Multi cell fixture intensity parameter behaviour

If you make yourself a multicell Fixture maybe you don't need intensity1, intensity2, ...

Most likely just intensity is enough.

What are you trying to build?

I’m trying to build a Showtec Blaze 4 fixture, they are 4 way LED blinders with RGB backlight, and the channels are:

1: pod 1 tungsten intensity

2: pod 2 tungsten intensity

3: pod 3 tungsten intensity

4: pod 4 tungsten intensity

5: pod 1 red backlight intensity

6: pod 1 green backlight intensity

7: pod 1 blue backlight intensity

8: pod 2 red backlight intensity

9: pod 2 green backlight intensity

10: pod 2 blue backlight intensity

11: pod 3 red backlight intensity

12: pod 3 green backlight intensity

13: pod 3 blue backlight intensity

14: pod 4 red backlight intensity

15: pod 4 green backlight intensity

16: pod 4 blue backlight intensity

I’ve had to create an 8 cell fixture, because when I tried using a 4 cell profile cell 1 worked ok but none of the others did, I think it was because of the overlapping channel ranges for each pod (pod 1: 1,5,6,7 pod 2: 2,8,9,10 etc). Is this a known limitation of multi cell fixtures?

So the profile I’ve made is

Cell 1: pod 1 tungsten (1x intensity 1, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 2: pod 2 tungsten (1x intensity 2, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 3: pod 3 tungsten (1x intensity 3, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 4: pod 4 tungsten (1x intensity 4, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 5: pod 1 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 6: pod 2 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 7: pod 3 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 8: pod 4 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

My aim is to have a profile which allows me to do 3 things:

1. Select the whole fixture and from the ML controls individual turn the tungsten cells on and off (hence using intensity 1, intensity 2, intensity 3, and intensity 4)
2. Select the whole fixture and use the colour picket to set colours on all 4 of the backlight cells together (which works fine)
3. Create a strobe effect that will strobe whatever each pod has on, either backlight or tungsten, using the virtual intensity channels. This is the bit that doesn’t work because Intensity 2, 3 and 4 aren’t being affected by the change in the virtual intensity channels on those cells, and the mastered cell option doesn’t seem to do anything either.

I’m trying to build a Showtec Blaze 4 fixture, they are 4 way LED blinders with RGB backlight, and the channels are:

1: pod 1 tungsten intensity

2: pod 2 tungsten intensity

3: pod 3 tungsten intensity

4: pod 4 tungsten intensity

5: pod 1 red backlight intensity

6: pod 1 green backlight intensity

7: pod 1 blue backlight intensity

8: pod 2 red backlight intensity

9: pod 2 green backlight intensity

10: pod 2 blue backlight intensity

11: pod 3 red backlight intensity

12: pod 3 green backlight intensity

13: pod 3 blue backlight intensity

14: pod 4 red backlight intensity

15: pod 4 green backlight intensity

16: pod 4 blue backlight intensity

I’ve had to create an 8 cell fixture, because when I tried using a 4 cell profile cell 1 worked ok but none of the others did, I think it was because of the overlapping channel ranges for each pod (pod 1: 1,5,6,7 pod 2: 2,8,9,10 etc). Is this a known limitation of multi cell fixtures?

So the profile I’ve made is

Cell 1: pod 1 tungsten (1x intensity 1, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 2: pod 2 tungsten (1x intensity 2, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 3: pod 3 tungsten (1x intensity 3, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 4: pod 4 tungsten (1x intensity 4, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 5: pod 1 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 6: pod 2 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 7: pod 3 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

Cell 8: pod 4 RGB backlight (1x Red, 1x Green, 1x Blue, 1x virtual intensity)

My aim is to have a profile which allows me to do 3 things:

1. Select the whole fixture and from the ML controls individual turn the tungsten cells on and off (hence using intensity 1, intensity 2, intensity 3, and intensity 4)
2. Select the whole fixture and use the colour picket to set colours on all 4 of the backlight cells together (which works fine)
3. Create a strobe effect that will strobe whatever each pod has on, either backlight or tungsten, using the virtual intensity channels. This is the bit that doesn’t work because Intensity 2, 3 and 4 aren’t being affected by the change in the virtual intensity channels on those cells, and the mastered cell option doesn’t seem to do anything either.

