two/four network mp3 directors because they are quite expensive and will not ship for a while. If anyone has suggestions for better ways to set this up using a mini mp3 director that would be great. 

[Steven]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:37 AM, zak said:

... because my show runs on user input.

The show player on a PC allows user input, via triggers from the input pins on a CTB16PC.