Advatek Pixlite 16 Plug n Play

[Jose Rosero]

Hi,

Can someone help me set up a fixture template for the Advatek Pixlite 16? 

Ive got WS2811 rgb strips 30/m that are testing fine through the Pixlite Assistant Config

Also, I have sACN (E1.31) and ArtNet available to me as protocols but Im still a bit unsure what the advantages are with either protocol. Is one easier to configure than the other or is there a performance difference? or Both?

Thank you!

[Mathieu]

Hi,

In Lightjams, go in the view/patch menu, select the generic/RGB fixture and patch them in the Art-Net or sACN universes, as configured in the Pixlite.

Art-Net and sACN are two good protocols. They basically do the same job, that is, to transmit DMX over the network by sending one DMX universe per packet. 

Here are some "rough" notes about the pros and cons of each one. I hope you don't mind the bad formatting :)

Art-Net: broadcast or unicast

- broadcast = easier configuration (not quite like multicast) but can overload low powered network devices

- what happens when broadcasting: the switch needs to send the packet to all its connected ports (how fast it will be done can vary = possible delay). That means all nodes will receive the packet, even if they're not interested by all DMX universes. When using lots of DMX universes, this may overload some low powered nodes. 

- unicast = using static IP addresses (not that problematic but takes some time to configure). When each universe is sent to only one device (almost always the case for pixel mapping), unicast is the most efficient and widely supported mode.

sACN and multicast

- Network devices (LED controllers in the context of pixel mapping) subscribe to the multicast addresses corresponding to the universes they want (IGMPv2, IP range 239.255.X.Y).

- The network switch needs to remember which devices on which ports are subscribed 

- Since each port of the switch is physically independent, LED controllers are only receiving the universes they're subscribed to, which avoids being overloaded when using many universes.

- Need to use a good network switch with multicast support. Most residential grade switches don't support multicast. In this case, the switch simply broadcasts all packets.

- Look for managed or smart switches with IGMPv2 support. Expect to pay over $100.

- Pro of multicast VS unicast: no IP configuration = easier network management. Can be as efficient as unicast when using good network switches.

- Cons: some hard work is going on at the switch level, which can make it harder to diagnose problems. Multicast subscriptions can be dropped or the switch may not even support multicast (or multicast may be disabled). There can also be problems when using multiple switches since multicast subscriptions aren't sent to the other switches.

Limit of a 1 Gigabit network: over 512 universes without problem

- 512 Art-Net universes @ 44 fps = 103 Mbps (572 bytes per packet)

- 512 sACN universes @ 44 fps = 123 Mbps (680 bytes per packet)

Art-Net vs sACN

- Equivalent network efficiency when using unicast or multicast with proper network switches

- Easier configuration with sACN and multicast

- More merge options with sACN and the packet identification and configurable priority. Can be useful when using multiple lighting consoles/software.

- When using unicast, Art-Net has a way to discover nodes, which eases configuration

- When there's performance problem (e.g. laggy pixel update), it's a good idea to use unicast even with sACN.

WIFI limitations

- Broadcast and multicast can be really unreliable since there's no packet acknowledgement and re-transmission like with unicast. So if there's an interference (which can be pretty common), some nodes will not receive the packet.

- With broadcast and multicast, you can expect to transmit less than 10 DMX universes

- Even when using unicast on a 802.11n WLAN, in practice, it's hard to go over 25 DMX universes.

[Jose Rosero]

Thanks Mathieu, 

For some reason under the templates panel on the left, I don't see the list of fixtures , generic or otherwise, which appear in the tutorial video. 

Jose Andres Rosero-Curet

 Multimedia Designer & VJ
₪ 410-948-0033 

-ﺜ- @never_render 

On Mon, Mar 6, 2017 at 3:52 PM, Mathieu <mat...@lightjams.com> wrote:

Hi,

In Lightjams, go in the view/patch menu, select the generic/RGB fixture and patch them in the ArtNet or sACN universes, as configured in the Pixlite.