Ok, so you aim for the 16Ch mode.

I would do a 4Cell Fixture

with main-Int(virtuel) +CTO +RGB

If you like to have every Pod extra in ML Control than there is no other way, i can think of, of having 4 different levels for every Pod.

But do you realy need to control them via Movinglight Control?

I you know what kind of FX you will perform. make them in advance and go with a regular 4 cell fixture.

And applying FX to Multicell is super easy.

Make a Group off all your Cells and than you can apply the FX directly

That is how i would do it.

Thanks for your suggestion, I don't really need each individual cell in moving light controls, i'm just being a bit lazy! The problem is I can't do a 4 cell fixture because only the first cell works. I'm not sure if it's a limitation of multi cell fixtures, but I can't get any profile to work properly where the cells have split channel ranges that overlap. Cell 1 works fine, but all the other cells seem to do random things depending on what channels are up on unrelated cells.

Multicell sometime are a bit complicated.

Have a look at your DMX table.

The Cells sometimes start at DMX 2 but thats not right.

Give this Fixture in the attached Showfile a try

Showtec - Stage Blinder 4 Blaze Mode 16Ch 2022-03-24 23-51-33.esf2 

Thanks for the showfile. That fixture doesn't work because it is based on each cell being a continuous range of 4 channels, but the 16 channel mode on the fixture doesn't work like that.

The 16 channel mode on the fixture has the 4 cells of blinders first (1-4), then cell 1 backlight (5-7), cell 2 backlight (8-10), cell 3 backlight (11-13) and cell 4 backlight (14-16). I think its the fact that the blinder channel isn't next to the backlight channels that breaks everything when I try to use a 4 cell fixture profile on EOS?

Ah, yesyesyes. my bad. I mixed up the 13 Ch Mode with the 16 Ch mode.

try this one instead

Showtec - Stage Blinder 4 Blaze Mode 16Ch v3 2022-03-26 01-14-21.esf2

EDIT: v3 should do it... finaly

I'm afraid that one doesn't work either, there seem  to be 2 main issues:

1. I can't get the blinder channel in cell 1 (dmx address 1) to come on at all. The picture above is the result of selecting the whole channel and setting the CTO at full, but I can't set it by selecting the individual cell either.
2. The other 3 cells are always on unless I turn the CTO channel off  - I can solve this one by setting the home CTO values for chanels 2-4 to 0 rather than 255.

I'm not sure why cell 1's CTO is behaving differently to the others?

It is because everytime the Showfile loads new there is a DMX1 in cell 2-4 as locked value entered.

Thats a quite nice dump thing i made there.

I resolved this in v4

The question is... is the CTO working as a concept idea for you?

Showtec - Stage Blinder 4 Blaze Mode 16Ch v4 2022-03-27 19-35-38.esf2

well well.

I had an other intuition. And i was proven right.

Having a CTO as the Warm White is not working with the Intensity as a Master.

Therefore a Color must be entered. All kind of other intensitys are not working eather! : /

A warm white will do. I have tested it at home via DMX output.

Sorry for not beeing able to give you a straight out of the box help.

The v5 should be the final working thing

Showtec - Stage Blinder 4 Blaze Mode 16Ch v5 2022-03-27 21-29-14.esf2

Thanks, that profile works much better. CTO didn't quite work as I'd hoped, as it wasn't affected by the intensity virtual so I couldn't easily setup a strobe effect to strobe either the colours or CTO channel. After a bit of trial and error I found that Warm White 2 works for me, as it doesn't affect the colour picker and is affected by the intensity virtual. Thanks for your help.

Aha,

Warm White2 is not affected by the color picker.

Good to know. Thanks.