Gilderfluke&Co DMX-512 Output MultiShow Brick - Manual (Page 11)

Show Programming & Animation Data Eproms:
The only frame rate supported by the BR-MultiShow is 30 frames per second. All shows used with the
BR-MultiShow must be programmed at this frame rate. Because the BR-MultiShow will carry up to 256
shows that run on up to eight separate sequencers, it has one very special rule for programming your
shows:
No output (digital bit or analog channel) can be used in more than one
sequencer at the same time!
This is very important. If the same output was used in two shows that were running simultaneously, the
BR-MultiShow will ÔoverlayÕ them. This is to say, if a digital function is ÔONÕ in one of the shows, the second
show could not turn this bit off. It will only go off when it is off in ALL shows that are running
1 . If analog
channels are overlaid, the results will be unpredictable. The bits from both analog channels will be ÔORÕed
together, resulting in an undesirable output level.
Although this sounds complicated, it is actually easy to do using PC¥MACs:
1) Use the SAME SITE FILE for all the shows that are going to be loaded on a BR-MultiShow Brick.
2) All Analog channels should be defined with a default value of zero. This is so all shows will have
zero values for all analogs except the ones you are programming.
3) All digital outputs should be defined with a default value of ÔOFFÕ. This is so all shows will have
all the digital functions ÔOFFÕ except the ones you are programming.
4) There are eight show sequencers numbered ÔaÕ through ÔhÕ. Shows should be set up to run only
on a single sequencer. Outputs used on any shows that are going to be run from one se-
quencer must not be used during shows that are run on any other sequencer.
Hint: Name your outputs (or figures) starting with an ÔaÕ, ÔbÕ or whatever sequencer they
are going to be running from. If you have a figure named Ôa LincolnÕ, you will know
not to program it when you are programming shows that are going to be run from
any but the ÔaÕ sequencer.
5) The starting and ending frameÕs analog values should be set to the position you would like
them to be held at when shows are not running. This is especially true for the shows you are
going to select for the ÔPowerOn/E-StopÕ shows.
6) If you are not sure that all the outputs are ÔoffÕ/zero during the shows where they need to be,
you can do the following. As a last step before saving all your shows:
a) Open each show individually.
b) Move all analog and digital channels that ARE NOT used by the sequencer that this
show will be using to the ÔEditingÕ column of the ÔMove to OffLineÕ dialog. Click OK.
c) You should now see all the channels that ARE NOT going to be used by the same se-
quencer as this show. They should all be ÔOFFÕ if they are digitals, or zero value flat
lines at the bottom of the analog OffLine editing window pane if they are analogs. If
you see any analogs that are off the zero value line or digitals that are ÔONÕ, you may
want to investigate before proceeding.
d) ÔSelect AllÕ under the Edit pulldown. This should select all the channels on display for
the entire length of the show.
e) ÔClearÕ command under the Edit pulldown. This will definitely force all the visible chan-
nels ÔOFFÕ or to Zero.
f) Save this show.
g) Repeat ÔaÕ through ÔfÕ for each show to be loaded onto the BR-MultiShow Brick.
The Eproms used for BR-MultiShow Brick each contains up to 256 shows worth of data, and each show
can contain up to 256 channelÕs worth of data. In addition, there is a header at the start of the
AutoDownload file that tells the BR-MultiShow Brick how many shows and channels to expect in the file.
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1 This may be a feature you want to use on some occasions. As an example, if you had a set of
eight show areas running from a single BR-MultiShow, with power to the compressor that pro-
vides compressed air to all eight scenes controlled by one digital output. You would want the
compressor to run if any of the shows were running, so this bit would be programmed active
on all of the shows. If any sequencer is running, then the compressor will be ÔONÕ.