Controlling LED lighting with a USB-DMX interface (NOT Midi)

[ronanconlan]

So I got an Enttec OpenDMX usb->dmx interface. I was hoping to use it with Ableton and some appropriate VST plugin (I had seen lots mentioned).

I have a Eurolite DMX512 pixel tube IP20.

The tube has a 3-pin input. The USB DMX interface has a 5-pin output so I have a 5pin->3pin adaptor on my cable. Mentioning this in case it's an issue somehow.

I've since learned that a lot of software and plugins tend to only support the drivers/interface for the PRO version of Enttec's USB->DMX interface. Which I wanted to avoid shelling out for.

Can anyone suggest software or plugins that they know work with the Enttec openDMX interface?
Does anyone else use this type of setup (a USB-DMX interface as opposed to a MIDI-DMX interface)?

Suggestions would be very welcome for setups and plugins that people have good experience with for this.
Thanks a lot

[blakjesus]

I am interested in this as well. I have been looking around at various controllers and DMX interfaces to control a light rig from inside ableton, but all of the solutions i have found so far don't give very much information on their compatibility with other software. (Most specifically Max for Live)

If someone who has more experience could chime in on this subject it would be very appreciated.

[Matt_Quinn]

Can't say for sure, but I did stumble across this recently, looks pretty awesome, and definitely works with Live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... QAQtS8zlIQ


The box/software:

http://www.enttec.com/index.php?main_me ... s&pn=70570

[102455]

Can anyone suggest software or plugins that they know work with the Enttec openDMX interface?

Er.....there's a list of compatible software on the ENTTEC web site.

[blakjesus]

Can't say for sure, but I did stumble across this recently, looks pretty awesome, and definitely works with Live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... QAQtS8zlIQ


The box/software:

http://www.enttec.com/index.php?main_me ... s&pn=70570

Thanks for posting this! This looks like it will do exactly what i want it to do and seems pretty simple to get running.

[Coupe70]

I used the free DMXControl http://www.dmxcontrol.de/, but had some problems,
the free PC Dimmer http://www.pcdimmer.de/ is my weapon of choice now.
Not a plugin, but no problem for me.

[aradder]

I just picked up an Enttec DMXis box on Tuesday, and it is pretty darn amazing. It generates the DMX stream from an onboard chip, so it's very solid and can respond lightning-fast to almost anything I throw at it. The only thing slowing me down is the speed of my moving heads. I started programming cues in Ableton yesterday, and have a song about a third of the way done at this point. The biggest hassle when using the VST plugin in Ableton is that the sliders aren't labeled with their functions. For instance I'd like my automation lane to be called "ColorStrip MINI Red %" instead of just its slider number. I have to keep a notepad handy to reference what slider does what (or open up the VST and count faders)... Anyway perhaps there is a fix for this in the Fixture definition files (which you can edit or create yourself pretty easily with an online tool or in a text editor if you're l33t), but I'm not picking up on it yet.

[Z3NO]

The proper way of doing this is using a dedicated lighting software to program the lighting and sending midi values to the lighting software from Ableton. I use Chamsys MagicQ, which is free and will work with the Enttec box, but if you're new to lighting, the learning curve might be a little steep. On the other hand, if you get into it, it allows for pretty large shows

[Muzik 4 Machines]

bookmarking

[Matt_Quinn]

Finally purchased the DMXIS just for playing around at home, and got it last night. Pretty amazing little box! I just had it hooked to 3 Chauvet Colortube 2.0's and was doing all kinds of fun stuff straight from Live. Very awesome to not have to learn any new software, just automate everything exactly like you would an audio device. Setting up various 'looks' with Clips is simple & amazing as well. The timing seems to be dead on up to at least 32nd notes too, I was expecting a bit of lag, but nothing perceptible to me. Of course it's a tiny system, so YMMV. Overall very pleased.

[Matt_Quinn]

The biggest hassle when using the VST plugin in Ableton is that the sliders aren't labeled with their functions. For instance I'd like my automation lane to be called "ColorStrip MINI Red %" instead of just its slider number. I have to keep a notepad handy to reference what slider does what (or open up the VST and count faders)... Anyway perhaps there is a fix for this in the Fixture definition files (which you can edit or create yourself pretty easily with an online tool or in a text editor if you're l33t), but I'm not picking up on it yet.

What I did was just to group the VST to a Rack, then map the DMXIS sliders to Macros. Name the Macros, and you will have names in your automation lanes. Obviously this is only a solution fpr up to 8 channels though. I think you are right in that you need to create a fixture profile to get all the names directly in the VST window, ut I am having a bit of trouble getting the fixture editor to operate properly.