DMX512, a one-way serial protocol on RS-485 wiring that sends 512 eight-bit channel values in a continuous stream, refreshed up to about 44 times a second for a full universe. Each fixture takes one channel for a dimmer or dozens for a moving light. Data runs daisy-chain through fixtures on five-pin XLR or RJ45 and needs a terminator at the end, and large shows carry many universes over Ethernet using Art-Net or sACN.
Movers on universe 3 are twitching, check the terminator at the end of the DMX run before you blame the console.
Never split DMX with a plain Y-cable: use an opto-isolated splitter, or reflections on the line make fixtures jitter.
Also heard as
- DMX512
Related terms
Mover
An automated moving-head light that pans, tilts and changes color, beam and gobo under remote control.
DALI
Digital Addressable Lighting Interface: a two-wire digital lighting control bus where each driver has its own address.
Cue
A recorded lighting state and the timed transition into it, triggered during a performance on the stage manager's call.
Board op
The person who runs the lighting console during performances, executing cues on the stage manager's call.