DMX

DMX-IN lets a lighting desk control Modulaser over Art-Net or sACN. Patch Modulaser like any other fixture, address it from the console, and drive intensity, color, strobe, cues, and tempo from the same desk that runs the rest of your rig.

Unlike MIDI and OSC, DMX has no learn mode. Modulaser exposes a fixed fixture profile, so you can patch it in the console before show time and rely on stable channel meanings. For free-form, per-show mappings, use OSC instead.

Modulaser receives DMX only. It does not send DMX or feedback back to a console.

Enabling DMX

Open Settings and select the DMX tab.

DMX-IN enabled: starts the Art-Net and sACN listeners. Off by default.
Multicast interface: optional IPv4 address for sACN multicast. Leave empty to let Modulaser pick the default interface.
Master fixture patch: sets the universe and start address for the global Master fixture.
Sources: lists active Art-Net and sACN sources with their priority, universes, and last-seen age.

The enable flag and multicast interface are app preferences. Fixture patches are saved in the project file.

Fixtures

Modulaser publishes two fixture types:

Master: patch once per Modulaser instance. Controls global output and cue/BPM state.
Output Group: patch one per output group you want the desk to control.

Master Fixture (7 channels)

Ch	Name	Values	Effect
1	Master Mode	`0–239` blackout, `240–250` no change, `251–255` live	Global blackout on/off
2	Master Intensity	`0–255`	Global intensity `0–100%`
3	Master Speed	`0–127` slow to normal, `128–255` normal to fast	Speed multiplier `0x–8x`, normal near the midpoint
4	Cue Page	`0` none, `1–255` page index	Selects a cue list by index, clamped to available lists
5	Cue	`0` inactive, `1–255` cue index	Activates a cue within the selected list
6	BPM	`0–255`	Sets BPM across Modulaser's internal range
7	Tap	`0` inactive, `1–255` tap edge	Sends a tap-tempo event on the rising edge

Cue page and cue values are 1-based from the console's perspective. Tap needs the channel to return to 0 before the next pulse counts. BPM and tap only affect playback when Modulaser's BPM source accepts internal tempo changes.

Output Group Fixture (12 channels)

Select an output group in the output settings, then open its DMX Fixture tab. Switch the fixture on and set its universe and start address. When you first enable it, Modulaser picks the next free range after the Master fixture and any other patched groups.

Ch	Name	Values	Effect
1	Opacity	`0–255`	Output group opacity `0–100%`
2	Shutter/Strobe	`0–7` open, `8–255` strobe slow to fast	Enables the Strobe effect and sets its rate
3	Color Red	`0–255`	Colorize red component
4	Color Green	`0–255`	Colorize green component
5	Color Blue	`0–255`	Colorize blue component
6–12	Effect Slots 1–7	`0–255`	Project-bound generic scalar or switch controls

The RGB channels write the Colorize effect's color but do not enable Colorize on their own. Bind an effect slot to colorize / enabled if the console should toggle it. Effect slots bind to a scalar control or an enabled switch on any effect in that group's chain. Empty or stale bindings are silent no-ops.

Output Group patches and slot bindings are keyed by output group, so they stay with the project rather than your app preferences.

GDTF Profile

Modulaser ships a GDTF file containing both fixture types, ready to import into a console or visualizer.

Download:

Modulaser GDTF fixture

Import it, then patch ModulaserMaster once and ModulaserOutputGroup once per group you want to control.

Reading Arbitrary Channels

To read a channel outside the fixed fixtures, use the DMX Input node in a clip or effect node graph. It outputs a normalized signal from any universe and channel, so you can wire a desk fader straight into a node parameter.

Network

Art-Net

Modulaser listens for Art-Net on UDP 6454. A source is identified by its sender IP, so a changing UDP source port does not create a new source. Art-Net runs at a fixed priority of 100. When a console sends ArtPoll, Modulaser replies with the universes used by its patched fixtures and any DMX Input nodes.

sACN

Modulaser listens for sACN on UDP 5568. A source is identified by its CID, and priority comes from the packet. Preview-data packets are ignored, and the Stream Terminated flag drops a source immediately. Modulaser joins multicast groups only for the universes it currently uses.

Universe Numbering

Modulaser matches the universe number carried in the packet on the wire. It does not convert between console display conventions.

This matters: Art-Net setups often number the first universe 0, while many sACN consoles display the first universe as 1. Patch the number the console actually sends, not the one shown on screen.

Source Priority

When more than one source sends the same universe, Modulaser picks one: highest priority wins, and ties go to the most recently updated source.

Limits

Receive only: no DMX output, feedback, or RDM discovery.
No learn mode: the fixture profile is fixed. Use OSC for free-form per-show mappings.
Source loss is not fail-dark: when packets stop, fixture-driven parameters hold their last values. DMX Input nodes drop to 0.0 once their source data is gone.
Manual patch overlap: Modulaser auto-picks free ranges, but if you edit a patch by hand, check it against the Master fixture and other groups to avoid overlap.