Networking is used all around us in our daily lives
from "Alexa, turn on the lights"
to answering the front door from your phone in a different place.
This type of connectivity is commonplace, easily accessible
and way more user-friendly than it was even a few short years ago.
Why should we not now embrace a similar connectivity in our working environment?
You'll be familiar with this typical small-scale setup.
Using a couple of local outputs on a console to send DMX signal
from a lighting desk to a dimmer rack and some lighting fixtures.
This setup can be expanded with some DMX splitters,
but remains relatively straightforward.
We've now got this typical, larger scale set up.
We have a master and the backup lighting console
as well as a client console for the LD.
We are not using any local DMX outputs from a lighting console.
Instead, we are creating a lighting network where we have gateways in several
locations to provide us with the DMX outputs conveniently, where we need them.
The dimmer racks, LED fixtures, and moving lights are all on this network too,
and this offers several advantages.
Gone are the days of sending out a DMX signal, and the only means of
telling if there was a problem is by looking to see if the light comes on,
or if it's in the correct position.
In a network environment, you can get real time feedback from
devices and fixtures in your rig.
We also have a wireless access point enabling us to use remote apps
for control during the focus session.
And this setup allows expansion using show control protocols
to interface with other departments.
In the first system, all of the control cabling
was five-pin XLR to send DMX signal.
We are now using ethernet cable and other protocols on the network side
and five pin XLR cable and DMX protocol is now only at the final stage
from the gateway to the fixtures themselves.
We're going to explore today, the advantages of using a network to set up,
but let me begin by reassuring you
that just as with everything else in the world of Eos,
you don't need to be an expert and fully understand everything
to the highest level before getting started.
Similar to how we all found our feet with new bits of Eos software,
like magic sheets and Augment3d,
finding our way and integrating them into our workflows little by little.
And then as our knowledge and experience using them grew,
we started using them to their full potential.
Well, it's a familiar story with networking.
You don't have to jump straight in with a full-blown network setup.
Just make a start by adding a DMX gateway to give you access to another DMX universe
or by giving the LD their own nomad set up at the production desk.
You can integrate bits of networking into your setup little by little,
and allow it to grow as your understanding and confidence
in managing the network increases.
On that point of simply adding another node or DMX gateway,
you may be working in a venue
with two universes hardwired into the back of your console,
which until now has left with plenty of spare output capacity.
But these days there are fixtures that take up loads of DMX addresses.
There is now a fixture in the market with a ludicrous mode and yes,
that's what the manufacturer calls it, which takes up 512 addresses.
A full universe for just one fixture.
And with things like pixel tape, getting cheaper and cheaper,
it won't be too long before you're needing to be able to output
onto more and more universes.
Even lower budget shows now are eating through output addresses.
So by adding a DMX gateway into our system,
we can use networking to expand the number of universes
that we can output to.
Remember, you may also need to upgrade your console to allow a
higher number of address outputs.
Now you'll be familiar with these buttons.
Let's spend a minute talking about a multi console setup.
Multi console simply means having more than one Eos console on the network.
If you have a straightforward setup using the DMX ports on the back of your console,
you'll always be starting your console to be the primary console, which assumes
the role of the master, and processes and transmits the data to the lighting rig.
Bigger shows and venues will have a tracking backup console on the network.
This console will take over if the primary console fails or loses
connection and will assign itself as the backup master in this scenario.
Luckily, this isn't common and touch wood, I have never had a primary
console go down during a show.
But in order for a seamless switch over we just small networking setup here.
The consoles need to talk, not only to one another,
but also to the gateway to avoid us having to physically switch DMX cables.
There can only be one console assigned as the primary, and one is the backup.
However, you can have multiple devices on the network as a client.
Within Eos, different user numbers have different command lines.
So you could have someone patching in something on stage while the programmer
is getting set up at the production desk.
A nomad client allows the LD or their assistant to have their own channel
and cue list views each with their own unique user number,
and some of the biggest shows in the West End
are even using nomad Pucks at the follow spot positions
to allow follow spot operators Their own cue list views
that stay in track during the show.
Networking has allowed us to move on from the days of taping some blue gel
to a broken music stand at the back of the auditorium
so the follow spot operator can follow their cue sheets.
As I've said before,
there's no need to be intimidated by a networking setup,
and there's no need to think the only option is to manage a big complicated set up.
