Outputting video to LED strips

[Wasko]

Hey all, I am really excited at the possibilities of outputting content from Resolume into LED strips but I am unsure of what hardware I need to purchase to make it happen, and what the "schematic" of the setup might look like. If I was to purchase some generic strips of fairly inexpensive LED to test this out; I'm wondering what would be necessary from computer -> strips. I can figure out setting up the lumiverse as per the manual easily enough; it's the connectivity after that.

- To get the signal out of Resolume, and turned into ethernet signal (do I need Enttec USB? - ethernet? Wifi?)

- To get the signal from my booth to the stage (ethernet? wifi?)

- To connect the ethernet / wifi to the actual LED strips (another converter? wifi receiver?)

I don't think I would want to rely on wifi connections, if there is an alternative between that and cabling. Pardon my ignorance, I just don't know; and I've had a hard time finding this specific information. Any help would be much appreciated !

[Oaktown]

If I was to purchase some generic strips of fairly inexpensive LED to test this out;

I'm assuming you're interested in testing pixel tape of RGB Individually controllable pixels, correct? Also there is a lot of different brands out there and most have proprietary hardware but since you mentioned Enttec, I'll use that as an example.

- To get the signal out of Resolume, and turned into ethernet signal (do I need Enttec USB? - ethernet? Wifi?)

You'll need connect into your pixel hardware which could be DMX (XLR3 or 5), USB or ethernet (RJ45). For instance Enttec Pixie Driver takes DMX or USB (Artnet) and the Enttec Pixelator takes ethernet (Artnet)

- To get the signal from my booth to the stage (ethernet? wifi?)

WIFI will work when you're in tech but the moment you put the audience in there it becomes unpredictable and unreliable so definitely ethernet! Most theatres out there have ethernet running from the booth to at least one side of the stage.

- To connect the ethernet / wifi to the actual LED strips (another converter? wifi receiver?)

Once you've connected your computer to the pixel hardware, you'll need a way to send power and data to your strips.

So for instance the Pixie Driver comes in 6 different versions (5V, 12V and 24V both with 1 or 2 power supplies) and all you need is to connect your pixel tape to the adapter (data, VCC and Ground). If you want to driver pixel tape that's far from the Pixie Driver, it will require the PixieLinker to get the data out, a CAT6 ethernet cable and a PLink Injector to get the data in and add power (5V, 12V or 24V using appropriate DC PSUs).

The pixelator has 24 PLink ethernet output ports so all you need is ethernet cables and Pixie Injectors with appropriate DC PSUs to get the data in and add power or use Pixie Drivers with Ethernet to DMX cables.

As a note, the PLink system pairs two universes to give you control of 340 RGB pixels (since it requires 1020 DXM/Artnet channels). That means the Pixelator can drive up to 8160 (24x320) RGB pixels.

I hope this helps!

[Wasko]

Thank you for this extremely useful and detailed response ! One thing I wanted to clarify - the actual LED strips are powered on their end of the spectrum (the stage) via the Plink injector (which is plugged into an AC outlet with a 5V adaptor in my case)? The same Plink injector gets the receiving end of the Ethernet cable?

I think I'm going to order some of these, pretty good deal for 5M.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/111164910188?_tr ... EBIDX%3AIT

The potential for massive, bright, custom LED installations is super exciting

[Oaktown]

Yes to the Plink Injector getting both DC (VCC & Ground) and data

Keep in mind that 30 pixels per meter is fairly low density so unless you are interested in seeing dots, make sure you use nice diffusion to get smooth colors.

[mandawah]

Hi there,
@Oaktown: thanks for the very detailed answers you already gave here.

I have one additional question: could a Enttec Pixie Driver be directly driven by Resolume (Arena 5) or would I need an extra "PC to DMX" converter to be plugged in the Pixie Driver?

Pixie Driver has an USB port but as far as I understand it can only be used with Enttec Software, it does not act as USB DMX Converter (like DMXIS or DMX USB Pro).

I am considering buying some hardware, but I would like to check before:
So my question is:
- Can I just plug Pixie Driver to my PC on one side and LED stripe on the other, launch Arena and start playing with LED
- Or shall I buy a DMXIS/DMX USB Pro + a Pixe Driver to achieve this?

Thanks a lot for your reply!

[Oaktown]

I have one additional question: could a Enttec Pixie Driver be directly driven by Resolume (Arena 5

No

or would I need an extra "PC to DMX" converter to be plugged in the Pixie Driver?

Yes

Pixie Driver has an USB port but as far as I understand it can only be used with Enttec Software, it does not act as USB DMX Converter (like DMXIS or DMX USB Pro).

Yes

- Can I just plug Pixie Driver to my PC on one side and LED stripe on the other, launch Arena and start playing with LED

No

Or shall I buy a DMXIS/DMX USB Pro + a Pixe Driver to achieve this?

Personally, I would buy an Enttec ODE rather than DMXIS/DMX USB Pro. That way you'll be able to scale up your system if you decide to use more than 1 or 2 DMX universes.

The other option would be to get a Pixelator and any combination of PLink Injectors (up to 24) but it's much more expensive.

[mandawah]

Hi Oaktown, James,

Thanks a lot for your very valuable answers (sorry for replying so late).

Enttec ODE seems very nice indeed. Since it is not directly written that ODE and Resolume are working together (neither on ODE nor Resolume product page) I didn't get it at first.

But since Resolume is Artnet over ethernet, that would do the trick, and in a much more flexible way than with DMC USB Pro I guess.

The DMXIS is interesting in itself because of the VST plugin that can control it, but since it doesn't seem to be Resolume compatible it is too limited for general purpose (and maybe there is are ArtNet capable VST out there)..

Thanks again.

[Frankie]

Thanks for the detailed discussion above. It's greatly aided my understanding of this tech.

Has anyone had any success routing ArtNet to the Enttec Pixie Driver via USB?

I have the 5v 110watt Pixie Driver, and am trying to control 4 universes.
ArtNet via USB (through the Enttec ProManager) is apparently the only way to achieve this.

However, after opening up the Enttec ProManager, setting the Pixie Driver to Live ArtNet, and then opening Resolume Arena 5, I can only sometimes see the PixieDriver IP address in the DMX output Broadcast setting—but then it seems like Resolume takes over that IP address. Using Broadcast mode does not seem to work either.

I've been successfully able to use Resolume and my Enttec DMX USB Pro Mk2 to supply 2 DMX universes to the Pixie Driver.

...but I'd really like to use 4 universes.

[Oaktown]

Has anyone had any success routing ArtNet to the Enttec Pixie Driver via USB?

No because it's not possible. Artnet is a Network Communication Protocol not a Universal Serial Bus (USB) protocol.

You could send Artnet over a USB to Ethernet adapter because of the chipset but the Pixie Drivers can only receive DMX (via DMX cables or USB) so it won't work either way.

The only reason you can use Artnet with the Pixie Drivers is because the PRO-manager App does the conversion to DMX over USB for you but you actually can't send Artnet directly over USB protocol.

If you want to drive your Pixie Drivers with Artnet directly, you'll need hardware in between such as the Enttec ODE which will convert Artnet from Resolume Arena to DMX.

[Joris]

I'm thinking Enttec should start renting Resolume forum to do their support.