Art-Net and sACN are two good protocols. They basically do the same job, that is, to transmit DMX over the network by sending one DMX universe per packet. 

Here are some "rough" notes about the pros and cons of each one. I hope you don't mind the bad formatting 

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[Mathieu]

Hi,

Has the fixture library always been empty like this?

You can open the attached project file to get the generic RGB template. If you still have problems, email me directly mat...@lightjams.com with the info you see in the Help/About menu (click the copy to clipboard button and paste the text in the email).

[Jose Rosero]

To be honest this is the first chance Ive had free time to sit and test out the software since ordering it. I had a demo previously but only had time to watch the tutorial videos then. Now that I have my leds and pixlite I've been clearing time to get started. 

Do you think I should uninstall and reinstall it?

Jose Andres Rosero-Curet

 Multimedia Designer & VJ
₪ 410-948-0033 

-ﺜ- @never_render 

On Tue, Mar 7, 2017 at 8:26 AM, Mathieu <mat...@lightjams.com> wrote:

Hi,

Has the fixture library always been empty like this?

You can open the attached project file to get the generic RGB template. If you still have problems, email me directly mat...@lightjams.com

--

[Mathieu]

We can continue via email.  email me mat...@lightjams.com with the info you see in the Help/About menu (click the copy to clipboard button and paste the text in the email).

[Mathieu]

As a follow-up, in case someone has the same problem (no fixtures in the library), here's the solution.

- Go in the C:\ProgramData directory. This may be a hidden folder, so paste the name directly in the File explorer address bar.

- Then rename C:\ProgramData\Lightjams to C:\ProgramData\Lightjams-old

- Restart Lightjams.

- You can go in the License/view license to import back your license file, which is still in the C:\ProgramData\Lightjams-old directory

- If it worked, you can delete the backup directory you've made (C:\ProgramData\Lightjams-old)

This resets the fixture library and forces Lightjams to put back the default fixture templates.

This may happen if an old Lightjams version with this bug was installed (back in 2015).

[im4...@gmail.com]

Hi Mathieu,

       Working on a project for LED pixel control using WS2811 using Pixlite16 mk2 control board. Using it in expanded mode and verified using controller software that it is working properly. Now Pixelite is configured at unicast and fixtures are patched as generic RGB. Also, seeing proper pixelite artnet under configuration as well however, not getting any output from Pixelite. Anything else I am missing? Please advise.

Thanks,

Regards.

[Jatin V]

Some more info:

PIxelite is controlled to start at universe 33. Lightjams shows up at unicast 2:0. Not seeing any activity on Artnetometer for it.

 

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[isaac]

Hi,

2:0 is equal to the 33rd universe, so that seems ok. Lightjams starts at universe 0 for ArtNet, so the 33rd universe would be u32 in LJ for ArtNet when patching fixtures.

Have you double checked that the correct network adapter is selected in Lightjams/Configuration/ArtNet/Output? Is your LJ machine and the Pixlite in the same IP range and subnet?

Also maybe Mathieu can correct me, but I am not sure Artnetominator can monitor unicast traffic on the same machine as LJ, unless you set both adapters to 127.0.0.1

[Jatin V]

Thanks Issac!

Yes, network adapter is configured correctly and controller is on same network. It shows to be sending artnet commands to U32 under configuration but Pixlite does not seem to be getting it.

 

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[isaac]

Have you checked the firewall of your PC to make sure it is not blocking outgoing LJ traffic?

Maybe you could try in broadcast mode on another universe just to test, or you could try sACN instead of ArtNet just for 'fun'...

[Jatin V]

It's not a network issue. Other lightjams programs for other universes working fine on the same pc and network. 

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[Mathieu]

Hi,

As Isaac said, artnetominator doesn't see artnet sent to a specific ip address (unicast). You can try to broadcast by clicking edit on the auto detected node and removing subscribed universes.

[Jatin V]

Thanks guys! Not sure what happened but rebooting Pixelite made it work and fixtures are responding.

 

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