Simply by adding an additional node to control some pixel tape,
or a nomad at the production desk
are some first easy steps to take into networking.
But when you do need to manage devices on a network,
ETC's Concert software is the ideal tool to manage these devices.
You get a nice network map of all of the devices and the options to configure them.
For example, defining the universe outputs on a DMX gateway.
It's all there.
And if you can't see your device or you're setting up a new device from scratch,
there's even a Find Unreachable Devices wizard
for those moments when you have a device outside of your subnets.
Show control is all about integration between departments.
Think about the satisfying tying together of a sound beat with a lighting snap.
And MIDI is the first interaction most people have with show control.
This is where a network device comes in, a show control gateway, that means both
your primary and backup consoles will listen for the show control messages.
The response show control gateways are available for MIDI
show control, but also timecode, serial, and analog IO protocols.
But taking show control onto the network itself really opens up
a world of possibilities with OSC open sound control protocol.
MIDI show control is a standard from the early nineties,
but is limited to only certain commands.
Whereas OSC dictionaries are published by manufacturers of these devices,
and this can open up every command in a system to be triggered by OSC.
So, whereas MIDI would simply send a go command for a cue.
We're now in a world where the show caller can be calling cues
in response to actor timing.
And we can have show control triggers, keeping the lighting in sync with the
beat of the music on separate cue lists.
You're probably all used to the mantra
of keeping the lightning network locked down
with nothing else on it. And that is still true.
However, I bet you've noticed that the newer control devices all
have two separate network ports.
This allows our devices to exist on two separate networks, keeping the
lightning network apart from our show control networks and expanding
the possibilities of what's possible with our lighting control systems.
And by embracing a network setup at this stage, you're future-proofing yourself
for the possibilities with new protocols.
RDM net is coming soon.
It isn't proprietary.
So won't be tied to the DMX hardware that we currently need to use for RDM
or remote device management feedback.
In fact, some manufacturers have already implemented streaming ACN, and Artnet
directly into moving lights, particularly those with higher channel counts,
so not only is this saving on infrastructure as you won't need DMX gateways.
This also signals the move away from DMX altogether
and towards the entire lighting system, based on networking topology.
With the introduction of Augment3d, we now have 3D modeling at the
heart of our lighting consoles.
What if they could talk to other control systems on our stages
about their 3D environments?
As we further the integration that's possible between automation and lighting,
keeping objects tracked in a 3D space,
networking will be the basis for these conversations to be possible in the first place.
Now it's not just show control that has opened up with networking,
building management systems, like Paradigm,
become accessible to us on lighting consoles.
So there's no more sending someone to control room
for the start of a tech session
to turn the work lights off.
It's possible to set up macros from your console to send a command to Paradigm,
to put the venue into show mode
or back to day mode and turn the work lights back on at the end of the day.
Thinking back to the basic system set up we looked at first,
the lighting console is only concerned about sending out information,
in that case DMX, to the lighting rig.
However, with networking,
the world of real-time feedback has been opened up to us.
You may have seen a yellow question mark appear in a channel tile on Eos
that's feedback from a Sensor dimmer rack.
You may have seen someone change the mode on the Lustr
using a DMXcat.
That's using RDM, which allows feedback on the DMX line.
Now you've probably learned turn off RDM
if you have any unexpected behavior on a DMX line.
When it doesn't disrupt the DMX signal of other devices,
RDM feedback can let us know if a device has an error message.
This is where ETC's Conductor hardware comes into its own.
It can even text or email you when a breaker has tripped on your Sensor rack
or detects a system error.
Conductor also facilitates some networking tools that just make life easier.
It can act as a central file server.
So there's no more running up to control room with a USB drive
to load that new pixel map content onto the primary console.
And because it's second network port can live on a network that can see the internet,
you can access this file server and have access
to your backups wherever you are.
Conductor can also act as a time server.
And because it can also be pointed to an online time server,
the clock on your Eos can finally always be correct.
It's inevitable, as lighting technology improves
that your rigs are going to grow
and become more and more complex and channel hungry.
So challenge yourself on your next production
and dip your toes into the networking waters.
Add in a gateway, client and a nomad for your spot operator.
Take some small steps into the world of networking now,
not only will you soon discover the advantages,
but you'll be setting yourself up
for the future possibilities with the integration of lighting control.