new to Artnet

Hi Jeff,

Art-Net is a proprietary way of carrying DMX data over ethernet (network), so it uses the same concept of universes with 512 addresses per universe. Slightly confusingly it's 0 based which means there is a universe 0, but there are settings in Eos to help you deal with that. If you can get an sACN device instead it will be much easier for you. sACN is the open standard way of carrying DMX data over ethernet. In some ways Art-Net and sACN offer the same functionality, but they way they actually carry data is slightly different and sACN does it better. If your chosen device only supports Art-Net however then that is the way to go.

You connect these devices using network cable, so Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a etc. They'll all need to be connected to a network switch because ethernet can't be daisy chained like DMX can.

If your Ion has 1024 outputs then that means it can output those addresses over as many universes as you need. That means you could have 256 addresses on 4 universes or 128 addresses on 8 universes etc. So in your setup you can keep using your 2 DMX outputs and add your Art-Net devices so either the same universe numbers or different ones.

Broadcast types is basically which devices will see it. Limited Broadcast means every connected device will get the Art-Net, even if it has an IP address in a different range. Directed Broadcast means it will only be 'seen' by devices in the right IP range.

So if you have a network switch already you're pretty much ready to go. Your new devices will plug into that and then it's just a case of setting them up and enabling Art-Net in Eos.

Hope that's a bit of a help

Dan

Dan this is extremely helpful. I do have a couple of follow up questions:
The fixtures have an Ethernet in and out port however you say devices can't be daisy chained. So that means I need to run individual Ethernet lines from a switch to each individual device? That's a lot more work since I tour and every event is set up and struck.
I know addresses can be assigned to any universe and after I hit send I realized that part of my questions was incorrectly worded. What I meant was I am normally pretty close to being out of the 1024 addresses (and certainly will be if I purchase 8 or 10 of these fixtures that use 39 addresses each) and until now I thought Artnet might be a completely different way of handling fixtures by working them based on ip addresses rather than DMX addresses however it looks like I would in fact need to purchase the code to release another group of 512.
Regarding using the Ethernet port on the ION: would I use a switch to allow me to send both to the fixtures as well as nodes, WiFi router, etc. or do I lose all the other functions and can only send Artnet?
What I am actually seeing here is no benefit running Artnet. Can't see any benefit over DMX, especially if I have to run individual runs to each fixture.
However since the ION only has two DMX ports, if I purchase any more addresses then I will have to use Ethernet to be able to use additional universes of addresses; correct?

Hi Jeff,

Happy Thanksgiving!

If the fixtures have an in and out port then they actually have a mini network switch inside them which effectively means you can daisy chain them. It's a clever way of making the cabling process a little easier.

You're right about addresses. Art-Net addresses come out of the same allocation as everything else. Your 1024 is shared across all the different output systems that Eos supports.

Everything else like your WiFi will continue to work when you connect to the switch. Art-Net is just another type of data being send alongside everything else. Think of it like downloading a file whilst your browsing a web page. Just because you do something else in the browser it doesn't mean everything else stops working.

DMX over network which is what Art-Net essentially is has many advantages over just using DMX for many people. As you say you're limited to 2 physical ports on your Ion. By using a network connection such as sACN or Art-Net you can have up to 63,999 possible universes! It also means you can have a backup desk, if one of them goes down the other one can still talk to the lights.

Hope that helps

Dan

Dan,

Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving as well.

You're the greatest! So helpful on this.

I know about back up console. I've set up my laptop Nomad for that in many shows. It's great. Thankfully never had to use it :-)

I realize if I expand addresses I must use networking and if I get these fixtures I will definitely have to do just that. Fortunately I have an older model two port touring node, so good to go there. I think for cabling purposes I will stick with dmx runs with these fixtures because unless you know something extra I don't see any advantage using networking for them and it would be another type of cable run in addition to just daisy chaining them through the DMX runs out of the node for other fixtures.

Thanks again so mush.

Hey Dan,

So I am getting it slowly but surely. I actually have my test fixture running on ArtNet finally. It's patched to 2/1 (because I haven't purchased the code yet for another 512 channels) and ArtNet is set to Primary, Start 1 and default checked (not sure what that is) Also have address 2.XX.XX.XX, Subnet 255.0.0.0 and gateway 2.XX.XX.1. Note: since these fixtures are 38 channels I would want to put all 12 of them on one universe alone, which would be universe 3 once I get another 512 purchased.

I am still a bit confused on the start universes. ArtNet 0 is console universe 1, 1 is 2, etcetera. If I want to have ArtNet be on universe 3 would I set it to ArtNet 2? The manual always refers to the console universe 1 no matter what ArtNet is set to. Another words I want console Universe 1 and 2 to be the XLR outs and then my network to go to my 2 port touring node set for Universe 3 and 4 (or possibly 2 and 3), unless I run direct network to the fixtures of course.

Confusing but I'm sure simple once I get it.