ArKaos VJ 3.6.1 DMX : DMX control modes

There are two very different ways to control ArKaos from a DMX controller: We call them the Simple mode and the Fixture mode. Anyone that is used to lighting design and yokes knows what a fixture is. But the Simple mode may be unfamiliar to light designers. Both control modes have advantages and drawbacks, and some low cost DMX consoles will not be compatible with fixtures.

The Simple control mode has been developed to be compatible with any DMX controller. It provides a very simple way to include video in a DMX light show and it doesn’t require precision faders. Working this way, you configure the visuals and effects parameters within the software, the same way you would configure them for MIDI, and fade them in and out using dimmers. You can also assign a DMX channel to Patch (Bank) selection.

The Fixture control mode works like other media servers and therefore requires quality controllers with precise DMX values for visual or effect selection.

To allow a user friendly experience ArKaos VJ provides a DMX view which is different wheter you select "Simple mode" or "Fixture" in the DMX setup dialog box.

Simple Control Mode

Controls description:

• Dimmers: Activates the layer (visual/effect) and sets its transparency.
  Moving the dimmer associated to a layer will trigger it when above the value of 32 and increase gradually its opacity when reaching towards 255.
• Controllers: These channels are used to control real-time effect parameters such as movie transparency / movie speed / contrast / etc..
  You can assign a maximum range of 128 DMX channels for the 128 controller values.
• Patch Selection (Banks): This channel is used to access different Patchs. A Patch in ArKaos is a virtual keyboard.
  You can access 10 Patches. If the DMX channel selected is between 0 and 9%, the first Patch will be active, between 10 and 19%, the Patch 2 will activated etc.
• Sequence: Starts / stops a mix sequence previously recorded with the Event Recorder in ArKaos VJ.
  Set the DMX channel between 0 and 9% if you don’t want to play a sequence. From 10 to 19%, the first sequence will start, from 20 to 29%, the second sequence will start etc. You can access 9 sequences from your DMX controller.

Sample configuration setup:

• DMX channels 0-10 for triggering layer:
  The DMX channel 0 will trigger the first layer; channel 1 will trigger the second etc.
• DMX channels 11-15 for Controllers:
  The level of the channel 11 will correspond to the controller 1 in ArKaos.
• DMX channels 16 for Patch Selection:
  The channel 16 will be used to activate one of the 10 first Patchs of the current file.
• DMX channels 17 for Sequences:
  The channel 17 will start one of the 9 first sequences recorded in the current file.
  

Simple control mode keyboard view:

The DMX keyboard view in Simple control mode displays DMX controllers and layers. As with the MIDI keyboard or the computer keyboard view, you can drag and drop your visuals (movies, pictures, cameras and flash texts) or effects directly on a key and double click on any item with your mouse to set its parameters. The layers displayed in red are currently running (the DMX level controlling them is over 127).

Fixture Control Mode

Presentation:

The DMX Fixture control mode has been developed to allow the control of ArKaos VJ from high end DMX consoles. Using this mode, ArKaos behaves like a traditional media server. The Simple mode can also be used with these consoles if it better suit your needs.

A fixture corresponds to one layer. If you want to use n video layers in ArKaos, you have to create n fixtures on your DMX console. You can control up to 8 ArKaos layers, depending on your requirements and the number of DMX channels available on your console.

To accomodate to various situations, the ArKaos fixture control mode provides three fixtures: