Protocols, Dmx-512, Art-net – Acclaim Lighting ART IO User Manual

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Protocols

The Art SSC and Art IO are fitted with several communication ports and supports various protocols. This
chapter describes these protocols.

DMX-512

The Art SSC has two DMX outputs ports and one input. Connect your lighting fixtures either to the DMX
OUT A port or DMX OUT B. Use a 5-pin XLR cable to connect the Art SSC's DMX OUT port to the first
fixture, from then on daisy-chain to all other fixtures.

The Art IO has one DMX port which can be set either as input or as output. The DMX signals are
available on the screw terminals. You can create an adapter cable for connecting to XLR connectors
using the pin-out below.

3 Pin Adapter
If your cabling or fixtures are using a 3-pin XLR connector then you can obtain - or
create yourself - a 5-to-3-pin adapter.

For both 5-pin and 3-pin connectors the pin-out is:

1 = GND

2 = Data-

3 = Data+

(on the 5-pin XLR pin 4 & 5 are not connected)

Cable
Use a shielded twisted pair cable for DMX cabling. The cable should be terminated with an 120 Ohm
resistor.

Overcoming DMX-512 Limitations
DMX-512 is a very successful protocol with, however, a few
limitations. The maximum number of attached devices is limited
to 32 and they all have to be connected in bus-topology having
one cable running via each device. Furthermore, a DMX cable
should not be longer than 300 meters.

The DMX Branch/4 from Elation Professional helps tackle those
inconvenient limitations of DMX-512. The Splitter takes a DMX
signal and sends it out again on its 4 DMX output ports allowing a
star-topology for efficient cable usage. Each output port is capable of driving 32 more devices. The
Splitter can also function as a signal booster as each port supports another 300 meter long connection.

Art-Net

The Art-Net protocol primarily transfers DMX-512 data over Ethernet. The high bandwidth of a Ethernet
connection allows Art-Net to transfer up to 256 universes. The Art SSC supports 2 universes outgoing
Art-Net and 2 universes incoming.

The broadcast messages sent out by Art-Net do put a certain load on the network, therefore it is
recommended to disable Art-Net when not in use.

Additional to transmitting DMX-512 data, Art-Net can also be used for transferring time-code

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